The Old Course in Reverse

It is only relatively recently in it's 600 year history that the Old Course has been played in an anti-clockwise fashion. Even in the time of Old Tom Morris, it was played in reverse - i.e. Teeing off at 1 and playing for the 17th green, then teeing off at 18 and playing for the 16th green. The Links Trust now set the course up in this original form for a couple of days each year, with the next available dates being the 3rd, 4th and 6th of April.

I've managed to play this layout on a couple of occasions, and it increases the difficulty of the course by at least a couple of notches. It becomes tough to get an accurate distance for many shots, and some of the holes even have blind second shots to the green. The landing areas on the fairway are extremely small in many cases, and it seems as if the trouble is more visually noticeable.

A good example of this last point is on what we now know as the 12th fairway. Except on this course you will be playing from the 13th tee to the 11th green. Usually, this hole is known for all its 'invisible' trouble, a collection of pot bunkers stretched across the middle of the fairway that tend to catch more than their fair share of balls. Only on this layout, the bunkers are there staring you square in the face. It's actually tough to find a line off the tee, and usually ends up as more of a hit and hope. Obviously on many holes, the definition of the rough is now made with a different routing in mind and it doesn't particularly suit the original course, but the Links Trust do a great job in making it playable. Even with all the new maps, scorecards and instructions made available on the first tee, it is not uncommon to see a fourball ambling across the links like a group of lost sheep. The excitement of not really knowing what faces you next is all part of the enjoyment.

It is extremely interesting however plotting your way around this course, and seeing the kind of shots that some of golf's legends were faced with in days gone by.