St Andrews Old Golf Course *****

St Andrews Links Trust, Pilmour House, St Andrews, KY16 9SF

Nearest main town: St Andrews

 

No more than a flat, vast open playing field. Made redundant by the improvements in golf-club technology. These are just two of the criticisms leveled at the Old course at St Andrews, the home of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club and the most famous golf course in the world. It has almost become fashionable to have a pop at the Old course: once, they say, a venerable work of art, but now its colors are fading and its brush strokes criticized for their broadness and depth.

It wasn't always like this. The bunkers were once praised for their depth and singularity, the double greens for their design and surreal appearance, the double fairways for their uniqueness. But opinions change, and as the game of golf grows and players seek out virgin territory, so the memories of the Old course fade. Why the stark barren­ness of the Old course when you can have the deep colours and exhilaration of a County Down or a Turnberry?

What the Old course will do is make you think. If the design is such a joke, why is it so difficult? Huge greens and wide fairways are normally associated with good scoring, and yet, with the exception of the pros, who can make a mockery of the front nine at times, you'll struggle to better your handicap. The answer lies in the illusions the landscape offers. From the tee you are presented with huge fairways, but you see only rutted, unreceptive ones. For your approaches, you are presented with huge greens, but they are often blind and so contoured that your ball runs off in all directions. Then there's the fickle wind, which can grab your ball in mid-flight and deposit it in a scrape or burn.

The Old course will also make you nervous. First-tee nerves for golfers are as normal as the common cold, but you'll never have experienced anything like this - and the irony is the fairway you'll be aiming at is the biggest anywhere in the world. Then there's the 17th, a hole so difficult you'll treat it like walking on eggshells and leave with an eight. That's the difficulty at St Andrews. Much like meeting your favorite celebrity, you'll clam up and the right words won't come out!

 

Secretary: Mr A. McGregor (General Manager)

Tel: 01334 466666 Fax: 01334 479555

Professional: None

Playing: Midweek: round £10.00-£110.00; day n/a. Weekend: round n/a; day n/a.

Facilities: Bar: 11 am-11 pm. Food: Breakfast, lunch and dinner from 7am-9pm.

Comments: Sheer magic. .. Anyone who's ever professed to be a golfer must play... Take a caddie... So subtle... Feel the nerves on the 1st tee. .. The course and the people, the best anywhere. . . Tee shot at the 1st is so special. . . Take away the 1st, 17th and 18th and this is a very ordinary links... Course not up to much but the special feeling makes up for it ... It can be both cruel and kind ... A wonderful and mystical venue - not to be missed ... Treasure the experience.

 

Aberdour Golf Club ***

Seaside Place, Aberdour, KT3 OTX

Nearest main town: Dunfermline

 

Secretary: Mr S. Laing

Tel: 01383 860080 Fax: 01383 860050

Professional: Mr D. Gemmell

Tel: 01383 860256

Playing: Midweek: round £20.00; day £30.00. Weekend: round £35.00 (Sunday only); day £35.00  (Sunday only).

Facilities: Bar: 11 am-11 pm. Food: Lunch and dinner from 11 am-9pm. Bar snacks.

Comments: Short course on nice piece of coastline... Good views . . . Great wee seaside course with lovely views.