St Andrews Links

The Old Course at St Andrews is not merely golf’s most famous address; it is a course shaped by centuries of play, public use and incremental change.

The Old Course occupies a vast coastal plain immediately adjacent to the town of St Andrews, on the east coast of Fife. The terrain is almost treeless and sits on well-drained sandy soil, covered with fescue and shaped by subtle undulations rather than significant changes in elevation. The North Sea is not always visible, but it dictates the wind, the firmness of the fairways, and the speed of the greens. The town buildings, the Royal and Ancient Clubhouse, the hotel, the road, and public promenades are all part of the playing landscape.

The Old Course is less the work of a single architect than the result of several centuries of use. Golf has been played on the St Andrews links since the early modern era, and in 1552, local residents formally obtained the right to play on these grounds. The course then evolved with practice: in 1764, the reduction from a 22-hole layout to 18 holes helped establish the universal format. In the 19th century, Daw Anderson and later Old Tom Morris modified the greens, tees, and bunkers, without erasing the collective character of the design. The St Andrews Links Trust, created by an Act of Parliament in 1974, now administers this public heritage.

Its architecture is based on width, angles, and uncertainty. The immense fairways are not comfort zones: their 'good side' depends on flag position, wind, and the presence of bunkers often invisible from the tee. Seven double greens accommodate two different holes, a legacy of a course once played out and back. The named bunkers — Hell, Strath, Shell, Road — are placed as strategic decisions rather than mere punishment. The 17th, with its tee shot over the old railway shed, its narrow green, the Road Bunker, and the road, remains one of golf's most influential compositions.

The course appears open but proves to be very directional. The first and last sequences share a vast area close to the town; the heart of the course stretches eastward, amidst bumps, hollows, paths, and bunkers. The greens are immense in surface area but compartmentalized by internal slopes, such that a ball on the green can still leave a putt of several tens of meters. Ground play is constantly available: run-up approaches, deflecting slopes, and lateral bounces are part of the design. The course changes profoundly with the strength and direction of the wind.

The experience blends a public course, a sporting monument, and a lively urban space. Access can be obtained by advance booking or ballot, and using a caddie offers real value given how deceptive the lines and distances can be. The tee shot on the 1st, crossing the Swilcan Bridge, and arriving in front of the clubhouse give the round a ceremonial dimension, but the profound interest remains golfing: each game reveals new lines, especially when the wind changes.

The Round features the Old Course not solely for its prestige, but because it demonstrates that a great course can be wide, public, irregular, and deeply strategic. It is the matrix of double greens, angled play, staggered risks, and the relationship between a course and its community.

Golf played in St Andrews for over six centuries; transition to 18 holes in 1764; thirty editions of The Open hosted until 2022; course administered as public property by the St Andrews Links Trust.

The Open Championship; Alfred Dunhill Links Championship — The Open: nombreuses éditions; Alfred Dunhill Links Championship: site annuel