Panorama views from Carnoustie Hotel
obvious reasons – your attention will need to be on the tee shot and nowhere else. Landing short must be avoided and two of us discovered why as we had to play up a steep 12 foot bank to what became a hidden green.
Short is not a word you would use for the par three 16th, which at 230 yards is one of the longest par threes you will face anywhere. It’ s a monster and the green is well defended: even your driver may not be enough. Take a three at either of these holes and you can mark that on your card with pride. This is an obvious must-play course( there are two links here), not only for the history but also for the brilliance of the course. It’ s classic old school charm is utterly endearing and we were all enchanted.
For history, Panmure Golf Club also has something to crow about: it is a links that
saw Ben Hogan mowing the 17th green by hand in the weeks before he won the Open Championship in 1953. He wanted to get the green speed to match those at Carnoustie. He won £ 500. It was the one and only time that he played the tournament and he left Panmure with an enduring legacy: in addition to his mowing prowess he suggested that the 400 yard 6th hole would be improved by placing a bunker on the front right of the green. The bunker has been there ever since, wreaking havoc on one of the toughest holes in Scottish golf. It is named‘ Hogan’.
Of course, any golfer coming to Carnoustie Country has their eye on the prize of playing the toughest course on the Open Championship rota. This is no flippant remark, for Carnoustie proudly embraces its‘ toughest’ reputation. From my Carnoustie Golf Hotel window, on the third floor, I looked out at the stands being erected
38 Destination Golf. TRAVEL