The Old Course - St. Andrews Links - A True Test Untouched by Time

It was not designed by an architect, but has evolved over six centuries. Originally it played over 22 holes using the same 11 holes on the way out and way in. In 1764, it was reduced to 18, which became the standard for courses worldwide. It has double greens -- a special feature where a golfer can face a putt of up to 100 yards.

The Road Hole is the most famous hole in golf, and the changes made for 2010 will “increase the challenge of the hole whilst remaining true to its spirit.” It is part of the largest public golf venue in Europe; consisting of six 18-hole courses and one nine hole course (117 holes in all). Tiger Woods won there in 2000, setting a record score of 19-under-par with rounds of 67-66-67-69 to win by eight shots.

It is The Old Course at St Andrews -- one of the most interesting courses on the PGA Tour and home of The Open Championship which takes place from 15 - 18 July 2010. The occasion will be all the more special as it will be the 150th anniversary of the first Open Championship.

Alister MacKenzie has written extensively about St. Andrews:

“If the members of the Royal and Ancient cared a damn what critics thought, all these fascinating undulations would have been shaved down and the world would have been deprived of the only golf course on real links land that has not been defaced by the hand of man. There is probably not a quarter of the bunker area at St. Andrews that there is on other well-known courses. The course is made by its undulations. Even after years of studying the course, I am always discovering fresh and better methods of playing holes (Source: The Spirit of St. Andrews).

Rich History

The Old Course was not designed by an architect, but has evolved over six centuries. Many consider it a true test of championship golf.

Originally played over 22 holes, in 1764 the Society of St Andrews Golfers, which later became the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, decided that some holes were too short and combined them. This reduced the course to eighteen holes and created what became the standard round of golf throughout the world - 9 holes going out, 9 holes coming in.

The track through the whin bushes (spiny evergreen shrubs) on which the Old Course evolved was so narrow that golfers played to the same holes going out and coming in, using two different pin placements on each green. This layout gave us the concept of 'going out' and 'coming in'. White flags designate the outward holes and red flags are for the inward holes.

The physical features of the Par 72, 7305-yard Old Course include 112 bunkers, some of which are particularly famous (Hell on the long 14th, Shell on the 7th and Strath on the short 11th).

The Claret Jug

The famous claret jug trophy that is presented to the winner got its name from the style of silver jugs used to serve claret, a dry red wine, at 19th century gatherings. The Claret Jug made by Mackay Cunningham & Company of Edinburgh, is hallmarked 1873. It was presented to the winner that year and every year for almost half a century.

Yet three months after Bobby Jones won the championship at St Andrews in 1927, the Championship Committee of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club (R&A) decided that "in future the original Open Championship Cup be retained in possession of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club and that a duplicate be obtained for presentation to the winners."

The duplicate of the original trophy that is presented to the British Open winner each year is kept by the winner for a year before it is returned to the R&A to be passed on to the next champion. Many winners privately commission copies of the ancient jug for their personal collections.

Previous Winners

Tiger Woods won the 27th Open at St. Andrews in 2005. It was his second consecutive win at the “Home of Golf” (he won there in 2000). That same year Jack Nicklaus, also a two-time St. Andrews champion (1978 and 1970), bid farewell to competitive golf. Other winners there include John Daly in 1995, Nick Faldo in 1990 and Seve Ballesteros in 1984.

The Course

“The more I studied the Old Course, the more I loved it, and the more I loved it, the more I studied it, so I came to feel that it was the most favorable meeting ground possible for an important contest.” – Bobby Jones.

The Old Course has been lengthened again, with a new tee on the 17th making it 40 yards longer at 495 yards. With other subtle changes, the official card will be 7,305 yards. That’s a whopping 26 yards longer than in 2005.

Notable holes include:

Hole 1 – Burn (376-yard, Par 4)

Considered one of the most famous opening holes in golf, it is named after the Swilcan Burn that curls down the right side of the fairway and across the face of the green. It provides the only water hazard on the Old Course before emptying into the North Sea at the Southern end of the West Sands.

Hole 11 - High (In) (174-yard, Par 3)

The Strath bunker that guards the green at the front is small. The Hill bunker to the left is long and deep. The tee shot here can be anything from a nine-iron to a three-iron depending on the strength and direction of the wind. The green slopes dramatically from back to front and left to right. Come up short and the ball will run way back off the green. Too long and it drops 15 feet into a gully.

“There is no hole that has been copied more frequently than the 11th at St. Andrews,” said Alister MacKenzie. “But I don not know any copy that has the charm, the interest, or the thrills of the original.” He goes on to explain that this is largely due to the fact that the subtle slopes of the green and the approach are overlooked, and there are few, if any, architects who have the courage to give the same marked tilt to the green. (Source: The Spirit of Saint Andrews)

Hole 17 – Road (495-yard, Par 4)

Its fame is matched by its degree of difficulty. Named after the turnpike road running behind the green which has proved the downfall of many a top professional, most memorably when it cost Tom Watson the 1984 Open.

An extra 40 yards have been added to the hole that already has a reputation as the toughest par-four in championship golf. This means a minimum carry of 260 yards over the replica railway sheds to reach the ideal position on the right edge of the fairway.

The green angles away from the player from front right to back left behind the vertically-faced Road bunker. An over-hit second shot will fall off the back of the green on to the road.

Hole 18 - Tom Morris (357-yard, Par 4)

There will be many players in the field capable of driving this green in the right conditions. However, for anything that comes up short the choice of second shot can be vital, particularly when the pin is set just beyond the deep Valley of Sin at the front of the green. The traditional links shot, the low pitch and run, has a greater chance of success than a high-flying, fast-spinning wedge that can easily screw back off the green.

Source: OpenGolf.com

Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the first Open Championship

As part of the celebration former Open champions have been invited to gather at the “Home of Golf” on the eve of the championship, 14 July, to take part in a four-hole competition that will be played over the 1st, 2nd, 17th and 18th holes of the Old Course.

27 Champions are scheduled to take part in the event, in which teams of three or four will compete for a prize of £50,000, to be donated to a charity of the winning team’s choice.

Back in May it was reported that Tiger Woods would be participating along with defending champion Stewart Cink and five-time Open winner Peter Thomson, who won his first in 1954.

Past champions Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Gary Player, Robert de Vincenzo and Greg Norman are among those expected to compete, along with Padraig Harrington, Ernie Els and David Duval.

Unfortunately, Ballesteros had to pull out because his medical team advised him that at this time he should not put himself under any undue stress, or in potentially emotional situations (he was diagnosed with a brain tumor in October 2008).

Conclusion

“Some people love St. Andrews as a monument. I love it as a golf course. With man-made courses, someone designed the best way to play a hole. At St. Andrews you figure that out yourself.” – Tom Doak, golf course architect

“This is the origin of the game. Golf in its purest form, and it’s still played that way on a course untouched by time” –Arnold Palmer

St. Andrews is about history and tradition. The fact that 45,000 rounds a year are played on the Old Course should not be surprising as those who want to experience golf in its truest form take pilgrimages there.

It will be interesting to see how the greatest players in the world today, with their cutting edge clubs and balls, handle the challenge of a natural links land where golf has been played for 600 years. Hopefully, they’ll have some time during their practice rounds to be able to slow down and truly appreciate the undulations and other features that make the Old Course at St. Andrews so unique.