Playing the Top 100 Golf Courses in The World

When Carnoustie (#26 in the world) is brought up in conversation the discussion invariably turns to Jean Van de Velde and his meltdown in the 1999 Open Championship. It is too bad if that is the only impression many of us have of Carnoustie because despite the R & A allowing the course to be made ridiculously penal in 1999 it is an impressive course. Hopefully, the R & A has learned its lesson and for the 2007 Open Championship will let Carnoustie defend itself without trying to trick it up.

Carnoustie is an important and historic golf course. Built in 1842, the only course older than it in the top 100 is The Old Course at St. Andrews.

Each summer, I organize a small golf trip to Great Britain or Ireland. We were frankly scared off of Carnoustie after seeing it on TV, so had not made it a priority to play. After a half dozen years, we finally put it on our itinerary last year and having done so are now sorry that we waited so long.

If every golf course has a personality, Carnoustie is that of a working man. Looking over Carnoustie from the first tee or the drive in and you are bound to be disappointed. Be patient, however, and you will be rewarded.

Carnoustie is an enigma. It is unquestionably one of the greatest golf courses in the world but it is hard to describe why. It has none of the beautiful scenery that Pebble Beach or Turnberry has, in fact some of the views are almost industrial and gritty. It is not set directly on the water. It does not have the storied history of a Merion or a Muirfield. It does not have a Royal pedigree or a delightful clubhouse like Hoylake or Lytham and St. Annes. In fact, it has a bit of a dis-jointed history and has been the home of many different golfing societies and local clubs over the years. It doesn't tout itself as having been designed by a marquee architect (although James Braid and Old Tom Morris aren't too shabby). Carnoustie is a public links, roughly the equivalent of a Bethpage in the U.S. And it has an inferiority complex to its neighbor across the bay - St. Andrews.

Yet, despite all these apparent defects, there is a certain charm to the place. Carnoustie is not pretending to be something it is not. It doesn't put on any airs or try to be fancy or pretentious in any way. It deserves a high place in the world of golf because it has evolved into something great. It is pure golf.

It was with great amusement that I recently came across a review of Carnoustie published by Golf Illustrated in 1930. The only criticism they had of the course was that the greens were in such good shape that it actually made putting too easy. More than 70 years later Carnoustie has had the best greens of any course I've played thus far in the top 100 (although Winged Foot is a close second).

Every hole at Carnoustie fits perfectly into an overall mosaic. Unlike a boring out and back routing such as Troon, Carnoustie offers variety. There is a constant change in direction which, given a strong wind, that is normally present, is important not to wear a golfer down. The course follows the natural contours of the land. It has a some short holes, some long, some holes that are easy to drive, others that are quite narrow. It rewards driving but is also a shot makers course. And its caddies by far have the best wit and sense of dry humor in all of Scotland. The short commuter trains going by not far away with a stout whistle are charming, reminiscent of Prestwick.

Like a Beethoven symphony, Carnoustie starts slowly, gets increasingly more complex and finishes with a bang. The last five holes here have to be the hardest finishing holes in championship golf.

The famous British golf writer Henry Longhurst describes Carnoustie perfectly: 'it defies you for thirteen holes and hammers you over the last five.'

The 14th hole named Spectacles is one of the most difficult holes of any of the hundreds we've played so far in the top 100. With well placed bunkers in the fairway and O.B. left, it is a daunting tee shot. It is a 483 long par five with a pair of deep, high traps right in the middle of the fairway, 40 yards short of the green. The bunkers are so high that they effectively make the shot to the green blind. This hole is good evidence that a par 5 doesn't have to be long to be good.

The 15th is a 459 par 4 named Lucky Slap that normally plays into a prevailing wind.

The 16th is an impossibly difficult 250 yard, well bunkered par 3 whose green slopes back to front. During the 1968 Open Championship the hole played so long that Jack Nicklaus was the only player able to hit the ball past the pin.












The 17th and 18th have the Barry Burn snaking through them. We all remember what the Barry Burn did to Jean Van de Velde on that dreadful Sunday in 1999. Ironically, the 17th hole is actually a more difficult hole. You need to hit your tee shot to a very small landing area that exists between the snaking burns. Equally as important as hitting the ball the right distance is picking the right line. This is all difficult enough. Add in the wind and you've got your hands full.

The 18th repeats a lot of the characteristics of the 17th but in the opposite wind direction which completely change the dynamics. Also, the 18th has an out of bounds along the left side so any tense swing coming in on a close match easily brings it into play.

Come see where the wee ice mon, as the Scots called Ben Hogan, won the 1953 Open Championship, his only time competing it that championship. We feel that the course ranks so high in the world rankings purely on its own merit and actually believe it should be ranked in the top 20. We will most certainly return to Carnoustie.