St. Andrews condemns controversial street shot

A recent video of a player’s shot hit from outside a hotel near St. Andrews that landed near the historic club’s 18th green? It’s gone viral. Millions have seen it. 

But the reaction of the St. Andrews Links Trust?

It doesn’t want to see the shot played again.

The video was posted late last month on Instagram, then was picked up by various social media accounts. In it, a player hits from just outside the Dunvegan Hotel, on a line over nearby buildings, and the ball finishes near St. Andrews’ 18th green.

But on Saturday, in a statement to Bunkered Golf Magazine’s Michael McEwan, the St. Andrews Links Trust condemned the play. 

“This is an irresponsible and reckless act which shows disregard for the safety of both public and property,” McEwan shared on social media. “This kind of behavior is not welcome at the Home of Golf and we would discourage anyone from repeating it.”

Comments to the shot have been mixed. Notably, the shot has been tried at least once before — and may have also been attempted by a four-time major winner. 

In June of 2022, a month before the Open Championship, Erik Anders Lang of the Random Golf Club website recorded a five-minute video with Harrison Crowe, the 2022 Asia-Pacific Amateur winner and a 2023 Masters participant, where Crowe also hit from outside the hotel and toward the 18th green. Lang said he had heard a legend where Ernie Els had once tried the shot, too — at 4 a.m. 

Crowe’s shot drew a small crowd. In a 2023 interview with the Scotsman, Crowe said this of the shot:

“I think hitting that shot just kind of shows the person that I am. That I’m not really afraid to give everything a shot, and kind of shows a little bit more of the Aussie culture a little bit, as well — that we are pretty laid back and we are ready to do things.”

Editor’s note: Below is the video of the most-recent shot. Below that is the video from Lang. 

Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.