If you are looking for a bit of golf history, St. Andrews is certainly the first place that comes to mind. St. Andrews is reputed to be the place where the game of golf first evolved. Golf has been played there since approximately 1400 AD and is known throughout the world as “The Home of Golf”. It also seems to be the course where most golf fanatics dream about playing at least once in their lifetime. The course attracts hundreds of thousands of golf visitors from around the world.
The Old Course, which is the oldest golf course in the world, is a public course over common land in St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland. It is held in trust by St. Andrews Links Trust. The Old Course originally had 12 holes with 10 being played both out and in (making it a total of 22 holes). As golf play increased over the years, the first 4 holes (each of which had been played twice) were combined to make 2 holes. This then left a total of 18 holes, which has become today’s standard for golf all over the world.
The Old Course at St. Andrews offers some very unique features. The first is its huge double greens, with 7 of them sharing 2 holes each. The 1st, 9th, 17th and 18th holes have their own greens.
Another unique feature is that the Old Course at St. Andrews can be played in either direction, both clockwise and anticlockwise, although typically today the play is anticlockwise. In order to keep the tradition going, however, clockwise play is permitted at certain times during the year. For example, in 2008 clockwise play was permitted on the first weekend in April on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The Old Course is also closed on Sundays to allow the grass to recover and let the course rest. On some Sundays, the townspeople of St. Andrews use the course as a picnic or park grounds. Generally, the Old Course is only allowed to be played on special occasions, those being: The final day of the Dunhill Links Championship, the final day of The Open Championship, the final day of the St. Andrews Links Trophy event and the final day of the St. Rule Trophy event.
The entire St. Andrews Links Trust is made up of six courses, including the Old Course, and a seventh course is in preparation by the Trust. St. Andrews Links Trust offers 99 holes of golf, two public clubhouses and an extensive golf practice centre. It is the largest golf complex in Europe and is open to anyone.
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