The Open 2018: What happens when an amateur golfer takes on Carnoustie?
Avoid the bunkers at all costs
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Your support makes all the difference.Driving into the town of Carnoustie in eastern Scotland, you could be forgiven for missing the suspiciously few road signs for its famous golf course.
You might even begin to wonder if the townsfolk are attempting to keep the historic links all to themselves.
This was my first experience of playing an Open venue, potentially a foolish move as Carnoustie is regarded as the toughest course on the Open rota and, indeed, one of the hardest in the world.
Did I play in ideal summery conditions? Nope, I faced 18 holes in the wind, rain and bone-chilling freeze of March.
Now, before you call me Don Quixote, I did have a support system in the form of my single-figure handicap father, who has spent decades playing Scottish links courses. It’s just a shame I take advice on club selection like Donald Trump takes constructive criticism.
On arriving at the clubhouse, you get to glimpse your first burn, which is guarding the 18th pin. It cannot be understated how much heartache these deep brick-lined and water-filled ditches inspire if you have a tendency towards over-confidence.
The new clubhouse building was opened only a few months before the Open. After £5m of investment, players get to experience a slickness seldom seen outside of a luxury American hotel.
Staff welcome you on arrival by taking your clubs, allowing you to get ready in the locker room and peruse the extensive logo-filled stash in the pro shop.
Continuing the hotel theme, The Rookery restaurant on the first floor splits into two sections, one for coffees and beers and another for fine dining. From the bar area and restaurant, visitors can enjoy scenic views looking out over the course.
The clubhouse’s modern aesthetic may not be to the taste of traditionalists looking for a classic spike bar with wood-panelled walls and a sage barman. However, as those sort of experiences are dime a dozen across Scotland, Carnoustie can be forgiven for embracing the 21st century.
Indeed, the club has seven virtual simulators that each player is allowed access to for 20 minutes ahead of their tee time. What better way to allay your first tee jitters than by taking a moment to correct your newfound shank in the privacy of a simulator booth?
On stepping onto the first tee with my dad-shaped Sancho Panza, I was not a little nervous thanks to the colossal Open stands already dotted in my eyeline.
The fact the seats were all empty didn’t take away the feeling of being under constant TV scrutiny.
I won't bore you with the hole-by-hole analysis of the round (my wife assures me this is less than edifying). I think we're better off studying how the course holds up to a mid-handicapper such as myself – 14, if you’re interested.
Greens are an important barometer of any golf experience and Carnoustie does not disappoint. Fair and well-paced, these greens reward rather than punish golfers aiming to hit the back of the cup. For those who aim for the ball to die into the hole, this course will force you to inject confidence into your strokes or suffer at the hands of its subtle contours.
So why is Carnoustie so tough if the greens aren't its biggest challenge? Because it has four key hazards that work together to prevent you picking up easy pars and cheeky birdies.
The first is the aforementioned burns. These hazards slither across fairways, surround greens and line the borders of holes. As the 1999 Van de Velde disaster highlights, it is futile to attempt to hit a ball out of these watery demons.
As his final hole double bogey reminds us: when the burns are ahead of you, play conservative and protect your scorecard.
Only a fool backs himself to carry the ball 210 yards over a burn onto the 18th green into the wind - on this occasion, that may or may not have been me.
Secondly, we have the bunkers - the most cleverly placed sand hazards I have ever experienced. These are perfectly designed to catch out the off-line shot or prevent short cuts for bigger hitters.
There are no bunkers on this entire course built for show, prompting me, after my third bunker in as many holes, to start thinking harder about my course management.
The deep backs to the bunkers prevent golfers from entering even those on the fairway with much more than a pitching wedge – always galling to know the best you can hope for is a bogey 200 yards from the green.
Thirdly, we have the fairways themselves. Working in close concert with the bunkers and burns, the fairways offer little to no flat landing areas.
Shots hit a little bit to the left or right are in real danger of following the contours straight into a hazard. This was the dilemma facing us on a perfectly moist March evening, let alone those playing on baking July afternoon with rock-hard surfaces.
Fourth and finally is the true grim reaper that magnifies the previous three hazards – the wind. There is always wind at Carnoustie, unsurprising given it is situated on the North Sea on a similar latitude to northern Denmark.
The wind is never constant but rises and falls in strength hole-to-hole minute to minute. Teeing down my drives and taking advantage of my two-iron helped my pitiful distance shots avoid being totally nullified by the gales.
Carnoustie, despite its difficulty levels, is a truly fun course to play. This is no strange masochistic streak on my part. This is a genuinely fair course that punishes poor shots and tolerates good ones. I somehow managed to scramble the ugliest 89 (Par 72) of my entire golfing existence.
I could talk about the views at sunset of the few tall pines hovering over the greens at the turn, or the ominous hotel clock glaring at you through the twilight gloom on the closing four holes… but these experiences are for you to discover and discover them you should.
While the Open will showcase the holes and the course’s power to impress, playing it with only the wind and a distant tee shot reaching your ears, is an unforgettable moment worth adding to your golfing bucket list.
Just before I forget: I beat my dad by two holes on the 18th, so thank you Carnoustie.
If you are interested in playing Carnoustie, book well in advance and give yourself time to get round as it can busy in high season www.carnoustiegolflinks.co.uk
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