St Andrews Trip Report April 2019

[Argonne69]

Another wonderful day on the Scottish Links. I've heard numerous negative reports about the Castle course, but I'm sitting here scratching my head. I thought it was a fantastic layout. Tough? Absolutely. Unfair? Not in the least. Yeah, there are a few holes where a "good" tee shot may find its way into a bunker, but that's just part of links golf. The course is challenging off the tee, and the greens were tough to hold as the winds increased through the day. The views are stunning, everything you'd expect from a seaside course. I'll let the photos explain. The course has a great mix of long and short par 4s, but of course the short ones challenged you off the tee. The par 5s were tough. Three of the par 3s were fairly benign. However, the signature par 3 17th was a beaut. The greens were very large, and undulating, so positioning was key. Once again, two putts were not automatic.

 

The course was in great shape. Fairways were dry and tight. Greens rolled true and slowish (as expected). Sand was fluffy. The Gorse was in full bloom, and the "rough" was gnarly, but still playable, although flyers were common.

 

I had a mixed round. I hit some great shots, and a few head shakers. The wind was definitely a factor. I drove the ball very well, but managed only 8 fairways after getting a few weird bounces. I hit 13 greens, but only held 9 of them. Lol. It's amazing what a difference a few inches would make. Yesterday's round was a great warmup for the greens, and I only had one three putt. The best shot of the day was a 60 foot putt that broke 4 feet in two directions that I lagged to 2 feet. I didn't quite break 80, but I had a blast. The pin on 17 was in the back right, and the caddie suggested the left side of the green. At that point I was simply having fun, and fired right at pin, missing it by inches as it rolled into the back bunker. Lol. Bogie. On 18 the safe play was far left, but I hit a big cut that started a bit too far right. Thought it was lost in the gully, but we found it inside the penalty area just over the gulch. Living dangerously.

 

I have no qualms about recommending the course. Expect some good and bad breaks. Bring your A game if you expect to go low.

[Argonne69]


 

[Argonne69]


 

[Argonne69]

The par 3 17th

 


 

[mci711]

> @Argonne69 said:

> Another wonderful day on the Scottish Links. I've heard numerous negative reports about the Castle course, but I'm sitting here scratching my head. I thought it was a fantastic layout. Tough? Absolutely. Unfair? Not in the least. Yeah, there are a few holes where a "good" tee shot may find its way into a bunker, but that's just part of links golf. The course is challenging off the tee, and the greens were tough to hold as the winds increased through the day. The views are stunning, everything you'd expect from a seaside course. I'll let the photos explain. The course has a great mix of long and short par 4s, but of course the short ones challenged you off the tee. The par 5s were tough. Three of the par 3s were fairly benign. However, the signature par 3 17th was a beaut. The greens were very large, and undulating, so positioning was key. Once again, two putts were not automatic.

>

> The course was in great shape. Fairways were dry and tight. Greens rolled true and slowish (as expected). Sand was fluffy. The Gorse was in full bloom, and the "rough" was gnarly, but still playable, although flyers were common.

>

> I had a mixed round. I hit some great shots, and a few head shakers. The wind was definitely a factor. I drove the ball very well, but managed only 8 fairways after getting a few weird bounces. I hit 13 greens, but only held 9 of them. Lol. It's amazing what a difference a few inches would make. Yesterday's round was a great warmup for the greens, and I only had one three putt. The best shot of the day was a 60 foot putt that broke 4 feet in two directions that I lagged to 2 feet. I didn't quite break 80, but I had a blast. The pin on 17 was in the back right, and the caddie suggested the left side of the green. At that point I was simply having fun, and fired right at pin, missing it by inches as it rolled into the back bunker. Lol. Bogie. On 18 the safe play was far left, but I hit a big cut that started a bit too far right. Thought it was lost in the gully, but we found it inside the penalty area just over the gulch. Living dangerously.

>

> I have no qualms about recommending the course. Expect some good and bad breaks. Bring your A game if you expect to go low.

 

I was looking forward to this review as I have the Castle Course scheduled as part of my 2 with the old course. Happy to hear how you felt about it and makes me less worried about the "bad" reviews it gets. Did you find similarities between it and Kingsbarns? I also have Kingsbarns scheduled and thought maybe I had too many modern courses for a trip to scotland.

[duffer987]

@mci711 - You could drop the Castle Course beside Arcadia Bluffs and not miss a beat.

Conversely you could drop Kingsbarns along the Central Oregon Coast and it wouldn't be out of place.

I think that's a simple shorthand for the differences, assuming you're familiar with the US examples.

[Argonne69]

Thanks. Large greens they have in common. Otherwise Kingsbarns is much easier off the tee with generous fairways. The greens at Kingsbarns are also a little easier. I'd say Castle is more punishing if you miss the fairways. Kingsbarns reminded me of the Sand Valley courses, designed to look good, and not kick your butt. Castle reminded me of Arcadia Bluffs. Rough around the edges, and a beast if you're not hitting it straight.

 

I thought Kingsbarns was a good place to warm up if you haven't played in a while, or you're jet lagged. Castle is a stern test.

 

If I'm not mistaken, Castle is a manufactured course, similar to Whistling Straits. Of course if I hadn't heard that I wouldn't believe it. It seems very natural, but that may be a good part of the criticism.

 

[davep043]

> @Argonne69 said:

 

> If I'm not mistaken, Castle is a manufactured course, similar to Whistling Straits. Of course if I hadn't heard that I wouldn't believe it. It seems very natural, but that may be a good part of the criticism.

>

If I have it right, both Castle and Kingsbarns are manufactured to a large extent, in that neither is on proper linksland. I know you can look at Golgle Earth's historical photos and see the level-looking farmland that once occupied that site. Compared to the courses in town in St Andrews, or the other nearby links courses, Kingsbarns seemed just a bit to "fair" for me to want to play it again. I kind of enjoy the randomness of bounces on the rippling links terrain. At Kingsbarns, I felt that I always got the bounce I expected.

 

[mci711]

> @duffer987 said:

> @mci711 - You could drop the Castle Course beside Arcadia Bluffs and not miss a beat.

> Conversely you could drop Kingsbarns along the Central Oregon Coast and it wouldn't be out of place.

> I think that's a simple shorthand for the differences, assuming you're familiar with the US examples.

 

Thanks, been to Arcadia and Bandon/Oregon so that makes sense. ?

[tiderider]

i didn't know this till last year while planning this year's trip, but the land where the kingsbarn course is built is one of the oldest golf sites in history, though obviously not continuously ...5th oldest or thereabouts ...

[davep043]

> @tiderider said:

> i didn't know this till last year while planning this year's trip, but the land where the kingsbarn course is built is one of the oldest golf sites in history, though obviously not continuously ...5th oldest or thereabouts ...

 

The Kingsbarns website talks about golf as far back as 1793, but that's not all THAT old as far as Scottish golf goes. Just next door, the Crail Golfing Society dates back to 1786 as an established club. An interesting website has some short histories of golf locations dating to the 1500s:

http://www.scottishgolfhistory.org/oldest-golf-sites/

This site talks about the earliest noted match for the Crail Golfing Society, which just happened to be against Kingsbarns, in 1839.

https://crailgolfingsociety.co.uk/Interesting+Facts/

[cardoustie]

Bringing back memories of 2012 for me. I also did Old, New, Jubilee, Kingsbarns and Castle. We did Torrance when Muirfield was winded out. It was fine

Put me down as another guy that enjoyed the Castle course. When we played it 5 of the original greens had been softened to a degree.

I was the only guy out of my 8 that liked it ... why? Well the other 7 guys played like garbage and they had a fun day burying the pins for the pro's practicing there right before the Dunhill

I shot 81 with 37 putts (still had fun) and my buddy shot 86 with 41 putts. I recall having to make a 6 footer to 3 putt the 9th and also 4 putting a downhill par 5 for a bogey!

[Argonne69]

It's hazy, 50 degrees, and the winds are blowing 15 to 20 mph from the east. There's a slight chance of showers this afternoon, but that appears to be diminishing.

 

I'm looking out the window from the hotel on Golf Place, and can see the R&A and white caps on the sea. Nice day to play my 500th course. I have a tee time in 3 hours, but I'm going to stroll down to TOC to see if there's an earlier opening. Eager to get started.

 


[theboypinoy]

Have fun on TOC!

[dcmidnight]

Check out the store across the street from the Dunvegan. The name is slipping me but they had a HUGE selection of waterproofs. I already had a Galvin Green jacket and pants that I liked but if I had wanted to buy more, that would have been a good spot. The Old Course Store - the main gift shop there - they actually had a really good selection too. But IIRC everything they sold had the logo on it.

 

My favorite bar was the Keys followed by the Whey Pat. I took a little flak for it in my trip report last summer but I thought the Dunvegan was just way too crowded for my taste.

[CallWhitey]

The store is Auchterlonie’s, I believe.

[Hawkeye77]

> @dcmidnight said:

> Check out the store across the street from the Dunvegan. The name is slipping me but they had a HUGE selection of waterproofs. I already had a Galvin Green jacket and pants that I liked but if I had wanted to buy more, that would have been a good spot. The Old Course Store - the main gift shop there - they actually had a really good selection too. But IIRC everything they sold had the logo on it.

>

> My favorite bar was the Keys followed by the Whey Pat. I took a little flak for it in my trip report last summer but I thought the Dunvegan was just way too crowded for my taste.

We passed on the Dunvegan when it was full and overflowing (most of the time it seemed) and enjoyed it very much one afternoon when we were 4 of about 10 people. Quiet and good service. I loved be able to actually move around and look at the stuff on the walls/ceiling but kind of a been there, done that about that spot.

[Argonne69]

How can you not like a 3:40 round on an iconic course? 'Just a wonderful morning on the links celebrating my 500th course played. Proper Scottish weather added to the experience. We've all seen the course a million times, so there were no surprises. Had a few good bounces, and a few not so good. The fairways are firm and fast with hidden bunkers looking for breakfast. The greens are huge with few big breaks. The bunkers weren't quite as deep as I expected, but still had to play out sideways a few times.

 

I couldn't be happier with my play today. I hit 10 fairways, and 12 greens. No three putts was the highlight. I had two nice birdies on #5 and #10, and a sunk couple of mid-length putts to save par. Basically played safe and stayed out of trouble. The best hole of the day was the Road Hole. Into the wind I got my drive too high, and it was knocked down short in the left rough leaving 220 to the flag. I hit a nice 9 wood that landed 30 yds short and right. Used the 9 wood to bump it 9 feet past the pin, and made the curling par save. Sweet.

 

Overall it was a wonderful experience. I didn't have high expectations about my play, and simply wanted to soak it in. However, the pace of play really helped my game today, as I like to simply fire away. My caddie Jordan was fantastic, as his lines were spot on. If you've ever thought about visited, definitely put it on your list. Similar to Pebble, it's simply one that's worth playing at least once.

 

[Argonne69]


 

[Argonne69]


 

[Argonne69]

H. E. Double Hockey Stick's Bunker

 


[Argonne69]

The Road Hole.

 


[Argonne69]

Ignore the fat guy on the bridge. Lol.

 


[clp34vmp]

Really loving these posts...brings back great memories of my first trip there last August.

[Argonne69]

Change of plans for tomorrow. I was originally planning to get up at sunrise and head over to the Jubilee course, and possibly play the Eden course in the afternoon. However, after a few beers and a nice dinner, I think I'll sleep in a little, and head over to the Jubilee in the mid morning and take my chances getting on. After walking three rounds I think my knees and back aren't quite ready for two rounds tomorrow. I don't think there's much left to do in town, so finishing a little later would be fine.

 

Sometimes I forget that I'm on vacation, and I don't need to beat myself up.

[Schley]

> @Argonne69 said:

> Ignore the fat guy on the bridge. Lol.

>

> 

 

What fat guy on the bridge? :)

[Matt J]

@Argonne69 one of my best golf partners and I have that same coat. We showed up at Pacific Dunes one rainy morning to notice the guys on the shuttle bus having a snicker at us in our matching coats. We had a full belly laugh each of us on the putting green laughing at ourselves, regular Hans and Frans play golf. Looking like a couple of German snowmobile pilots. Hey, at least you're smiling! I have a scowl on my face on the Swilcan Bridge and can't for the life of me figure out why. Never been big on cliche spots, did something similar at Machu Picchu.

 

 

 

 

[Argonne69]

Another wonderful morning at St Andrews. Sunny skies, light winds, and 50 degree temps. I went out as a single on Jubilee at 9 am, and 3:15 later I'm enjoying an ale in the clubhouse. It was clear sailing until the 10th hole, and then I followed several groups of members in. The course is easier than the Old Course. Fairways are generous, but the greens are smaller and much less difficult. It's fairly easy to score on if you're hitting it straight. There are a few elevation changes, but for the most part it's fairly flat. The front nine is pretty short, and played more or less downwind. The back was much more difficult, with three long par 4s that played somewhat into the wind. The short par 5 11th was the exception, as it was easily reachable in two with the helping wind. There was one short par 3, but the others were long, including the 17th that played over 200 yds into the wind. I may have just been driving the ball well, or maybe lucky, but the fairway bunkers didn't really seem to come into play. On the other hand, the greenside bunkers were ever present.

 

Conditions were fine. Fairways were dry and tight. Greens rolled OK, but appear to have been aerated recently. Didn't really effect play though.

 

Best round of the week. I went out in even par, with one birdie. The back played tougher, but I birdied the 11th to offset 3 bogies. 11 fairways and 13 greens. I could get used to this. Lol.

 

Overall I thought it was a decent course, but I wouldn't be in a hurry to rush back. I'd play the Castle Course 10 times before playing Jubilee. Still, it's worth a round if you're here.

 

 

[Argonne69]


[Argonne69]