The Old Course Reversed

At around 4 pm on April 2nd, my phone quietly pinged through another WhatsApp message from my usual golf group. There's nothing new there, but today this one was a bit different. We had been successful in the ballot to play The Old Course Reversed on Friday. With over 10,000 applicants from 57 different countries and only 652 spaces, the chance of success was slim. But we made it!

What an experience

This is the second time the Links Trust have run this event. The Old is played in reverse over Thu/Fri/Sat/Mon, with the Sat round being a dedicated Links Ticket holder competition. For the Saturday competition, they received almost 900 applications for the 172 spaces available. I was fortunate to play the competition day last year, but what made today extra special was playing with three good friends in a more relaxed, social environment.

This is an excellent, well-organised day. Bespoke scorecards, course guides and even pencils have been prepared. In last year's competition, players also received a complimentary hat, which was a nice touch.

Going back in time - some highlights

Navigating the outward 9 holes was pretty easy, but it got much tougher from 12-16. The stroke saver was a "must" check item, although, on some holes, the gorse they reference as aim points has been removed over the winter, so the photos are a bit different from the new reality. This doesn't take anything away from the experience though.

Playing from the first tee to the current 17th green is actually a nicer opening hole than the current first. The pin had been cut generously on the left side of the green leaving a relatively short shot in, although it was still a narrow landing area and tough to hold. I'd imagine a back pin location, over the famous bunker, would present a very different challenge.

When playing in reverse, some of the bunker locations finally start to make sense. Most especially on the (now) 12th fairway. Approaching the 11th green from the 12th fairway brings the intimidating "Hill Bunker" into play and makes that a very difficult shot! The tee shot also becomes complicated thanks to Admiral's bunker that you can see in the foreground. There are bunkers guarding the 16th green that now come into play as you come up the 16th fairway. The Beardies on the 14th and the bunkers short left of the 13th/5th green (as you approach up the 5th). Playing to the 9th green from the 11th tee also brings more bunkers into play than usual.

The "loop" is tricky, with tee shots over greens and a lot of crossing traffic. Fortunately, there were marshals on hand to warn players when they could and couldn't play and help prevent any unfortunate accidents. The reversed 12th to 16th are holes where picking your line becomes very tricky. Obviously, the fairways would have originally been cut very differently than they are now, but there's not a lot of room or runoff areas as we played it (very much set up for play in the current direction). The 13th hole plays from the 7th tee to the 5th green and brings the "Cat's Trap" bunker into play, something you never really need to worry about playing the current 13th hole. Playing to the 1st green as the 17th was interesting, especially with the burn now being at the back of the green, ready to catch any long balls.

Coming up the 18th from the other side of the fairway was interesting. Like the first, I think it makes it a better hole. Given my history of hitting the Swilken Bridge, it all but removed that possibility too, although I'm sure there were a few more balls than usual in the burn today (not mine this time).

Overall, an amazing experience

The Links Trust have confirmed that this will be an annual event, so hopefully we will have future success in the ballot and get to play it again. Also, once a year, on the Saturday closest to St Andrew's Day, there is a local club competition on the reverse course, although it is limited to a small number of participants and I've never been selected. For non-ticket holders, the Link Trust will likely advertise advanced packages again in December for next April. This year the cost was £750 and included one Old Course round, one Old Course Reverse round and one Castle Course round. It also included a free gift, food and drink vouchers and use of the Golf Academy.

I'm delighted that I had a chance to experience this for a second time, as it was so much more memorable than my first outing. The company of good friends made it even more special, especially as none of them had done it before. There were lots of laughs and also plenty of head-scratching as we tried to figure out the right lines.