Carnoustie

Widely regarded as the toughest of the layouts on The Open Championship rota, Carnoustie is undoubtedly one of Scotland's must-play courses. It is perhaps not as aesthetically pleasing as say Turnberry, or doesn't carry the history associated with St Andrews, but there is no doubt that it provides a wonderful test of golf. During the 2007 Open, Colin Montomerie described it as "One of the toughest and best links courses we have in the world".

The name 'Carnoustie' is probably derived from two Scandinavian nouns, “car” meaning 'rock' and “noust” meaning 'bay'. It sits on an exposed coastal peninsula 12 miles east of the city of Dundee, and is easily accessible from St Andrews - a mere 45 minutes by road.

It has hosted the Open on seven different occasions and produced some of the most dramatic finishes in major championship history. In 1999, Paul Lawrie and Justin Leonard were leading in the clubhouse with a score of 290. Frenchman Jean Van de Velde was faced with the seemingly simple task of requiring a double-bogey six to win The Open. But things went from bad to worse as he plundered his way to a seven, including an exploratory trip to The Barry Burn in his bare feet. Local favourite Lawrie, who had earlier made his charge from ten shots back, played exquisite golf in the playoff, and became a surprise but deserved winner of the Claret Jug.

In 2007, it looked briefly as if Harrington was to suffer a similar fate to that of Van de Velde. He visited the water twice on the 72nd hole, but played one of the best pressure chips in the history of championship golf to secure a six, and found himself in a playoff with young Spaniard Sergio Garcia. The Irishman stepped through the gears in the playoff and picked up his first major at the expense of his Ryder Cup compatriot in what was one of the most exciting finishes to an Open since...well... the last time it was played at Carnoustie.

The 7400 yard course doesn't really offer respite at any point. You need to be straight and long off the tee. On several shots you are also required to shape the ball in order to avoid the sand on what Ernie Els calls "...the best bunkered course in the world." The prevailing wind seems to make the tough holes play exceptionally long, and even if you make it to the 16th tee unscathed, you are left with one the most difficult finishes in championship golf.

No. 16 is a 245 yard par 3 often played into the wind. In winning the 1975 Open after a playoff, Tom Watson failed in five attemts to make par here. In 1968 Jack Nicklaus was the only player to get past the pin during the final round. If you make three at this beast of a short hole, you will undoubtedly have earned it.

The beauty of No.17 is that you will typically have a mid-to-long iron approach regardless of the wind direction. This is due to the snaking Barrie Burn, that usually requires you to hit a lay-up shot off the tee. Ideally you want to work your approach from left to right into this undulating green, and overall it's a hole that doesn't give away too many birdies.

The 18th is brutal. 450 yards into the wind, with bunkers and thick rough to the left, and Harrington's favourite friend - The Barrie Burn - to the right. Any draw spin on the long approach can be accentuated by the wind and you can find yourself out of bounds, cruising to a triple or even worse. Into a strong wind, it's almost best playing for a five. Greed will be punished severely by the Carnoustie golfing gods. If you don't believe me, just ask poor Van de Velde.