St Andrews: The Old Course By golfdigest.com May 26, 2010 Share story Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Shop This Look Powered By:Wayfair.com We may make 💰 from these links. This year's Open will be the 29th played on The Old Course. The Old Course occupies a narrow strip of ground, about 2 1/2 miles long between St. Andrews Bay and the Eden Estuary. The course will total 7,297 yards for the Open, eight yards less than in 2010. Hitting a lot of fairways and greens is easy here; putting together a good 18-hole score is hard. There are despicable, invisible pot bunkers in the middle of fairways. The Old Course makes all the rules and breaks them all, too. It's a course that used to be played backward. Bad shots are punished here, and sometimes good shots are, too. This is a primordial landscape of infinite mystery. There'll be many more broken dreams at St. Andrews this year. And plenty of magic, too. Share story Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Next Up St. Andrews: The Old Course's New Look 10 Photos Photo Essay: The Old Course at St. Andrews 21 Photos St. Andrew's 10 Photos St. Andrew's Himalayas Putting Course 12 Photos A Rookie In St. Andrews 28 Photos 2013-14 Ranking: America's 100 Greatest Public Courses ### The game's oldest ranking, established in 1966 [Single Page](/golf-courses/2013-02/100-greatest-public-courses?printable=true) | [Methodology](/golf-courses/2013-02/100-greatest-by-the-numbers) | [By The Numbers](/golf-courses/2013-02/100-greatest-by-the-numbers#bythenumbers) | [America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses](/golf-courses/2013-02/americas-100-greatest-golf-courses-ranking) | [Best In State](/golf-courses/united-states) 101 Photos We Recommend St. Andrews: The Old Course's New Look 10 Photos Photo Essay: The Old Course at St. Andrews 21 Photos Old Course at St. Andrews announces re-opening date Why aren't there more golf courses like the Old Course at St. Andrews? A new tribute to 'Old Tom' is coming to St. Andrews The Old Course at St. Andrews named host for the 2023 Walker Cup
