Carnoustie

Carnoustie’s Championship course is one of the most famous in the world and it doesn’t take long when you arrive on the Angus coast to find out why.

Steeped in history, the course has seen the rise and fall of some of the greatest players in the game with seven Champion Golfers of the Year crowned on its famous 18th green, with an eighth set to become immortalised on Sunday.

As well as The Open, Carnoustie has also played host to the Ladies Open, the Senior Open and is one of three courses used for the annual Dunhill Links.

Carnoustie

Carnoustie itself is a small town on the Angus coast between Dundee and Arbroath in Scotland, though it’s most famous for its legendary Championship course.

The seaside town has plenty of history, with Barry Mill nearby, as well as offering an excellent sandy beach and coastal path all the way to Arbroath.

The main attraction though, of course, is the links golf course which continues to attract players of all standards from across the globe.

The Course

The most northerly course on The Open rota, Carnoustie presents real challenges for all golfers with its unpredictable weather and narrow fairways.

Carnoustie will play at 7,402 yards for The 147th Open. It starts with five par-fours before the infamous sixth named Hogan’s Alley.

The sixth was made famous by the legendary Ben Hogan after his incredible performance in The Open in 1953 which saw him make the narrow fairway consistently by bisecting the hazardous bunkers and out-of-bounds line.

Further feature holes follow and the 14th, Spectacles, also worthy of special mention as the second trickiest hole on the course – made famous by Gary Player’s incredible shot in 1968.

The final four holes are famous around the world, leading to many dramatic finishes throughout the decades, and are guaranteed to be spectacular viewing once again in 2018.

Open History

Golf has been played at Carnoustie since the early 16th century, with the course renowned for being long and narrow with an incredible 112 bunkers dotted in for good measure.

The first player to lift the Claret Jug at Carnoustie was Edinburgh-born Tommy Armour back in 1931 finishing one shot ahead of Argentina’s Jose Jurado.

Three-time Champion Golfer Henry Cotton was the next victor at Carnoustie in 1937 before Ben Hogan’s success on his only Open appearance in 1953, one of the most memorable in major history.

Player’s spectacular shot on the par-five 14th over the Spectacles bunkers, which set up an eagle three, saw him become the 1968 Champion Golfer of the Year.

In 1975 it was Tom Watson’s turn to triumph at Carnoustie with an incredible 18-hole play-off victory, the last of its kind at The Open, over Jack Newton.

Paul Lawrie tamed Carnoustie in 1999 as Jean Van de Velde blew a three-shot lead on the final hole to end up in a four-hole play-off, which the Scotsman won.

And most recently, Padraig Harrington was the 2007 Champion Golfer of the Year as the Irishman clinched a dramatic play-off against Spaniard Sergio Garcia, who had missed a ten-foot putt for the Claret Jug on the 72nd hole.