Oldest Course In The World Has The Youngest Record Book!

Doug Ferguson points out the oddity of the St. Andrews Links Trust not recognizing Old Course records prior to 2006 because of extensive course changes.

It was a peculiar decision, considering that golf and its courses continue to evolve. Augusta National now measures 7,435 yards, yet the home of the Masters still recognizes its course record as the 63 that Nick Price shot in 1986 and Greg Norman matched in 1996. In both years, the course was 6,925 yards.

Raymond Floyd shot a 63 at Southern Hills in the 1982 PGA Championship when it was 6,862 yards. Tiger Woods tied the course record with a 63 in the second round of the 2007 PGA Championship when the course was 7,131 yards. Both remain course records.

"I think that's a little shortsighted," Southern Hills head pro Dave Bryan said Tuesday of the St. Andrews decision. "The course is longer, but the equipment more than makes up for that. It's a moot point."

Not according to the St. Andrews Links Trust.

I guess I see this as a Barry Bonds situation. Bonds likely cheated, as did many of his fellow hitters, but so were many of the pitchers he faced. Isn't it a wash?

Curtis Strange shot 62 with the top equipment available to him and the course setup for the times. Today's course is a response to poorly regulated eqiupment and therefore, with today's equipment, plays fairly similarly to the course Strange faced. Or maybe slightly easier considering the clubs, balls, agronomic improvements, etc... Therefore, Strange's round should be the record. No?

Comments

[BW]

Isn't any course record arbitrary anyway? At this point, if a tour puts pins in the middle of all the greens (or wherever the easier pin locations) in any tournament, the course record is going to get broken.

[charlie]

um, that's really odd.
It's not like they are digging up greens or even adding bunkers.
And there's been less length added there than some other courses, and the effective length and difficulty of the holes has always varied widely from day to day based on weather. Why not only count records with >15 mph wind?

[Hawkeye]

That would be like Oakmont putting an asterisk next to Johnny Miller's 63 just because the greens were soft that Sunday. Uhm...wait, that's exactly what they do.
I agree that it's silly, but it seems to be standard procedure on the British Isles. I remember Isao Aoki's record 63 at Muirfield being wiped out because of a re-aligned tee on the 15th hole prior to the ´87 Open. I guess they felt that playing the 15th hole straight was the key to Aoki's low round... Hopefully, if the public remembers that Strange (and Brian Davis) have shot 62 on the Old Course, then that score will eventually be re-instated as the course record.

[Jock]

Pretty normal for the UK .

Where did the "Oldest course in the World" come from ?

[john huggan]

Musselburgh, rightly or wrongly, was recently recognised as the world's oldest course.....

[The O]

So, what is the current course record? Can I fly over and set it before the Open?

[2ndSwingGolf]

Wait Johnny Miller shot a 63 to win the US Open? I've never heard that before, and I watch a lot of golf. ;)

[Hawkeye]

The O, it's a 64, held by Bradley Dredge and Mikko Ilonen. I doubt that they teed off at the New Course when they played the 17th, though, so you may have a chance!

[Styles]

*yawns

This is newsworthy????? Even for internet blogs this is sensationalising a non story.

Hawkeye, the 17th tee is now on the practice ground behind The Old Course Hotel. The New Course from there is a couple hundred yards to the left as you look down 17 ;-)