The first time I saw the Old Course at St. Andrews I thought it looked like a goat ranch. That was in 2005.
I still think it looks that way — evidence that I’m an American golf snob expecting every course to be immaculately groomed from tee to green with evenly cut rough.
No one denies that to win at the Old Course luck is often as big a factor as ball striking and putting. It’s not a great layout, carved out by Mother Nature and Hitler’s bombs. The course’s biggest defense is the weather. On the rare days when the weather is ideal, a lot of players in this week’s Open would shoot a bunch of 65s and lower. The par-5s are all reachable and five par-4s are drivable — with the right bounce of course.
So it may surprise you that I now revere the Old course, in love with the hallowed ground where golf was born — at least as we know it today. Stepping on the Old Course is like entering Wrigley Field. To say its iconic doesn’t seem to do it justice.
One of my fondest experiences during a wonderful 61-year career was attending that Open in 2005.
