Today started bright and early as we rushed out of our room with clubs in tow for another trip down the street, past the Russacks Hotel, rounding the corner in front of the 18th and 1st tee of the Old Course on our way to the Jubilee. It’s located about 3 good driver tee shots from the Swilican berm past 1 fairway of the Old course running along the sea. We’ve only been here 3 days now and we are strutting around like we own the place. Gary and Malcom are out caddies again today and greet us ready to go while we are on the putting green. I’ve elected to play today with an exact copy of Bobby Jones Calamity Jane putter in honor of links golf and my caddie admires it with Envy. The Jubilee is a lovely course with large grass covered dunes and rolling fairways that guide and steer your ball on a well struck shot in gentle curves as it rolls to a resting place. Today the wind was not up and the morning golf was nice with sunshine and crisp damp air. I loved the Jubilee, both Jimmy and I played well and even Calamity Jane did her part with some good par saves and a birdie.
I found the fairway bunker on 18 ( which if you have been reading this you know how I feel about it) and had to play out sideways again. Jimmy bombed another drive but pulled his second left of the green that kicked and bounded even further left in some tall fescue. I knocked it in there tight on my 3rd from about 140yds but Calamity didn’t cooperate this time and another finishing bogey. Jimmy on the other had hit a marvelous recovery from the tall grass gently over a crest, then trickling down the hill to about 4 feet and made the putt for a world class par. It was an omen for things to come.
The Castle Course
Our afternoon round is at another St Andrews links course and what a course it is. Situated about 3 miles out of town and along the coastal hillside this links gem offers breathtaking views of the sea with the town of St Andrews in the distance. Sculpted by fescue covered dunes and dotted with yellow blooming gorse and Heather this course offers a true test and Jimmy was up to the challenge.
I think he might have played his best golf ever today with a sterling 75 capped off with 3 birdies on the back nine. It was fun to watch him and although we are trash opponents even my caddy was pulling for him as he almost made a 4th on 18.
As for Calamity Jane… she turned into a bitch and I had to leave her in the trunk at the turn. The greens are firm and fast with rolling undulations like an angry sea. You need to be in the right spot or it’s a 50ft roller coaster putt. It was a great challenge and I’d like another shot at it. There are multiple tees here and we played one up from the Championship tees. If the wind was blowing any harder I’d play from one even further up. After a while my caddie was probably tired of telling that I need to hit a 180 shot to a small plateau of green…. I also sensed he was tired of me trying to hit it.
The Castle Course is just another one of Links courses that are part of the St Andrews Links Trust. It offers postcard views of the sea and rocky shore, rolling green dunes with wildflowers and blowing fescue and the chance to make a deeply satisfying par or birdie when the ball flies, bounces and rolls the right way home.
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