Carnoustie Golf Course – Test Your Skills
What can one say about the Carnoustie Golf Course? That the course may be a beauty, and certainly is a beast? That this is how golf was meant to be played? One can say all that and more - but best of all Carnoustie offers a challenge to golfers of all levels.
Golf has been reputedly played in the area since 1650 and the Carnoustie Golf Club and ten-hole course have been around since 1842. The legendary Old Tom Morris created the 18-hole course in 1857 and James Braid extended it in1926. There are actually three golf courses here, the Championship, Burnside and Buddon Links. It is currently gearing up as the venue of the 2007 Open, the world’s oldest championship.
The Championship course itself is not a scenic, architecturally designed beauty and has hardly any sea views. There is not much of a feel of a links course here except for the first two holes. But, Carnoustie reveals to you what a true golf course is; there is not a single weak hole and to play well here you have to think and plan your play all the time.
The first nine are difficult and the back nine are among the toughest you could find anywhere. The Jockie Burn snakes through the third and is lurking to swallow a stray ball. The par-5 sixth-hole, Hogan’s Alley, measures 520 yards and has two huge bunkers in the middle of the fairway and one to the right. It is considered as one of the greatest holes in the world.
The impossible back nine, adeptly aided by their cavernous bunkers, will challenge you at every step. The 15th, 16th and 17th are among the best closing holes in the world, with the 16th reputed to be the toughest par 3 on the Open circuit. The Barry Burn adds to the challenge and one has to cross the meandering burn five times while playing the last two holes! To make matters worse the 18th has out of bounds on the left. Carnoustie Golf Course tests your toughness, makes you a better golfer and a stronger person; you will never fear a course again.
