Carnoustie Golf Links - Golf Course Guide

Golf COURSE
GUIDEs
Mulligan+ Course Guides
An Introduction
Our growing selection of Golf Course Guides are produced by members of Mulligan+. The
members of our Club Managers Reward Scheme edit the information on our website which
are automatically converted into the following guides.
Contents Mulligan+ is a golf social utility

1 Course Vitals that connects you with your
golf and golfers everywhere.
2 Playing Card Overview
3 Club Features
Free Membership
4 Club Description
5 Course Description M+PDFOFFER

6 Green Fees
Send this code to us
when you sign up.
7 Directions
info@mulliganplus.com
8 Local Accomadation
9 Hole by Hole Info
10 Scorecard
Can You Improve The Guide - Find Out More
Click the Links Below - Mulligan+
Find Golf Courses Scorecard Manager

Find Golf Partners Golfer Social Network
Green Fee Offers Handicap Calculator
The Mulligan+ Course Guide for Championship Course - Carnoustie Golf Links
Type Links
Country Scotland
Region Scotland
County Angus
Town Carnoustie
Address Links Parade
Postcode DD77JE
Phone 01241 853789
Email golf@carnoustiegolflinks.co.uk
Website www.carnoustiegolflinks.co.uk
Course Vitals
Holes 18 Yards 6941 Slope 145
SSS 75 Par 72 Par 70 - (Ladies & Juniors)
Playing Card 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Hole Par 4 4 4 4 4 5 4 3 4 4 4 5 3 5 4 3 4 4
Par (Ld's & Juniors) 4 4 4 4 4 5 4 3 5 4 4 4 3 5 5 4 4 4
Stroke Index 10 4 14 16 12 2 8 18 6 3 15 9 17 1 7 13 5 11
Club Features
Club House Club Hire Putting Green Pro Shop

Practice Area Club Bar Driving Range Restaurant
Trolley Hire Changing Rooms Buggy Hire Lessons
The Club
Check out the hole by hole descriptions and images above.
Golf in Carnoustie
The game of golf has been played in Carnoustie for well over four centuries. The first indication that the game was being played there
can be found in the Parish Records of 1560 when the game of gowff was mentioned and there is every indication that the game has
played an important part in the town’s life ever since.
Carnoustie’s first golfer might well have been a gentleman called Sir Robert Maule (1497-1560), a local landowner who was described
as “a gentleman of comlie behaviour, of hie stature, sanguine in colour both of hyd and haire,” and who was “given to leicherie” and
other sports such as “hawking, hunting and the gawf.”
Unfortunately, nobody knows how proficient Maule was at “gawf” or, for that matter, “leicherie”. As with so many of the older Scottish
golf towns, the history of Carnoustie is not well recorded. We do not know where Maule and his colleagues “exercisit the gowf” in the
15th century but we do know that by 1839 the Carnoustie Golf Club had been formed, making it the oldest artisan club in the world.
To begin with, the Carnoustie course consisted of 10 holes, laid out by Allan Robertson, the greatest golfer of his time and the man
generally acknowledged to be the first golf professional. Later, in 1867, Tom Morris extended the course to 18 holes but it was not
until 1926, when the great James Braid was brought in to overseas sweeping changes, that the course became ready to receive the
Open Championship.
Since then, Carnoustie’s championship course has become regarded as one of Britain’s finest, and most challenging, tests of golf.
Occasionally, from time to time, the course was allowed to deteriorate but, under the watchful eye of current Course Superintendent,
John Philp, it has been restored and is now, not just a formidable challenge, but also one of the best-conditioned courses in the
country as well.
Today, Carnoustie is visited by countless thousands of tourists, both from home and abroad. What they find is a course that is
difficult but still eminently playable, provided the golfer hits the right shots at the right time. It is, in short, a wonderful test of golf,
and one that, thankfully, still has not been made obsolete by advances in modern equipment.
The Course
Carnoustie is another of those quaint Scottish seaside towns where golf was played long before a community evolved. Historical
records prove that "duntin' the gutty" had begun on the links by 1527. Believe it or not, it was almost the nineteenth century before a
long sleep on the Carnoustie links (forced on an exhausted joiner who was making his way home to Barry after a long day's work in
Arbroath) kick-started the growth of the town. Centuries later, Carnoustie is widely acknowledged as the hardest links in the world.
Six Open Golf Championships have been staged at Carnoustie and the seventh will be held there in July 2007. Although there have
been countless moments of golfing drama in every one, the near-pantomime at the 18th hole in Jean Van de Velde's final round in
1999 will never be forgotten. Carnoustie's finishing stretch is recognised as the stiffest in the British Open rota; there is no point
within any of the six closing holes at which a golfer can allow himself the slightest feeling of complacency. In July 2007, the greatest
golfers in the world will return to Carnoustie in the hope that they might (for once) put a dent in its reputation as a "Tiger" golf course
which takes no prisoners.
Green Fees
Directions
12 Miles north of Dundee. In the centre of Carnoustie.
1 - Cup
Par 4 Par 4 - (Ladies & Juniors) Stroke Index 10
Championship - 409 Medal - 401 Regular - 391 C'ship Ladies - 381 Ladies & Juniors - 363
Right from the start, the visitor to Carnoustie learns the importance of
hitting the tee shot into the right place. Here, the ideal drive is down
the left, albeit not so far left that it goes out of bounds, thereby
affording a sight of a sunken green built behind a sand dune. In
contrast, if you hit a drive down the right you will face a blind second
shot, over a mound, and over a deep bunker to a green that is difficult
to hit from that angle.
2 - Gulley
The second hole features one of the tightest landing areas on the
course, protected by Braids bunker in the middle of the fairway and
others to the left and right. Then, the fairway sweeps slightly to the
right to a long, narrow green that measures 50 yards from front to
back, and is guarded down both flanks by bunkers and rough.
3 - Jockie's Burn
The third, the shortest par four on the course, has been extensively
re-modelled in time for the 2007 Open, making the tee shot much
more challenging than it used to be. While still measuring 337 from
the Championship tee, the new design provides a series of options
from the tee which will make even the worlds best golfers pause and
think. Following the changes, a finger of rough extends out into the
fairway at around 230 yards, meaning the player has to decide
whether to carry this but still stop short of the ditch in front of the
green, or else lay up. The lay up option is the safest, but not without
difficulty because a new island of rough also sits in the centre of the
fairway and must be avoided. Too cautious a tee shot will leave a shot
of about 170 yards over Jockies Burn to a tight and undulating
green.
4 - Hillocks
Into the prevailing wind, the fourth hole requires a good drive to carry
a bunker built into the corner of the dogleg. The second shot then has
to be hit to a flat green protected by bunkers to the left and the right
green. The fourth features the only double green on the course, shared
with the 14th.
5 - Brae
The fifth is a left to right dogleg protected by two bunkers built into
the left and the right of the landing area. Down wind, Jockies Burn
can also be a problem as it crosses the fairway 300 yards from the
Championship tees. Like on the second, the green is over 50 yards
long and also features two distinct tiers.
6 - Hogan's Alley
The sixth is one of the most famous holes in Championship golf and is
known as Hogans Alley in recognition of Ben Hogans exploits at the
1953 Open when on all four days of the Championship he elected to hit
his drive down the narrow gap separating the fairway bunkers and the
out-of-bounds fence on the left. The competitors at the 2007 Open will
find the tee shot even more demanding than in Hogans time. The
existing fairway bunkers, situated 280 yards from the tee, were
deemed not to offer a sufficient threat to the modern golfer so a new
bunker has been added behind and slightly to the right of the existing
bunkers, extending the carry to 310 yards. The intention is to tempt
the golfer to go down the traditional, but risky Hogan Alley route and,
if successful, he will be rewarded with a more straightforward second
shot down the fairway. A drainage ditch narrows that fairway about
80 yards short of the green. The green itself is heavily contoured and
protected by bunkers at the front and rear.
7 - Plantation
Like on the sixth, there is out-of-bounds all the way down the left. The
tee shot has to avoid bunkers built into the left and right of the
landing area and the second then has to be threaded between two
other bunkers that protect the shallow green. On the face of it, the
seventh does not seem as demanding as some of Carnousties other
holes but dont let appearances deceive you, it provided all sorts of
problems to competitors in the 1999 Open.
8 - Short
The eighth is the first of Carnousties par-3s and can be a real

card-wrecker, particularly in a cross wind. Here, a sea of heather and
gorse obscure the view of the green, making club selection difficult.
Sometimes, when the wind is left to right, you have to send your tee
shot out over the out of bound fence and back to a green protected by
bunkers to the left and right. The green itself falls away at the back
and front, making it even more difficult target to hit.
9 - Railway
Carnousties front nine closes with a classic par four that was rated
as the toughest hole during the 1999 Open Championship. Here, the
tee shot has to be accurate or else. The fairway is well bunkered in the
driving area and further protected by trees to the left and a ditch that
meanders its way down the right rough. The hole also has a long,
narrow green, measuring 43 yards from back to front and protected by
bunkers on both sides.
10 - South America
Carnousties back nine starts like its front nine ended, with a tough
par four. As on the ninth, bunkers pose the biggest threat from the
tee. The second shot then has to clear the Barry Burn, which crosses
the fairway 30 yards short of the green, and meanders behind a sole
tree to the right of the putting surface. The hole is called South
America. It got its name from the exploits of a local caddie who
announced he was emigrating to South America, but who got no
further than this hole before deciding to stop and sleep off the effects
of the whisky he had consumed at his farewell party.
11 - Dyke
The 11th is another hole that demands great accuracy, both from the
tee and into the green. Bunkers eat into the left and right of the
landing area, and four other traps also protect both sides of the green
12 - Southward Ho!
On the 12th, the second of Carnousties par fives, the tee shot has to
be hit down the left, away from two bunkers and an unseen ditch. The
approach then has to be threaded between two mounds, both
protected by bunkers, to a green built below the level of the fairway.
The putting surface is wide but also surprisingly narrow, making it
even more difficult to hit.
13 - Whins
The 13th is the shortest hole at Carnoustie but is certainly no

pushover. The green, which narrows in the middle, rises from front to
back and is protected by two bunkers, one on the left and one on the
right. There is also a large horseshoe-shaped bunker to the front of
the green. It catches anything that is under-clubbed and also masks
the fact that the green is 40 yards in length.
14 - Spectacles
On the 14th the golfer faces a blind drive over an expanse of gorse
and rough to a landing area protected by three bunkers on the left and
another on the right. Then, he has an option, either to lay up or to hit a
long second shot over two huge bunkers situated about 50 yards short
of the green. These bunkers, known as the Spectacles, completely
obscure the view of the green. They also hide two bunkers that guard
the entrance to a double green shared with the 4th.
15 - Lucky Slap
The 15th starts what is sometimes considered to be the toughest

closing stretch in British Championship golf. Here, the fairway slopes
from left to right, throwing any loose tee shots towards two bunkers.
Then, the second shot has to be guided over a nest of bunkers to a
green that is largely hidden from view.
16 - Barry Burn
The 16th at Carnoustie is often described as the hardest par-three in

golf. Downwind it is difficult, into an easterly wind it is practically
impossible to hit the green from the tee. The green itself is long but
slopes off on all sides. It is also protected by five bunkers, situated
short and to the left and right of the putting surface.
17 - Island
Revered golf writer, Bernard Darwin, once described Carnousties

Barry Burn as the ubiquitous circumbendibus and it is easy to see
why once you reach the 17th hole. Here, the burn loops backwards
and forwards across the fairway creating an island into which the tee
shot should be hit. For the 2007 Open, this tee shot has also been
made more challenging by the addition of a series of dips and swales
down the right side of the fairway where rough will be encouraged to
grow. The second shot has to be hit to a green that is protected by a
mound on the left and bunkers on the right. Paul Lawrie birdied this
hole during the play-off for the 1999 Open. For most others, a par
would be considered to be an excellent result.
18 - Home
Carnousties 18th hole will always be remembered as the scene of

Frenchman, Jean Van de Veldes amazing capitulation during the
1999 Open. Leading by three, he needed only a six or less to win the
title but contrived to take seven and then lost the ensuing play-off to
Scotlands Paul Lawrie. On that occasion, Van de Velde drove right
but avoided the Barry Burn. Sadly for him, however, his second shot
struck a grandstand and rebounded into the rough on the right side of
the fairway. His third found the Barry Burn where it crosses the
fairway just short of the green. Dropping out under penalty, he hit his
fifth shot into the bunker that guards the right of the green before
blasting out and holing a 10-foot putt for his triple bogey. It was
arguably the greatest catalogue of disasters that any golfer has ever
experienced on one hole, and could only have been worse had he also
hit a ball over the out of bounds fence that is situated all the way
down the left of the hole.
Scorecard
Holes 18 Yards 6941 Slope 145
SSS 75 Par 72 Par 70 - (Ladies & Juniors)
Playing Card - OUT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 OUT HCP NET
Stroke Index 10 4 14 16 12 2 8 18 6
Hole Par 4 4 4 4 4 5 4 3 4 36 36
Par (Ld's/Jn'rs) 4 4 4 4 4 5 4 3 5 36 36
Playing Card - IN 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 IN HCP NET

Stroke Index 3 15 9 17 1 7 13 5 11
Hole Par 4 4 5 3 5 4 3 4 4 36 72
Par (Ld's/Jn'rs) 4 4 4 3 5 5 4 4 4 36 72
Tees Played
Championship Medal Regular C'ship Ladies Ladies & Juniors
Find more course guides at www.mulliganplus.com
© Mulligan Plus, 2008 . All rights reserved. www.mulliganplus.com Created By Tayfusion.com ∞

Carnoustie Golf Links - Golf Course Guide

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Carnoustie Golf Links - Golf Course Guide

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Golf COURSE

Contents Mulligan+ is a golf social utility

5 Course Description M+PDFOFFER

9 Hole by Hole Info

Can You Improve The Guide - Find Out More

Click the Links Below - Mulligan+

Find Golf Courses Scorecard Manager

Club House Club Hire Putting Green Pro Shop

Par 4 Par 4 - (Ladies & Juniors) Stroke Index 10

Par 4 Par 4 - (Ladies & Juniors) Stroke Index 4

Par 4 Par 4 - (Ladies & Juniors) Stroke Index 14

Par 4 Par 4 - (Ladies & Juniors) Stroke Index 16

Par 4 Par 4 - (Ladies & Juniors) Stroke Index 12

Par 5 Par 5 - (Ladies & Juniors) Stroke Index 2

Par 4 Par 4 - (Ladies & Juniors) Stroke Index 8

Par 3 Par 3 - (Ladies & Juniors) Stroke Index 18

The eighth is the first of Carnousties par-3s and can be a real

Par 4 Par 5 - (Ladies & Juniors) Stroke Index 6

Par 4 Par 4 - (Ladies & Juniors) Stroke Index 3

Par 4 Par 4 - (Ladies & Juniors) Stroke Index 15

Par 5 Par 4 - (Ladies & Juniors) Stroke Index 9

Par 3 Par 3 - (Ladies & Juniors) Stroke Index 17

The 13th is the shortest hole at Carnoustie but is certainly no

Par 5 Par 5 - (Ladies & Juniors) Stroke Index 1

Par 4 Par 5 - (Ladies & Juniors) Stroke Index 7

The 15th starts what is sometimes considered to be the toughest

Par 3 Par 4 - (Ladies & Juniors) Stroke Index 13

The 16th at Carnoustie is often described as the hardest par-three in

Par 4 Par 4 - (Ladies & Juniors) Stroke Index 5

Revered golf writer, Bernard Darwin, once described Carnousties

Par 4 Par 4 - (Ladies & Juniors) Stroke Index 11

Carnousties 18th hole will always be remembered as the scene of

Playing Card - IN 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 IN HCP NET

Find more course guides at www.mulliganplus.com

© Mulligan Plus, 2008 . All rights reserved. www.mulliganplus.com Created By Tayfusion.com ∞

You might also like