Ohio Golf Journal July 2020

For five-time Champion Golfer of the Year, Peter Thomson, the appeal was clearly defined, “All golf courses really are imitations of this one, but there’s hardly any that measure up anywhere near it.” However, more than the strategic quality of the holes or the indelible history behind them, what makes the Old special is that it represents golf at its accessible best. Contrasted with the gated perimeters of Augusta National or Pine Valley, the Old is available, literally becoming a public park on the majority of Sundays; dogs are walked, picnics are eaten, children roam freely. You can’t realistically step onto the hallowed grounds at Wimbledon, Wembley Stadium, or Lord’s, but you can play the Old Course at St Andrews, which makes it the most romantic course around. Tee times are available every day via the Old Course Ballot, which accounts for around half of the daily play. Visitors and locals alike compete in a lottery for a dream spot. A lesser known pathway is that single golfers may queue each morning and seek to be paired with a two or three-ball. Golfers have been known to line up from the previous evening, praying to the elusive golf gods for a chance to play. Since moving to St Andrews, I have played golf with people from the United States, Italy, Japan, South Africa, Australia, Argentina, and most exotically of them all, Renfrew in Scotland. As a resident who loves nothing more than sharing this place with others, turning up to the first tee and discovering who could