Favourite Old Course memories

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Obviously, my first memory is playing the Old Course for the very first time. I was a guest of Roy Owen, the then Professor of French at St Andrews. I started 5-4-3. That in itself was something special. But the great thing was having a real St Andrews historian alongside. He could say, 'I remember when Bobby Locke hit it from exactly that point and missed the green on the left.' If I hit the green I felt I had achieved a miracle. If I missed, well, so did some other great golfer. Owen had witnessed them all and was able to put everything into context. I don't suppose there are many other courses on which you could get such context. He lived in the same road in St Andrews in which Tom Watson rented a house in 1984. As Tom set off to play his last, unsuccessful, round, Owen wished him luck saying that nobody from West Acres had previously won the Open Championship. Nobody has still. 

I remember playing it many, many times with my brother-in-law, but I also played it once with my wife. In those days you didn't need a handicap. You just put your name down for the ballot. Neither of us then had a handicap. Her par four up the 18th brought applause from members of the New Club watching from their clubhouse. The hole was straight into a strong wind. A solid drive and wonderful 5-wood got her on the green. She was brought up in St A's. You don't three-putt. She didn't.

[Bart Bradley]

Mark:

I drove into St. Andrews for the first time late at night.  Was having a hard time finding my hotel and was a bit lost.  I turned down a side street and flipped on my bright lights trying to find a street sign.  Directly ahead about 50 yds away was the Swilcan Bridge!  Unbelievable.

Bart

[Jason Topp]

Arrived for the first time on a Sunday in 1992.  Woke up at about 4 am due to the time change.  Walked the course in the beautiful early morning light. 

I played the course on the last day of our trip.  My father parred the final hole and was thrilled.

Green fees were 35 pounds, which was a hefty increase from a few years before.

[Tommy Williamsen]

On the twenty-fifth anniversary of my ordination my congregation sent my wife and me to Ireland and Scotland for two weeks of golf.  How's that for a great bunch of folks.  We drove into St. Andrews the evening before we were to play.  I sliced my first tee shot out of bounds then hooked my second onto the 18th fairway.  Still broke 80 in a windy drizzle.  It was a great day.

[David_Tepper]

Not mine, but a good friend from San Francisco went to TOC as a single a number of years ago and got paired with Bill Russell, the great American basketball player. He had a great time. The highlight of the round was when Russell holed a wedge from 70 yards on the 18th hole in front of a sizable crowd of onlookers, who were suitably impressed.  

[Tim Johnson]

Walking off 11 after taking a bogey, playing with a member named Bruce. "Tim, I havent been telling you what to hit, just pointing out the dangers on the course but if you hit it a good one on 12 you may reach the green. There is trouble left but if you stay right you could be alright." Will always rremember telling Bruce I may not make it back to TOC so what was his suggestion. Somehow I followed his instructions perfectly and reached the green, 25 footer, two subtle breaks, center cut eagle. Greatest drive I ever hit.

Tap in par on 18 to applause from the gallery was also nice.

[Sean_A]

My favourite memory has to be 1995 when Costantino Rocca holed the monster putt through the Valley of Sin after fluffing his chip AFTER  hitting a great drive.  The man took the fans from deflation to ecstasy in a matter of moments.  Anything is possible in golf.  

From a personal perspective my favourite moment came again on 18.  I called a perfectly executed drive to the flat 1st fairway dead at the R&A.  Then followed it with a stiffed wedge with our party and more standing about about.  As I walked up folks were shouting "hole it out" (an obvious 6 inch gimme), so I did, then took a bow.  What a ham, but a happy ham.

Ciao

[Jeff_Mingay]

First time I played, in 2005, was with a fantastic gentlemen from Dundee who'd never played the Old Course before - either had I.

He had his young son caddy for him. His son, about 10 years old, was a very impressive young kid, too. We went out as a twosome. Great situation, great company.

We played the outward nine into a very, very strong wind. When we got to the 11th tee, the wind was as strong, into us, as it had been up to that point. My playing companion, who was about a 15-handicap or so, pulled out driver and hit a tour-caliber tee shot - trajectory into the wind was unforgettable - right at the flag to about two-feet above the hole then putted off the green!

We turned and I drove the green at the 9th, only to four-putt for five. I also recall hitting my best tee shot, downwind, at the Road hole, chunking a 9-iron that just avoid going into Road bunker then getting up-and-down for par!  

It was my pleasure to buy this gentlemen and his son lunch at The Jigger afterward. Very memorable

[Greg Taylor]

Playing it in the morning, and then playing again in the afternoon - most expensive days golf ever...!

Have subsequently played it and had a great round spoilt by a bunker, and bounced off the roof the OC Hotel, and manage to par the 17th. Just a great day out...

Here is one of my favourite photos.

[Sean Leary]

In 2004, my best friend from college and I got on via the ballot. Showed up and my caddie had a Red Sox hat on (I am a diehard), so I jokingly said that was a good omen for my round.

Got it to 4 under on the back before careening in for a 1 under,  then career low round of 71. 3 months later, the Sox won the WS for the first time since 1918.

[Anders Rytter]

I hit a mid/long iron from the tee on 10th to play safe, then holed my seccond shot from 120ish meters with a couple of guys looking on from the elevated 11th tee.

[jim_lewis]

This will take a while. It's one of the great memories of my entire life.  In 1984 I traveled to Scotland with my wife and two sons, aged 12 and 9. Both boys were pretty good players for their ages. We went to Prestwick and Turnberry first, because they would allow the boys to play.Then we drove to St. Andrews and checked in to our hotel just above the R & A around noon. I had called in advance and spoke to the starter, Mr. Christie, to arrange for me to play, so I sent the family to see the town and I headed to the course to meet Mr. Christie. When I arrived, he informed me that the 3 locals that I was scheduled to play with had cancelled, but that he would put with another group. I thanked him for allowing me to play and mentioned that my only regret was that my older son could not play. I assured him that the boy was a good player but was only 12. He said, "Go get him". I rushed up the street with my spikes on and had a sinking feeling when I realized that I did not know where my son was. Fortunately, the shops were still closed for the noon hour, so I saw the family looking in a shop window. I yelled to my son to go get his clubs. We only had 5 minutes til tee time. He hurried, got his clubs and we teed off as a twosome. My most enjoyable round of golf ever! I still get get goosebumps when I tell the story. BTW, the next day we went to Carnoustie and were successful in talking our way onto the course, in spite of a 14 year age minimum. Second greatest day.

Jim

[John Handley]

Bear with me...

My first ever trip to Scotland(circa 1997) and we were staying at The Old Course Hotel.  We had arranged golf at Carnoustie, Loch Lomond, Turnberry, Troon but were unable to secure a time at TOC.  I tried to get us on the ballot for a Saturday but was unsuccessful and the course was closed Sunday, of course, and then the following week for the Johnnie Walker Cup.  People had suggested to get to the starter shack at by 7am and get in line for any openings. Great in all but I had a twosome, me and my Father, both first timers.  I walked from the Old Course Hotel to the 1st tee and it was an almost religious experience looking at the R&A realizing I was on hollowed ground.  I went a little after 6am.   The euphoria lasted until darkness gave away to the 15-20 people already ahead of me in line.  HORROR!  My heart sank as I realized we would not get one (let alone two) of the available spots as a single.  I put our names in and went back to the hotel to share the bad news and have breakfast with my parents.  A little while later during daylight I went back to the starter shack and things had progressed and it now appeared we would get off on TOC but playing in different groups.  But still.  I sat there from 7am until noon watching the starter call out the tee times and players putting the peg in the ground right on the minute.  What an efficient operation.  At around 12:45pm my Father was second on the list followed by me.  They called the name ahead of us to join a local threesome.  Amazingly, the guy in front of us had decided to leave and play elsewhere so my Dad was up next.  The stars aligned and the threesome was now only a twosome so my Dad and I were going to get to play together!  There had not been anything but singles get out from 7a until now.  I was ecstatic and to make thing better, the local allowed us to play as his guests and we paid 42 pounds!  What a deal.  Now I am so excited and ready to play, we step up to the first tee.  A crowd had gathered by now as it's lunchtime in St. Andrews.  I had played my first ever shot in Scotland over and over in my head.  I pull out 3wood and proceed to lace it....dead left into 18 fairway.  I monsterous hook that would probably have been out of play anywhere except for the first tee of TOC.  I have a pretty straightforward second shot and manage to get it on the green.  Once on the green I can now breathe and recover from some of the embarassment from my tee shot.  I step up to my 50 footer and low and behold drained the damn thing.  First hole played in Scotland and BIRDIE!  I honestly felt like I was dreaming.  I said I should just go in and head to the pub and enjoy my 1 under round.  But instead I played my way around and had a fun day with my Dad.  I finished the day at 82, not great but it didn't matter.  I got to play TOC with my Father.  Sorry for the long story but it is one of my favorite moments in my golfing life.

[Joel_Stewart]

Shot 76 in the wind and very wet conditions.  The course was sloppy after a month of rain.  Made eagle on #9 with a long putt and parred the road hole.  Had a drunk for my caddie that was maybe 80 years old and he wore a trench coat.  Shot 77 the next day at Carnoustie under the same conditions. 

[Ross Tuddenham]

While playing with my dad up the 18th I hit an ok drive into the wind and decided to play a long punched, chip and run 8 iron into the green. The ball rolled up to about 20 foot right of a left hand side hole location.  While approaching the green I notice my mum is standing behind the 18th green after deciding to come and watch us in, so I really felt the pressure to hole the putt.  I spent a bit of time reading the putt and managed to knock it in for a birdie and hopefully made my mums day.

[Ally Mcintosh]

I quite enjoyed the time I went 2-2 for consecutive eagles on the 9th and 10th...

[Ed Brzezowski]

1999 with my best fiend, now gone due to ALS.  Hit a nice drive on four followed by a better five wood. Get to the  green and I have a 90 yard putt,back to the front. Caddy says" right edge". Put it an inch away, never want to try that  again.

[Steve Okula]

I saw TOC for the first time attending the Open in 1995. A friend had provided me with a VIP pass for the week. That was a great time - clubhouse access, being served with  all the food and drink I could wish for, rubbing shoulders with celebrities.

The course was awe-inspiring. It is a cathedral of golf - God's own golf course. That's how it should be listed in the books:
"Architect: God Almighty". I have never experienced that sort of reverence for any other course I've set foot on, great as they may be. Nothing can compare to TOC.

But the highlight was my first contact with BIGGA, the British greenkeepers association. As I wandered about one afternoon, just outside the course I spied an unimposing building with a sign out front, "BIGGA Headquarters". Being an American superintendent, I went in to introduce myself. Inside was essentially a bustling pub, the air was blue with cigarrette smoke, which wasn't enough to suppress the smell of stale beer. I could see people in there lurching and staggering about. I felt right at home.

There was a folding table just inside the front door, tended by a reasonable gentleman who inquired as to my business. I explained who I was and declared my interest in the Association. He listened politely and said, "Right! Have you got fifty quid?"

"As a matter of fact I do." I replied as I handed him the note.

"Right! You're in!" And turning around behind him to shout at the barman, "Henry, give this man a pint, he's our new member!"

I spent the rest of the afternoon in the delightful company of my new found colleagues and have been a memeber of BIGGA ever since.

I went back to play the course in September of that year. I arranged to meet my late father there, a life-long avid golfer but first-timer in Scotland. We weren't able to book tee times, and we had no luck in the lottery, so we went on stand-by, arriving something like 05:30 to be at the front of the queue. Fortunately for us, the weather that morning was nightmarish, wind and rain coming down sideways, so we only had to wait two or three hours for two places to open up in the same group.

This was my first time golfing on a links course, and it was a shock to find that I couldn't put a wedge shot into the air and expect that the ball would finish in the general direction that it started. The wind was so fierce going out that the balls would not sit still on exposed parts of the greens, they would be pushed into hollows or off the putting surfaces, so I didn't keep score.

Around the turn, it calmed down, and then turned sunny and pleasant for the last six holes or so. I was proud to have finished the last two holes 5-3.

[Connor Dougherty]

It was last summer. I had been up to watch the Stanley Cup Finals, and once that was over, I strolled down to the starters shack at about 3 am to get me and my dad on. We got on the tee on a nice summer day and there was a slight breeze. I had a birdie on 2 and got to the 5th tee 1 under, but I felt like it could have been lower. I hit a pretty bad drive into the fescue on the left. My caddie recommended that I hit an iron, maybe a hybrid. After looking at how thin the grass was, I asked the caddy for a 3 wood. I had learned how to hit a 3 wood out of the rough after hearing that Phil Mickleson gripped the club tighter to swing through the rough. I hit a high fade that looked on target and felt pretty good.

We spent about 3 or 4 mins looking for it. As a joke, I said, "Maybe it's in the hole!" But sure enough, my ball was sitting right in the bottom of the cup.

It's my only Albatross/Double Eagle. I don't think I could have picked a better place.

[Rich Goodale]

Walking over the course on a wintery but spectacularly sunny Sunday morning with my wife after a great night at the Old Course Hotel.  Without players and in the seductive light of winter, the course reveals itself to you as it will never do in the middle of summer with waves of pilgrims hacking their way towards nostalgia.

[Mark Chaplin]

Flew in Friday morning arrived at the R&A for noon, lunch on the round table over looking the 1st tee and 18th green, serious damage to the exceptional wine list. Nervous first tee shot - straight down the middle - then a soft 9 iron that hit the pin but refused to drop. Standing on the 16th tee three up but only getting a halved match....ouch. Coffees and a nice bottle of 1977 port in the Big Room. Happy days!

[Mark Chaplin]

Brian - as you saw on Saturday night RCP members don't mess around, life is too short for half measures!!

[Marty Bonnar]

Brian - as you saw on Saturday night RCP members don't mess around, life is too short for half measures!!

I believe this requires further explication!!!

My fave memory of TOC was a fun week spent marshalling the 8th hole at the 2000 Open. Inside the ropes is a much better place to be to watch golf at St A.
2nd fave MUST be playing it in reverse with fellow gcaers...

F.

[Ron Farris]

Arrived Saturday night......Walked the course and watched my 2 year old daughter play in the Road Hole Bunker on Sunday.
Checked in for Monday play as a 2 handicapper.......they actually looked at my card.  They asked about my wife............19 handicapper (for 9 holes)..........breathlees off the first tee.

Hit a double cross so far left of the Church Pews I went into a fit.......Caddie says great shot laddie! Thats the way some pros play it in these conditions.

Blocked a shot on the Road Hole tee shot - yelled crap that is in the swimming pool!   Caddie says great shot laddie that should be perfect.  185 in with a 4 iron bump and run.......whoo hoo on in two!

[Mark Chaplin]

Martin - I left the club at 1.30am and you will understand the code of privacy that exists  .

I'm sure Sheehy "went on" as the last guest didnt arrive back at the B&B until 3.30am, RCP takes no responsibility for well dined members in town during the early hours!!