Mr. James Balfour wrote of the links in 1887:
"If there be added to its golfing charms the charms of all its surroundings - the grand history of St. Andrews and its sacred memories - its delightful all - the song its numberless larks, which nestle among the whins - the scream of the sea-birds flying overhead- the blue sea dotted with a few fishing boats - the noise of its waves- the Bay of Edell as seen from a high hole when the tide is full - the verable towers and the broken outline of the ancient city."