Memories of St. Andrews Golf Course

I have played St. Andrews twice. The first time was in 1969 during my year of travel in Europe. Even then you needed advance reservations to get on the most famous golf course in the world. However, being young and brash I decided to try to get on the course without a reservation. I spent the night before sleeping in the back seat of my Volkswagen in the parking lot of the old course. The next morning I went out to the starter and asked him if it was possible for me to play the course today. He said that two gentlemen from London were getting ready to tee off and I could play with them if they agreed.

Luckily for me the two Londoners allowed me to play with them. In those days Americans were looked upon more fondly that they are now.

So, with rented clubs I eagerly joined the men who were brothers and had a pleasant round of golf except for one episode. Being on the road since March, this was my first attempt at golf that year and my game was pretty rusty. My inept game reached its nadir when around the 8th hole I hit a terrible shot that went left. The ball bounced once and hit a greenskeeper, raking a trap, squarely in the forehead. He went down like a ton of bricks and I thought I had killed the poor chap.

In a moment the greenskeeper got up and had a goose egg the size of a golf ball in the middle of his forehead. I was so embarrassed that I wanted to evaporate and just disappear. My golfing partners just shrugged it off and told me that the greenskeeper would be ok. I continued on and finished the round but the incident cast a pall on my first experience on the most famous golf course in the world.

The real reason I am writing this article, however, is to boast of an accomplishment that any golfer would not hesitate to reveal. In 1990 my brother Don and I went to Scotland for a week of golf. The last course we played was St. Andrews. This time my experience was different.

The fact that I shot an 89 was nothing for me to boast about. What really made this round of golf memorable is that I parred what is considered the hardest golf hole in the world, the 17th hole at St. Andrews. Known as the 'Road Hole' the 455 yard par four hole is a dogleg right in which you must hit your tee shot over an extension of The Old Course Hotel that juts out into the fairway from the right. If you play it properly, you will not see where your tee shot lands and you cannot see the green until you pass the hotel extension. In addition, the green is surrounded by bunkers and has a very narrow opening for landing the ball. Most balls tend to roll off the green which slopes down its entire circumference. Directly behind the green is a road and a wall.

When I played the road hole, I used a driver and a three wood to get to the green and then I two putted for my par. My fellow golfers all gave me a round of applause as I was the only person to par the hole. This weekend Tiger Woods hit two irons to get to the green on number 17 but he ended up making a bogey.

After parring the toughest hole in golf, I teed off from the 18th tee with the St. Andrews golf club in the background. I was so pumped up that I hit a 300 yard drive. Because of the hard fairways, a 300 yard drive at St. Andrews is like a 250 yard drive on an American course. As I walked towards the 18th green I am sure that I felt the same as Tiger Woods felt last weekend as he made his triumphant walk to the last hole waving his cap to the applauding crowd.

Tiger Woods is the best golfer in the world today but I parred the toughest hole in golf and he didn't.