Top 5: The Old Course
As Mike said in his post, we are switching it up a bit this week with some different content rather than just focusing on the tour. This post is all about the Old Course at St. Andrews Links. I rank my five favorite holes on the course. My favorite thing about the course is that every experience out there is a little bit different and there are a million different ways to play each shot out there. Getting to call the Old Course my home club for over a year was a dream come true. The people I met on the first tee as strangers and walked off the 18th green as friends play a big part in my rankings of the holes. I ranked the holes on the memories I made there as well as my opinion on what a great golf hole entails. I did not realize until I narrowed it down to five that they are all on the back 9 and that the finishing three holes were my favorite three, although not in order.
Narrowing it down to my five favorite holes was a near impossible task. The Old Course is my favorite walk in the whole world. Every time I walked off the 18th green I had the same sentiment: “How lucky am I that this is my home course?” The sentiment still stands true today, while I have not been to the Old Course since last December my days spent out there are still some of the fondest memories of my life thus far.
The 18th
Is there a more iconic walk in the game of golf? A wide fairway that seems impossible to miss, but I have seen so many people put it right into the buildings on the right. A walk over the Swilican Bridge must be near the top of every golfer’s bucket list. The valley of sin protects a green that deceptively has a ton of slope. To add to the nerves, there are usually tons of people around the 18th green that will applaud great shots and let you know if it was a bad shot. It is one of the most iconic finishing holes in golf and it still makes me laugh that there is a road that goes right through the fairway. After a round on the Old, 18 is the perfect hole to welcome you back into town and walking in the steps of so many historic people is something that truly cannot be described until you live it.
The 16th
This hole does not rank high on many lists, but I really think it is the most underrated hole on the Old Course. Any caddie out there will advise you to take less than driver because anything right at all is out of bounds. The green complexation has a ton of slope and good shots are not always rewarded on the 16th hole. This ranks so highly on my list just because I always took driver and tried to get to the green. There were plenty of times where this resulted in my ball going out of bounds, but equally, there were plenty of times where I split the fairway and had it roll up to the green. I live for the high risk, high reward shots and the 16th hole exemplifies that. While the 17th hole gets all of the attention and rightfully so, 16 is a great hole out there that presents all sorts of options.
The 17th
One of the most famous holes in all of golf. There was no chance I would leave it off this list. It is easily one of the hardest holes I have played anywhere. Getting it over the hotel and in the fairway is no small feat, but if you manage that you are still left with a long second shot into a skinny green that has a deep bunker protecting it. It is iconic. I made one par out there out of 25 tries or so on the road hole. I have seen someone save bogey after hitting it into and out of the Jigger Inn (the bar off the fairway). I have seen many people go way left and play onto the second fairway rather than take on the hotel at all. Many people out there would gladly take a bogey and move on to 18. Again, I think this is what makes such a great golf hole. There are so many different approaches one can take when playing this hole. Bad shots are penalized very harshly, and I wish more golf holes were like that. Much of the Old Course you can get away with some mistakes, but the 17th Is not one of those holes. Seeing people chip off a road and into the bunker and then back onto the road never gets old. If you ever feel confident in your game, the Road Hole will humble the best of them.
The 11th
Often called a short par 4, the 11th is one of the more perfect golf holes in the world in my opinion. Standing on an elevated tee box looking at the green protected by steep slopes and bunkers while the wind cuts right through you can be extremely intimidating. It is one heckuva feat to even find the green let alone stick one close. There are many spots that you must avoid if you want to walk away with par and to me that is perfect. It is a hectic part of the course as people criss-cross between the tee and green which can lead to waiting up on the tee box giving you a little more time to think about your shot. When the wind is blowing the ball is nearly impossible to stop on the green. The hole plays very different every time you play and it really is an iconic hole out there.
The 10th
This made my list because drivable par 4’s are extremely underrated and I wish there were more of them. There is not a ton of risk in trying to go for the green as long as you do not go way left. There are a few pot bunkers in the fairway that I have found myself in from time to time, but driving the green on a par 4 is an unmatched feeling and kicking off the back nine on a positive note can start a nice run into the clubhouse. This is also one of the easiest greens on the course in my opinion. There is nothing super special about the hole itself, but the amount of fun I had every time on this hole places it in the top 5 for me.
I hope everyone gets to experience the Old at least once in their life. It is a place that can only be described as special. There is nothing like it out there. While this list was only five holes, there are so many great holes out there and each present unique a challenge that are slightly different every time you play. What a special place…