‘Home of Golf’ where heart is

By David Mullen

It is the number one item on every golfer’s bucket list. Virtually everyone that has a passion for golf has uttered the words, “Before I die, I want to play St. Andrews.” 

The exact roots are often debated, but nearly everyone recognizes that Scotland is the birthplace of golf, St. Andrews is its most venerable shrine, and Old Tom Morris is the father of St. Andrews. In 1865, Morris became the Keeper of the Green and is credited with improving the course layout, the grass fairways and shaping the famous 18th green.

In 1927, the man synonymous with “modern” golf history — Bobby Jones — said that if he could play one golf course before he died, it would always be St. Andrews. The 10th hole is named for Jones. The present-day Jones — Jack Nicklaus — said, “I fell in love with it the first day I played it. There’s just no other golf course that is even remotely close.”

Now through Sunday, July 17, the finest professional golfers in the world are competing in the 150th Open Championship on the Old Course at St. Andrews. It will be the 30th time that St. Andrews has hosted the Open. Morris, a four-time Open Champion, finished second in the inaugural Open Championship in 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club. 

The first time I ever played golf in Scotland, I played Prestwick. It has a narrow fairway on No. 1, with a wall bordering the right side built to protect the rail line and platform seemingly within reach. As the old adage goes, “I was as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs” and not just because I was hitting my first recorded golf ball in Scotland. I was hoping to avoid the mum and two lassies waiting for a train to Kirkcaldy.  

The beauty of the Old Course is that it is primarily a public park for residents to exercise their dog or gain access to the beach. It is the antithesis of Augusta National. Everyone is welcome. No gates or walls to deny access.

The layout of the Old Course can be loosely defined as nine holes out, nine holes in, with huge, often shared greens and more than 100 hidden bunkers. 

The par 72 course has only two par 3s and two par 5s. Through the center of the course is a road that interrupts a fairway in the way a local can interrupt play to take their Labrador on a frolic. That is part of the charm of St. Andrews. In a game defined as a “rich man’s sports” enjoyed by the “country club set,” St. Andrews is very public.

But not without its price. Residents have benefits, but access to the Old Course has changed over the years. The first (and only) time I played the course, I got up at 4 a.m., sat with my clubs at the starter’s box waiting for a cancellation by a local, was beckoned by the starter, paid my moderate greens fee, met my caddie and pressed on at 7:20 a.m. as the third group off.

Today, there are a number of “Authorised Providers” that offer golf packages including a guaranteed tee time on the Old Course. A ballot system has also been instituted where a drawing is held in advance of play. During high season (April to October), greens fees are approximately $320 plus caddy fees and tip. The public course is no longer for the pauper.

Everyone longs to play the Old Course, but along the Scottish seaside and within the grounds of St. Andrews is the Jubilee Course, built in 1897. The Jubilee Course is nearest the stretch of beach where the famous “Chariots of Fire” scene was filmed.

Then there is the New Course, also within the grounds and far less prestigious than the Old Course. The New Course earned the moniker because it is a mere pup, having been opened in 1895. 

The New Course is the Young Tom Morris of St. Andrews, impactful but not as revered. Many find it a more difficult challenge than its older sibling, but no one comes back from Scotland bragging about playing the New Course. 

The town of St. Andrews personifies charm, as if created in a movie lot in Burbank. But it was historical before it became golf’s Mecca, as the university was founded in 1413, and ruins of the cathedral in the center of the small town dates back to the 12th-century.

The Old Course, established in 1552, is the Home of Golf. It features the Road Hole, Burn, Ginger Beer, The Swilcan Bridge, Hell Bunker, The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and the undulating 18th green where locals lean over the white painted fence and wager on golfers coming home. 

Save Pebble Beach or Cypress Point on the Monterey Peninsula, St. Andrews is the most photographed golf course in the world. 

It’s a wonder that the Swilcan Bridge hasn’t faded from flash bulbs.

But, at the risk of being relegated to the dungy gallows that are surely located beneath the Rusacks Hotel, the Old Course at St. Andrews is not the greatest golf course in the world. It is not the greatest golf course in the United Kingdom. It is not the greatest golf course in Scotland. And it is not the greatest golf course within 120 kilometers of St. Andrews. 

Having the opportunity to play these courses that are well above my talent level, Royal County Down in Northern Ireland is the U.K.’s finest. I have also played Royal Portrush, Portmarnock, Lahinch, Waterville, Tralee, Ballybunion and Old Head. I love the courses on the westside of Scotland like Turnberry and Royal Troon and have played Muirfield and Carnoustie twice. North Berwick — a ferry ride from St. Andrews — is a superior golf course to the Old Course. 

My opinion on U.K. golf may be blasphemous, but at least it has base. 

I equate the Old Course to Old Yankee Stadium. Was it the best baseball stadium in the world? No, but it was the most significant and important. Where else could you go and experience the place that Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Derek Jeter all played? 

Is the Old Course the best golf course in the world? No, but it is the most significant and important. Where else could you go and tee it up where Old Tom Morris, Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods all played?

The Old Course at St. Andrews is the Home of Golf. Sometimes, home is not as grand as how you remember it to be, but it is where the heart is.