Course Guide to St Andrews

The world’s most famous course is about to welcome the world’s best golfers to its hallowed links for the 150th Open. But to make a contest of it, the Old Lady has had to stretch herself, pushing boundaries and adopting championship tees that add over 500 yards to her medal length

In our hole-by-hole guide we get Luke Donald and three-time Major winner Padraig Harrington to talk us round this legendary course. We also invite two average golfers to see how they would fare at The Old Course, St Andrews.

	Hole 1 – Burn Par 4, 376 yards   In front of the imposing R&A clubhouse with caddies, players and tourists looking on, there is no hiding place. READ MORE >>>
	Hole 2 – Dyke Par 4, 453 yards   Often overlooked, this testing par 4 has one of the links’ best greens with a diagonal ridge running in front of it. READ MORE >>>
	Hole 3 – Cartgate (Out) Par 4, 397 yards   Although it is known as a hooker’s course, going left doesn’t always pay off. Cartgate is a good example. READ MORE >>>
	Hole 4 – Ginger Beer Par 4, 480 yards   Gorse has been removed on the right – but simply reaching the fairway will be hard enough. READ MORE >>>
	Hole 5 – Hole O’Cross (Out) Par 5, 568 yards   This is, perhaps, quite a pressure-filled hole. This is the first of only two par fives on the Old Course. READ MORE >>>
	Hole 6 – Heathery (Out) Par 4, 412 yards   Despite the blind tee shot, this is a relatively easy hole under normal circumstances. READ MORE >>>
	Hole 7 – High (Out) Par 4, 371 yards   One of the most testing holes, this par 4 sums up why the Old Course has remained mystical for so long. READ MORE >>>
	Hole 8 – Short Par 3, 175 yards   Making this hole tougher would require more than the nine yards added by the Open tees. READ MORE >>>
	Hole 9 – End Par 4, 352 yards   Another birdie chance with a large flat green and little in the way of hazards. READ MORE >>>
	Hole 10 – Bobby Jones Par 4, 386 yards   Renamed a year after Bobby Jones’ death, the 10th is a subdued hole where a birdie is again on the cards. READ MORE >>>
	Hole 11 – High (In) Par 3, 174 yards   Local caddies joke this i the shortest par 5 in Scotland. Its fearsome reputation stems from the deep Strath bunker wedged in into the front of the green. READ MORE >>>
	Hole 12 – Heathery (In) Par 4, 348 yards   From the tee all looks calm, but lying in wait, hidden from sight, are six devilish bunkers. The first is only yards from the tee. READ MORE >>>
	Hole 13 – Hole O’Cross (In) Par 4, 465 yards   The double green is the largest on the Links and getting there can be a challenge. READ MORE >>>
	Hole 14 – Long Par 5, 618 yards   Aptly named, this monster was lengthened in 2005 with a new Championship tee. READ MORE >>>
	Hole 15 – Cartgate (In) Par 4, 455 yards   There is one pot bunker, Sutherland, right in the middle of where you want your drive to land. READ MORE >>>
	Hole 16 – Corner of the Dyke Par 4, 423 yards   Out of bounds large so the line off the tee is out past the Principal’s Nose – a group of bunkers that seem to draw balls from all directions. READ MORE >>>
	Hole 17 – Road Par 4, 495 yards   Scary. A truly blind tee shot from a new tee that extends this hole by about 40 yards followed by a long iron into a shallow green. READ MORE >>>
	Hole 18 – Tom Morris Par 4, 357 yards   Iconic rather than tough. The Valley of Sin does await any mis-hits though and it has a deceptively large green. READ MORE >>>