Top Playing the old course

Until the late 1800s, play was the other way round. The modern 1st tee led to the 17th green, and so on. Occasionally, the course is still played the 'wrong' way round.

The west side of the course was originally flanked by railway lines, with a number of railway sheds obstructing the view of the 17th green from the tee. Although these have long since been knocked down, a similar building erected in the mid 1980s re-creates the sheds' profile.

Television gives a false impression of St Andrews. The cameras are mounted high, allowing the viewer to see all the trouble at a glance. At a golfer's eye level, very little of it is visible and the line to play is seldom obvious.

The general rule is: 'when in doubt, play to the left - and do keep out of the whins (gorse)!' For golfers playing the Old Course for the first time, even this maxim does not guarantee full protection from its subtle hazards. Rises and falls in the ground, some slight, some hillocks up to 8ft (2.4m) high, make it hard to judge both distance and line.Many shots are blind. The broken ground makes it impossible to see the base of the flags and shots often appear shorter than they really are.

There is no substitute for experience when tackling the Old Course. From the tee many bunkers are not visible and plenty of 'good' drives unwittingly find sand. All the bunkers have an apt name - some have won labels that match their character, like Hell on the 15th. Others are memorials to members who spent much time in them, as did Mr Sutherland (16th).

Many seaside courses suffer from winds that veer alarmingly, often with the tide. St Andrews is no exception. The so-called Guardbridge wind which comes from the north west can turn the shorter outward holes into monsters.

The trouble doesn't end when you approach the greens. Because of their size, club selection is difficult, and it is easy to underestimate the distance from the front of the green to the pin.