Playing Carnoustie

BY MURRAY BOTHWELL

PHOTOGRAPHY - HARVEY JAMISON

5 MIN READ

By sheer coincidence, birdies are behind the naming of this famous golfing mecca. Crows which nest in a 225-year-old willow tree, believed to have grown from a discarded garden planting stake, or dibble, in 1797 are the likely source of the town’s name: a ‘Craw’s Noustie’ or crow’s nest is still seen each year in the Dibble Tree. In more recent times, it’s been a different type of birdie that visitors to this town on Scotland’s east coast have been searching for.

The coastal links which stretch south from Montrose to Monifieth are a rich pocket of golfing history and classic links. Carnoustie’s three courses sit squarely at its heart, on the edge of a large, 6,000-year-old triangular sand dune system which extends into the River Tay estuary. The Buddon, named after the nearby military firing range, and the Burnside, the second course at Carnoustie, are by no means second rate and are a good warm-up or day-after location for a game.

The Championship Links has a prestigious pedigree. Shaped by the hands of Robertson, Morris and Braid they delivered a course which was Open-worthy in 1926. Known today as 'golf's greatest test' but colloquially as Carnasty, the Carnoustie Golf Links Championship course is famous for its burns, OOB and its 112 world-famous bunkers. Its skilful U-shape design ensures no two holes play in the same direction, requiring the golfer to concentrate at every stroke. Perhaps no other course is as strategic, penal and heroic all at the same time.

The town sees you out and welcomes you back, stretching out to the 10th tee at the far end of its houses. The Barry Burn greets you right off the first tee, a left-hand linear boundary as you make your way to the two-tier green, protected by an encroaching dune that shields a hidden bunker. Fairways are tight, and run-offs into the first cuts may give you some reprise: but roll too far and the deep, wispy red-tinged fescue of summer will snag your club and you’ll feel the bite of Carnoustie.

The dogleg 6th, a 579-yard monster into wind, and renamed Hogan’s Alley for well-known historical reasons, is cleverly protected by a string of four deep bunkers to the right and an OOB to the left, after which the fairway narrows and bends considerably. Beyond lies a very tricky second, with a ditch angling across the fairway and the OOB threatening still. The large green, with four bunkers grouped on its leeward side, has so many undulations there is no good place to miss it. 

The Burn comes back to bite you again at the 10th, protecting its green like St Andrews’ opening hole, and at the 11th where it meanders past the tee. A par-5 and a par-3 bring you to the world-famous Spectacle bunkers, guarding the green at 14 and staring deep into your soul. Then it begins: possibly the most difficult last four holes of any Open championship course. The 15th, at almost 460-yards, is as hard a par-4 as can be found, requiring a draw followed by a fade into the well-protected green: into wind, a five is magnificent. Managing a par-3 at the 245-yard 16th is something which evaded Tom Watson five times in 1975, so you really have to play within yourself: you’re not a tour pro, you’re here to have fun and you don’t need to make a living from this (thankfully). 

That Barry Burn is back again at the 17th, described by Frank Pennink as an “angry, twisting serpent that contains the venom needed to kill a scorecard”. It’s all about strategy and not strength, picking out the safest landing area. On the 17th a fade into a widening island of fairway moves you away from the lasso loop of the Burn, and gives your second shot a better chance of avoiding the string of greenside bunkers, angled to catch any short, left-to-right ball flight. Walking off to the right you turn to face the Hotel, the 495-yards to the par-4 18th green and the Burn, which you’ll bridge twice or perhaps three times depending on your tee box. The fairway is flat, but that’s no help. It’s 220-yards-plus to carry the Burn at the green, with OOB tight on the left and bunkers all around. 

Pick your positions all the way round, use a repeatable and safe swing and you may, just may, walk off at the final hole with a par, a smile and the applause of the watching locals and hotel guests. 

ArticlesAllan Minto