I was at TOC last Saturday, walking around on the course, while in transit from North Berwick to Carnoustie. Apart from Rory McIlroy, Padraig Harrington, and Henrik Stenson, it was pretty much deserted. On that day it was cold and raining for the whole day. As a sidelight, McIlroy was changing out of his rain gear at the boot of a VW Polo in the public parking lot next to where my car was parked. So much for the the high life of the tour stars.
Anyway, the course was green, but not like North American green, and certainly not lush in the North American sense. The ground felt firm even in the rain and dampness. The road hole bunker was pristine - it certainly has been rebuilt in the last month. The sod walls were perfect - a work of art. The surrounds were new grass, but still sparse like all the links courses. The first and 18th fairways still had dirt filled divots where no grass had filled in, even without play over the last month. The grass over here just doesn't grow all that fast. Dornoch and North Berwick are playing firm and fast, but are still green in the low lying areas where rain water collects.
I followed Rory while he played 17 and 18. Seventeen he hit two drivers; one a fade and one a draw. The fade caught the left side of the fairway leaving him 200 into the green. The draw was in the hay. The angles off the new tee are still the same. The line is not over the hotel proper. He hit 4 iron in to about 15 feet to a right pin position. Missed the putt. On 18 into a light breeze he hit another fade off a parked car into the middle of the fairway and then a second one directly to the same place as the first ended up. Surprisingly they were only about 30 yards past Granny Clarke's Wynd. He flew his second onto the green and it didn't spin much.
Harrington came off the practice ground and teed off number 2. His first drive was a fade into the gorse. The second was striped. Nice to have a caddy flip you another ball until you get it right.