Why the Old Course is the best golf course in Great Britain and Ireland

The Old Course at St Andrews is the best course in Britain and Ireland in the view of our Top 100 panel.

It’s hosting the 150^th Open Championship, but is St Andrews’ Old Course actually a good golf course?

Today’s Golfer’s 2022 Major coverage is brought to you in association with TaylorMade.

The Old Course at St Andrews is the world’s oldest course, the Home of Golf, Tiger Woods’ favourite course, and No.1 in our list of the 100 Best Golf Courses in the UK and Ireland.

But here’s something surprising: in all the decades we’ve been doing the rankings, this is the first time the Old Course has been our No.1 in Great Britain and Ireland. It seems as surprising as it is, frankly, wrong. But there was a different emphasis in previous lists and several outstanding rivals.

It was by no means a unanimous choice to rise to top spot among the Golf World Top 100 panel, but there was enough love for the Old Course for it to topple Royal County Down and Turnberry’s Ailsa, which it held off for top spot in our 2021 100 Best Golf Courses in Scotland ranking.

And among you, the millions of amateur golfers out there, the debate still rages over whether it’s one of the world’s best golf courses or just a flat piece of land that wouldn’t catch the eye if it wasn’t for its history.

We enlisted the help of three experts to explain why it is so, so special.

Tom Doak

Tom Doak is the pre-eminent course designer since the Golden Age more than a century ago.

Was studying the Old Course the reason you spent so much of your year over here in St Andrews?

Yes, and also because I had an offer from (Links Superintendent) Walter Woods to work on the greenkeeping staff. Sadly, that part didn’t work out – because of the recession, he needed to put locals on the payroll. But he arranged for me to caddie, which forced me to see the course through other golfers’ eyes, and then I got to spend a lot of time with Walter in my off hours. It was really the best of both worlds!

Can you remember what you thought of it the first time you played it?

Little known fact: the first time I played the Old Course was with my parents, when I was 15, and my dad was on an overseas business trip. We went to Troon – where I was not allowed to play; you have to be 18 to play there!– to St Andrews and Gleneagles. I honestly do not remember too much about the round of golf, apart from the fact that my mom could get around the course okay, even though she didn’t hit it very far in the air. But, no family photos exist, because we lost the camera at Gleneagles!

What surprised you about the Old – and what do people get wrong about it?

The biggest lie is that the front nine is boring. The 2nd and 4th are two of my favourite holes in golf, and the 1st and 5th are pretty cool, too. The holes are just hard to remember, because you don’t have the landmarks in town to aim at going out, and the boundary on the right is not a factor, like it is for all of the famous holes coming in. Plus, when the wind is coming from Leuchars, the opening holes are seriously hard.

If you played it tomorrow, would it still be a thrill, despite knowing it so well?

I don’t know if I would use the word thrilling, but I am always excited to play the Old Course. St Andrews really feels like a second home to me. I don’t usually get nervous on the first tee, because I am just out there playing for fun, but when I played in the Dunhill the one time (with my client from Sebonack GC) we were first off the tee on the Thursday morning, and I was just lucky to make contact at all.

Do you still learn things about it despite knowing it so well, and could you recall an example of something you noticed in a later round?

It took me a long time to get comfortable with the idea that sometimes you were actually better off playing into the ‘wrong’ fairway – you pretty much only see the locals doing that, or the occasional good player taking heed of a good caddie. At the 14th, lots of people go left of Hell, but it’s really a good play sometimes to go way left at the 1st, or the 4th (if you’re uncertain of getting home in two), or the 13th, or way right at the 10th.

When I played in the Dunhill, my partner was Andrew Oldcorn, who had played the Old Course in tournaments for 20 years, but he was playing the new back tees into the breeze going out for the first time, and he was really struggling to sort out how to attack the holes. At the 7th, he hit a big block way right, and thought it was gone, and I thought, wait, that’s probably over by the 11th tee. Sure enough, he was, with a reasonable angle to the green.

What would you say to people who say the Old Course is ‘just a flat piece of land and without its history it is fairly mundane’?

Lots of people are ignorant, and I’m very happy for them to leave the course to those who appreciate it.

Tell us what you love about its strategy so much…

Bobby Jones said that it was the only course in the world where, if you pull your tee shot 10 yards off line, you really have to re-plot your strategy for the rest of the hole. Brooks Koepka said exactly the same thing, the first time I sat down with him. The strategy still works because the playing surface is so firm and the bunkers are so penal that if you leave yourself with a bunker in play on the approach, you will usually have to settle for hitting your approach shot to 40 feet and trying to make par. There are almost no other golf courses in the world where a pro will be happy playing for that.

And tell us one special Old Course memory – one that really stands out…

One day I went around with a family from California, the Dealeys. Now, the mom and dad were both pretty good players, as was their friend; their two college-age daughters had never played 18 holes before, though they had learned to hit balls on the range.

So, the daughters took turns, one playing the odd holes, the other the even holes, with me steering them around the trouble. And they could get around okay, though if they got into a pot bunker, the hole was over!

So they got more confident as the round progressed and at the 18th, the older daughter hits driver, 5-wood onto the green, and with a pretty good gallery watching, she almost sinks the 30-footer for three.

There just aren’t many other Major championship sites where that story is possible, but it’s possible on the Old Course.

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David Jones

David Jones, aka @UKGolfGuy on Twitter, is a panellist and a lover of golf trips. He has been fortunate to play many of the best courses around the world.

Can you remember what you thought of the Old Course the first time you played it?

I first played The Old Course with my best friend and both of our dads – it was a magical day. I had walked the course at The Open and Dunhill Cup since I was a boy so to actually play it was just a dream come true. I loved how playable the course was. I’d hacked it around a few Open courses before which were attritional, but this was so much more fun.

What surprised you about it?

The options for playing the ball on the ground were unlike on any other course I’d seen before or have experienced since. There are so many different ways to get to the hole, including putting from far out if you want to. My friend had the chipping yips, so put the wedge away and shot a 74 using his putter 40 times!

You’ve played it a few times now. Is it still a thrill, how do you feel on the 1st tee and does anywhere else match it for pre-round excitement?

I defy anyone not to feel a tingle of excitement standing on that 1st tee. Even on the coldest winter’s day there will be people watching. It’s easy to tense up and swing too fast, which has been my downfall before. That first fairway is famously wide, but I have missed it both left and right before!

I don’t think there is anywhere quite like it. Maybe Merion is the closest I’ve come to first tee nerves, but there it’s just a few members watching, not what can feel like the whole town.

Do you still learn things about it despite the number of rounds you’ve now played on it?

Absolutely. The Old Course comes to life when the pins are put in the best spots on the green. Every time I see a different pin position I learn something new. It doesn’t just impact your putting. To get the best line in you need to tack your way up the hole, avoiding the tactically placed hazards.

Take the 7th green – it really doesn’t matter how close you drive it to the green, when the pin is tucked on a downslope behind that false front it needs a deft touch to get it close to the hole.

What would you say to people who say it is just a flat piece of land and without its history it is fairly mundane?

I have played the course a few times late in the day and, with a low sun, every hump and hollow come to life. You just don’t see them when the sun is high, especially when photographed from the air. This really is a golf course where you can let your imagination run riot. So many other courses dictate how to play a hole – here you are only limited by your own creativity. The more you play it, the more options you discover to get the ball to the hole.

OK, but you’ve played Pine Valley, regarded as the World No.1, you’ve played Royal County Down – frequently No.1 in GB&I, you’ve played Morfontaine, the No.1 in Europe. Isn’t the Old Course just a bit dull compared to them?

It’s been said before that the Old Course shouldn’t be ranked with other courses, it is in a category of its own. Not only is it the most strategic course in the world, it is also the most historic – literally, the Home of Golf. Put those two factors together and you have a phenomenal combination.

You have many golf friends and you go on many trips – is it the course you talk about most? Or where would it rank?

It’s definitely right up there. There are more dramatic places and I am a sucker for a course where you can see, hear and smell the sea. But if I were to design a fantasy golf trip it would end with a round on the Old Course.

What advice would you have for a first-time player at the Old Course?

Get there early. Walk across to the 17th tee and stroll down the Road Hole and the 18th, just taking it all in. Have a bit of fun on the Himalayas putting green, it will also get your mind in the right zone for some of the creativity that will serve you well out on the course. Don’t get to the first tee too early, there’s a difference between building anticipation and being a quivering wreck. And one last thing – smile and swing slow!

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Richie Ramsay

Richie Ramsay is a former US Amateur champion and a multiple winner on the European Tour. He is also an architectural buff.

Can you remember what you thought of the Old Course the first time you played it?

I played it the first time with my brother as a 16th birthday present from him. We always travelled to watch the Dunhill Links as kids so I knew the course. Or at least I thought I did.

What surprised you about it?

Once you make your way out from the famous holes – 1-2 and 16-18 – it can feel a little underwhelming. Why is it so revered? Is it just the start and finish? At that age I wasn’t really thinking about that.

You’ve played it many times since – is it still a thrill and how do you feel on the first tee?

We played tournaments on many courses so there are some cool walks to the first tee. But the Old Course’s first is tough to beat. Firstly, you need to think where the flag is before you hit and factor in the wind, as this obviously helps you access pins. The variety of bounces on that rumpled fairway always amazes me.

You walk off the first tee with an extra skip in your step, too. Sometimes even two skips if you don’t succumb to the locals’ eyes, the bay window or the general cauldron of the first tee.

Have you ever caught yourself, during a tournament, daydreaming about all the greats who’ve walked down that opening hole, or of any of the Old’s famous moments?

Yeah, I think a lot about the shots I watched at the Dunhill when I needed a lift above the wall at the back of 17. Rocco’s putt, Sanders’ miss, Seve’s back door putt, shot tracers into 17, bouncing the ball up on most holes as bunkers want to gobble your ball up.

Do you still learn things about the course despite all the rounds you’ve played there?

You always learn, that’s what’s makes it so much fun. Engagement of the brain, variety and challenge – it’s no secret to say that the Old Course does that on every hole, and that’s what makes it so rewarding to play it again and again.

How much of the best of course design is present in the Old Course, and what aspects would you pick out?

It is the variety, for me, that makes it so much fun. Every hole presents options – and they’re options for all abilities, not just for the elite golfers. The width of fairways and greens are the core fundamentals. A Dunhill set up compared to an Open are night and day. You need to learn again. And when you add in wind, the weather and the firmness, it seems like a never-ending story for just one course.

What would you say to people who say it is just a flat piece of land and without its history it is fairly mundane?

It is relatively flat but each slope has an abundance of character and the more you play, the more you learn how they can present a challenge or provide a solution to the problem you face – the next shot.

Is it a course the players talk about – before, during or after a round?

It does encourage very spirited debate as views change with every round. Unfortunately, some players don’t understand its challenge. This is normally down to two reasons. Either they just haven’t played it enough, or with today’s length a significant amount of strategy and thought has gone from the challenge. I played with Wilco Nienaber and Nicolai Hojgaard in the Dunhill, final round in 2021. On the back nine I just played a different course to Nicolai. He was impressive, but at the same time it was one of worst things to watch, the not quite understanding the nature and challenge of the Old Course.

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