The Old Course - St Andrews Links
St Andrews, Scotland
My round at the Old Course began at 2:45 am. I was #15 in line and was guaranteed nothing for my efforts. At 10:30 am, I found out I made it on as a walk-on, and there was just enough time for a quick nap and pre-round pint.
You can't escape golf in Saint Andrews; the game's history surrounds you. This magic is concentrated in a small space - where bumping into strangers and continuing conversations from the night prior is the norm. In this golf-obsessed town, you can't help but feel you share a special bond with everyone else there. No matter what street corner you turn, you'll see someone carrying golf clubs. And although not everyone is there for the same reasons, it's impossible to not feel the Old Course's connection to the town and the people who also find themselves there. It's what makes it so unique.
You've seen the course on TV hundreds of times, and most know the deal. Playing fast and firm, Mother Nature will dictate how easy or challenging the course plays on any particular day. You know that it's not the most visualizing course there is, and you know that you should avoid the courses many famously named bunkers.
What can't be felt through television is the feeling of playing a course filled with so much history, intrigue, and excitement - it fills you as you play. There's a feeling that you are doing something special that is on every golfer's bucket list - from 25 handicap players to professional golfers. It's not something that can be explained in black or white. It's spiritual and a journey each golfer must make and decipher their own feelings.
"Golf as it Should Be.'' St. Andrews, the Home of Golf, truly captures the essence of this expression. Although expensive, the most famous golf course in the world is open to everyone, and its muni-like feel combined with its hollowed spirit truly embodies what golf should be about.
The sun shone when my round started before proper links conditions set in. The wind picked up, the sky went black, and rain fell heavily. As we approached the course's storied finishing holes, the sun returned. It was charming.
Public: Course Website | Opened: 1552 | Designer: Old Tom Morris
