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Carnoustie Golf Links (Championship Course)

Carnoustie, Angus · Designed by Allan Robertson & Old Tom Morris (1842) / James Braid (1926) · Est. 1842

Carnoustie is, by common consent, the hardest of the Open Championship links — "Carnasty," the players call it. Golf has been played on this stretch of the Angus coast since the 16th century; Allan Robertson laid out the first holes in 1842 with help from Old Tom Morris, James Braid reshaped it in 1926, and the course has tested the best in the world across eight Opens since 1931.

What makes it brutal is the finish. The Barry Burn snakes across the closing holes, and the 17th ("Island") and 18th ("Home") make up perhaps the most demanding final stretch in championship golf. It is where, in 1999, Jean van de Velde needed only a double-bogey six to win the Open and made a triple-bogey seven, handing the Claret Jug to Paul Lawrie in a playoff — the most famous collapse the game has seen. Ben Hogan won here in 1953 in his only Open appearance; Pádraig Harrington in 2007; Francesco Molinari, the first Italian major champion, in 2018.

There is little to soften the experience — no dunes to frame the holes, no hiding place from the wind off the North Sea, just relentless, exposed, world-class links golf. Dundee Airport is twenty minutes away and St Andrews is across the Tay, which makes Carnoustie a natural pairing on any serious Scottish golf trip.

Holes worth knowing

118th "Home" (par-4) — the Barry Burn crosses the fairway twice and guards the green, with out-of-bounds left. The hole that undid Jean van de Velde in 1999, and as searching a finishing hole as exists in championship golf.
217th "Island" (par-4) — the Barry Burn loops around the fairway so the landing area is effectively an island. Position is everything; the burn swallows the greedy.

Highlights

The hardest of the Open venues — 8 Opens since 1931
The Barry Burn finish (17th "Island", 18th "Home")
Scene of Jean van de Velde's 1999 collapse

Good to know

→Carnoustie is exposed and unforgiving — there are no dunes to break the wind. Take more club than you think, and accept that par here is a very good score.
→Dundee Airport is twenty minutes away and St Andrews is across the Tay (about 50 minutes), so Carnoustie pairs naturally with the Fife courses.
→The two other links here — the Burnside and the Buddon — are good, well-priced courses and far easier to get on if the Championship course is booked out.
→Book a caddie for the lines on the burn holes; the closing stretch is far more manageable when you know where not to go.
→‘Car-nasty’ is widely reckoned the toughest of all the Open links, its closing stretch over the Barry Burn the scene of Jean van de Velde’s 1999 collapse; Panmure, Monifieth and Montrose are all close for a fine Angus tour.

Visitor Information

Getting There

20min drive

1h 30min drive

1h 15min drive

Common questions

Why is Carnoustie considered the hardest of the Open courses?

It is fully exposed — there are no dunes to break the wind off the North Sea — and the finish is the most demanding in championship golf: the Barry Burn snakes across the 17th ("Island") and 18th ("Home"), punishing any loose shot. Players nickname it "Carnasty." Par here is a genuinely good score.

What happened to Jean van de Velde at Carnoustie in 1999?

Standing on the 72nd tee of the 1999 Open, the Frenchman needed only a double-bogey six to win. He made a triple-bogey seven — finding the Barry Burn and the grandstand along the way — to fall into a three-man playoff, which Paul Lawrie won. It remains the most famous collapse in the history of the game, and it happened on Carnoustie's 18th.

How do I play Carnoustie, and what else is there?

The Championship Course books directly through Carnoustie Golf Links, with limited visitor availability — book well ahead. Two more links share the site, the Burnside and the Buddon, both good and far easier to get on. Dundee Airport is twenty minutes away and St Andrews about fifty.