A Walk in the Shadows of Legends

As an avid golfer, there are a few courses in the world that everyone who plays the game automatically reveres: Augusta, Pebble, Shinnecock, Carnoustie, Pinehurst, just to name a few. But there is no course in the world that is better known or more admired than the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland. It’s the Holy Grail of golf, and it’s where the sport originated more than six hundred years ago. Every year hundreds of thousands of golfers from around the world make the pilgrimage to St. Andrews to test their skills on the same grounds as Old Tom Morris, Hogan, Palmer, Player, Nicklaus, and Woods, and last weekend I decided to make the trip for myself.

Golf began in St. Andrews in the 1400s, and although it remained a regional fad for quite some time, the game began to grow rapidly in popularity in the 19th Century. (http://standrews.org.uk/home.aspx) Although the game was banned in Scotland during the 15th Century, it was again allowed less than one hundred years later, and it has remained popular ever since. Golf remained much of a regional sport for the next several hundred years, but it began to spread like wildfire once it was introduced to other areas of the world. The first Open Championship was held at St. Andrews in 1860, a tournament that marked the beginning of the game’s spread across the globe. (http://www.opengolf.com/en.aspx) Golf was popular mainly as a regional game until the early 19th Century, but as the British Empire was exercising its influence around the globe, it became popular in many different areas, including the United States. Golf took off in the U.S. towards the end of the 19th Century, and the game has grown exponentially ever since.

With all the history surrounding St. Andrews and the Old Course, the opportunity to go to the town and experience everything for myself was something that I simply couldn’t pass up. When I arrived in St. Andrews on Thursday evening, the first thing I did after checking into my hostel was to walk down to the course and simply admire the scenery. I then scouted the area to figure out where I needed to be to get on the course Friday morning, and the anticipation was almost more than I could bear. When I arrived at the starter’s booth on Friday morning I was only the fifth person in line, and at that point I realized that my dream of playing the Old Course was going to come true.

It’s somewhat difficult pinpoint a specific moment in the round that meant the most to me, but I would probably say that crossing the Swilcan Bridge on the 18th hole was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Although very small in size, the bridge is one of the most recognizable symbols in the game of golf, and nearly every giant in the game has crossed it en route to a British Open title. Perhaps the greatest moment on the Swilcan Bridge in my lifetime occurred at the most recent Open to be hosted by St. Andrews in 2005. It was Jack Nicklaus’ final trip to the Open Championship, and as he crossed the bridge for the final time, en route to one final birdie at the 18th, he gave a famous wave to all the patrons at St. Andrews – an image that has become iconic in the years since. Although Jack isn’t necessarily my favorite player of all time, as I approached the 18th hole I couldn’t think about anything but that moment. It’s virtually impossible to describe the feelings that I had walking the fairways of the most famous course in golf; it’s absolutely overwhelming to be surrounded by so much history and to know that so many greats have walked that ground, and crossing the Swilcan Bridge brought all of that history to a head. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t playing particularly well, and it didn’t matter what I’d done at any previous point since I took up the game of golf. At that moment I was in the presence of greatness; in the presence of all the history of a game that has meant so much to my life and my development as an individual. Golf has meant more to me than I can possibly express, so the best way I can describe that moment is to say that it was absolutely surreal.

To be honest, I don’t know that it has completely hit me yet that I was able to play St. Andrews. The experiences I had on the course were incredible, but I think everything will really start to sink in when I watch the Open Championship at the Old Course in July. As I watch the tournament, I’ll be able to identify with the players on a level that I’ve never been able to before, and as more history is made at the Home of Golf, I’ll be able to tell everyone in my life that I was there. I walked those fairways, I navigated the massive double greens, and I survived (well, by my standards anyway) my trip to the Valley of Sin on 18. When the next bit of history occurs at St. Andrews I’ll be able to say that I was there; I experienced some of the same things, and frankly, there’s nothing in the world that gives me chills quite like that.