Which is the most difficult course at St Andrews

[Bamberdele2.0]

Interested to see which course comes up trumps for golfers on here as the hardest of the lot.

‘Unfortunately’ we were blessed with some unreal weather for the whole duration of our stay. I do not think we could have picked a better weekend for 3 days.

Playing them in a different conditions would have no doubt swayed my vote.

please feel free to rank them in order also in the comments below

 

[KenL]

I've not played it but I hear the Castle course is tough.

 

[Albo]

I would probably say the Castle, it’s fairly long and has more difficult green complexes and if you’re wayward off the tee a lot of lost balls.
That said, for me, it is playable, greens are big and there is more room out there than it appears off the tee. And it has the 17th which is a delightful golf hole.
In terms of order for the rest…

Castle
TOC
New
jubilee
Eden
Strath

Edit to add, a lot of that will be length based, the Eden has more funky green complexes than the others (Castle aside), but is relatively short. If you have plenty length but short game is your nemesis the above order may change

 

[Backache]

I've not played TOC.
I'd go
Castle
Jubilee
New
Eden
Strath
Though I don't particularly like the latter and the rough is often the worst.

 

[Captainron]

Played them all and the Castle is definitely the most challenging.

 

[GreiginFife]

Castle is the toughest for me. But I think that was part of the design brief for it.

Jubilee is next for me and then the New then Old.

Not a fan of the Eden.

 

[Backache]

Castle is the toughest for me. But I think that was part of the design brief for it.

Jubilee is next for me and then the New then Old.

Not a fan of the Eden.

Must admit I like the Eden and think it has a great selection of holes though the 14th & 15th are out of character and a bit less interesting.

 

[Ye Olde Boomer]

I've never been blessed to play golf in Scotland.
That would be a wonderful experience.

We do have a public course nearby called "Scottish Highlands," however.
I always think of seaside links courses when I think Scotland.
Do the Highlands have famous ones too?

 

[Backache]

I've never been blessed to play golf in Scotland.
That would be a wonderful experience.

We do have a public course nearby called "Scottish Highlands," however.
I always think of seaside links courses when I think Scotland.
Do the Highlands have famous ones too?

Depends what you mean by Highlands the Highlands region contains Dornoch which is a links seaside course..
Castle Stuart and Nairn are I think Highlands region as well.

Loch Lomond and Gleneagles are near the hills but are in Argyll and Perthshire I think, I cannot exactly remember where the boundaries are.

Courses that are in the Highlands and surrounded by hills are probably a bit less well known but there are some very enjoyable ones including Boat of Garten, Braemar Grantown on Spey and Kingussie.

 

[Ye Olde Boomer]

Depends what you mean by Highlands the Highlands region contains Dornoch which is a links seaside course..
Castle Stuart and Nairn are I think Highlands region as well.

Loch Lomond and Gleneagles are near the hills but are in Argyll and Perthshire I think, I cannot exactly remember where the boundaries are.

Courses that are in the Highlands and surrounded by hills are probably a bit less well known but there are some very enjoyable ones including Boat of Garten, Braemar Grantown on Spey and Kingussie.

Thank you. I've had a pretty decent life, but playing golf in Scotland was one of the things that I seem to have missed.
Seeing it on television, it looks amazing.

 

[sunshine]

Thank you. I've had a pretty decent life, but playing golf in Scotland was one of the things that I seem to have missed.
Seeing it on television, it looks amazing.

In reality it’s cold, wet and miserable most of the time. But if you win the lottery and play on a warm sunny day it’s wonderful!

 

[KenL]

I've never been blessed to play golf in Scotland.
That would be a wonderful experience.

We do have a public course nearby called "Scottish Highlands," however.
I always think of seaside links courses when I think Scotland.
Do the Highlands have famous ones too?

Check out Boat of Garten, a real gem in the Highlands.

 

[Albo]

I've never been blessed to play golf in Scotland.
That would be a wonderful experience.

We do have a public course nearby called "Scottish Highlands," however.
I always think of seaside links courses when I think Scotland.
Do the Highlands have famous ones too?

I’m just back from a weekend up in the highlands playing golf.
Nairn
Tain
Dornoch
Brora
Nairn-Dunbar
All highlands courses and all links courses also. All, in their own way, absolutely incredible.

 

[Bratty]

The Castle is the hardest, especially when you play it in the har with 100 yard visibility for 16 holes!
Of the ones I've played:
Castle
Jubilee
New
Old
And a friend who plays there regularly agrees and then says:
Eden
Strat

 

[Backache]

In reality it’s cold, wet and miserable most of the time. But if you win the lottery and play on a warm sunny day it’s wonderful!

The wet bit is highly dependent on which bit of Scotland you are in as to the likelihood. It is also a little pertinent to the thoughts of Old Boomer in his post . The Highlands region contains coastal areas. If one thinks of the Highlands as the mountains it is not all of the Highlands region nor are all the mountains in the Highland region.
Even the hills are not wet most of the time though they can be . The coastal regions including a lot of the popular golfing spots are often in pretty dry bits of Scotland often a lot drier than England though they can on occasions be cool and breezy. And golf in Scotland is never miserable when you can get to a hostelry if the weather is particularly inclement.

 

[TigerBear]

Castle
Jubilee
New
TOC
Eden
Strath

My favourite course is between Castle or New. Both excellent and unique in their own way.