How to Play the Old Course at St Andrews: Strategy for Everyday Golfers

The Old Course at St Andrews doesn't look like much from the first tee. There's a vast, flat fairway shared with the 18th, the town crowding in behind you, and the gray stone of the R&A clubhouse at your back. Then you start playing it and realize every hump, hollow and hidden pot bunker has been shaping golf strategy for centuries. Golf here isn't about hitting the ball where you aim. It's about understanding where the ground will take it.

It's also a public course, owned by the town and run by St Andrews Links, which means a 15-handicapper from anywhere in the world can play the same holes as every Open champion who has won here. If you love history, creativity and the bounce of a firm links fairway, nothing beats it. If you need perfect lies and see-it-and-hit-it targets, prepare to have your thinking rearranged, in a good way.

Before you go

• Understand the ballot. A large share of tee times is allocated through a daily ballot. Enter online, by phone or in person with two to four named players; it closes at 2 p.m. two days before your desired date. The course is closed on Sundays, so there's no ballot drawn on Fridays. Enter for several days of your trip to improve your odds.
• Bring a handicap certificate. You'll need proof of handicap on the day, and there is a maximum handicap limit. Check the current figure with St Andrews Links before you travel.
• Hire a caddie. Many of the bunkers are invisible from the tee, and the double greens make lines confusing. A local caddie turns a bewildering round into a guided tour with a better score.
• Pick the tees you'd play at home. The challenge comes from the wind and the ground game, not length. A shorter set lets you enjoy the strategy.
• Plan for four seasons. Fife weather can change in an hour. Waterproofs, a windproof layer, a warm hat and spare gloves belong in the bag year-round.

Hole-by-hole strategy

Hole 1 (Burn): The friendliest fairway in golf

The 1st and 18th share one enormous fairway, so the tee shot is wide open; just don't drift too far right toward out of bounds. The real hazard is the Swilcan Burn, which runs in front of the green. Take enough club to carry it comfortably. Being long is fine. Short is wet.

Holes 2–6: Learn to read the ground

Going out, gorse and trouble lurk on the right, so favor the left. The 2nd (Dyke) has Cheape's bunker in play off the tee and two traps right of the green. The 3rd (Cartgate) has a bunker guarding the front of the green, so play to the back half. The 4th (Ginger Beer) is a long par 4 with a big mound short of the green; plan to run the ball around or over it rather than flying it to the flag.

The 5th (Hole O'Cross) is a par 5 where the Spectacles bunkers sit in the face of a ridge short of the green and a deep swale guards the front. Lay up short of the Spectacles and hit a full wedge on in. The 6th (Heathery) is semi-blind off the tee with the Coffin bunkers in play; your caddie will give you an aiming point, often a church spire or a distant building.

Holes 7–12: The Loop

This is where the course turns back toward town, and where most good scores are built. The 7th (High) crosses the 11th, so watch for traffic, and the enormous Shell bunker guards the approach; stay left of it. The 8th (Short) is a par 3 with a bunker sitting exactly where a mid-iron likes to finish. Take an extra club and aim center. The 9th (End) is a short par 4 that rewards a sensible tee shot short of the fairway bunkers, leaving a pitch you can bump onto the green.

The 10th, named for Bobby Jones, narrows near the green; play to the wide part off the tee and run the approach in. The 11th (High, In) is the most dangerous short hole on the course. The Hill and Strath bunkers lie short, the green slopes hard from back to front, and long leaves a slippery chip. Play to the middle, below the hole. The 12th (Heathery, In) has a cluster of bunkers hidden in the middle of the fairway, invisible from the tee. Ask for the line and believe it.

Holes 13–15: Back into the wind

The 13th (Hole O'Cross, In) has the Coffin bunkers in range off the tee and a semi-blind approach over a ridge. Aim for the left side of the fairway for the best look. The 14th (Long) is the great par 5. Out of bounds runs along a wall to the right, the Beardies bunkers sit left of the drive, and Hell Bunker, a huge pit, lies in the middle of the fairway later in the hole. The classic route for an everyday player is to drive into the open area called the Elysian Fields, lay up well left of Hell, then pitch in from the left. Skipping the heroics is how you make par here. The 15th narrows in the landing zone and has a nasty bunker front-left of the green; favor the right side of the green.

Holes 16–17: The toughest finish in links golf

The 16th (Corner of the Dyke) squeezes you between the Principal's Nose bunkers in the fairway and out of bounds on the right. Play left of the Principal's Nose, and accept a slightly longer approach rather than flirting with the fence.

The 17th (Road) is often called the hardest par 4 in golf. The drive is blind, aimed over the corner of the Old Course Hotel grounds; your caddie will pick the letter or window to aim at. The green is long and narrow, with the deep Road Hole bunker eating into its left side and a path and stone wall behind it. Here's the secret for the mid-handicapper: don't go for the green. Play your second short and right, then chip or putt up the length of the green. Five is a fine score. Four is a celebration.

Hole 18 (Tom Morris): The walk home

You'll cross the Swilcan Bridge on the way up the shared fairway, so take your photo. The tee shot is generous; aim at the clock on the R&A clubhouse and avoid out of bounds along the right. The approach is the trick: the Valley of Sin, a deep hollow at the front-left of the green, swallows anything short. Take an extra club, or putt or bump the ball up through the valley if you're close. Then enjoy the applause from the people leaning on the railings.

Scoring tips for mid-handicappers

• Putt from everywhere. The turf is tight and the surrounds are firm. The "Texas wedge" is often your best scoring club from 30 yards off the green.
• Use the double greens. Fourteen holes share seven greens, so many putting surfaces are enormous. Aim at the center and take two putts rather than chasing tucked flags; watch the color of the flag to know which pin is yours.
• Stay out of the pots. Many bunkers are deep enough that sideways or backwards is the only escape. Lay up short of them even when it costs distance.
• Keep it low in the wind. Punch shots and bump-and-runs are more reliable than high, spinning wedges.
• Trust your caddie's line off the tee. Many tee shots are blind, and the safe side isn't always the obvious one.

The Old Course rewards imagination more than power. Keep the ball on the ground, play away from the hidden trouble and enjoy every step of the walk. Few rounds will mean more to you.