Wednesday, February 24, 2010

The Old Course (In) - St. Andrews

After heading out for the first nine holes, you turn around and head back in for the next nine.

Bobby Jones is the name of hole 10, a drivable par 4. At just over 300 yards, you have the option of laying up short of three bunkers on the right edge of the fairway or taking the driver straight at the hole. The tee box is offset to the left of the fairway, which makes the direct line all carry.

There are quite a few humps and hollows around the green, including the false front in the middle.

The view from the left shows how there's an upper and lower tier to the green. The false front is the darker depression to the right side of the photo.

Hole 11, High (In), is a par 3 that plays towards the Eden Estuary. When on the tee, you need to wait for players in the fairway on hole 7 that are playing to the green to the right.

The Strath bunker guards the front pin positions while to the left and hidden a bit by the mound is the Hill bunker. While the green is large, picking the correct club is necessary as the green is deeper directly behind the Strath bunker and narrower to the left and right.

Heathery (In), otherwise known as hole 12, tees off next to the Eden Estuary. It's the closest you'll get to the water on The Old Course.

The hole is a short par 4 of just over 300 yards. All of the danger is hidden as the Stroke bunker is in the dead center of the fairway about 160 yards out. Two other bunkers are further up, just over 200 yards from the tee where the fairway narrows. A lone bunker about 15 yards short of the putting surface protects the front section of the green.

When the pin is back, as it was in this photo, there's a tier about 20 yards deep in the green that needs to be dealt with. However, going too deep can be an issue as another tier falls off to the back.

Hole 13, Hole O'Cross (In), has a tee shot that's not well defined. The visible bunkers are The Coffins, which are just over 200 yards from the tee. There's a high patch of rough narrowing the right side the fairway and the Cat's Trap bunker cuts off the rest of it at around 270 yards. Playing just shot of the Cat's Trap will leave you about 140 yards to the green.

The green is wide and very deep, with the green at well over 60 yards from front to back. This view is from the right of the green, with the Hole O' Cross bunker in the foreground which is almost 30 yards from the front edge.

The second par 5 on the golf course is probably the most famous of the par 5s. The 530 yard Long has Hell Bunker looming on the second shot.

The line off the tee is the church tower, the tallest landmark to the left. If you carry The Beardies, you'll end up in the Elysian Fields. From that point, you have around 200 yards to carry Hell Bunker, which can be seen in the middle of the photo.

Short and right of the pin are more mounds you need to deal with but the green is large and relatively flat.

Cartgate (In), is hole 15. The drive is towards the church steeple in the background, in between the two mounds known as Miss Grainger's bosoms. The Sutherland bunker is to the left and lies in wait for a mishit pulled drive.

The view at the green shows the Cartgate bunker, which guards the pin position for hole 3, Cartgate (out). Once again, the green is rather large, with some undulations that might affect long putts.

Corner of the Dyke, hole 16, plays out towards the Old Course Hotel. The tee shot needs to avoid the Principal's Nose and Deacon Sime bunkers that are 215 to 260 yards away.

The approach also has a few bunkers to avoid, with Grant's and Wig bunkers guarding the left edge of the green.

The green has a big tier about 13 yards from the front edge, and the back of the green blends into the 17th tee. At 42 yards deep, there is plenty of room to avoid the slope if the pin's in back.

The 17th hole is probably the most famous on the course. Your drive needs to be aimed between the Old and Hotel of the Old Course Hotel.

If you pull that off, you'll land in the narrow strip of fairway left of the Road on the Road hole.


The approach needs to avoid the Road Bunker, which looms ominously to the left of the green. Bail out too far right and you'll have the following shot.

While this doesn't look too difficult, the Road Bunker is just beyond the pin.

Behind the green, workers were setting up bleachers for the Dunhill Links tournament. The front part of the 17th green is the safer play, however you'll need to traverse another steep slope while avoiding the looming crevasse.

The home hole is called Tom Morris as he created the green. It's also one of the prettiest tee shots you'll ever hit.

Stop by the Swilcan bridge for the obligatory photo.

Assuming your drive avoids pedestrians and the occasional car on Granny Clark's Wynd, you'll need to hit a precise approach over the Valley of Sin but short of the white OB fence.
The Valley of Sin is deep and wide with the left edge 17 yards from the front.

Back pin positions don't have much room before the OB fence comes into play. There weren't many tourists milling around on the day of my round, but Old Tom Morris's shop and house watched me tap in for a par.

The Old Course is an amazing experience. I'm glad my wife and I had a chance to make the pilgrimage and spend a few days in St. Andrews.

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