The 150th Open Championship has come to an end and the winner has been decided after a one-year delay due to the pandemic and it was worth the wait. It has been said that a golfer cannot be considered great unless they’ve won the Old Course St Andrews and lifted the Claret Jug. The 18 holes in Fife are known as the ‘home of golf’ as the sport was first played on this land in the 15th Century. The course is renowned for its reputation of endless hills, bunkers and hollows that have given golfers the ultimate challenge for centuries.
Setting the Standard
Up until 1764 a round of golf at the Old Course was 22 holes. The narrow strip of land that once consisted of 11 holes would be played towards the Eden Estuary. Golfers would then turn and retrace their steps back to town.
As the popularity of the sport grew this became unsustainable as the greens were eventually expanded and fairways were widened. This allowed for two holes to be cut on each surface making the course 18 holes. This then set the standard for all other golf courses. Now players face a selection of some of the longest putts in their careers as well having to tackle the widest fairway in golf shared by the first and eighteenth hole at 129 yards wide.
Mother of Golf
According to the British Golf Museum, the course at St. Andrew has links to monarch, Mary Queen of Scots. Records show the former Queen was an avid golfer, so much so that she allegedly played a round instead of mourning only a few days after her husband, the English Lord Darnley, was murdered. This decision ultimately led to her critics claims that her lack of upset over his death was proof of complicity in his death. She is one of the earliest recorded women to be a frequent player of golf and purportedly introduced the concept of caddies.
Mary Queen of Scots was once described by Scottish Historian, George Buchanan, as playing “sports that were clearly unsuitable for women.” This is an idea that fortunately doesn’t exist today.
Room 269
The Old Course in St. Andrews is known to be golfing legend, Tiger Woods, personal favourite course as he has regularly claimed in interviews. Woods first won the open in St. Andrews in 2000 with 269 strokes. As a result, the former champion will only stay in room 269 when he competes at this location. His love for the course extends as far as missing other Opens to prepare to compete in St. Andrews. He debuted here in 1995 and has since won the Open Championship here three times making him in equal in wins with the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Bobby Jones.
Bunkers Debunked
The bunkers on the Old Course are well known and by some feared features of the course. They even have names like ‘Hell’, ‘Coffins’ and ‘The Principles Nose’. They were naturally created according to golfer and course designer, Old Tom Morris. In the early years of the course, it doubled as a place for sheep to graze. The sheep didn’t like the, at times, vicious winds that the Old Course is known for and burrowed into the ground to create holes to hide until the wind died down. These holes ended up being many of the bunkers you see now. A few alterations have of course been made over the years to align with the modern game
Old and Young Tom Morris
St. Andrews born, Tom Morris, is viewed now as the father of the game even though golf had been played in Scotland for hundreds of years before his birth. Dedicating most of his life to the learning the design of clubs, balls, and greens his influence on the sport is unmatched. He is widely known as the world’s first professional golfer an accolade that would eventually inspire his son to also take up position in the sport.
Together they would become the only father and son duo to finish winner and runner up in the Open Championship. Old Tom went on to win the St. Andrews Open 4 times an achievement also achieved by Young Tom in 4 consecutive years. Old Tom Morris holds the record of being the oldest player to win the Open Championships and Young Tom holds the record of being the youngest proving that the knowledge the family held was a real asset to their play.
Read more about the Old Course St Andrews here. To see Best of Scotland Holidays guaranteed tee times at the Old Course, St. Andrews click here.
