Take a local tour of the home of golf, St Andrews, thanks to the PGA of Australia’s resident Scotsman and Rules Official, Graeme "Scotty" Scott.

The Old Course
is located on a peninsula where the coastal elements have helped create a course
that cannot really be compared to the layout of the modern parkland design. By
the very nature of links land, the ground is generally flat but dominated by depressions
and undulations. Besides the obvious sandy terrain, there is an abundance of
bunkers (110 to be precise) each of which is individually named. Instead of
doglegs to hide holes, the course has plenty of large mounds covered in coarse
grass and heather to influence the shot making of the player.

The course has
the classic links set up of outward holes and inward holes and hence the
inclusion of the words in and out in the hole names. The R&A would
certainly have transport issues if they were ever to introduce a two tee start
at this venue with the tenth tee at the far extreme of the course.

Those
unfamiliar with Scottish golf should be advised that the Old Course is not
owned by any of the numerous clubs that are dotted around it – not even the
R&A whose majestic clubhouse dominates the back of the first tee and 18^th
. The course is a public links which is run by the St Andrews Links Trust and
it is ordinarily closed for play on Sundays. That is the day that you will see
families walk the dog or indulge in a picnic on this historic patch of land.

Again, for
those unfamiliar with Links golf, you are unlikely to see on your TV screen the
lush green fairways of the PGA TOUR but rather a blend of green and brown as
the summer grass loses it’s colour. This does not mean that the course is in
bad shape, quite the opposite. The great test of Links golf is to create a shot
that contemplates the hard and fast contours of the dry turf. The strategy of
the R&A is to water the turf to keep it alive and not to make it grow. The
fairways at St Andrews have actually been known to stimp at a higher reading
than the putting greens.

Legend has it
that during one Open Championship an American player of some repute sought out
the Secretary of the R&A to complain about the bunkers. He was asked what
the problem was with the bunkers to which he replied that there wasn’t enough
sand in them. The Course Superintendent of the time was called for by the
Secretary who, in the presence of the player, explained the player’s concern
and asked the Super "How much sand do you currently have in each bunker?" to
which he replied "Aboot 13 feet!"

"Burn" 1st hole, 376 yards, par-4

A short opening hole to get play
underway but just standing on the first tee at St Andrews will turn many pairs
of knees to jelly. Although there are no bunkers to be found on the generous
fairway, which joins with the 18^th, the Swilcan Burn that runs down
the right side of the fairway and across the front of the green can easily come
into play. The wind, as well as the nerves is a massive factor when playing
this hole. Depending on its direction and strength it can be a long iron off
the tee and a flick with a wedge, or the big dog and mid-iron. The green slopes
in from the back left to the front and players must be mindful of not under
clubbing or over-spinning when attacking a front pin location. An interesting
fact is that, at the beginning of the last century the North
Sea had eroded most of the fairway making the landing zone from the tee a good
deal smaller. In a clever use of resources, the land was reclaimed by creating
a sea wall of rock ballasted fishing boat hulks and then back-filling the
resulting area where the sea had taken its toll.

"Dyke" 2nd hole, 453 yards, par-4

Players will be trying to hug the right side of the fairway and avoid Cheape’s bunker which sits perfectly around drive length. Any leak to the right will see a visit to the whin or gorse bushes. This is a massive green as it doubles with the 16^th  hole and the severe contours can have a significant effect on an approach shot that is not positioned perfectly.

"Cartgate Out" 3rd hole, 397 yards, par-4
 
 

Again players should be taking the right side from the tee if they are to take advantage of this birdie opportunity. However, the chance of birdie will quickly disappear if one of the three pot bunkers consumes an errant drive. The green is devilishly protected by the crescent shaped Cartgate Bunker on the left and the ridge to the front of the green.

"Ginger Beer" 4th hole, 480 yards, par-4

A classic looking Scottish links
hole that features both sand dunes and gorse bushes, making the fairway a
treasured target. For those of fainter heart or greater discretion, a line can
be taken down the left side, given a wider landing area but thereafter creating
a trickier approach shot to a green that slopes away to the right.

"O’Cross Out", 5th hole, 568 yards, par-5

This hole tends to give up the
most strokes to par in an Open, providing that the wind is not blowing in the
players’ faces. At 568yds most of the field will get home in two, just as long
as they can navigate the seven bunkers down the right side at drive length. However,
being on the green in two is no guarantee of a birdie given that the green is
close to 100yds deep. Many modern greens are built at around 35 to 40yds deep,
that is almost the equivalent of 3 greens end on end.

"Heathery Out" 6th hole, 412 yards, par-4

The player must trust his caddie
and his swing on this hole given that the drive is completely blind. If they
can miss the hidden bunkers to the left and right, the players are left with a
short approach shot to the double green which is shared with the 12^th
hole. While one would assume that the name of the hole is taken from the plant
life in the rough, it was actually taken from the condition
of the green in the eighteenth century, which unlike the smooth surface of
today,consisted of earth, heather and shell fragment!

"High Out" 7th hole, 371 yards, par-4

The start of the famous St
Andrews loop, which consists of four short par 4s and the only two par 3s on
the course. Given that this hole plays as a natural dogleg, many players will
opt for an iron from this tee for positioning rather than length. Sloping from
left to right, this green is protected by Shell Bunker.

"Short" 8th hole, 175 yards, par-3

The first of only two par 3
holes on the course. By professional standards this may seem, as the name
suggests, to be a reasonably short hole but, this is the East Coast of Scotland
we are talking about and players can be selecting anything from a 5-iron to a pitching
wedge depending on the wind direction. The size of the green provides the
R&A with some nasty options in terms of pin locations. The pot bunker
protecting this green is one of the deepest on the course.

"End" 9th hole, 352 yards, par-4

This is certainly a risk reward
hole for many of the players in that if the wind conditions are favourable they
can get on or very close to the green. The risk is that the whin or gorse
bushes down the left side have the same effect as Melbourne’s Tea-Tree in that
once you get in there you may have a great deal of trouble in getting back out!
The prickles also make it extremely uncomfortable to venture into. An
interesting historic fact is that this fairway once consisted entirely of heather but it
was Old Tom Morris who turned it into turf in the middle of the 19th Century.

"Bobby Jones" 10th Hole, 386 yards, par-4

As you have probably guessed, this hole was named
after the legend of the game at the request of the local Council. Jones was
also made a freeman of the town in 1972. For the early morning starters or if
the field happen to be blessed with the one calm day of the year in Fife, the
big hitters can go close to making the green. For the mere mortals in the
field, the two bunkers on the right of the landing zone come into play. The
green slopes away from front to back.

"High In" 11th hole, 174 yards, par-3

The second of the par 3 holes with
the potential to be an absolute ripper on any given day. Although a similar
length to "Short" this hole does tend to play a bit longer. The bunkering
around this green is brutal and, like the Road Hole bunker, an unfortunate
player could end up playing backwards out of the sand. A point of interest is
that the stone front of the tee on this hole is one of the markers
placed there to define the course around 1777. At one time in history the Eden
flowed right up to the back of the green.

"Heathery In" 12th hole, 348 yards, par-4

The players are now coming onto
the oldest part of the course. The widening of the fairway over the years has
always been to the seaward leaving the landward boundary much the same. The
caddie will earn their money on this tee as selecting the best line is crucial.
In true McKenzie style the bunkers are well camouflaged from the tee leaving
players to choose their line relative to the pin location. A small target area
on the top tier of the green requires great distance control with the approach
shot.

"Hole O’Cross In" 13th hole, 465 yards, par-4

The tee shot must thread the
needle to avoid catching the line of Coffin bunkers down the left side. With
the green slightly elevated and a longish iron in hand, players will have to
fly the ball all the way onto this well protected green to secure a par. A deep
bunker and nasty rough await anyone who strays from the short grass.

"Long" 14th hole, 618 yards, par-5

Considered by many to be the
hardest hole on the course, the wind will almost certainly turn this into a
three shot par 5. Throw in some out of bounds and the aptly named Hell Bunker
and a score of 5 suddenly seems pretty good. Players will need to carry their
drive at least 250yds to avoid catching the Beardies bunkers down the left
side. It doesn’t get much easier when you reach the green which is well
contoured.

"Cartgate In" 15th hole, 455 yards, par-4

Yet another hole where the
positioning of the fairway bunker plays an integral role in the play of the
hole.  With the fairway narrowing at the
landing zone the caddie will be advising their man to take a line on the church
steeple in the distance. An aerial approach shot is required as the undulations
short of the green makes a running approach extremely unpredictable. As a point
of interest, in 1885 the Sutherland bunker, which stands guardian over
the fairway, was filled in by the Committee of the time. The golfers of the
town were, to say the least, not happy with this tinkering with their heritage.
As the sun rose on the third day Sutherland bunker was found to have been miraculously
restored. Suffice to say,  it was not
refilled.

"Corner of the Dyke" 16th hole, 423 yards, par-4

While not a long hole, accuracy
from the tee is paramount since the right side is protected by the fence that
marks the route of the old railway into St. Andrews and the famous series of
bunkers called the Principal’s Nose forces the drive to the left. The green is
well guarded by bunkers at both the front and back.

"Road" 17th hole, 495 yards, par-4

If any hole can instill fear in
the mortal golfer it is The Road Hole. Its fame has developed through the
devastation that it has brought to many a promising scorecard and also through
the miraculous recovery shots that the golfing wizards have somehow produced
from seemingly impossible lies. This may be the toughest par 4 in championship
golf! If this was not enough, an additional 40 yards were added to the hole before
the 2010 Open Championship leaving the player with a 260 yards carry over the
replica railway sheds just to reach the right edge of the fairway. While making
the fairway should be celebrated, the approach shot is fraught with danger
since a visit to the Road Hole Bunker can see the ball being deemed unplayable
or being played out backwards. Likewise, if the approach shot is long, the road
behind the green, which is deemed to be an integral part of the course with no
free relief, definitely comes into play.

"Tom Morris" 18th hole, 357 yards, par-4

This may just be the most
photographed hole in golf. Not long, not complicated but steeped in history and
framed by one of the most famous backdrops in sport. Everyone who visits St
Andrews has their photograph taken on the Swilcan Bridge with the R&A
clubhouse in the background as do legends of the game making their final
pilgrimage to an Open Championship. There is a boundary fence down the right
side but those who are strong of heart or in need of a certain birdie can drive
the green.  The famous "Valley of
Sin" guards the front of the green and can have a major impact on both the
run out of the drive or the path of the bump and run second shot.