The Old Course at St. Andrews 101

To this day, the Old Course at St. Andrews is referred to as the home of golf. Centuries of rounds have been played on the famed links, an untold number of events have taken place on its fairways, and hundreds of champions have been crowned on its 18th green. And every year, thousands of golfers make their pilgrimage to the game’s homeland.

But when you want to learn more about a place with so much history it can sometimes be intimidating to know where to begin. To help out any Old Course newcomers (or anyone with some knowledge who just wants to further their golf education), we decided to put together a package to help you. Below you’ll find a selection of our Old Course content, with links to written material, selected podcasts, and some photography as well. Hopefully you will learn something new or at least gain a further appreciation for the town, the course, and the people that came before us at St. Andrews.

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Podcasts

You could spend endless hours dissecting the home of golf. From the design to its history to its merits as a championship host, there is something for everyone. We’ve been lucky enough to talk with some of the most brilliant minds in golf about the Old Course, which we’ve highlighted here.

Yolk with Doak, Episode 35: All Things St. Andrews – Sometimes the best way to learn is to sit back and listen. In a 2022 episode of Yolk with Doak, Tom goes into great detail about the Old Course at St. Andrews. Hear his thoughts on the bunkers, the reverse routing, the course’s changes over the years, and much more.

How the Old Course Became the Old Course – Golf historian and architect Scott Macpherson dove deep into the history of the Old Course to dispel some myths about the links and discuss how the holes came about.

The Evolution of the Old Course – Historian Bob Crosby (@otey71) joined Garrett Morrison to discuss how the Old Course has evolved, sometimes in radical ways.

Podcast: My First Visit to St. Andrews – Your first visit to the Old Course is an experience you won’t forget. Tom Doak, James Duncan, Shane Bacon, Michael Clayton, Gil Hanse, and Zac Blair joined Andy Johnson to talk through their first time seeing the home of golf.

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Written Works

On the written side, we’ve collected a combination of entries from our archive, featuring both work from Fried Egg team members and valued contributions from others.

The Old Course’s Greens, Ranked – The Old Course has the best greens in the world. St. Andrews-based golf architect Clyde Johnson ranks them here.

The Overlooked Old – We know the Swilken Burn and the Road Hole bunker, but what about some of the less famous elements of the world’s most famous course? Golf course architect Brett Hochstein dives into a few of the underappreciated aspects of the Old Course.

A Brief History of Rough at St. Andrews – Contributor Tony Dear dives into the history of long grass at the Old Course. It’s been quite the journey.

Eggman in Scotland, Part 3: Walking the Old Course – On the Sunday before the 2022 Open Championship, Andy walked the Old Course for the first time. He detailed the experience and included all the notes he jotted down as he explored the famed routing.