Average male golfers (with a handicap index of 20) are likely to post a score of +29 at Carnoustie, whilst at Kingsbarns it’s +24 and St Andrews Old it’s likely to be +23 Ladies – Carnoustie has a Bogey Rating of 110.3, St Andrews Old Course 108.0 and Kingsbarns 100.4.
Full Answer
(David Cannon/Getty Images) Golf has been played on the linksland in St. Andrews, Scotland, since the 12th century. Shepherds knocked stones into rabbit holes back then. Now players sport space-age technology, but the Old Course remains one of the game's landmarks.
Professional and intermediate players will always play on a 18 hole course. Each round on an 18 hole course stretches out at a longer distance. The extra fairway allows golfers to hit some long shots, and while really testing their skills. The average score a golfer will make after 18 holes is 90 strokes.
Average Golf Score (By Age) Age Average Score (18 holes) 7-10 Years Old 144-180 10-20 Years Old 89-180 20-30 Years Old 89-90 30-40 Years Old 91-92 4 more rows ...
Now players sport space-age technology, but the Old Course remains one of the game's landmarks. The historic course has a way of identifying the world's best players. Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Bobby Jones, Sam Snead, Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo all have won on the Old Course.
The 17th on the Old Course is considered to be one of the most difficult holes in all of golf. On a course labelled the “Home of Golf” there are always going to be tests that push your golfing ability to the limit. The Road Hole is for sure the toughest test.
36 or belowThe Old Course at St. Andrews requires all golfers to have a handicap of 36 or below. Muirfield and Royal Portrush Golf Club are a little more restrictive, both requiring an 18 or better to play the course (24 for females at Royal Portrush).
It will amaze many, but with a bit of planning and a bit of luck playing St Andrews is actually very easy. You just need to be organised.
All golfers on the St Andrews Old course are required to have a recognised handicap. Both men and women should have a handicap of 36 or lower. This is a new higher limit for men, introduced in 2020. All golfers must be able to present an official handicap or certificate prior to play on the Old course.
You will need a handicap certificate to play the Old Course. So be sure to register for one with the USGA or your local club in advance of your trip. Maximum allowed handicaps are 24 for men and 36 for women.
Anyone can play golf in St Andrews. Of the town's 10 golf courses only the Old Course requires a handicap and there are plenty of options depending on your budget.
After initially getting your bearings, play the St Andrews New or Jubilee courses. Both of these links courses are underrated and don't get the credit they deserve because they live under the shadow of the Old Course. The greens on the New and Jubilee are typically faster than the Old Course.
Strategic options are endless on the Old. The fairways are hundreds of yards wide in places and many of the double greens are over 25,000 square feet. That combination leads to a huge variety of angles and pin placements that, in combination with the wind, mean no two rounds are ever alike.
St Andrews Links has hosted the Open Championship more than any other course. It typically hosts the Open every five years. St Andrews Links provides unique challenges with its infamous bunkers, including the Old Course's “Hell Bunker” on 14 and the Road Hole on 17.
Unless you're Stevie Williams or Joe LaCava, you won't get rich caddying, even at St. Andrews. Caddies there – as they are at most courses – are independent contractors, earning their standard fee of 55 pounds ($69) plus gratuity, usually another 20 to 25 pounds ($25-$30).
The St Andrews Old course has restrictions on use of trolleys (pull carts) - they are only permitted after 12 noon between April and October. A caddie is therefore essential for many golfers who would not wish to carry their own clubs.
There are roughly 300 members of Augusta National, and being invited by one of them is the quickest way to get a round in at the famous course. Members are allowed to bring a guest on the course for a relatively small fee of $40.
Expect to see birdies and eagles aplenty at the fifth, the first of only two par-5s on the Old Course. Those who find the fairway off the tee will fancy their chances of firing a second shot over the Spectacles bunkers and finding a putting surface that is an astonishing 100 yards long. A deep swale guards the green and makes it tougher to get home in two, but the world's best will be confident of picking up at least one shot here.
Named after the Champion Golfer of 1927 and Amateur Champion of 1930 at St Andrews, 'Bobby Jones' presents two distinct options off the tee. Those seeking to play it safe on this par-4 can lay up and have plenty of room for error, but there is also the option of taking a bolder line with a driver, taking aim at a narrowing, undulating strip of fairway that runs up to the green. This putting surface is shared with the eighth and slopes from back to front.
Club selection is vital at the par-4 15th, a hole that demands accuracy off the tee. The fairway narrows significantly at around 300 yards and has pot bunkers a little further up, so many may choose to leave the driver in the bag. A deceptively deep green, shared with the third, appears closer than it actually is and is guarded by a devilish pot bunker to the front left.
The Road Hole is undoubtedly the Old Course's most demanding test and regarded by many as the toughest par-4 in golf. It has consistently played to a scoring average well above its par at The Open, including an average of 4.79 in 1984 and 4.65 when St Andrews last hosted the Championship in 2015. The tee shot needs to be fired over the corner of the Old Course Hotel to find the fairway, although many will bail out left with out of bounds to the right. An even trickier challenge awaits with an approach to the shallowest of greens, protected by the cavernous Road Hole bunker at the front and a path and wall to the back. Miguel Angel Jimenez famously played a rebound shot off the wall in 2010, but many others have come to grief here.
The first hole at the Old Course, which shares its fairway with the 18thA view of the green at the second holeThe 'Cartgate' bunker protecting the green at the thirdThe fourth fairway at the Old CourseThe huge green shared by the fifth and 13thA view of the undulating sixth fairway
The enormous Shell bunker on the seventhThe par-3 eighth, known as 'Short'A view of the ninth, with the town of St Andrews in the distanceThe 10th hole, which shares its green with the eighthThe 'Hill' bunker has to be avoided on the 11thA view from behind the green at the 12th
The first of six holes to be played back towards the Auld Grey Toon of St Andrews, the eighth is one of only two par-3s on the Old Course. As it often plays downwind and has a green that falls away from front to back, it can be difficult to hold the putting surface. Anyone looking to land the ball on the front portion of the green risks finding a high lipped bunker just ahead of the short grass.
Drive left of centre to avoid a cluster of bunkers on the right. The major hazard on this hole is Cartgate Bunker, to the left of the green. The further left the drive, the more this bunker comes into play on the approach.
The large green tilts slightly towards the back and is difficult to hold. A high lipped bunker guards the front. It can require a wood or a short iron, depending on the strength and direction of wind.
Drive for the clock on the R&A Clubhouse. The road across the fairway is an integral part of the course and the ball must be played as it lies. The Valley of Sin is the final hazard on the course, and this is perhaps the most often three putted green in golf.
This demanding par three has been described as the shortest par five in golf. In any kind of wind it is challenging to find and hold the green which slopes from back to front. Hill and Strath are the archetypal greenside bunkers.
Stay left from the tee to avoid the bunkers and gorse on the right. The ideal position is the right of Cheape's Bunker. The approach must take into account the pronounced diagonal ridge which forms the chief obstacle to the green.
A slope rating evaluates the relative playing difficulty of a course for players who are not scratch golfers. View the slope rating of the Old Course via the link below.#N#Old Course Slope Rating Certificate
The prudent shot is to the front right corner of the green, while avoiding the road.
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