Xander Smith

St Andrews - The Old Course #3/Top 100 World The Old Course. Possibly where golf was created and almost certainly where modern golf began, there is no more historic golf course. The big debate is whether the golf course is truly amazing or if history is what people truly love and admire. I don’t believe the two can be truly separated here or anywhere. Humans aren’t robots, we have hearts, and that’s a good thing. The golf course is truly the most unique I’ve ever played. Its ground is contoured beyond belief, it’s nowhere close to the flat course that you see on TV. The greens are insane, often giant and sloping. And when I say giant, I meant insanely big. The bunkering and gorse and rough locations are often mind boggling. While the strategy of “aim drives left” does work probably too often, there are so many mystery holes from the tee box. Course knowledge is a requirement, it’s the opposite of a course that is “in front of you”. The bunkers are insane, deep and some of the biggest you will find. The scale of the features are really hard to put into words. In fact, you can’t. While most won’t recognize most of the inland holes, due to the features not being as obvious on TV, 1,17, and 18 all instill an emotional excitement that is unmatched. 1 is maybe the easiest tee shot in golf, yeah my hands shook as I put the ball on the tee. 17 is simply the most exciting inland hole in the world. Is it because of history? Sure, it’s a factor. But it’s genius and difficult and brings a tension few holes do. I didn’t hit the hotel, but we heard and saw others do it. Are there flaws? Of course. This course wasn’t meant for this much play and this technology. You are frequently aiming into the direction of other players and the yell of “Fore” is constant. You actually criss cross at one point, causing safety issues and course slow downs. But the flaws become part of the charm. They will never be duplicated, nothing can ever be built like the Old. Having played it only once, all I can say is that I want to play it 100 more times. And even then, I don’t believe I’d truly know the course inside and out. Not sure you could play it and not learn something new every day. Is it the best course on earth? I don’t know and I don’t care. Is it the course I want to play again more than any other? YES. The most magical place in golf.