St Andrews is the oldest golf course in the world. Its layout and natural hazards make it as challenging today as when it was first played - possibly as early as the 1300s.

Today, St Andrews has four 18-hole courses and a beginners' 9-hole course, all owned by the district council. The most famous of these is the Old Course on which are played some of the important tournaments.

The Old Course is laid out on true links land (the 'link' between the shore and the farm land). It is mainly level, but full of humps and hollows. Unlike today's carefully designed inland courses, the wind, sea, sand and other natural forces created the famous layout of St Andrews.

The links came about when the sea moved back from the land leaving banks of sand and saltwater gullies. With time the sandbanks became dunes covered with marram grass and the gullies were colonized with other grasses. With the vegetation came rabbits that cropped the grass to make the turf suitable for golf.

Course development

The links land has been played on for many centuries. It started with just five holes, in the 14th century,later expanded to seven, then 12 and finally 22 with 11 going out and 11 coming back. This was reduced to 18 in 1764 with nine out and nine back. The double green feature of the Old Course is unique, born out of limited space 500 years ago.In parts the course is less than 40yd (36.5m) wide. This meant using the same green going out and coming back.

In 1764 there were 18 holes but only nine flags. Even today only the 1st, 9th, 17th and 18th are single greens; the others are huge double greens. The east side of each green is used for the outward holes while the west side carries the flags of the homeward holes. The famous shape of the course was largely fixed by 1842.

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.

Famous hole

The most famous hole on the Old Course is the Road - the 17th. It is a long par 4 that can be shortened by driving up and over the out-of-bounds building - if you dare. The green is backed by a road and wall, with a deep bunker guarding the front of a treacherous putting surface. Every shot requires precision play.

With only one hole to follow, many a major championship has been decided here. In the 1984 Open, Seve Ballesteros stood on the 17th tee tied with defending champion Tom Watson -who was playing the 16th. The Spaniard had taken five shots at the 17th in each of his first three rounds and desperately needed a four this time.

He made it by hitting a 200yd (180m) 6-iron, out of the left rough, to the front of the green. Then he knocked an enormous putt dead. Ten minutes later Watson bounced his second shot on the dreaded road and his ball ended up inches from the wall. He could only manage a five. Ballesteros made certain of the title with a birdie on the last to win by two strokes with a St Andrews low Open total of 276.

During the 1930 British Amateur Championship, Bobby Jones was battling with Cyril Toliey. Jones struck a spectator with his second shot to the Road Hole. Many thought this luckily prevented the ball running into the road, saving Jones from terrible trouble. But the hole was halved - and Jones went on to win the Championship and the Grand Slam.

Hole by hole
6933 yards, par 72 (for the Open Championship, 1984).Otherwise 6578 yards, Standard Scratch Score (SSS) 72.

1st hole - Burn
(Champ & Medal 370yd Par 4) Off the tee, lots of room on the left. Judge your distance carefully for the shot to the green, just beyond the Swilcan Burn.

2nd hole - Dyke
(Champ & Medal 411yd Par 4) Long hitters beware Cheape's Bunker on the left. Hit long with the second.

3rd hole - Cartgate (out)
(Champ 371yd Medal 352yd Par 4) Safe to drive to the left, but hard to get near the flag from there.

4th hole - Ginger Beer
(Champ 463yd Medal 41 £ Par 4)Safest to be left off the tee, leaving a second over the rough and bunkers.

5th hole - Hole o' Cross(out)
(Champ 564yd Medal 5V Par 5)Once more, drive left as are seven bunkers on the right.

6th hole - Heathery (out)
(Champ 416yd Medal 374ydPar 4)Hard to see the fairway so hit towards the Leuchars airfield hangars.

7th hole - High (out)
(Champ 372yd Medal 359yd Par 4)If you can knock it over the hill, do so. Otherwise go left.

8th hole - Short
(Champ 178yd Medal 166yd Par 3)
Better to leave a long putt from the back than risk the deep left-hand bunker.

9th hole - End
(Champ 356yd Medal 307yd Par 4)
Avoid the fairway bunkers and you have a clear second shot to a flat green.

10th hole - Bobby Jones
(Champ 342yd Medal 318ydPar 4)Drive towards the mound.

11th hole-High (in)
(Champ & Medal 172yd Par 3) Avoid the Hill bunker at all costs as you could take three to escape.

12th hole - Heathery (in)
(Champ & Medal 316yd Par 4) Four bunkers lurk unseen in the centre of the fairway. The green is very shallow.

13th hole - Hole o' Cross (in)
(Champ 425yd Medal 398yd Par 4)Drive on to the 6th fairway, so you can see where to go next.

14th hole-Long
(Champ 567yd Medal 523yd Par 5)Drive towards the church spire on the right. That way, you miss the Beardies. Watch out for Hell, too.

15th hole - Cartgate (in)
(Champ 413yd Medal 401yd Par 4)Again, you have the church spire to guide you. The second is one more club than you think.

16th hole - Corner of the Dyke
(Champ 382yd Medal 351ydPar 4)Best to be left off the tee as too far right puts you out of bounds.                                             

17th hole - Road
(Champ & Medal 461 yd Par 4) Very few professionals try to hit this green in two. Play it as a par 5.

18th hole - Tom Morris
(Champ & Medal 354yd Par 4) An easy hole if you stay out of the Valley of Sin, a deep dip at the front of the green.

Four holes to watch

1ST hole-Burn
(Champ & Medal 370yd Par 4)
There are acres of room on the left for your drive. The only danger is the out-of-bounds fence which runs all the way down the right-hand side. It is arguably the easiest opening hole in championship golf, although teeing off with the history and tradition of St Andrews all around is a daunting prospect.

The second shot is tricky. The green start on the bank of the Swilcan Burn, and the pin is often close to it.

11th hole-High
(Champ & Medal 172yd Par 3)
 The green is on the edge of the River Eden and exposed to the wind,making club selection a problem.

Anything short is likely to run into the large, deep Hill bunker on the left, or the small, deep Strath bunker on the right. If you land in either, consider playing out backwards.  
Make sure you don't go over the back - you're in thick rough playing to a down slope.

The putting surface is always very quick, with a great deal of borrow.

14th hole - Long
(Champ 567yd Medal 523yd Par 5)
The ideal shot passes to the right of the four Beardies bunkers -which are hard to see from the tee - but avoid the out-of-bounds wall on the right. This is especially difficult if the wind is coming off the sea.

The next main problem is Hell bunker, which is huge. Middle-handicap players who have hit their best drives still cannot carry this bunker in a head wind. Good players who can carry Hell may end up in Grave or Ginger Beer. However, you can hit left on to the 5th fairway, leaving maybe a 5-iron to the double green.
    
17th hole-Road
(Champ & Medal 461yd Par 4) Your strength and the wind determine how much of the Old Course Hotel grounds you over fly. If you have avoided Cheape's bunker, you probably have 200yd (180m) to go. Don't try it - it's too dangerous. Hit the ball 190yd (170m), up the right of the fairway, then pitch on - very carefully. The green is raised, wide and shallow, and is set at an angle to the fairway. The road runs behind the green, inviting disaster. The Road bunker is cut into the front of the green, which is contoured towards it. If you avoid pitching into it, you can always putt into it. Many do so.