The Old Course vs The New Course

[ward peyronnin]

I was reviewing some yardage books the other day and trying to recall more regarding my one round at the New Course.
I recalled a conversation with the club secretary of Panmure who is also a member of the R&A where he stated that he personally, and others in his circle, actually thought the New  to be a better course than TOC.

I have only played either once so I do not feel qualified to weigh in but my friend Ted and myself used to have fun running thru a match play comparison between courses and I havent seen that done on here in a while . Would any of you care to weigh in or comment regarding what makes either one of these courses the better ?

[Adrian_Stiff]

Ward - This thread will either be very short or go into pages. I suppose the New is more regular than the Old and on the Old theres more blind, more chance of unusual bounces both short of the green and on the green, more blindness from the tee, more crowded, more dangerous. It just depends on the things you like. I heard lots of Old Course negatives, including 'its shit really if your honest'. I would probably term it magical, the New I would say is quite nice.

[Mark_Rowlinson]

The New does not imprint itself on your mind in anything like the same way as the Old. On just one playing you can recall a great deal about the Old Course (ditto the Eden) but it's hard to recall much about the New (or the Jubilee, for that matter). My late brother-in-law who lived in St Andrews for many years and played a lot of low handicap golf there always reckoned that the New was harder than the Old off the medal tees.

[Bill_McBride]

I thought the New was fun but not as much as the Old, and quite a bit more conventional.  There are some very good holes - 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 17 - but nothing like the great run of holes that the back nine of the Old Course represents.   That is magic. 

[Tony_Muldoon]

There have been a couple of photo threads on the New, where this question  gets consideration.


Mine

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,42823.0.html

but this one has better photo’s!

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,50086.0.html


I would think this is really  only an issue for those who live in Fife and have a links ticket or have played the Old a dozen or more times when you might wonder if it’s really worth twice the price of the rather good New course. 


I’m going to resurrect the Elie thread and ask what I feel is a more pertinent Question.

What is the second “must play” course in Fife?

[Gary Slatter]

There have been a couple of photo threads on the New, where this question  gets consideration.


Mine

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,42823.0.html

but this one has better photo’s!

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,50086.0.html


I would think this is really  only an issue for those who live in Fife and have a links ticket or have played the Old a dozen or more times when you might wonder if it’s really worth twice the price of the rather good New course. 


I’m going to resurrect the Elie thread and ask what I feel is a more pertinent Question.

What is the second “must play” course in Fife?

Tony, my answer to your question would be, the second must play course in the Kingdom of Fife is Crail Balcomie, then Elie, then Lundin, then Kingsbarns.  But that is only my opinion of courses.  At the Links my preference is the Old, then Eden, then the New, with the Jubilee and the Castle tied for 4th.

[Sean_A]

Both courses make my replay list at the current prices and I would reco The Old over The New.  I think The Old is superior, as The New is lacking in par 4s of sufficient interest and variety to compete with The Old.  However, when I factor in the money I would rather play The New more often.  

Ciao

[Tony_Muldoon]

Thanks Gary, I haven’t played all the course you have but I would play Elie over the New, then Crail then the Eden.   Each to their own.

[Gary Slatter]

Thanks Gary, I haven’t played all the course you have but I would play Elie over the New, then Crail then the Eden.   Each to their own.

Each to his own is correct, although in Fife it's hard to go wrong.  Picking a course is as tough as picking a broken nose during the winter in Calgary.

[Chris Kane]

Old v New is one of those questions where I'm not sure that locals are in the best position to judge. Think about the experience of playing the Old - entering the ballot to endure a five and a half hour deathmarch for eight months of the year. In contrast, the New rarely takes more than four hours and is a walk-up start most of the time. In addition, more daily club competitions (a big feature of golf in the UK, Australia etc, but not in the United States) are played on the New, so it is the 'home course' for many locals.

They are still wrong, but I can understand why they think as they do!

What is the second “must play” course in Fife?

Tony, I'm asked this question regularly, and its a very difficult one! If money is no object its probably Kingsbarns, but at £195 in the 2012 high-season it doesn't represent good value.

Any one of the New, Eden, Crail, Lundin or Elie could qualify.

I've started encouraging people who can only play two games to play Elie, or drive up to Carnoustie (not in Fife, obviously).  

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

We seem to be on a theme here. i concur. TOC is special in all the world of golf for so many reasons, great strategy, just great holes, incredible great complexes, endless great and challenging shots to me made. The timeless nature of the course. The New is a solid good course which i enjoy thoroughly. I think it is 7 or 8 is a very cool par 5 with the slot between the dunes to hit through. That feature used to be on the Ocean course at the Olympic Club. Sadly it did not make the cut a few years ago when some course changes were made. I agree the New lacks the memorable holes, especially 4's to put the course in the great group. It is my second favorite course in the area. I do not feel Kingsbarns is in the area for this definition.

[Ed Brzezowski]

 I had the honor of working the U S Am a few years ago. Was chatting with some nice Scottish kids who asked if I had played in St. Andrews. We were telling them the courses we had played and as soon as we said the New course they asked what we thought of number 9. What a memorable great par 3. They thought it was one of the most difficult par three they had ever seen.