Carnoustie Golf Links

Carnoustie Golf Links

Club information
Location	Carnoustie, Scotland
Established	1850
Type	Public
Total holes	54
Championship
Designed by	Allan Robertson, Old Tom Morris, James Braid
Par	72 (71 for The Open)
Length	6,941 yards (6,347 m) (7,421 yards (6,786 m) for the 2007 Open Championship)
Course record	64 by Richard Green, Steve Stricker, Colin Montgomerie, Alan Tait, Shane Lowry, Alexander Norén
The Burnside
Designed by	James Braid
Par	68
Length	5,972 yards (5,461 m)
Buddon Links
Par	68
Length	5,921 yards (5,414 m)

Carnoustie

Location in Scotland

Carnoustie

Location in Angus, Scotland

The Carnoustie Golf Links are in Carnoustie, Angus, Scotland. Its historic championship golf course is one of the venues in the Open Championship rotation.

History

Golf is recorded as having been played at Carnoustie in the early 16th century. In 1890, the 14th Earl of Dalhousie, who owned the land, sold the links to the local authority. It had no funds to acquire the property, and public fundraising was undertaken and donated to the council. The original course was of ten holes, crossing and recrossing the Barry Burn; it was designed by Allan Robertson, assisted by Old Tom Morris, and opened in 1842.^[1] The opening of the coastal railway from Dundee to Arbroath in 1838 brought an influx of golfers from as far afield as Edinburgh, anxious to tackle the ancient links. This led to a complete restructuring of the course, extended in 1867 by Old Tom Morris to the 18 holes which had meanwhile become standardized. Two additional courses have since been added: the Burnside Course and the shorter though equally testing Buddon Links.

Carnoustie first played host to The Open Championship in 1931, after modifications to the course by James Braid in 1926. The winner then was Tommy Armour, from Edinburgh.

Later Open winners at Carnoustie include Henry Cotton of England in 1937, Ben Hogan of the USA in 1953, Gary Player of South Africa in 1968, Tom Watson of the USA in 1975, Paul Lawrie of Scotland in 1999 and Pádraig Harrington of Ireland in 2007. The last three championships were all won in playoffs.

The Championship course was modified significantly (but kept its routing used since 1926) prior to the 1999 Open, with all bunkers being rebuilt, many bunkers both added and eliminated, many green complexes expanded and enhanced, and several new tees being built. A large hotel was also built behind the 18th green of the Championship course.^[2]

Tee off down Hogan's Alley, Hole #6, at Carnoustie. Avoid going out of bounds down the left!

The Amateur Championship was first hosted by Carnoustie in 1947; the winner was Willie Turnesa. The world's oldest amateur event has returned three times since: 1966 (won by Bobby Cole), 1971 (won by Steve Melnyk), and 1992 (won by Stephen Dundas).

The British Ladies Amateur was first hosted by Carnoustie in 1973, and will return for the second time in 2012.

The Senior Open Championship was held at Carnoustie for the first time in 2010, with Germany's Bernhard Langer winning. The Women's British Open was held here for the first time in 2011; the winner was Yani Tseng.

Carnoustie is one of the three courses hosting the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, an autumn event on the European Tour; the others are the Old Course at St Andrews and Kingsbarns.

The Golf Channel's reality series The Big Break, in which aspiring golfers compete for exemptions on professional tours and other prizes, filmed its fourth season at Carnoustie in 2005. As that year also saw the Ryder Cup at The K Club in Ireland, that year's show was based around a US vs Europe theme, with the two teams competing for European Tour exemptions.

In North America, the course is infamously nicknamed "Car-nasty," due to its famous difficulty, especially under adverse weather conditions. Carnoustie is considered by many to be the most difficult course in the Open rota, and one of the toughest courses in the world.

The term Carnoustie effect dates from the 1999 Open, when the world's best players, many of whom were reared on manicured and relatively windless courses, were frustrated by the unexpected difficulties of the Carnoustie links, which was compounded by the weather. One much-fancied young favourite, a 19-year-old Sergio García of Spain, went straight from the course to his mother's arms crying after shooting 89 and 83 in the first two rounds.^[3] The Carnoustie effect is defined as "that degree of mental and psychic shock experienced on collision with reality by those whose expectations are founded on false assumptions." This being a psychological term, it can of course apply to disillusionment in any area of activity, not just in golf.

The 1999 Open Championship is best remembered for the collapse of French golfer Jean van de Velde, who needed only a double-bogey six on the 72nd hole to win the Open—and proceeded to score a triple-bogey seven, tying Paul Lawrie and 1997 champion Justin Leonard at 290 (+6). Lawrie won the four-hole aggregate playoff and the championship.

The Open Championship was once again contested at Carnoustie in July 2007. The eight-year absence was far shorter than the lengthy 24 years it took to return to Carnoustie, between 1975 and 1999. Harrington triumphed over García in a four-hole playoff. The 18th hole once again proved itself among the most dramatic and exciting in championship golf. Harrington had a one-shot lead over García as he approached the final hole in the fourth round, but proceeded to put not one but two shots into the Barry Burn, on his way to a double-bogey 6. García, playing in the final pairing of the day, reached the 18th with a one-shot lead over Harrington, but bogeyed the hole after missing a putt from just under ten feet away, setting up the playoff. In the four-hole playoff, which ended on the 18th, Harrington took no chances with a two-shot lead on the 18th; his bogey was enough to defeat García by one shot.

The Open Championship will return to Carnoustie in 2018.^[4]

The 18th hole at Carnoustie and the Barry Burn

On January 17, 2014, it was announced that Carnoustie Golf Links - which operates the six publicly owned courses, including the Championship Course - had appointed its first-ever female chairman, Pat Sawers.^[5]

The Open Championship

This is a list of The Open Championship champions at Carnoustie Golf Links:

Year	Winner	Score					Winner's share (£)
		R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
1931	Tommy Armour	73	75	77	71	296 (+8)	100
1937	Henry Cotton 2nd	74	72	73	71	290 (+6)	100
1953	Ben Hogan	73	71	70	68	282 (−6)	500
1968	Gary Player 2nd	74	71	71	73	289 (+1)	3,000
1975	Tom Watson 1st	71	67	69	72	279 (−9) PO	7,500
1999	Paul Lawrie	73	74	76	67	290 (+6) PO	350,000
2007	Pádraig Harrington 1st	69	73	68	67	277 (−7) PO	750,000
2018	19–22 July

• Note: For multiple winners of The Open Championship, superscript ordinal identifies which in their respective careers.

The Women's British Open

Winner of the Women's British Open at Carnoustie Golf Links.

Year	Winner	Score
		R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
2011	Yani Tseng 2nd	71	66	66	69	272 (−16)

The Senior British Open

Winner of The Senior Open Championship at Carnoustie Golf Links.

Year	Winner	Score
		R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
2010	Bernhard Langer	67	71	69	72	279 (−5)
2016	21–24 July

Course

Carnoustie Golf Links - Championship Course
2007 Open Championship

Lengths of the course for previous Opens (since 1950):^[6]

• 1999: 7,361 yards (6,731 m), par 71
• 1975: 7,065 yards (6,460 m), par 72
• 1968: 7,252 yards (6,631 m), par 72
• 1953: 6,701 yards (6,127 m), par 72

The 12th hole was played as a par-5 through 1975.

Length of the course for Women's British Open

• 2011: 6,490 yards (5,934 m), par 72

Length of the course for Senior Open Championship

• 2016: 7,345 yards (6,716 m), par 72
• 2010: 7,197 yards (6,581 m), par 71

Course record

Carnoustie is known as 'The Beast'. It is one of the venues for The Open Championship.

The course record is 64, achieved by:

Player	Country	Tournament	Date
Alan Tait	Scotland	Scottish Daily Express National Pro-Am	1994
Colin Montgomerie	Scotland	Scottish Open	12 July 1995
Steve Stricker	United States	The Open Championship	21 July 2007
Richard Green	Australia	The Open Championship	22 July 2007
Paul Lawrie	Scotland	Alfred Dunhill Links Championship	6 Oct 2007
Se Ri Pak	South Korea	Women's British Open	29 July 2011
Inbee Park	South Korea	Women's British Open	29 July 2011
Katie Futcher	United States	Women's British Open	31 July 2011
Shane Lowry	Ireland	Alfred Dunhill Links Championship	28 Sep 2013
Oliver Wilson	England	Alfred Dunhill Links Championship	2 Oct 2014
Alexander Norén	Sweden	Alfred Dunhill Links Championship	6 Oct 2016

See also

• Golf in Scotland

References

External links

• Carnoustie Golf Links.co.uk - official site
• Carnoustie even tougher than Oakmont, says Open chairman, stv interview, 19 June 2007.
• webcam Carnoustie golf links
• OurCarnoustie - Carnoustie Facebook Page

Coordinates: 56°29′49″N 2°43′01″W / 56.497°N 2.717°W / 56.497; -2.717