April 5th, 2024 —
There are no words that have not already been written to explain the Old Course. Hell, there may not even be any words at all that are worthy of this place and we are no going to be the one’s to change that. However, there is a quote that after playing it I found rang all the more true.
Golf Digest’s Ron Whitten proclaimed, “All that is sensible about golf course architecture – and some that is nonsensical – is derived from a single golf course, the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland. The Old Course has had a greater impact on the game than any course in history. Nearly every golf course built in the last 150 years has been inspired by St. Andrews, or is a reaction against it.”
You don’t need to know much about the history of golf to grasp the magnitude of this place. It’s a feeling you get by simply stepping foot on these hallowed grounds. The town, the buildings, the people, and most importantly, the course, it’s all other-worldly. You feel at peace here, wholly satisfied to simply exist in each singular moment…yet also unable to ignore the immensity of it all. It is a golf experience like no other, unmatched by the best country clubs and destination resorts in the world, the Old Course stands alone.
Rather than ramble on about every hole and every shot, we thought it best to relive our trip through our post round ritual. Upon the completion of each round and over a cold Guinness, we had to choose our favorite hole, our favorite par 3, and our favorite shot of the day. So below is each of our recaps, with maybe a little color to go along with it.
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Luke
Favorite hole: #17 “The Road Hole”
Favorite par 3: #11 “The Eden”
Favorite shot: 7 iron approach into #17
Some context. With only 2 par 3’s to choose from, Eden will be a popular pick. A beautiful back drop, a famous template hole recreated all around the world, protected by the treacherous Hill and Strath bunkers, crossing approach shots with the 7th, and a shared green that is nearly 110 yards wide…somehow this hole is actually underrated. Our pin was hidden directly behind the Strath bunker and after a nice fat 5 iron that came up 15 yards short, I had the pleasure of chipping over said bunker off a rock solid lie. Despite my caddie Alan pleading me to putt it to 30 feet and avoid disaster, I took it on and made a memorable up and down.
As for favorite hole and shot, no surprise that the Road Hole tops my list. Obviously there are countless to choose from but the build up to this hole creates a truly unique feeling standing on that tee. It’s often been said that if anyone were to presently build a hole that requires a tee shot over a hotel they would be crucified. While that may be true, it doesn’t take away from the brilliance of the hole.
It’s difficult to grasp how much the hotel is truly in the way, and as a lefty fader it would take some courage to get it on a proper line. Luckily two things were working in my favor. Although the wind was in our face, it was off the left which is always a comfy feeling for me. And second, having watched just about every video out there on the Old Course, I was pretty confident that the caddies tended to give a fairly conservative target to ensure everyone gets to actually play the hole, or so I told myself. Committing to my theory I started my tee shot right of the “O” in the Old Course Hotel sign and swung for the fences. I laced it right on line and found the fairway.
Arriving at the ball you realize what makes this hole so difficult. Brilliant but difficult. Anything left off the tee, the common miss, makes it nearly impossible to hold the green. Protected by the notorious “Road Hole Bunker” short left, and a legitimate road long and right, the angle may matter more on this shot than any other I’ve ever played. Despite being in position A, it still felt like a monumental task to get the ball in the green. I had 160 into a stiff breeze to a green that appears the size of a thimble. I decided I had to try to hit the shot that hole required. I pulled 7 iron, and held a high fade into the left to right wind. It was a shot I had struggled with all trip and had almost completely abandoned at that point. Through divine intervention or pure luck, I flushed it and watched the ball stop about 20 feet from the flag. It was the two most committed swings I made all trip and to walk away with par on this particular hole felt like a true blessing and a memory I’ll never forget.
A couple other highlights for me. My caddie Alan was all time. Awesome guy, great player himself, and joy to be around. Hearing that classic Scottish “Golf Shot” after my approach on 17 made it all the more special. Things weren’t always so rosey though. After a bogie, double, double start, Alan gave me a stern talking to and a hearty kick in the ass and told me to “start playing.” Unfortunately, I waited another 5 holes to heed his advice but finally strung some holes together and finished with 10 straight pars. A good caddie can really add to the experience and I was really lucky on this trip to have to amazing caddies.
Mark and I on the Swilcan bridge and this genius weather device, who needs a weather man when you have this.
Me in the Cartgate bunker/pond, the caddies said they had never seen standing water in the bunkers before this year. Timmy putting from Timbuktu, full club head release that one – also a great example of the size of the greens and the double flags.
A great side view of The Road Hole, really shows how shallow this green is with the Road Hole bunker on the left and the road and wall on the right.
Phil with a swaggy walk-in for par on 17 to ice the match, he was nails on these all trip. And Timmy with a clutch par save as well followed up by a fist pump which we love to see. Definitely a little extra juice on this day.
And when 18 holes isn’t enough, you can always stumble back on later that evening after a couple pints down the street. With some liquid courage in tow, I convinced myself I could clear the Swilcan Burn…never a doubt.
They say that in order to fully appreciate the Old Course one must play it 10 times. When I first heard this quote I scoffed a little, finding it a bit pretentious and snobby – I was maybe also a bit jealous of anyone that would ever get to play it that many times. However, with one round under my belt, I can see why someone would say such a thing. The undulations and angles that make this place so complex are simultaneously cloaked in nuance…I’m not sure even the best golfers in the world will ever truly “master” this place.
–Luke