The Old Course at St. Andrews, SCOTLAND    

'Anyone who raves about the Old Course after just one or two rounds there is either a liar or a fool,' says David Fay, Executive Director of the USGA. Fay relates that it was not until he served as a referee in the 1990 Open Championship there and spent four days walking the course and watching the game's best tack their way round it that he began to appreciate the most famous course in golf.

More than any other course, St. Andrews warrants (and of course has received) study. While the land is basically flat, it is a continuous ribbon of crumpled linksland that hides much of itself from view. Many rounds are required until the player knows what is out there on every tee and, therefore, where to go and where not to go. It is only with this knowledge that the player appreciates the tremendous amount of strategy involved in playing the Old Course.

After a few holes, the overall strategy becomes apparent: Drive left (where there's all the room in the world) and face an awkward approach or drive right (typically between gorse or out of bounds on the right and bunkers on the left) and have a simpler approach. At St. Andrews, hitting the fairways and greens does not count for a lot -- one could hit every fairway and green in regulation and still not score better than 80.

Which do you prefer? This straightforward approach with
an uninterrupted look at the 4th green or...

this angle from the left side of the fairway, where the tip of the flag is
barely visible and the approach must carry a greenside bunker?

It is important to play many rounds to encounter the full variety of hole locations. With such large, undulating greens, the hole location can significantly effect the exactness of play that is required. With the 2^nd hole, for example, if the hole is left the player can attack the hole only from the right side of the fairway as the big left-to-right undulations that guard the left side of the green will thwart any approach shots from the left side. With a back-right hole location, the entire hole becomes relatively benign and forgiving.

However, the main need for many rounds over the Old Course is to encounter it in every type of wind and weather. Then the player will appreciate that every bunker can be in play, given a certain wind. With a number of the traditional out-and-back links courses, there is a particular wind that best shows off the course. For example, at Royal Aberdeen the preferred wind would be behind the player going out and against him coming home so that the less interesting and less dramatic back nine has the wind to keep the player's attention.

At St. Andrews, however, each wind brings out different, but not necessarily better, characteristics and challenges in each hole. With the 14^th, for example, the hole plays extremely long into the wind and requires the player to think his way through all three shots to negotiate the hole's many defenses. With the wind helping, however, many of the bunkers do not come into play, but the shallow, raised green is most difficult to find with an approach shot of any length as the ball will make a mad rush for over the green. No other course adapts itself so well to all winds.

MacKenzie noted in his book The Spirit of St. Andrews that 'No one would pretend that the Old Course at St. Andrews is perfect.' How true. However, the run home from the 11^th tee possesses more of the 'bests' in the game than any stretch in golf.

Holes to Note:

1^st hole, 370 yards: The fairway is necessarily wide for the most intimidating opening drive in golf. More horrific attempts to move a golf ball forward have occurred on the first tee than any other patch of turf in the world. The Swilcan Burn makes the approach shot fascinating. Many, many golfers unaccustomed to the full effects of the wind (and playing without a caddy) watch with great intent as their well struck approach shot ends up 1. not only short of the hole, 2. but short of the green, and 3. short of the Burn by some ten yards.

11^th hole, 170 yards: The Eden is the finest medium length one shotter in golf. While the fearsome Strath and even deeper Hill bunker to the left focus the attention, the severe back-to-front slope of the green is the real terror. The authors think this style hole should have been copied more than the even more famous Redan .

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