Burn's
Old Links was released in September 2003
to huge acclaim. This was a return for
Mike to the traditional British links
style course and this time was much more
in keeping with the iconic St Andrews Old
Course. More than any other design the
fairways and greens here seem to be laid
over the landscape rather than carved
from it and flow from hole to hole, often
with the routes adjoining and even
sometimes indistinct from each other.
This opens up the shot choices immensely
allowing you to pick safe or aggressive
routes as you wish. An old town overlooks
the course and there is the 'Bunning
Burn' that cuts through two of the longer
par 5's. Planting is low key here, this
course is all about contours and slopes
and natural looking landscapes and it
plays just beautifully. You will get some
wonderful replicated St Andrews moments
such as a tee shot over the edge of
buildings, and some deep pot hole
guarding bunkers that you really must
avoid at all costs.
Four
Favourite Holes
Hole 5
- This is a 420 yard par 4 which has a
choice of routes. The direct tee shot
will need to skirt a rough mound and
thread between some fairway pot bunkers
but leaves a short iron into a perilous
green. There is a safer shot to the right
but this lengthens the hole
significantly. The green is guarded by a
large bunker boarded in the style of the
famous 'Prestwick'. There is a
significant ridge across this green
making a back pin tricky, you dont want
to be short but equally there is a steep
downhill run-off area that can take
anything long off and away from the pin.
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Burn's
Old Links (5th hole)
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Hole 7
- A 160 yard par 3 which is not only one
of the best looking, framed by the dry
brown grasses and a far bank, it also
plays like a dream. This is a double
green fronted by two large bunkers. The
deeper one called 'Hole' is directly in
your way and must be cleared, it has
similarities to the 17th at St Andrews.
The left bunker kindly named 'Russell'
for my testing help splits the green, but
is equally to be avoided. The best shots
thread their way dangerously between the
two and use the slope of the green to get
near the pin.
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Burn's
Old Links (7th hole)
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Hole 12
- Bunning Burn splits the 8th and 12th
holes, both are par 5's, and makes the
tee shot a nervous affair. The 12th is
the shorter par 5 at 570 yards but the
burn is in play right down the hole and
to the right hand side of the green. You
can reach this hole is two, with a touch
of assistance, but the risk is great. The
green is also split into three tiers
which makes it all the more important to
find your approach close to the flag.
This is a cracking hole overlooked by the
old town in the distance.
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Burn's
Old Links (12th hole)
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Hole 18
-The final hole is a really difficult
one, and a par here will be a good
finish. A long par 4 at 470 yards you tee
off over a dry waste area which looks
really neat to a fairway bordered by out
of bounds on the right and two bunkers on
the left. A good tee shot will leave a
long iron into a green following the line
of a green fence to a raised green. A
bunker will trap anything left and
distance needs to be really precise as
anything short will roll back, and
anything long can go over the path and
out of bounds.
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Burn's
Old Links (18th hole)
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Burns Old Links
is distinct from all other courses in the
way it has laid out and routed the course
across the landscape. Your ball will also
move around the greens in the closest way
to what you see at the The Open. There is
a really tough opening to your round here
as you play alongside out of bounds areas
early on which really puts you under
pressure. Getting on the right tier of
these greens is essential, as there are
loads of slopes and mouldings. This
course won the 2003 Course of the Year
Award and is pretty much acclaimed by
anyone who loves links courses. It is
best played without the use of any
overhead cameras so that you pick you
routes via the main view screen as in
real life. It is a course to be learnt
and admired and is in the running for the
best fictional design of all time.
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