Nov 7

Nov 7 The Home of Golf - St Andrews Golf Links

A profile of St Andrews Golf Links - Home of the Royal & Ancient

St Andrews Links in the town of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, is regarded as the "Home of Golf".

It has one of the oldest courses in the world, where the game has been played since the 15th century.

Today there are seven public golf courses; the Balgove, Eden, Jubilee, Strathtyrum, New, the Old Course (which is widely considered one of the finest, and certainly the most famous and traditional course in the world), and The Castle Course, sited on the cliffs a mile to the east of St Andrews and designed by the architect David McLay Kidd, which opened in June 2008.

The courses of St Andrews Links are owned by the local authorities and operated by St Andrews Links Trust, a charitable organization. St Andrews is also home to The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, one of the most prestigious golf clubs and until 2004 one of the two rulemaking authorities of golf (in that year, the Royal and Ancient Club passed on its rulemaking authority to an offshoot organisation, The R&A).

In general, St Andrews is a popular hub for golf tourism, as there is a high density of links and heathland courses in the area.

The History of the Old Course at St. Andrews

Out of the seven golf courses underneath the St Andrews ownership, we will be talking about the world-famous Old Course, which is the one almost everyone has seen pictures of.

The Old Course at St Andrews is considered by many to be the "home of golf" because the sport was first played on the Links at St. Andrews in the early 15th century. Golf was becoming increasingly popular in Scotland until James II of Scotland banned the game in 1457 because he felt that young men were playing too much golf instead of practising their archery.

The ban was upheld by James III and remained in force until 1502 when James IV became a golfer himself and removed the ban. This rich history really adds to a golfers experience, especially those that have won a tournament on this historic course.

In fact, this course is what established golf courses as eighteen holes. Originally it had twenty-two holes, but four of the holes were deemed too short and condensed into eighteen holes, establishing the standard for the rest of time.

The Historic Open Championships

The Old Course is home of The Open Championship, the oldest of golf's major championships.

The Old Course has hosted this major 29 times since 1873, most recently in 2015. The 29 Open Championships that the Old Course has hosted is more than any other course, and The Open is currently played there every five years. With so many championships played at this course, of course, Tiger Woods has won a few, including three Open Championships.

In fact, they include lengthy profiles about each player to win the championship at the course. The Open Championships are something held dearly at St. Andrews Links, and only make the course even more special.

Top 10 Moments at The Open at St Andrews

Key Course Features at St. Andrews Links

Amongst the unique feature of the Old Course are the large double greens.

Seven greens are shared by two holes each, with hole numbers adding up to 18 (2nd paired with 16th, 3rd with 15th, all the way up to 8th and 10th). The Swilcan Bridge, spanning the first and 18th holes, has become a famous icon for golf in the world.

Everyone who plays the 18th hole walks over this 700-year-old bridge, and many iconic pictures of the farewells of the most iconic golfers in history have been taken on this bridge.

A life-size stone replica of the Bridge is situated at the World Golf Hall of Fame museum in St. Augustine, Florida. Only the 1st, 9th, 17th and 18th holes have their own greens.

Another unique feature is that the course can be played in either direction, clockwise or anti-clockwise.

Along with that, the Old Course has 112 bunkers which are all individually named and have their own unique story and history behind them. The two most famous are the 10 ft deep "Hell Bunker" on the 14th hole, and the "Road Bunker" on the 17th hole. Countless professional golfers have seen their dreams of winning the Open Championship squandered by hitting their balls into those bunkers.

Overall, the Old Course at St. Andrews is exactly what the name entails, old. With its centuries of age come centuries of history, especially with the Open Championship. Even if you are just going as a tourist there are many amazing features to visit during your playing of the course.

St Andrews Old Course Yardage