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From our Directory of the most recommended golf courses
The Castle Course at St Andrews
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The Castle course overlooking St Andrew's Scotland and out into the North Sea was designed by David McLay Kidd, of Bandon Dunes fame and opened in 2008 after 3 years of construction. The idea Kidd had with the Castle was to make it appear that it had been here for hundreds of years, so they effectively distressed the grounds to create that image. The course is situated on cliffs above St Andrews Bay and the town of St. Andrews, and is more scenic than any of the St Andrew's courses. The land is rolling, and not true linksland. The fairways are bordered by tall fescue and the greens, bent grass. Most of the greens are framed up against the Bay and the North Sea, and are surrounded by swales and valleys, providing any number of options for the balls to bounce when approaching the green. There's a number of confounding blind shots, and landing areas where, after you've struck your best, you may be surely disappointed. It is said that Kidd's agreement prohibits the Links Trust from modifying the greens, but not the fairways, and plans are being made at present to soften up the course. Nice views, interesting, but I'd always opt for the Old, and probably the New and Jubilee.
Published by: nickr
Posted by: GeorgeM
Aug 24th, 2010
Stop the Presses. Everything bad thing you have ever read about the Castle Course in St. Andrews is dead wrong. It is one of the most tremendous tracks of golf I have ever played and I would put it on par with Carnoustie as a really tough, but fair, challenge of your golfing skills. Okay, there are maybe three or four greens I would blow up and re-build, starting with the incredibly penal #3 hole, a par three where it is virtually impossible to put a tee shot near the pin. There are a couple of other tricked-up greens, but the overwhelming first impression when you walk off #18 is "What an awesome golf course. I can't wait to play it again." The course is only two years old and today I would rate it, by far, the absolute best of the St. Andrews Links Trust courses. It is significantly better than the Old Course, better than the New, and more playable than the Jubilee course. On almost every hole you are met with a series of challenges that causes you to really think about how you are going to play this hole. Not a lot of fairway bunkers, but many "slight" doglegs around the wispy rough that gives pause while you think about where you need to put your drive, and how to play your next shot in order to open up the green as much as you can. And once you have managed your way to the green, the fun really starts. My first time out I was way long, or woefully short on all my putts, resulting in a score substantially above my handicap. The pace of the putt is not easy to get your first time out. For decent hitters, your score will be made or broken on or near the greens. It's the kind of course where you know you can play better than your score. I think it requires multiple plays to comprehend the subtitles of the layout and the difficulty of the greens. But there are distractions. We played late in the afternoon in a grey, warm, misty Scottish rain. The weather created an almost infinity effect between the sky and the North Sea, resulting in a view that made the horizon almost invisible. These are the best golfing conditions in Scotland. Luckily we had no wind. They say the wind makes this course really hard. You also have the beautiful views of the town of St. Andrews and the church steeples as you are teeing off on 18. It takes only five minutes to get bad press and many years to overcome it But if any golf course ever deserved a second look, it's the Castle Course in St Andrews. Serious golfers will love it
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Posted by: Chesley
Jul 25th, 2010
Just played the Castle this week as one of the courses we played while basing in St Andrews. Thought the greens were a tad severe in spots, but playable and fun. There were a few tough walks out there, green to tee, as well, and it's somewhat more hilly than most links courses. Many uphill shots which of course was dictated by the land. #12 is an uphill par 4 which I thought was a par 5 while playing it. Lot's of hidden pot bunkers, ubt overall it is a fun course. There are great views on the course, butI did not think it is quite up to Kingsbarns, and almost as expensive!
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Posted by: joes
Aug 28th, 2008
Without a doubt the Lorimer House http://www.lorimerhouse.com/is the place to stay for several reasons. First it is a top notch establishment, with updated living quarters, conveniently located in the town. Mic and Chris are great hosts and your stay there will be most enjoyable. You won’t have to leave a wake up call as the sea gulls start their chatter at 6 AM, which will not let you sleep past your tee time. The guest house is about 2 blocks from the first tee at St. Andrews and the little courteously bus drives right by the front door. Once you park your car on Murray Park Place, the bus can take you to all the St. Andrew’s courses except the dreaded Castle course. Mic has tremendous knowledge about how the St. Andrew’s Trust works and his insights into how the most famous course in the world is operated are worth the nightly rent.
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Posted by: joes
Aug 18th, 2008
OK, let me just say that the men are tired!!!! The Castle Course wore us out!! This was a cross between Tobacco Road, Bulle Rock, and Lighthouse Sound. Point of reference for everyone, take the 16th hole at TVCC Hialeah, stretch it to 400+ yards, make the fairways wide but put all kinds of moguls in the middle, the wind blowing at 20 mph, one foot rough all around, a blind tee shot, and when you hit the best tee shot of the day, and you know you are in perfect position, you end up like Jack in this picture. As a matter of fact, Jack hit the ball the best of any of us today and ended up with some of the most rediculous lies. Then, when you get to the green, roll it with a steam roller, put 6 foot dips and dives in the middle which roll off to hazards, and you have the Castle course. This course opened on July 2 and the locals hate it. Pros have walked off the course after 9 holes. We played on. Very beautiful holes, with St. Andrews in the background, the North Sea pounding in the distance. Not what I would call a friendly course. If I would have had a bulldozer we could have fixed the problems today. Jack would have driven.
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