Scotland: Carnoustie: Championship Course
Carnoustie is an ancient golf course on the way between Aberdeen and St. Andrews, closer to St. Andrews, but still 45 minutes north. Carnoustie is yet another Scottish golf course jewel in the crown dating back to the 1500’s. However, the caddies will tell you the game that was played back then likely does not in any way resemble the game we play today.
The golf course as we know it was designed (mostly) by Old Tom Morris and Allan Robertson –and the 18 hole format opened in 1867. The tagline for Carnoustie is “Golf’s Toughest Test” (it’s even written on the side of the pro shop). It’s quite intimidating. The day we played it, there was no wind and not a cloud in the sky. So I absolutely fell in love with the golf course as I beat my handicap by 8 strokes. Don’t expect this to be the case when you play here.
That said, this is a very serious golf course with a ton of history. It has hosted many Open Championships dating back to 1931; they even have a video on a loop in the main clubhouse of Jean Van de Velde’s 1999 British Open meltdown to remind you… this course is no joke.
I think part of the dichotomy of this golf course is that when you look across it from the clubhouse it feels like a pretty flat golf course you can literally see clear across (so how hard could it be)? But that’s the thing, when the weather is up the layout is very hard, and errant shots are punished by landing in the “heather”, which is quite a bit different than playing out of regular scottish fescue. Caddies’ advice is that you should grab your club very tight as the heather is known for turning your club.
If it’s not the heather it’s the bunkers. This is the Principal’s Nose, and it’s a deceiving 15 feet deep at the face.
If the heather doesn’t get you, and you stay out of the bunkers, look out for the Burns. Make sure you know where these are because these tight man made streams criss cross the golf course, and are a certain penalty shot if you roll into one. Especially beware on 17 and 18.
Going back and forth on the golf course is all fine and good until you come to the walk between the 15 green and 16 tee box. It says something to the effect that the “next 3 holes are among the hardest in golf… slow play will not be tolerated.” That’s not too intimidating.
Then you stand on the tee box of the par 3 (“Baby Burn”) and think it looks relatively easy. Be warned, the green is unholdable, you’re almost better laying up and chipping on so you can control your lie for your second shot.
Carnoustie is middle English for “The Crow’s Nest” and the logo is a tree with three crows flying above it. The Carnoustie tree is still alive and on the golf course, be sure to get a picture of you and your buddies in front of it. There is definitely an Edgar Allen Poe poetry irony in the name of the golf course… hark the raven, nevermore…
Dating back to the 1500’s, Carnoustie is a part of golf’s kingdom as host of the Open Championships eight times with epic history in every corner you turn, there are plaques commemorating historic golf moments by Ben Hogan, Tom Watson, Tiger Woods and more. Simply put, Carnoustie is a visit to a museum and a golf course in one tidy trip.
Be sure to pop for a caddie — a member of the golf club — to be regaled with the epic link’s history and colorful stories.
Ranking
- Bucket list rank (from 1to 5 buckets): 5 Buckets
- Caddies: 8 they use members they are awesome.
- Location:8
- Spectacle/ visual: 7
- History: 9
- New/ancient: Ancient
- Playability : 7 Really hard. Pray for good weather
- Memorability : 8
- Service/etc: 6.5 this is a private golf club, so you might feel somewhat out of place in the relatively unassuming restaurant and bar
- Shopping: 8 Shopping is good and prices are reasonable. Don’t forget to leave without a nice souvenir, or two or three. The Carnoustie logo is very recognizable.
