■ Choi Woo-yeol’s Never Up Never In – The Open ‘Old Course’ Round
Where golf first started in the 1400s
18 hole championship trophy origins here
Reservations can be made 48 hours in advance by lottery
Apply on/off… 20% chance of winning
Green fee about 420,000 won during peak season
The British Open (The Open), the oldest golf tournament in the world, established in 1860 and celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, ended with Cameron Smith (Australia) winning in July. This tournament was held at the St Andrews Old Course (par 72, 7313 yards) in Scotland, the birthplace of golf, and received a lot of attention from golf fans. The Open takes place each year, alternating between nine links courses in England and Scotland. However, as an exception, Old Course Bay is held every five years due to its symbolism as the hometown of golf. This is the 30th so far this year.
It is said that people have been playing golf on the Old Course since about the early 1400s. According to British golf historian Sir Bart Simpson’s ‘Genesis of Golf’, there were originally undulating and sloping sand dunes called Links on the northern coast of Scotland.
It was an abandoned land overgrown with weeds and weeds because of its high salinity, making it impossible to cultivate. Since it was a common land, anyone could freely use it. As flocks of sheep passed by, grazing or treading on the grass, it became flat like a wide road, and people called it a fairway. Unlike flocks of sheep that kept moving and grazing, wild rabbits dug burrows and stayed in one place for a long time, grazing on the surrounding grass, and the grass was much shorter than the surrounding area. Here, the shepherds who drove their flocks used to hit stones with wooden sticks and throw them into the rabbit hole to appease their boredom. This is the beginning of golf.
As the birthplace of golf, there are quite a few things that have been handed down to this day that first started on the old course. The tradition of awarding trophies to winners in golf tournaments began in 1873 at The Open at the Old Course. Before that, if you won the Open, you were given a champion belt made of leather just like boxing. It is because of the old course that 18 holes have become the standard for all golf courses today. Originally, the Old Course had 12 holes, and it was 22 holes in the middle of the 10 holes twice. In 1764, four short holes were combined to make two, and it was changed to an 18-hole round.
St Andrews, where the Old Course is located, is a small port city with a population of about 18,000, about an hour and a half drive from Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. The city’s name, St Andrews, is derived from Andrew, one of Jesus’ twelve apostles and Peter’s younger brother. Andrew’s ashes were buried here, and a cathedral was built on it, which became the present-day Saint Andrews.
The Old Course, along with Pebble Beach Golf Links and Augusta National Golf Club in the United States, is also considered as one of the three major courses that golfers want to play at least once before they die. The Old Course is a public course owned and managed by the ‘St Andrews Trust’, a charity established by the state. Anyone with minimal golf skills can play the round.
The Old Course can only be reserved through a daily lottery held 48 hours before the round. To participate in the lottery, apply online on the golf course website by 2 pm, or by calling or visiting the Clubhouse Competition Department. The round tee time of the next day will be posted along with the results at 4 pm on the day of the draw. According to the golf course, the chance of winning is about 20%. The green fee is 270 pounds (about 420,000 won) during peak season and drops to 135 pounds (about 210,000 won) during off-season.
If you are a golfer traveling alone without a companion, you can also contact the clubhouse competition department on the day to play in a group that does not have 4 players. It costs a bit, but if you want to make a round on the date and time you want, you can use the package product that includes accommodation and meals. Even if you have made a difficult reservation, there is one thing you should not forget to play the round on the Old Course. It requires a standard of 36 or less (108 strokes) as a handicap certificate. A handicap certificate can be issued by the Korea Golf Association at a cost of 30,000 won.
Professor, Graduate School of Golf Science and Industry, Kookmin University
PhD in Sports Psychology