The final round of our trip was at Carnoustie, considered one of the hardest golf courses in Scotland. Located about 30 minutes north of St. Andrew’s, this course has hosted multiple Open Championships and is now home to Andrew’s best round ever in Scotland.
About Carnoustie Golf Links
The first indication the game was played in town can be found in the Parish Records indicating the year 1560. However, Carnoustie Golf Club wasn’t officially established until 1839. Around that time, the course consisted of 10 holes, laid out by Allan Robertson, the greatest golfer of his time and the man generally acknowledged to be the first golf professional. In 1867, Old Tom Morris extended the course to 18 holes but it was not until 1926, when the great James Braid was brought in to oversee sweeping changes, that the course became ready to receive the Open Championship.
Since then, the Championship Course has hosted eight Open Championships, two Women’s Opens and three Senior Opens making it one of the very few to have done so in the UK. It is one of three courses used for the annual Dunhill Links, the others being Kingsbarns and the Old Course in St Andrews. In 2018, the Championship Course was voted Best Golf Course in Scotland over £100 by the general public, the second time it has won the award in the past three years.
The Hotel and Clubhouse.
The Course
For everyday play, there are four sets of tees, ranging from 6,945 yards from the white tees down to 5,610 yards from the black tees. There were a few holes where they maintained but didn’t use the championship tees but from the looks of it, they can stretch the course to well over 7,000 yards for the pros.
The Championship Course is mostly out and back but in the shape of a “C.” The 11th green would be the end of the “C” before heading back towards the clubhouse. There are two major design features that make Carnoustie very difficult; tight fairways and a quite a few “no-go” spots. Not only are the fairways narrow but there is plenty of tall grass and gorse bushes very much in play. Adding to the difficulty are fairway bunkers and well positioned burns that oftentimes lead to automatic lay-ups.
Carnoustie Golf Links is also home to one of the most famous par 5’s in golf, the 6th, also known as Hogan’s Alley. During all four rounds of the 1953 Open Championship, Ben Hogan chose the more aggressive line between the Out of Bounds stakes and fairway bunkers.
Plaque and bench next to the 6th tee - Hogan’s Alley.
Driving Range
While Carnoustie does not have a driving range, they do have the Performance Centre with seven Foresight simulator bays, “Falcon launch monitors and the FSX Play software, allowing all golfers (from beginner to professional) to enjoy their golf in comfortable and relaxed surroundings.”
Carnoustie Golf Links Clubhouse
Clubhouse
The Clubhouse, also known as The Links House, overlooks the 1st and 18th holes of the Championship Course and houses the usual amenities along with the Indoor Performance Center. The locker room is massive and includes anything golfers would need pre or post round. Since the Senior Open Championship was being held at Carnoustie a few weeks after we played there, they had the Championship trophy displayed in the middle of the clubhouse.
Pro Shop
Outside of possibly Turnberry, the pro shop at Carnoustie Golf Links was the largest of any of the courses we played in Scotland. They carry Carnoustie branded apparel from just about any worldwide brand. They also offer personalisation service for selected pin flags, hats, bag tags and divot tools. While we didn’t use this service, it was located right in the shop with a quick turnaround time. Quick note, we had a later tee time so we did our shopping before the round (we were in Scotland the week after the summer solstice so it was light enough to play golf until at least 10:00 PM). Good thing we did because the shop was closed by the time we finished.
If you forget to pick anything up during your visit or just want some gear before you arrive, Carnoustie Golf Links operates an online shop that has quite the selection.
Although not actually part of the Carnoustie Golf Links, we recommend going across the street to visit Simpsons of Carnoustie. Opened in 1883 by golfer and pioneering club-maker Robert Simpson, this is the second oldest golf shop in the world. A cool feature of the shop is the roughly 2,500 bag tags from courses all around the world.
Simpsons of Carnoustie Golf Shop.
Bag Tags in Simpsons of Carnoustie.
Restaurant
The Rookery, located on the second floor of the Clubhouse, is open for lunch and dinner and overlooks the Championship Course.
Our tee time was midafternoon so we ate lunch and dinner at the Rookery. All four meals we ordered were very good and reasonably priced. We were at Carnoustie on a Tuesday afternoon and had no problems getting a table for both meals.
We also grabbed a bite at the turn, which happens to actually be between holes 10 & 11. As with every course, Andrew got a sausage roll at the turn, and this one was probably the best out of all the Scottish halfway houses.
View of Carnoustie from the Rookery.
Pricing
Our entire golf trip was one package so we couldn’t tell you exactly what it cost us to play Carnoustie but it was just under £300 per their website for prime season, which is May through October. They offer quite a good deal if golfers want to play all three courses within a three day period. It was about an additional £100 to add on the other two courses.
Regarding getting a tee time, our travel agent booked the tee time as part of the package. Our initial trip confirmation about 15 months before we travelled included our actual tee time. If you are not playing as part of a package, you can reserve a tee time here.
Caddies
We will say this for every course we played in Scotland and that is caddies are worth every penny. Since we booked a golf package, our agent reserved all of the caddies for us. If you book your tee time directly with the course, caddie bookings should be made directly through the Carnoustie Golf Links.
The cost for a caddie at Carnoustie at the time of our round was £70 plus gratuities, with that amount at the player’s discretion based on the level of service provided. After speaking to a few locals and doing a little research before our first Scotland trip, it seemed most golfers give more than the recommended 10% so we each gave our caddies £100 after the round.
Outside of the great banter that caddies provide, they were especially helpful this round for two main reasons. The first hole tee shot was slightly blind but that was it. The biggest hazard off the tees were the hidden bunkers and since there aren’t many trees, the caddies did a great job of giving us lines off the tees. Also, the greens were not severely sloped like they are at the Old Course so some of the breaks were much more subtle and harder to read. Beyond navigating the course, the caddies told great stories about the various Opens that have been played at Carnoustie.
View from behind the 18th Green.
Our Experience
Upon arriving on the first tee, the starter gave us the usual course rundown. While other courses gave us a branded pouch with various goodies, Carnoustie handed us a small box with tees and a pencil in it along with a scorecard. The conditions for our round were pretty mild with a steady one club breeze all day.
Carnoustie was the tightest course we played in Scotland. Not only are the fairways tighter, the fairway bunkers seem to be much more in play with larger areas around them that suck shots in. Also, a lot of the green side bunkers seemed to cut into the greens more than other courses and were far more penal in their depth and placement.
As far as the actual round, Andrew had his best round in Scotland and while he shot a 75, it felt more like an under par round. Even with five birdies, there were plenty of ways to make bogeys and he was extremely happy to end the round with no scores worse than bogey.
3rd Hole tee shot.
Greenside bunker on 5th Green.
After starting par, birdie, Andrew can say he was under par at Carnoustie Golf Links! However, he gave it right back on the third during a moment that defined links golf and a reason why Andrew loves it so much. With a perfect wedge number, he hit a great shot that landed within a few feet of the flag but just trickled over the green to a low area leading to a nearly impossible up and down.
After playing two more holes, we arrived to the 6th Tee, also known as “Hogan’s Alley.” The hole is named for Ben Hogan due to him taking the more aggressive line between the Out-Of-Bounds fence and fairway bunkers during the 1953 Open Championship. With the fairway being cut right up against the OB fence, we can confirm it is a very tight space for a driver.
Hogan’s Alley Plaque
6th Hole - Hogan’s Alley.
The next few holes followed the perimeter of the course with OB left along with the an abundance of punishing fairway and green side bunkers. A quick stop at the halfway house before the 11th tee, we set out back towards the clubhouse with a pair of “easier” holes, the short par 4 11th followed by the reachable par 5 12th.
From there, the short par 3 13th is much tougher than the distance would suggest followed by the Par 5 14th with the infamous “Spectacle Bunkers” about 50 yards short of the green. Even if carrying them on your second or third shot isn’t an issue distance wise, they dominate the sightline and completely obscure the view of the green, which is one of the slowest greens we have ever putted on from back to front. Then comes one of the hardest tee shots and par 4’s we have ever played. The 15th is a slight dogleg left with a fairway that slopes to the right. After that, the approach is long and very tight with a pair of green side bunkers along with two more about 25 yards short of the green. The placement of these bunkers really messes with the depth perception when it comes to where the front of the green actually begins.
Par 3 13th.
Spectacle Bunkers - Par 5 14th.
Something that stuck out when watching the 2018 Open Championship was the discussion about how hard the closing holes were at Carnoustie. While we obviously didn’t play the Championship tees, the last three holes are still very challenging. The 16th played about 200 yards that day and the markers were towards the back half of the tee without another one further back. When I asked about another tee box, our caddie informed us that they actually cut the tee further back for the Open but let it grow out at all other times. Unfortunately for Andrew, he found the green side bunker and couldn’t get up and down. However, he was able to steal a birdie on 17 after a solid drive, safe iron to the middle of the green, and holing a 40 footer. He followed that up with a solid fairway and green in regulation and two putt par on 18 to finish one of the most memorable rounds ever.
Par 3 16th Hole.
17th Hole at Carnoustie.
Walking down the final hole felt very special for multiple reasons. It was the closing hole of our golf trip, Andrew had a great round going and found the fairway on the 18th, and we could really feel and appreciate the history of this course and how many times we had seen great players walk towards the iconic white hotel building through the years. Speaking of historic 18th hole moments at Carnoustie, our caddie informed us that when they rebuilt/strengthened the Barry Burn wall on 18, they etched J. Van De Velde’s name and the year (99) in the top of the wall.
18th Hole Tee Shot.
18th Hole Carnoustie.
18th Green and Hotel at Carnoustie Golf Links.
Final Thoughts
One thing that really stood out about Carnoustie was how unique each hole is. Every round we played, there are a few standout holes at each course that Andrew distinctly remembers. However, of the nine courses we played in Scotland, Andrew could probably describe each hole at Carnoustie from memory. There are just enough distinct features out there that allow each hole to tell its own story.
Andrew picked up golf when he was in his early teens so the two main Open Championship moments that really stand out were Rocca’s epic putt from the Valley of Sin at St. Andrews in 1995 and Van De Velde’s collapse at the 1999 Carnoustie Open. Because of that, outside of the round at the Old Course, Carnoustie was the round that Andrew was looking forward to the most and was easily his second favorite Scotland course of the nine. Finishing the second golf trip with his best round in Scotland at one of the hardest courses just made this an incredibly memorable experience.