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Golf Course Reviews - Europe
St Andrews Links Golf Course - The Old Course
Name: St Andrews Links Golf Course - The Old Course
Location: Saint Andrews, Scotland
Par: 72
Length: 6721m
Holes: 18
Location: Saint Andrews, Scotland
Par: 72
Length: 6721m
Holes: 18
St Andrews Links Golf Course - The Old Course
What can we say about the Old Course that hasn't already been said? The Old Course at St. Andrews (ranked #6 in the world) is hallowed ground for golfers. The course can be a little disappointing on first sight. The ground is flat and featureless, the lies are tight and usually not very good. It is not one of the most scenic courses, nor the most difficult. However, there is a reason that three of the greatest golfers of all time, Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods rank it at the top. The Old Course reveals its genius slowly only after you play it again and again.
The course has many hidden bunkers which you can't see while hitting your shot. The style of play is as different from what you generally get in the United States as I have found. No lush fairways and firing at the pins at The Old Course. I found one of the more difficult aspects of playing the course to be the double greens, which can leave you with some very long putts. The 17th, Road Hole, is one of the best in the world without a doubt. It is a classic risk/reward hole on both the first and second shots. Take an aggressive line and have it pay off and you will be rewarded. Mis-hit it and you will pay the penalty sharply.
I played the Old Course on a beautiful day with a dear friend visiting from the Punjab region of India. There are some courses on the top 100 that guard their privacy fiercely. You're not going to pull out a camera and start taking shots of everything at Los Angeles Country Club or Maidstone. But at The Old Course, I played the tourist, and have my shot standing on the Swilken Bridge. I don't care who you are, hitting off the first tee on the Old Course is one of the most special and rewarding things a golfer can do in his or her lifetime. It is probably the widest fairway in golf but you are indeed quite nervous hitting that shot.
The Old Course at St. Andrews is best summed up by that great golf writer Henry Longhurst who writes: "What is the secret? Partly, I think that before playing any shot you have to stop and say to yourself, not, "what club is it?" but "what is it exactly that I am trying to do?" There are no fairways in the accepted sense of the word; just a narrow strip of golfing ground which you use both on the way out and the way in, together with huge double greens, each with two flags. From the tee you can play almost anywhere, but, if you have not thought it out correctly according to the wind and the position of the flag, you may find yourself teed up in the middle just behind a bunker, and downwind. At this point fools say the course is crazy. Others appreciate that the truth lies nearer home."
I also like the comments of golf course architect Desmond Muirhead who disputes the notion that the old course simply evolved without man's influence. He writes, "The truth is, the old course has been carefully manipulated with the same sort of refinement you might find in a Japanese garden."
Source: www.100topgolfcourses.co.uk
Visit the Saint Andrews Golf Club's website: Saint Andrews Golf Club
The course has many hidden bunkers which you can't see while hitting your shot. The style of play is as different from what you generally get in the United States as I have found. No lush fairways and firing at the pins at The Old Course. I found one of the more difficult aspects of playing the course to be the double greens, which can leave you with some very long putts. The 17th, Road Hole, is one of the best in the world without a doubt. It is a classic risk/reward hole on both the first and second shots. Take an aggressive line and have it pay off and you will be rewarded. Mis-hit it and you will pay the penalty sharply.
I played the Old Course on a beautiful day with a dear friend visiting from the Punjab region of India. There are some courses on the top 100 that guard their privacy fiercely. You're not going to pull out a camera and start taking shots of everything at Los Angeles Country Club or Maidstone. But at The Old Course, I played the tourist, and have my shot standing on the Swilken Bridge. I don't care who you are, hitting off the first tee on the Old Course is one of the most special and rewarding things a golfer can do in his or her lifetime. It is probably the widest fairway in golf but you are indeed quite nervous hitting that shot.
The Old Course at St. Andrews is best summed up by that great golf writer Henry Longhurst who writes: "What is the secret? Partly, I think that before playing any shot you have to stop and say to yourself, not, "what club is it?" but "what is it exactly that I am trying to do?" There are no fairways in the accepted sense of the word; just a narrow strip of golfing ground which you use both on the way out and the way in, together with huge double greens, each with two flags. From the tee you can play almost anywhere, but, if you have not thought it out correctly according to the wind and the position of the flag, you may find yourself teed up in the middle just behind a bunker, and downwind. At this point fools say the course is crazy. Others appreciate that the truth lies nearer home."
I also like the comments of golf course architect Desmond Muirhead who disputes the notion that the old course simply evolved without man's influence. He writes, "The truth is, the old course has been carefully manipulated with the same sort of refinement you might find in a Japanese garden."
Source: www.100topgolfcourses.co.uk
Visit the Saint Andrews Golf Club's website: Saint Andrews Golf Club
Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Name: Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Location: Southport, Merseyside, England
Par: 72
Length: 6305m
Holes: 18
Location: Southport, Merseyside, England
Par: 72
Length: 6305m
Holes: 18
The Royal Birkdale Golf Club is currently ranked 15th in the world and the best ranked of any golf course in England. Typically referred to as a 'brute' course, the Royal Birkdale course has hosted many professional golf tournaments, with the most prestigious being the Open Championship.
Royal Birkdale Golf Club
It has hosted two Ryder Cups, the Walker and Curtis Cups, the men's and women's British Amateurs, the Women's British Open and, on eight occasions, the Open Championship, and indeed is second only to the Old Course at St Andrews when it comes to the numbers of Opens played on it's highly renowned 6305 metre par-70 links course which includes the standard four par-three short holes, but only two long par five holes.
The seaside destination of Southport plays host to some of England's finest links courses and the best of them all is Royal Birkdale Golf Club. You do not have to travel far to find someone who convincingly argue that Royal Birkdale - the Open was last held here in 2008 - is the finest of all the Open Championship courses. The course first hosted the Open in 1954 and since then has hosted the venerable old Championship nine times including the 1971 100th staging of the event. Brkdale has also been a venue for the Walker Cup, two Ryder Cups and much more besides: Little question of whether or not the much treasured Royal title, bestowed in 1951, is deserved. As anyone watching the 2008 Open will be aware Royal Birkdale is a stunning example of links golf at its very best - and it shares that old links trait of being a very different course depending on the weather. Like all Open venues Birkdale has an aura that the visitor will sense as soon as they set foot on the tee. A stunning course with a stunning history.
Founded by a group of eight golf enthusiasts on July 30th 1889, the original nine-hole course was extended to eighteen holes by the turn of the century. The first major reconstruction at Royal Birkdale occurred in the early 1930's when five-times Open Champion J. H. Taylor and course architect Charles Hawtree joined forces. Work aimed at fine-tuning the links has been ongoing over the years and it is to the credit of the club that all the greens were redesigned and rebuilt between the Opens of 1991 and 1998 - such is the forward-looking attitude of the club.
As for the golf course itself, Royal Birkdale is exceptionally fair, with the problems associated with each hole clearly stated. With each hole essentially running along valley-like fairways amidst towering dunes, the sound advice is to avoid sampling the punitive delights of the sand hills, buckthorn and thick scrub. It is nigh impossible to select any particular hole for special praise. It suffices to say that right from the off, having negotiated a 385 metre par four, double dogleg start, Royal Birkdale will provide the links purist with a profound golfing experience, which will linger in the memory as long as you live.
Visit the Royal Birkdale Golf Club's website: Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Founded by a group of eight golf enthusiasts on July 30th 1889, the original nine-hole course was extended to eighteen holes by the turn of the century. The first major reconstruction at Royal Birkdale occurred in the early 1930's when five-times Open Champion J. H. Taylor and course architect Charles Hawtree joined forces. Work aimed at fine-tuning the links has been ongoing over the years and it is to the credit of the club that all the greens were redesigned and rebuilt between the Opens of 1991 and 1998 - such is the forward-looking attitude of the club.
As for the golf course itself, Royal Birkdale is exceptionally fair, with the problems associated with each hole clearly stated. With each hole essentially running along valley-like fairways amidst towering dunes, the sound advice is to avoid sampling the punitive delights of the sand hills, buckthorn and thick scrub. It is nigh impossible to select any particular hole for special praise. It suffices to say that right from the off, having negotiated a 385 metre par four, double dogleg start, Royal Birkdale will provide the links purist with a profound golfing experience, which will linger in the memory as long as you live.
Visit the Royal Birkdale Golf Club's website: Royal Birkdale Golf Club
