The “toughest course in Britain”… here’s how the 2018 Open host “Car-nasty” got its name

Carnoustie Golf Link’s thick rough and devious bunkers have helped it earn the title of “one of the world’s most challenging golf courses”.

Carnoustie Golf Links is famously known as somewhere “people pay good money to go there and be miserable”. It’s ability to offer fun and challenge in equal measures means it can leave a lasting impression on golf lovers of all levels.

Golf has been played at Carnoustie since the early 16th century, and in that time the links have earned a well-deserved reputation as one of the toughest golf destinations in the world. It’s not just the strong winds which blow along this exposed stretch of the Angus coast; nor the bunkering, which is perfectly positioned to capture anything less than a top-quality shot; but it is also a very long, narrow golf course that, at 7,421 yards, is the longest of any of the Open venues.

As Sir Michael Bonallack put it, “When the wind is blowing, it is the toughest golf course in Britain. And when it’s not blowing, it’s probably still the toughest.”2018 will be the eighth occasion on which Carnoustie has hosted The Open Championship and the first since Harrington lifted the Claret Jug here in 2007 after defeating Sergio Garcia in a play-off.

Carnoustie signature holes

The par-four 10th, South America, is a tough hole, to make the green one must negotiate the fairway over water and then circumvent the single, cunningly–placed tree guarding the green. The short par-three 13th is also a welcome challenge for golfers seeking conquest. Then there are the dastardly bunkers guarding the approach to the 14th green. Finding your way out of these these humungous hillocks might can require a stern constitution. And if you miss the sand, there’s still that thick rough that can seemingly swallow your ball whole.

Carnoustie’s most famous hole is the 6th: a par-5, 512 yard favourite. Officially named Hogan’s Alley, after the line the legendary American Ben Hogan chose during the 1953 win, it’s the hole where the Carnoustie conquest starts to challenge its players.

Colin Montgomerie describes the hole as, “The most famous par five on our rota,”. Montgomery hit 64 around Carnoustie in 1995.

Padraig Harrington says of the famous 6th, “It’s a devilish hole. If you can get round that in par each round you’re happy.”

It’s American nick-name

In the USA, the course is infamously nicknamed “Car-nasty,” due to its famous difficulty, especially under adverse weather conditions. Carnoustie is considered by many to be the most difficult course in the Open rota, and one of the toughest courses in the world.

The Open at Carnoustie

Carnoustie has previously hosted The Open on seven occasions:

  • 1931
  • 1937
  • 1953
  • 1968
  • 1975
  • 1999
  • 2007.

See the Carnoustie webcam here.

Carnoustie is a staple of all good golf tours to the UK and Scotland.

Find out more about our British Golf Tours to Scotland and the UK here.

(Source: The Open official website https://www.theopen.com/Heritage/OpenVenues/Carnoustie and Wikipedia).