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Nick Faldo's Hole by Hole Guide to St Andrews
July 06, 2010
Nick Faldo's St Andrews Hole-by-hole Guide
In my first Open over the Old Course in 1978, which was won by Jack Nicklaus, I was given some hand-written notes by Gerald Micklem, one of the top administrators during my amateur career. What made his notes so helpful was that he detailed the likely Championship pin locations which, in the case of St Andrews, can make all the difference to how you play the hole. It was just such a useful guide to the Open at St Andrews for a first-time competitor.
Hole 1 - Par 4, 376 Yards
The Open Championship pin location will often be no more than five to ten paces over the Swilken. The tee shot should be played to the left of the centre of the fairway. Players then have an opportunity to leave themselves with what they see as the perfect length of second – a wedge or a short-iron – to what is a relatively flat green. View hole
Hole 2 - Par 4, 453 Yards
The second calls for a semi-blind drive over the gorse. A tee-shot down the centre of the fairway or to the right hand side tends to offer the better angle to a pin location often tucked in close to Cheape’s bunker. The approach is played on to a down-slope which can make it very difficult to get close to the flag. View hole
Hole 3 - Par 4, 397 Yards
The third is not dissimilar to the second. One favoured Open pin location is close to the Cartgate Bunker that sits beside the left corner of the green. Driving down the right-hand side is preferable but you have to watch out for three small bunkers guarding the right hand edge of the fairway. View hole
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Hole 4 - Par 4, 480 Yards
The fourth is a massive par-4 calling for one of the most difficult tee shots on the course. In the past, we would drive left of centre on to a plateau where there’s only been wispy rough. The Championship pin location traditionally sits in the middle or back left corner of a green that has two major wave-like rolls through it. This really is a very difficult hole. View hole
Hole 5 - Par 5, 580 Yards
The fifth is a reachable par-five with a cluster of bunkers down the right-hand side and a very undulating fairway. A line way left of the centre of the fairway makes for the safest line off the tee. If you are not going for the green in two, you play your second between two bunkers about 60 yards short of the green. That done, you have to think carefully about your third. If you fly your ball on, you can be left with a 50- or 60-yard putt. View hole
Hole 6 - Par 4, 412 Yards
Players will use maybe the 11th green or TV towers to get a good indicator on line when it comes to this drive. There are hidden bunkers down the left and right so it is vital to thread your tee-shot between them. Really, it’s a case of working out your personal lines and of being very aware of the left and right edges of the fairway. The main feature of the green is a large ridge with a steep up-slope. Traditional Open pin locations are behind the ridge and some 15 or so paces into the green. View hole
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Hole 7 - Par 4, 371 Yards
For me, the best line here has been to aim at the 11th tee for a good angle in to the green. Sometimes I’d use a three-wood or sometimes a driver depending on the conditions. The green has a large gully running through its right-hand side. With Championship pin locations usually close to the gully it is doubly important to pick out the right angle of attack for your second. View hole
Hole 8 - Par 3, 175 Yards
The eighth is a semi-blind short-hole with a little bunker and gorse bushes on the front left corner of the green. Generally, the favoured pin location is on a line from the front of the green, through its middle to the back where there is a plateau. It’s all about judging the bounce as there could be as much as a 20-yard bounce and roll which is pretty unusual on a par-3. View hole
Hole 9 - Par 4, 352 Yards
The ninth is entirely dependent on the weather, although it has been very drivable over the last few Opens. If you do not go for the green, which is one of the flattest on the course, you can either lay-up short of the bunkers or try and land your ball between them. The traditional pin location is on the left-hand corner guarded by gorse bushes and one small, pot bunker. View hole
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Hole 10 - Par 4, 386 Yards
The tenth is much the same. It can be driveable but there are bunkers at around the 260-odd yards mark. Of those who decide against going for the green, some lay up short of the bunkers while others aim to hit just past them. There’s a plateau on the left part of the green and a huge variety of different pin positions. There may also be a new location since 2005, right in the middle of the green behind a false-front. View hole
Hole 11 - Par 3, 174 Yards
The eleventh is a par 3 with a Championship pin location usually behind Strath Bunker. You can play anything from an 8-iron to a 4-iron depending on wind direction and firmness of the green. The Strath really is a brutal bunker about 8-feet deep and with a sheer face. It should be avoided at all costs. View hole
Hole 12 - Par 4, 348 Yards
Most players will try to drive the 12th green, threading their ball between the gorse bushes on the left and a large bunker about 30 yards short of the green. If you choose to lay up, you do so right in front of that bunker. Either that or you stay back down the right hand side of the fairway to leave yourself a wedge to the green. There’s a massive plateau and ridge running across the back half of the putting surface and it is difficult to stop your ball up there in dry conditions. View hole
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Hole 13 - Par 4, 465 Yards
The thirteenth is a great hole whose bunkers, include the Coffins. You can go hard left and then play up the sixth fairway for a good angle in to the hole. It can play extremely long nowadays and there’s a semi-blind second to a hole location down the right-hand side. It’s very easy to pull your second shot and leave yourself with a 40 or 50-yard putt. View hole
Hole 14 - Par 5, 618 Yards
This is one of the greatest par 5s in the world. You have out of bounds running all down the right and bunkers down the left. Depending on the pin location, a good option is to go up the fifth fairway left of the famous Hell Bunker. There’s a slope running from the front right corner of the green down into the middle which makes it very difficult to stop the ball. This really is one of the most strategic par fives in the history of the game. View hole
Hole 15 - Par 4, 455 Yards
You drive on the church steeple through two prominent humps but it can be very easy to lose the shot to the right. Depending on club selection, you may need to allow for 20 or 30 yards of run with your second. The pin is usually placed close to the green’s ridges and, although it can look as if it is on the middle of the green, it is in fact guarded by very steep undulations. View hole
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Hole 16 - Par 4, 423 Yards
You have bunkering known as the Principal’s Nose in the middle of the fairway. Sometimes you might go to the right of them but the out-of-bounds wall is close at hand. For safety, some players go left up the right of the 3rd fairway, though that leaves you with a more difficult angle to the green. View hole
Hole 17 - Par 4, 495 Yards
I’ve not yet seen the new tee but I believe it’s placed to the right of the out-of-bounds wall and calling for a more acute shot over the sheds. I think it’s more than likely that the ideal tee shot for me would be a fade.
From the tee, you pick out a steeple in the town and fade or draw off it depending on your game and the wind direction. If you can find the fairway then it’s all about where the pin is located behind the Road Hole bunker.
There are a couple of options… You can play to the front of the green, just over the ridge, but there’s not much depth to the green and if you don’t get the ball to kick from right to left it can run off onto the road. Or you can play intentionally left of the bunker towards the 18th tee; but then you’ve got to get the ball pin high to get a good angle to chip up on to the green. It’s a difficult second shot to guess correctly but you are trying to hit it somewhere towards the 18th tee. View hole
18th - Par 4, 357 Yards
With the length of the modern golfer, most players will try to get on or very close to the 18th green leaving a traditional bump and run through the Valley of Sin to a hole location usually placed just over the Valley. Some players may intentionally aim a little further back to get their desired distance to then spin a wedge perfectly on top of the Valley of Sin. It’s a beautiful finish in such a unique setting right in the corner of the old town of St Andrews. View hole
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