New Course, St Andrews
Par 71, 6,625 yards
Website: www.standrews.com/Play/Courses/New-Course
The Course: ‘New’ is a relative term at St Andrews. This course was laid out by Old Tom Morris in 1895.
The New Course, a traditional ‘nine out, nine back’ format, is a hard-running links with relatively small greens and plentiful amounts of gorse to snare an imperfect shot. The benefits of keep the ball low to the ground, particularly when the wind is up, become quickly apparent.
The first big test is comes at the 6th, a long, bunkerless par four with an undulating fairway which must be found. The 9th is a long par three to a partially-hidden green flanked for its length by the Eden Estuary.
The 11th and 14th are short but testing par fours, the 17th is a par three which can require a driver or three wood in windy conditions, while the 18th, playing back towards the recently-added Links Clubhouse, is a strong finishing hole.
Signature hole: The 9th is the kind of par three which will can only be found on a links course.
What makes it special? The New Course is the archetypal ‘out and back’ links course. It’s a fairer – and some locals would perhaps even say better – test than its famous neighbour.