Carnoustie’s Championship course delivers a complete test of golf. It’s an immaculate stretch of links land with a fabulous selection of uniquely memorable holes. The finish is as good as it gets.
Carnoustie Championship Course Review
Top 100 Ranking 2021/22 – 5
Previous Rankings
2019/20 – 5
2017/18 – 5
2015/16 – 6
2013/14 – 8
2011/12 – 7
2009/10 – 7
Summer Green Fees
Round – £270
Visitors: Visitor days are Tuesdays and Thursdays – morning fourballs, afternoon foursomes
Medal Tee: Par 72 – 6,945 Yards
Changes since previous ranking
None advised
The 17th
Carnoustie Championship Course Review
The challenging Angus links is a stalwart of the top-10 of our ranking.
There’s a strong case for saying that Carnoustie’s championship course may be the most challenging in this country. It delivers a complete test of golf as displayed each time The Open Championship visits.
Francesco Molinari won over baked fairways in 2018 with the ball running like a scalded cat upon landing. Padraig Harrington came through an epic tussle with Sergio Garcia in 2007. But, for many Carnoustie will always stir memories of 1999, Jean Van de Velde’s 72nd hole collapse, and Paul Lawrie’s famous comeback victory.
Carnoustie seen from above during the 2018 Open. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
There may be no views of the sea around the course at Carnoustie but the terrain is pure links. The turf is firm and sandy over natural bumps and hollows. The narrow fairways are protected by gorse, streams and magnetic bunkering as they pick their way carefully towards the vast, supremely maintained, greens.
There are no weak holes on the course, each demanding excellence. Whether the requirement is solid, accurate ball striking, as on long par-4s like the testing 2nd and 15th, or a more strategic approach, as on the short but very well protected 3rd.
Golf at Carnoustie began in the 16th century but the first course didn’t appear until 1850 when legendary St Andrews professional Alan Robertson designed a 10-hole track.
It was Robertson’s protégé Old Tom Morris who extended the layout to 18, but the Championship course as we know it didn’t really begin to take shape until 1926 when James Braid oversaw extensive modifications.
Prior to the Open Championship of 1931 it was decided the finishing holes were not challenging enough so, local man James Wright redesigned the final three. It’s fair to say he was successful. Wright, arguably, created the toughest closing stretch in British golf.
The closing par-4 18th.
Assessor Feedback
Carnoustie really does test your game, with no respite. From start to finish, the course challenges your skills in course management to perfection. The last five holes deliver pure brilliance, and I can think of no better run for home. It’s a superb links offering a great mixture of memorable holes.
GM Verdict
Carnoustie’s Championship course delivers a complete test of golf. It’s an immaculate stretch of links land with a fabulous selection of uniquely memorable holes. The finish is as good as it gets.