FAQ
What is a links course?
A links course is built on sandy, treeless soil linking farmland to the sea, usually on a coast shaped by wind. The turf is firm, the bunkers deep and pot shaped, and the ground game, running the ball onto greens, stays in play. The Old Course at St Andrews is the original and the template.
What is the oldest golf course in the world?
The Old Course at St Andrews, with golf recorded on its links from the 1500s. The course took its now familiar 18 hole routing in the 1760s and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club has governed from beside the first tee since 1754. Prestwick and North Berwick are also among the very oldest.
Who designed Augusta National?
Augusta National was designed by Bobby Jones, the champion, with Alister MacKenzie, the architect of Cypress Point. The course opened in 1933 on a former nursery site in Georgia. The first Masters was played in 1934.
What is the hardest golf course in the world?
Oakmont and Carnoustie top most lists. Oakmont has hosted nine US Opens, more than any other course, with greens among the fastest ever measured. Carnoustie is the most brutal links in the Open rota, where the closing burn holes decided the 1999 and 2007 Championships.
How are golf course rankings decided?
Panel based publications send raters to score courses on strategy, design, conditioning and setting. Golf Digest and the global top 100 lists aggregate thousands of visits. Rankings shift slowly, but modern builds like Sand Hills, Tara Iti and Cape Wickham entered high within a few years of opening.
What does par mean on a golf course?
Par is the number of strokes an expert is expected to need, typically 70 to 72 for a full 18 hole championship course. Par 3s are short holes, par 4s standard and par 5s long. Total length, usually 6,500 to 7,800 yards from the back tees, drives the par and the difficulty.