Royal Links Golf
This guide is written from the perspective of a bogey golfer, and is therefore shaded to the conservative side. The game is meant to be fun, and if you're feeling frisky and want to go for it when the stodgy advice is to lay up, well heck -- go for it. On the other hand, you do know deep down inside that your scores will be lower if you're conservative, right? I mean we're not exactly players of the caliber of Tiger and Phil, ... Anyway, this is written from the Gold tees, which play 6602 yards.
Hole 1 is modeled after the 10th hole at Royal Lytham. It's basically a straightaway par 4, with some hills and berms thrown in for confusion. It's only 339 yards, and is a fairly forgiving opening hole.
Hole #2 is a bit longer at 365 yards. It is inspired by #7 at Royal Troon. Here you can see pot bunkers lining the sides of the fairway, so a bit of caution is appropriate. If you're not confident you can hit your driver straight, back off to a fairway wood or even an iron.
#3 is a short par 3 (146 yards), modeled after the second hole at Prestwick. As a brief aside, Prestwick was the site of the first Open in 1860, and has since hosted it 24 times, although none since 1925. It was designed by Old Tom Morris, and is located near Glasgow.
The fourth hole is a long par 3 (572 yards). It comes from the eighth hole at Hoylake (Royal Liverpool). Hoylake, by the way, is where Bobby Jones retired from competitive golf after winning the Grand Slam there in 1930.
The tee shot is a bit intimidating, and again, you really want to hit this one straight.
#5 is a short 303 yards. Before you start licking your chops, be warned: This is modeled from #12 at St. Andrews, and a brief look at the diagram on the tee box shows that it is riddled with pot bunkers as you approach the green. The wise course here is to lay back with an iron off the tee so you can fly over the trouble on your second shot.
#6 is a 404 yard par 4 which doglegs left. It comes from the 10th hole at Royal Birkdale, which is where Arnold Palmer won the Open, and rekindled American interest in the Open.
#7 is a real bear, a par 4 playing 460 yards. You'll need all the distance you can get off the tee, but you also need to hit it pretty straight. The Fugawe grass in the rough will eat up any errant shots. This hole is modeled after #13 at Royal St. George.
#8 is a 137 yard par 3. Gene Sarazen aced this hole at the age of 71 in his final appearance at the Open. This hole is inspired by #3 at Royal Troon.
#9 is a short par 5, playing 504 yards. It's modeled after Muirfield's 5th hole. Muirfield is Jack Nicklaus's favorite course, and he named a course of his own after it. While there are pot bunkers on the sides of the fairway, at least there aren't any in the middle.
#10 models the famous Road Hole at St. Andrews. Since there's no hotel to hit over, they've placed a helpful sign as an aiming point. This is one of the most famous blind tee shots in the world. In addition to the mental challenge of aiming out of bounds off the tee, this hole is also pretty long at 422 yards. Can you "play it safe" (if there is such a thing)? Yes, hit an iron in the fairway left of the sign. Then hit another iron out to the right (avoiding the bunker on the left). Then hit it on the green staying right of the massive bunker fronting the green (which has confounded many trained professionals), and go for a two-putt bogey. It's also really easy to make 8 on this hole.
#11 is a very short par 4, at 292 yards. It's also very confusing, and full of rough and bunkers. It's modeled after the 6th hole at Royal Cinque Port Golf Club, which I had never heard of. It hosted two Opens, in 1909 and 1920. It was taken off the rota because of high tides which swamped the course in 1938. It's located on the English Channel, not far from Royal St. George. "Cinque" is a Norman/French term which refers to 5 ports which were granted special trading privileges in 1155.
#12 is another long par 4, playing 453 yards. It's modeled after the 6th hole at Royal Birkdale.
#13 is a short par 4, at 335 yards. It's modeled after the 15th hole at Prestwick. Prestick, by the way, hosted the first 12 Open championships. Old Tom Morris won 4, of them, and Young Tom Morris won another 4. Beware the pot bunkers!
The fourteenth hole is a 178 yard par 3, modeled on #15 at Turnberry. This hole was birdied by Tom Watson who went on to beat Jack Nicklaus in the famed "Duel in the Sun" in 1977.
#15 is a 554 yard par 5, modeled on the 5th hole at Turnberry.
#16 is another long par 4, playing 438 yards. It's inspired by the fifteenth hole at Carnoustie.
#17 is a long par 3, playing 205 yards. Depending on the wind, you might need a driver here! It's bunkered left and right, and has bit of forced carry to boot. Inspired by #17 at Royal Troon.
The home hole is a short par 5, playing 495 yards.
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