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| The Old Course - St Andrews - Six Centuries of Golfing History
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The Holes - coming home |
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10th - The "Bobby Jones" Hole
There is a group of bunkers about
100 yards from the tee, at a point where whins on the
left give way to a stretch of heathery rough, and where
four whin bushes may catch drives of between 220 and 250
yards. There is a single bunker about 220 yards out which
gathers a long drive if it is slightly right; the twin
Krugers await wild slices in the direction of the ninth
tee. Those with the power to drive the tenth green, gain
advantage over shorter hitters.
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11th - The "High" Hole (coming home)
This is
among the most testing of short holes - infinitely more
difficult than the eighth - for many reasons. First the
green is guarded by Hill bunker on the left, a deep
narrow pit with an almost vertical face, 10 feet high; on
the right is strath bunker gathering in shots to both the
eleventh and the seventh. Further right the huge shell
bunker awaits any weak slices. The green itself slopes
from back to front and from left to right to stop because
of the down-slope, especially when the wind is from the
west. Depending on the wind, the tee-shot may be as much
as a drive or as a little as a seven iron. Over the back
of the green is the bank of the River Eden, with rough
tufted grass. What a pitch back!
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12th - The "Heathery" Hole (coming home)
Although
all concealed from the tee, there are six bunkers, which
can be seen by looking back once the hole is completed, a
layout perfectly normal when originally play was in the
opposite direction. This accounts for the large, deep
bunker The Admiral's' not more than 50 yards from the
present 12th tee. Another big bunker. Stoke, Lies at
about 170 yards, with a little pot to its right. On a
long ridge about forty yards further on there are two
more small bunkers; finally, in a small hill in front of
the green, there is a long very narrow one. The great
difficulty is that not only has this green a hollow with
a steep bank right along the front, but the plateau
beyond is only 10 yards deep before chip or putt up a
bank becomes necessary. Long hitters can, in favourable
conditions, drive the green run. To get a pitch to the
hole that will stay on the green, the recommended line is
well left on to the high heather-covered hill the
alternative route is well down the right, but the
approach is tighter unless the wind is against.
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13th - The "Hole & Cross" Hole (coming home)
This, like
the second and fourth, is a very fine two-shot hole. A
driver a little left of the nearby whins will keep the
ball away from the coffins, three very strategically
placed bunkers further left, with are preceded by Nick's
one - it swallows duck-hooks. Beyond the coffins is a
long high ridge at the left end of which are two nasty
little pots: the cat's Trap, left of Walkinshaw's Grave.
The drawback about taking this right-hand line is that
the ridge blocks out any good view of the green and its
approaches. Longer hitters are rewarded by playing left
of the coffins, but it can be inconvenient for those
playing the sixth. Shorter drivers benefit from a second
to the right where there is plenty of room, leaving an
easy pitch to the green
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14th - The "Long" Hole (coming home)
Bernard
Darwin described this as the best long hole in the world.
Out of bounds lies to the right of the wall, which first
bends left and then takes a wicked turn back again. The
four beardies bunkers await those too far down the left:
one large deep, the others small - at least a shot
dropped. After a short respite, Benty bunker comes next,
followed by the kitchen and hell. Near the green, on the
left, are two pots, and the ginger Beer bunker at the
back of the fourth. The green is raised above the level
of the fairway, with a hollow and steep bank, front left,
and one of these destructive humps, front right. The
drive should be on the spire to the right of the town,
arriving past the beardies, between the wall. The second
shot should normally be aimed left of Hell bunker with a
long iron, or a wood. This leaves a fine shot to the
green, avoiding both the left bunkers and the bump on the
right. The alternative, straight up the Elysian Fields,
leaves a very chancy third shot. If short, the ball
breaks left or right on the hump; land it on, and the
slope rushes it down the bank beyond.
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15th - The "Cartgate" Hole (coming home)
The very
wide cottage bunker lies about 150 yards from the tee on
the left, and catches many pulled drives. About 20 yards
beyond that there is Sutherland's little pot. Between the
cottage bunker and the right rough, two small mounds
known as "Miss Grainger's Bosoms" probably gave
the best line before the Haskell ball from 1902 onwards
made this hole a two-shotter. To the right of these
mounds blind many second shots. There is just clear of
the Cottage bunker, and nowadays the three pots 90 yards
from the green are no threat to the second shot. A bunker
on the left edge, a little hump on the right, and the
Cartgate bunker at the back are the problems. The second
shot is often longer than it looks.
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16th - The "Corner of the Dyke" Hole
Beyond the fence, all along the
right-hand side is out-of-bounds. The other great threat,
about 180 yards from the tee, is the Principal's Nose
bunker with its two "eyes" just beyond. The
name may have been applied because of an ugly porch on
one of the Principal's house, but it was another
principal who played golf- so no firm proof is available.
A pot. Deacon Sime, lies just beyond this group. In the
rather narrow gap between bunkers and fence there used to
be Tarn's Coo - and even a Calf bunker! - shallow ones
formed by the tethered beasts, but filled in in the
1880s. Nowadays the recommended line in is left of the
Principal's Nose, but against the wind this leaves many
with Grant's (pot) bunker to clear, in front of the
green, with the Wig bunker eating in a few yards further,
on the left. The line through the gap between Principal's
Nose and fence has been described as "the
professional line that only amateur would take"! As
with other Old Course greens, there is a long hollow and
bank for anything short - three-putt country.
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17th - The "Road" Hole
This,
surely the most famous and 'infamous' hole in golf, is a supremely
difficult par four. The original sheds, in direct line to
the green, gave way to a single outbuilding almost 30
years ago, an adjunct to the original Old Course Hotel.
As with the sheds, all shots over the outbuilding are
threatened by out-of-bounds, especially for those trying
to reach the best line into the green. The sensible route
for many is between the outbuilding and Cheape's bunker
on the left, with a fine shot towards the right comer of
the green, which leaves anything from an eight iron to a
delicate "bump and run" as the Americans call
it. Any drive left of Cheape's bunker makes the hole even
more difficult; a long pulled shot leaves a great stretch
of rough beyond which lie the Scholar's bunker, the
progressing bunker, the dreaded Road bunker and the Road
itself- an ever-worsening trail. But the old course is
unique in that every golfer has the same chance of noting
the homeward pin positions mainly by looking left on the
front nine, especially on all these double greens. Most
local players do this automatically.
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18th - The "Tom Morris" Hole
The Swilken
Burn, not more than 50 yards from the tee, is hardly a
threat although from some tees - not the present
Championship one - the bridge may get in the way of a low
drive. The best line from the tee is on the Martyrs'
Monument, between the R & A Clubhouse and the red
stone Hamilton Hall. The road crossing the fairway at
just under 250 yards is considered a hazard, but
everything to the right of the fence along the right hand
side is "out of bounds". The valley of Sin, a
deep hollow along the front of the large oblong green,
which slopes down from the back right-hand corner,
converts par fours into bogey fives with great
regularity. Most players should take at least oneclub
more, for safety.
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