DESTINATION GOLF SCOTLAND 2023
St Andrews Eden
St Andrews ( Eden )
One of the great statements a course can make is through its history . Here , on the Eden , Harry Colt made that statement through a design finesse that has since been copied by many courses – the greens particularly . Eden ’ s front nine is all Colt , with plenty of pot bunkers and greens which are more undulating than elsewhere at St Andrews … you only need to play the 1st to appreciate what ’ s in store . Thanks to its shorter length , the Eden is more forgiving than its mighty siblings and it boasts some old features such as the partially buried field boundary walls . There ’ s also the string of holes on the edge of the Eden Estuary , where the dunes have provided some very attractive – and tricky – perched green settings .
St Andrews ( Castle )
This is the seventh and youngest course in the St Andrews Links family . Designed by David McLay Kidd , it opened in 2008 . Expectations , not surprisingly , were high and this cliff-top course has been strongly shaped to turn it from farmland into a course with some intriguing links-like attributes . Some say it is like golf on steroids ! It is certainly different to anything else in the area and Kidd made bold decisions when creating the landscape and designing some rather radical greens … they are big and yet tough to hold and , even when you do , the job is only half done . It is a challenging course set out as two loops , with the start of each nine climbing upwards and then back along the cliffs to finish .
St Andrews ( Jubilee )
What started out as a 12-hole course in 1897 is , today , a links of considerable reputation , pressed up against St Andrews Bay . Donald Steel arrived in 1988 and revitalised a course that boasts the most shapely dunes of the St Andrews courses . The largest ridge separates the Jubilee from the New . It is these shapes that create strong risk-vs-reward holes , where tight fairways demand accuracy and the deep rough punishes the wayward . Several greens ( 7 , 8 and 9 especially ) are tucked right into the dunes and , from the raised tee boxes , Jubilee ’ s charms are on full display . The front nine are considerably shorter … but don ’ t think that makes them easier , especially with some of the run-offs around the smallish greens . Your ball may well be lured into bunkers or tricky swales .
St Andrews ( Old )
Ask anyone about their first visit to this historic course and they ’ ll probably tell you how nervous they were on the 1st tee , facing possibly the widest opening fairway in the world . There ’ s no question that every golfer wants to play here , to enjoy those double-greens the size of small islands and sample fairways that every golf course architect has studied in order to understand , appreciate and even replicate this majestic links . Creating memories on the course may be your prize of playing here but it is the rich history of St Andrews as well as the links that puts it on every bucket list . Just look at the classic layout – nine holes out , nine holes back – the seven double greens , the Coffins , the Road Hole , the iconic Swilcan Bridge and the beguiling Valley of Sin . 2022 saw the hosting of the 150th Open Championship .
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