Mysteries Of The Old Course

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Without mentioning anything about the reverse 18, what are some of the great little tweaks and rubs of the green that all of you have experienced at the Old Course?

One of my favorites is seeing how many people can and do three-putt the 10th, especially after either being on or just off of the green from the tee. The break is so obvious, yet, when addressing the putt, I never really can seem to putt that break! (Back and right pin placements especially!)

What are some of the others? (Many!)

[ChrisB (Guest)]

One thing that amazes me is how infrequently people seem to be able to birdie the 9th.  It is a wide open, completely flat green with no real difficult pin placements, and as long as you stay short of Boase's and the End Hole bunkers (both inside 100 yards form the green), there is no trouble off the tee.  But it is more common to see someone hit an indifferent wedge, misread the 30-footer, and have to make a 4-footer for par than it is to see a birdie.

I also can't figure out which road is tougher to play from--the 17th behind the green or the 18th from Granny Clark's Wynd about 125 yards from the green; I've found myself on both roads and I don't think I've ever had to play from a road on any other course I've played.

By the way, I'm 2 for 2 on getting up and down from the Road bunker--too bad I putted it in there first!!

[Mike Erdmann]

For me personally, it was having my approach shot to the 2nd green come to rest atop the wild undulations on the front of the green.  With the pin on the front right of the green, I had one hell of a time figuring how I would keep my putt closer to the pin than I already was!

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Chris, First time I played the Old Course, I had a ten footer for bird. I was lucky to make the four footer for par!

Same on Granny Clark's Wynd, How many times have you seen someone either short in the Valley and then chip up for a four-footer only to push that putt by the hole to the right? It always seems like the same pin placement.

I think it was John V. that was just recently telling me that he birdied #18 in front of a crowd, quite a feat, and in that same placement.

Another one is the Elysian Fields. I can't begin to tell you all how I planned on playing that hole for years. I could pull off the perfect drive each time, only to push the shot right almost over the fence each time,all while trying to lay-up that shot each and everytime!

[Mike_Cirba]

I enjoy the fact that one can stand almost anywhere on the 13th fairway, and not have a clue as to what to do next.  Nevermind what type of approach shot should be employed, I swear that fairway is more mysterious than the Bermuda Triangle.  I can imagine one losing total orientation and completely forgetting what hole, what golf course, what country, what continent, what planet, and what dimension they might be currently inhabiting.  

If there is a stranger place to find one's self in golf, I haven't seen it.

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Mike, another great one!

Hole O' The Cross is a totally perplexing hole to me. Please let me know sometime how to play it!

Has there ever been anytime in the history of golf architecture where an opportunity for Hole O' The Cross could be emulated?

[ChipOat]

I made 2 on Tom Morris (#18 to the uninitiated) with a couple of hundred people watching and the pin just over the Valley of Sin.

Hit a pretty good 5 iron into a strong headwind.  Got a loud hurrah went it went in and a nice round of applause when I picked it out of the cup.  Thought about throwing the ball to the crowd but decided it was too American "hot dog".

I'll remember that one forever, I bet.  Not sure why I haven't been back since.

See guys - I TOLD you it was too easy to be a finishing hole!!!

[Rick Wolffe]

Can anyone share the hystery of the 18th?

I have read a quote attributed to Old Tom that says the 18th green sits upon an ancient grave site.

[JohnV]

Tommy, I wish it was me, but it must have been someone else.  I did par it with the hole there, but I don't remember telling you that.  Are you sure you weren't talking to Constantino Rocca?

[THuckaby2]

This all from the same round one of my trips around TOC:

* one buddy skirts the wall to the right of the fairway on the Road Hole... party raging on one of the balconies of the hotel right above him... as he gets ready to hit his approach, one partier notices him and shushhes all the others... My bud laces a 3wood onto the front right of the green... the party ERUPTS into wild applause... he tips his cap and moves on... classic!

* yours truly makes the cardinal sin of going over said Road Hole green and is up against the wall... completely flummoxed in my unimaginative American mind, I'm about to pick it up and look for a place to drop the unplayable when the caddy nearly dies lunging at me to make me stop... he then hands me a 4iron and points to the exact spot to bank it off the wall... I do so and make it across the road, onto the green... caddy just smiles and hands me the putter...

* on 18, other friend hits his drive all the way to the bottom of the Valley of Sin... as we walk up, the 100 or so tourists watching all clap for him!  Of course they didn't see that his ball hit the crossing road and bounced about 50 feet in the air... mine carried the road and ended up 30 yards short of his... no I'm not bitter.  In the end his grandstanding, waving, bowing was summarily dismissed by the golf gods as he got down in 4 from where he was!  Much groans from the crowd... and a previous cheer for me as I had punched a 5iron through perdition up fairly close!  More groans as I missed the putt....

Damn that was fun.

I have other TOC stories but I'll stop now!

TH

[THuckaby2]

Chip - that ABSOLUTELY goes without saying.  Said caddie and I had a GREAT day.  On the famous #11 par 3, the wind was sort of against but not that strong... he talked me into hitting one club more than I wanted.  I proceed to lace it over the green!  Being the jovial sort I am, I just laughed as he stood there white-faced and told him I still loved him... so we got to the ball, over the back bank, and it was playable but I sure as hell didn't know HOW!  Well, once again, he points to a spot on the bank and hands me the later-to-be-overworked 4iron.  Tells me to SLAM it, even shows me the brief, abbreviated chop he wants me to do.  OK, being the jovial agreeable sort I proved to be on the tee, I figure what the hell, that's better than anything I could think of... I slam it, hit the spot dead on, the ball goes STRAIGHT UP, nestles softly by the pin.  Damndest shot I ever hit.  WE make par there and his tip is SECURE!

You can guess, this was one of the more fun golf rounds of my life.

TH

[DNGoldie]

Having observed a lot of golf on the old, some interesting things were:
*the good golfer hitting a perfectly struck high wedge into the 1st, to see it slam dunk into the swilken.
*to watch from the 5th green shot's under clubbed, then hitting the severe downslope 30m from the green and running thru the vally up close to the pin. Also the ball well clubbed landing 5m short of the green and running back into the valley. The golfer arrives at the green never knowing what road his ball took.
*imagine putting your ball from 70m away. I have seen many a player with a cross wind playing the 11th nearly hole out to the 7th. The shots are solidly struck with just a little too much fade compacted by the howling wind and the green falling away to the right. Then have the longest birdie putt in possibly all of golf.
-A quirky bunker which I doubt anyone has ever hit it in, Or know about. Is a very small pot nestled amounst dense heather about 60m off to the left of the 14th tee.
- the rocks(march stones) protruding a couple of feet from fairways scattered about the course aren't yardage markers.  They marked the property boundaries when the land was farmed years ago.