Cheape's: Restoration Of The Legendary Old Course Bunker

The Cheape’s bunker between the second and seventeenth holes was named after James Cheape, ended the rabbit wars in 1821 by buying back Old Course land, saving the links. He is credited with saving the links for golf.

His namesake, a strategically important bunker, had shrunk and lost shape in recent years, but based on this restoration explanation from the Links Trust site, the restoration will improve one of golf's landmark hazards.

Positioned on the 2nd fairway, this is the first significant bunker acting as a bearing point. ‘Cheape’s’ defines the leftmost side of the hole, sitting on the corner of the dogleg of the 17th. Named after the family who once owned the land on which the Old Course sits, players are mindful to steer right of this hazard from the tee.

Through time the shape of Cheape’s bunker has changed many times from the original layout of this strategically positioned bunker, from long & narrow in 1836 to round and small in 1990, which is how it has remained until we undertook this work.