From the Clubhouse: How a 300-yard stretch of road sparked a civil war in St Andrews

It’s one of the best-known streets in golf – a thoroughfare thronged with spectators at the climax to an Open Championship at St Andrews. It hosts Tom Morris’ shop and the famous golf clubs that wind their way down the side of the Old Course’s 18th hole. Walking down The Links is a pilgrimage for millions of golfers. But its construction caused a late 19th century storm that went all the way to the House of Lords. It's the subject of a fascinating - and now award-winning - book by golf historian Roger McStravick. He takes readers back to 1879 in St Andrews: The Road War Papers, where they can learn how a simple road from Golf Place to Grannie Clark’s Wynd and beyond caused so much strife. The book has been honoured by the USGA as the recipient of the prestigious Herbert Warren Wind Award – presented in recognition of outstanding contributions to golf literature. On its release, McStravick joined Steve Carroll on the From the Clubhouse podcast to discuss his work and hark bark to a fascinating period in the game’s history.