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Scotland on my Mind by Dan King
Friday June 28th and Saturday June 29th
The Old Course St. Andrews |
We arrived in the Old Town from Blairgowerie on Thursday night around 8:00. We hurried to drop off our bags in our room. Two of us were hungry (Darla and I) and two of us couldn't wait to go see the course (Mike and Dick). Me, I figured the course has been there in some form or another for over 500 years. The course wasn't going anywhere while I had a bite to eat. The house we were staying in is right across from Ziggy's (A Rock and Roll Restaurant). Very cool memorabilia on the walls and the food was good. Ribs, burgers, etc... I had a lamb chop that was most excellent. Unfortunately, no Bellhaven's Best on tap.
We were staying the next 5 nights at the Doune House (pronounced Doone) on Murray Place, between Murray Park and North Street. It's only about 2 blocks away from the Royal and Ancient Club House. Our landlords, Iain and Muriel Lowe were extremely nice people. Iain is a fantastic landscape photographer. His only subject he photographs now is the Old Course. He has a wonderful calendar for 1997 that we all bought copies of and had him sign. The 1997 calendar is pictures of the changing seasons at St. Andrews.
Doune Guest House
5 Murray Place
St. Andrews, Fife KY169AP
Tel & Fax: (01334)475195
(No Smoking)
When we arrived, Iain informed us that we did not make the ballot. However, two gentlemen from North Carolina, who were also staying at the Doune House, did make it in. Therefore, there were two openings in their group. We agreed that Mike Smyth and Dick Gunderson could take those two spots. Darla and I would either try to fit in on the course or go play the New or Jubilee. The tee time they got in the ballot was for 4:10 p.m.
The next morning we went shopping. First stop Aucherlonies. I was disappointed. My impression of the store was that it would be more about club making. It is a very large pro-shop. Lots of neat stuff, but very little in the way of their custom made clubs. Same with Dave Lowe, Tom Morris, etc.. All selling essentially the same merchandise, but each with their own crest. If you want the official St. Andrews Links crest, you must buy from either the St. Andrews Link store behind the 18th green, or from the new store they have inside the new visitor locker room. Both were short on merchandise.
Around 1:00 Darla and I put our names in for walk-ons with the starter at the Old Course. He said nothing was going to happen for at least an hour. Normally you are suppose to stick around the starter shack when waiting, but he said go ahead and eat lunch and come back after 2:00. Around 2:00 I came back and there were two gentlemen from Finland who had booked over a year ago. The starter informed me he couldn't ask them, but I could if I wanted. They told me they had planned this trip for over a year, and only wanted it to be the two of them. Oh, well, at the pace of play, a two-ball will be waiting on most every shot. Their loss.
Around 3:40 an opening came up for two. We would be teeing off with two gentlemen from Virginia. They were in Scotland on business and had also put there names down on the list. Ends up our 3:50 tee time was two groups ahead of Mike Smyth and Dick Gunderson.
I haven't talked much about my shots on this trip. Not a lot to write home to mom about, so to speak. But I do want to mention two holes specifically. On the first hole, I hit a very good drive, right down the middle. That is fun to do with what feels like the whole town watching and judging you. I was only about 115 yards from the hole, but with a cross wind, I figured I'd take a little extra club and put my ball anywhere on the big green, two-putt for par. I hit a very smooth nine, and my ball took one hop and stopped right at the hole. A way cool, back-hand tap-in for birdie on the very first hole. No reason for St. Andrews jitters after that.
I played fairly well on the front, going out in 38, but hit the bogie train coming in. On the 17th hole, my ball ended up in the left rough. I laid up short right of the green, chipped up to within 5 feet and drained the putt. I had planned on playing the Road Hole as a par-5, and I just birdied it. What Tom Watson wouldn't have given for that par in 1985 against Seve. (Course he played from the Championship tees, and the pin was in a much tougher position, but still...)
Unfortunately, I missed my 7 foot birdie on 18 to break 80. Still a smooth 80 on the Old Course in my first try. Only was in one bunker all day, that was the Boase Bunker on the 9th hole, which I managed to get on the green from. Darla had a wee bit of trouble with the hazards. For the two days we played the Old Course, she was in the Shell Bunker 4 times. The Shell Bunker is a huge bunker in front of the combination 7th and 11th hole and comes into play on both.
Prior to heading out, the starter told us we had made the ballot for the next day, Saturday. Our tee time was 7:30, the 4th group out in the morning. The wind this day was slightly different, not as strong, and a little more out of the west than the previous day. On the 11th hole on Friday, a 172 yard par-3 I hit a low 3-iron to reach the green. On Saturday, the club choice was more 6 or 7 irons.
I missed a few good birdie opportunities on Saturday. I did manage a couple birdies. One of the highlights was again the Road Hole. Once again I hit into the left rough. This time I couldn't find it anywhere. I looked for a while and it had disappeared. I dropped a ball around where we had last seem my ball and then ignored my advise to lay-up, went for the green. I missed the shot a little and ended up in the Road Bunker. I managed to get up and down from the hazard for a smooth 'whatever'. My opinion of the Road Bunker, lefties have a definite advantage in this bunker. Most balls seem to congregate at the front near the face, making a very difficult shot for a rightie. A leftie has more room to get at the ball.
My round on Saturday was not quite as sharp as Friday. I went out in two more and came in with the same as the day before. Still, 80-82 ain't nothing for this 9 handicap to sneeze at.
I don't see a lot of reason to go into the history of the Old Course. There are plenty of places to read that. A good book is "The St. Andrews Links; The First 600 years of Golf" by Tom Jarrett (He was in the visitor club house signing books, so I had my copy of the book signed). I can go into my own humble opinions of the course. After playing it twice, I would put it behind Royal Dornoch and North Berwick for courses we have played. (Cruden Bay has it's only special category.) I'm sure two rounds is not enough to make a very informed opinion, but that's what I have to work with. The entire feel of the course is fear. Even once you know where the hazards are, you are always concerned when your ball disappears from site. Was there, or wasn't there a bunker there. Some of the bunkers are so penal, you might as well pick up out of them. They leave no options for getting out. They aren't a one shot penalty, but often a multi-shot penalty. I understand the philosophy and all, but I just enjoyed the more visual experience at Dornoch and Berwick. The Old Course also gets far too much play. The greens are pock-marked with peoples ball marks they didn't bother fixing. I fixed dozens of left over ball marks. The greens were slow and not anywhere near as true as Gullane#1 or Dornoch. A 4 1/2 hour round in also un-bearable here. The marshals mostly stand around. I saw numerous groups 2 holes behind and making no effort to catch up. I watched a group who was almost 1/2 hour behind the previous group stop on the Swilken Bridge for the series of pictures. Absolutely no concern for the group of golfers stuck behind them. Perhaps the Marshals should read the following out of the yardage book I got:
Maybe if I could have played the course a few more times, I'd love it like so many others. But at L60.00 a round, the cost gets to be an issue. I know many also love the town of St. Andrews. To me it felt mostly like a tourist trap. Compared to Dornoch, my future home, it doesn't hold up. Dornoch is a real town with real people living there who just so happen to have a golf course near by. St. Andrews takes the Home of Golf title seriously and pushed it everywhere.
I did get a chance to go down to the old St. Rule Cathedral and walk through the cemetery. There is the monument to Young Tom along with the Morris family tomb. But there are also grave sites for Alan Robertson, Willie and Laurie Aucherlonie, the Playfair family etc...
The obelisk on Alan Robertson's reads: "In memory of Alan Robertson, who died 1 September 1859 aged 44 years. He was greatly esteemed for his personal worth and for many years was distinguished as the champion golfer of Scotland." The tourists all gather 'round the Morris grave, while Alan Robertson goes virtually un-noticed.
My Favorite holes at St. Andrews Old Course:
Hole#1 370 yard Par-4 (The Burn)
A nice wide open fairway, with miles of room to hit to the left where it shares a fairway with 18. Hard to believe Ian Baker-Finch managed to hit a ball O.B. left on this hole in the last Open. The O.B. down the right is close, especially with a left to right wind. A shot over the Swilken Burn to a huge green (which is actually one of the smallest on the course. It's one of only 4, not shared by two holes.) The tendency is too take a little more club than needed to avoid the Swilken Burn which touches the front of the green.
Hole#3 353 yard Par-4 (Cartgate Out)
I liked this hole which gets very little press. A short par-4, the best way to play this hole is down the right side. However, the right side has 3 nasty little pots to grab anything slightly too far right. Plenty of room left, with only the Principal's Nose to avoid. The problem with going left is then you must hit over the very large Cartgate bunker protecting the entire left side of this green. From the right, it is a simple bump and run onto the putting surface.
Hole#5 514 yard Par-5 (Hole O'Cross Out)
A fairly wide driving area, with only a series of 7 or 8 small bunkers on the right to grab your drive. I can tell you from experience, you don't want to go there. Hell and Kitchen bunker are way left, you shouldn't threaten them with your drive, but you may want to walk by them on your way up the fairway, to put the fear in you for when you are playing 14 in a couple of hours. The biggest obstacle on #5, is the two Spectacle Bunkers, about 110 yards from the green. Lay up short, or make sure you can hit over. End up in these bunkers and kiss away a 5. This green in huge, it would be possible to have a hundred yard putt on this hole.
Hole#7 359 yard Par-4 (High Hole Out)
There is plenty of room to drive on this hole left, over the Stroke Bunker you can see part of from the tee. If the wind is right, you can play a ball along the gorse bushes, with a slight left to right movement (I accidentally did this on Friday), which puts you in the middle of the 7th and 11th fairway, right in front of the Shell Bunker. The Shell Bunker is a magnet for balls coming from the left. It's a very large, and very deep bunker. Best not to go there. The 7th green is only a small portion of the green for #7 and #11. The small Strath Bunker separates the two putting areas.
Hole#13 398 yard Par-4 (Hole O'Cross In)
A good tee shot should be right of the Coffins or beyond them. With the right wind, flying them should be no trouble. They are 200 yards off the tee. Over the coffins the second shot is almost blind, you are hitting over a mound of heather. The green is slightly raised above the fairway, and the hole is shared by #5 where once again you can be looking at a 100 yard putt (Mine was only about 40 yards...I 3-putted).
Hole#14 523 yard par-5 (Long Hole)
Depending on the wind direction, this shouldn't be too tough a hole. But with the wind in your face, much of the trouble comes into play. (Ask Jack Nicklaus who took a 10 here in the 1995 Open.) Your drive should be over or right of the Beardies, a series of 4 bunkers from 180 to 200 yards from the tee box. The big thing to do on the second is to avoid first the Kitchen and then Hell bunker. If you have any doubt you can fly them, lay up short, leaving a 150 yard 3rd shot. There is mounding and grass bunkers left of Hell that can make the 3rd shot very awkward. Once you are over Hell, the Grave bunkers are there for those that go left of the putting surface, but I never saw anyone that far left. The green has a tremendous amount of break, with 3 ridges running through the 14 green side.
Hole#16 351 yard par-4 (Corner of the Dyke)
This is one of the few holes at St. Andrews Old Course were it is an advantage to come at the green from the left. A good drive, over Deacon Sime, and you'll have a nice little pitch between Grant's and Wig Bunker. If you come at this hole from the right, Grant's comes much more in play, as well as the O.B. down the right.
Hole#17 461 yard Par-4 (The Road Hole)
I don't have much to add about this hole, only that it is a tough par-4, but not a terribly difficult par-5. We watched many people play the hole from the balcony at the Old Course Hotel. I never saw anyone end up on the road. I think this is a bigger concern for the pros than for most amateurs. Most amateurs on a long second shot will come up short, bring the Road Bunker more in play than the Road. My opinion, I'd still give the nod to Point Garry-In at North Berwick for the toughest 17th hole we've played so far. Not by much, but a slight nod.
Talk to you tomorrow.
Dan King
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