The game has been played on one of its course since the 15th century.
Today there are seven public golf courses; the Balgove, Eden, Jubilee, Strathtyrum, New, the Castle and the Old Course. The Old course which is widely considered one of the finest, and certainly the most famous and traditional course in the world.
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 up up until 2004 when it passed its rule-making on to its offshoot organisation ‘The R&A’ one of the two rulemaking authorities of golf.
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.
The Old Course is considered the true home of golf with legend telling that the sport was first played on the Links at St. Andrews as early as the 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. Really adding to the rich history of the past champions and players of the area.
This course was the birthplace and what established golf courses as eighteen holes. Originally it was to be twenty-two holes, but four of the holes were deemed too short and were condensed into eighteen holes, establishing the standard for the rest of time.
The Historic Open Championships
The Old Course is home to 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 the exception of recently with the Covid19 outbreak and the 150th anniversary bringing it back.
Key Course Features at St. Andrews Links
Amongst the many unique features of the Old Course, the large double greens are one you won’t see on many normal PGA coverage days. 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, only the 1st, 9th, 17th and 18th holes have their own greens.
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 millions of iconic pictures of amateur golfers all the way to the best to ever grace the game have been taken on this bridge.
Another interesting and unique feature is that the course can be played in either direction, clockwise or anti-clockwise.
The Old Course also features 112 bunkers (which Tiger Woods avoided all of, on all 4 days on his way to winning in 2000) which are all individually named and have their own unique story and history behind them. The two most famous are the 10ft 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 these two bunkers.
Overall, the Old Course at St. Andrews is exactly what the name entails, old. With its centuries of time completed, come centuries of history, and is synonymous with the Open Championship.
The Open 2022.
St Andrews this week will play a massive 7,313 and features 14 par 4s with 2 par 3s and 2 par 5s. With the champion golfer of the week walking away with a pretty $2.5million. With all of the top golfers in the world coming to Fife to battle it out, and the weather to get a little wilder as the weekend goes on. We could be in for another timeless classic Open Championship at St Andrew's
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