ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND | For centuries now, the Old Course has been here, wind-blown and stark, a North Star of design brilliance, asking the same age-old questions of players whether they’re tourists or tour professionals.
Avoid the bunkers?
Essential.
Handle the wind?
It’s not a choice.
Accept its quirks?
That’s the charm.
As the 150th Open Championship comes to life this week, another familiar question has been raised:
Can the Old Course, a modest-by-modern-standards 7,300 yards, stand up to today’s power game?
“Yes, even with the advancements in technology, this golf course still stands the test of time,” said Tiger Woods, who won two of his three Claret Jugs here.
Still, if the wind goes quiet this week – the forecast calls for steady breezes in the 15-mph range, with a few stronger gusts after windy practice-round days – the threat of someone cracking the sub-60 barrier could come into play.
“I don’t think it stands the test of time if it’s benign,” Jordan Spieth said.
Then again, a similar question has been asked the last four times the Open has been played at the Old Course. The average winning score in those Opens is 16-under par.
Though others may fret about the Old Course’s potential vulnerability, not everyone does.
“(They) might shoot low. So what? That’s sort of the way I look at it,” said Jack Nicklaus, who won two of his three Claret Jugs here.
“They’re shooting low now compared to what they shot 100 years ago. But times change and golfers get better, equipment gets better, conditions get better. … But I don’t think it really makes a whole lot of difference, frankly.
“It’s St. Andrews and it is what it is, and it will produce a good champion. It always has.”
“There’s 7,300 yards. It’s got greens that are running at 10½ to 11 (on the Stimpmeter). It’s got fairways where the ball is bouncing 50 yards if it’s hit and more if it catches the downslope. Thirteen-under par around that, I’ll tell you what, if someone shoots that, I will be the first person on the 18th green to shake their hand because they have played outstanding golf.” – Martin Slumbers
Nevertheless, should scores challenge the course record of 61 set by Ross Fisher or threaten to be sub-60, alarm bells will sound. The notion of a 59 at the Old Course is apocalyptic to some.
“Fifty-nine is 13-under par around this golf course,” said Martin Slumbers, chief executive of the R&A. “There’s 7,300 yards. It’s got greens that are running at 10½ to 11 (on the Stimpmeter). It’s got fairways where the ball is bouncing 50 yards if it’s hit and more if it catches the downslope. Thirteen-under par around that, I’ll tell you what, if someone shoots that, I will be the first person on the 18th green to shake their hand because they have played outstanding golf.”
If the Old Course stays as it has been through the early part of the week, it will be close to ideal for links golf. The fairways are firm enough that it’s possible to throw a ball down and have it bounce high enough to catch it.
The greens have been on the soft side, but that’s likely to change if rain showers stay away.
The most important factor is the wind. When it blows from the southwest, as it’s forecast to do through the championship, it means the back nine will play into the breeze. Scorecard yardages suddenly don’t mean much.
In a practice round, Woods said he hit a 6-iron from 120 yards into the wind at the 10th hole.
“It’s still very difficult, and it’s obviously weather dependent,” Woods said. “Then again, if you get a calm day on this golf course, you can see some players probably have four to five eagle putts. It is weather dependent. The fairways, I think right now, are faster than the greens.”
There is no standard way to play the Old Course. It gives players multiple options, but with 112 bunkers dotting the layout, it’s critical to play to particular spots or along certain lines.
Justin Thomas said the Old Course bunkers are the most penalizing he has ever seen, and Woods’ winning performance in 2000 when he never found a bunker over 72 holes remains a master class in course management.
There will be spots, Rory McIlroy said, when it’s better to back off rather than go full throttle. The tight lies and firm turf make pitching the ball more challenging.
The old axiom about links golf being played on the ground more than in the air rings true at the Old Course. So does the importance of factoring the wind into what happens on the greens.
In a practice round, McIlroy putted his second shot from 60 yards away on the second hole.
“You’ll see a lot of that this week,” McIlroy said. “If you hit a lot of drivers, you may get close to some of these greens, and it would be advantageous to lay back and give yourself fuller, fuller wedge shots into some of these greens.”
Creativity and patience will be like extra clubs in the bag this week. Throughout practice sessions, players tried different types of shots around greens and into them. Woods spent extra time around the 18th green one day, skipping 4-iron chip shots toward the hole.
The old axiom about links golf being played on the ground more than in the air rings true at the Old Course. So does the importance of factoring the wind into what happens on the greens.
“You have to give yourself grace because you can hit a putt with the exact same ball speed two different putts, and depending on which wind hit it, they can be 10 to 15 feet away from each other,” Spieth said.
“The more you become frustrated by it the next one becomes exponentially harder.”
Resisting temptation, Nicklaus said, is critical.
“Discipline is such an important part of playing over here. You get frustrated. Once you get frustrated, then say bye-bye, we’ll see you next time, because that’s what happens,” Nicklaus said.
“You’ve got to be patient and you’ve got the ability to just sort of play to what the golf course gives you. You can’t try to take any more.”
As for the idea that someone will shoot 20-under par on the Old Course this week, well, McIlroy doesn’t see that happening.
“That will win, though, obviously. It will win by quite a few,” McIlroy said. “I just think with the way the golf course is playing and how firm and fast it is, it’s just going to get super tricky by the end of the week.”