Your Ultimate Carnoustie Golf Guide

We take you through all 18 holes at this year's Open Championship venue Carnoustie

carnoustie golf

All you need to know about this year's Open venue Carnoustie including our guide to all 18 holes

Your Ultimate Carnoustie Golf Guide

Carnoustie Golf Links in Angus, Scotland hosts The Open this month for the eighth time.

Here e have all you need to know about this year's course and tournament including the course scorecard, our 18 hole-by-hole video guides, travel info, ticket info, local attractions, how watch, where to eat and more.

Carnoustie Hole By Hole Guide

There are 54 holes at Carnoustie Golf Links and the Championship Course plays host to the professional tournaments.

The past seven winners of The Open at Carnoustie are: Tommy Armour in 1931, Henry Cotton in 1937, Ben Hogan in 1953, Gary Player in 1968, Tom Watson in 1975, Paul Lawrie in 1999, and Padraig Harrington in 2007.

It has also played host to the Senior Open Championship in 2010, won by Bernhard Langer, and in 2016, won by Paul Broadhurst.

Former world number one Yani Tseng won the first and only Women's British Open to be hosted at Carnoustie in 2011.

The approach to the 18th

The course is known as the toughest on the Open rota and is famous for its brutally difficult closing stretch with the last three holes all featuring the Barry Burn.

It starts with a 248 yard par-3 named Barry Burn before two testing par-4s.

Jean van de Valde visited the Barry Burn on the final hole in 1999 en-route to a triple-bogey 7 in what is known as one of the worst collapses in major championship history.

He got up-and-down out of the front-right greenside bunker for his 7 and ultimately lost in a playoff to Paul Lawrie.

Padraig Harrington also visited the Barry Burn in 2007, but made a stellar up-and-down to force a playoff with Sergio Garcia, which he won.

Watch our Carnoustie Golf Links guide with 18 hole-by-hole videos...

Hole 1

Name: Cup Par 4, 406 yards

Hole 2

Name: Gulley Par: 4, 463 yards

Hole 3

Name: Jockie's Burn Par 4, 351 yards

Hole 4

Name: Hillocks Par 4, 412 yards

Hole 5

Name: Brae Par 4, 415 yards

Hole 6

Name: Hogan's Alley Par 5, 578 yards

Hole 7

Name: Plantation Par 4, 410 yards

Hole 8

Name: Short Par 3, 183 yards

Hole 9

Name: Railway Par 4, 478 yards

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Hole 10

Name: South America Par 4, 466 yards

Hole 11

Name: John Philp Par 4, 383 yards

Hole 12

Name: Southward Ho Par 4, 499 yards

Hole 13

Name: Whins Par 3, 176 yards

Hole 14

Name: Spectacles Par 5, 514 yards

Hole 15

Name: Lucky Slap Par 4, 472 yards

Hole 16

Name: Barry Burn Par 3, 248 yards

Hole 17

Name: Island Par 4, 461 yards

Hole 18

Name: Home Par 4, 499 yards

Related: The amateurs in the field at Carnoustie

Travel - How To Get To Carnoustie

By road

Police Scotland is urging all motorists to use the designated traffic routes, which will be clearly signed by the AA. Visitors are advised to turn off their satellite navigation systems and follow the appropriate signage to the car parks.

Park & Ride

All public parking will be located at Park & Ride facilities, where you can catch dedicated buses to and from the course. By Bus Stagecoach will be operating all local bus services to and from Carnoustie as normal during The Open, with additional buses available at peak times. Further information at stagecoachbus.com

By Rail

Carnoustie station is just a short walk from the venue. ScotRail is providing an enhanced service for The Open. Further details available at scotrail.co.uk

Related: All 14 Open Championship venues

Carnoustie Local Knowledge

What to do when the day’s golf is done...

Stay

Carnoustie and the surrounding areas of Angus and Dundee have an extensive selection of properties which cater for all accommodation requirements. The official Open accommodation bureau, stayattheopen.com, manages these services for the Championship.

Camping

Youth Ticket holders are eligible to camp for free at The Open Camping Village. Juniors with valid U16’s Kids Go Free tickets are also eligible to stay for free with an accompanying Adult Ticket holder. Adult Ticket holders can stay from £40 per night.

Eat

Gordon’s Restaurant With Rooms One of Scotland’s best fine-dining establishments, Gordon’s mixes style, quality and comfort. T: 01241 830364 W: gordonsrestaurant.co.uk

The Old Boatyard Seafood Restaurant The Old Boatyard serves up fantastic fresh seafood using locally-sourced ingredients and secret family recipes. T: 01241 879995 W: oldboatyard.co.uk

Drink

The Station Hotel Well known for its steak pie. T: 01241 852 447 W: stationhotelcarnoustie.com

The Ship Inn Dates back to 1847. Located on the banks of the Tay. T: 01382 779176 W: theshipinn-broughtyferry.co.uk

Fisherman’s Tavern The only Scottish pub to feature in every edition of the Camra Good Beer Guide. T: 01382 775941 W: fishermanstavern-broughtyferry.co.uk

Related: Open Championship British contenders 2018

How To Watch The Open At Home Or Carnoustie

Media

All four days of the 147th Open will be exclusively live on Sky Sports, with additional live coverage during the pre-tournament days at Carnoustie. The world’s top players will once again head to the Sky Zone throughout the week to reflect on their performances and give tips and advice.

The BBC will be showing a two-hour prime-time highlights programme. Check listings closer to the event. Live commentary available daily on BBC Radio 5 Live.

Related: Open Championship TV Coverage 2018

The Open Championship app

A complimentary Wi-Fi network at the venue, providing access to The Open app, will be available. The interactive course guide will let you track players and provide live scoring, video highlights and news.

Grandstands 

There will be thousands of public seats located around the course, including at the 18th green and at the Practice Ground, all free of charge to spectators.

Large Screens

Keep up to date with all the action through one of the many electronic leaderboards situated around the course, or relax and watch the day unfold on the large video screens located in the Spectator Village area.

How To Get Tickets For The Open

How to book

Tickets can be purchased online at theopen.com or by calling 01334 460010. You can also buy at the gate.

A week-long season ticket, including free entry for juniors (16 and under), is available for £305.

Gates open at 6am on Thursday 19 July and Friday 20 July, and 7am on all other days.

Mobile phones will be permitted, provided users adhere to the strict policy in place.

Cameras are allowed on practice days only.

Daily ticket prices

Under-16s admitted free with a responsible, ticket-holding adult.

Adult - 16-24 Sunday 15th £15 - £10 Monday 16th £25 - £15 Tuesday 17th £25 - £15 Wednesday 18th £30 - £20 Thursday 19th £80 - £40 Friday 20th £80 - £40 Saturday 21st £90 - £45 Sunday 22nd £90 - £45

Related: Past Open Championship Silver Medal winners

Carnoustie Local attractions And Other Courses To Play Nearby…

Visit

Glamis Castle Setting for Shakespeare’s Macbeth and beloved childhood home of the Queen Mother, Glamis Castle has witnessed over 600 years of history. T: 01307 840393 W: glamis-castle.co.uk

Discovery Point Discovery Point centres around Captain Scott of the Antarctic’s Dundee-built ship RRS Discovery. It’s a fascinating tale of one of the most heroic voyages of exploration ever undertaken. T: 01382 309060 W: rrsdiscovery.com

Arbroath Abbey Explore the origins of the Declaration of Arbroath. Scotland’s nobles swore their independence from England in this letter to the Pope, sent from Arbroath Abbey in 1320. T: 0131 668 8600 W: historicenvironment.scot

Local Courses

The area has plenty of golf to offer...

Arbroath T: 01241 870369 W: arbroathgolfcourse.co.uk

Edzell T: 01356 648462 W: edzellgolfclub.com

Monifieth T: 01382 532767 W: monifiethgolf.co.uk

Montrose Links T: 01674 672932 W: montroselinks.com

Panmure T: 01241 852460 W: panmuregolfclub.co.uk

Carnoustie Spectator Village - What’s on offer this year…

Family Fun

There are plenty of activities for kids of all ages in the Spectator Village, including The Open Swingzone, the Soft Play Area and the HSBC Grassroots Skillzone where children can put their golf skills to the test.

The Autograph Zone 

Bring your family for a chance to get up close with the world’s best players. Watch the big screens around the course to see when golfers will be appearing. Free Golf Lessons A team of expert PGA Pros provide free golf lessons to spectators all week at the popular Swingzone. Visit early and book a time to avoid disappointment.

HSBC Golf Zone

The hugely popular HSBC Golf Zone gives all fans the opportunity to test their golfing skills with a chance to win daily prizes.

Left Luggage Facilities

There will be a complimentary left luggage facility, operated on a first come, first served basis.

Banking Service

As an official Patron of The Open, HSBC will provide a full- service banking branch within the Spectator Village, enabling fans to access cash, free of charge, from ATMs.

The Open takes place from 19-22nd July at Carnoustie. Jordan Spieth defends the title he won last year at Royal Birkdale.

Elliott Heath
News Editor

Elliott Heath is our News Editor and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He manages the Golf Monthly news team as well as our large Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. He covered the 2022 Masters from Augusta National as well as five Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews. His first Open was in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, when he walked inside the ropes with Jordan Spieth during the Texan's memorable Claret Jug triumph. He has played 35 of our Top 100 golf courses, with his favourites being both Sunningdales, Woodhall Spa, Western Gailes, Old Head and Turnberry. He has been obsessed with the sport since the age of 8 and currently plays off of a six handicap. His golfing highlights are making albatross on the 9th hole on the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa, shooting an under-par round, playing in the Aramco Team Series on the Ladies European Tour and making his one and only hole-in-one at the age of 15 - a long time ago now!


Elliott is currently playing:


Driver: Titleist TSR4

3 wood: Titleist TSi2

Hybrids: Titleist 816 H1

Irons: Mizuno MP5 5-PW

Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore 50, 54, 58

Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5

Ball: Srixon Z Star XV