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Bagman's-eye view of a perilous journey

Expertise will be crucial. Rick Mackenzie, caddie manager, guides Paul Trow around St Andrews

Sunday 10 July 2005 00:00 BST
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Hole No 1 (Burn)

Par 4, 376 yards

A wide, open fairway leads down to the Swilcan Burn, a tiny though perilous stream guarding the front of a shallow green. It is safest to aim what is usually a short approach shot at the middle of the green.

Hole No 2 (Dyke)

Par 4, 453 yards

Four bunkers and heavy rough straddle a narrow fairway. The tee has been pushed back 40 yards and slightly to the right to bring Cheape's bunker on the left of the fairway back into play. Approaches are often hit to the right half of the green to avoid a big pot bunker.

Hole No 3 (Cartgate - Out)

Par 4, 397 yards

It's best to aim right of the large Principal's Nose bunker on the left corner of the fairway, but three bunkers lie in wait for anything hit too far right. The quickest green on the course.

Hole No 4 (Ginger Beer)

Par 4, 480 yards

Aim the tee shot right of a large hump in front of the green, thus avoiding the Students bunkers left of the fairway and bisecting a narrow valleybetween mounds and bushes. The approach must avoid a bunker positioned front-left of a green which slopes sharply from left to right.

Hole No 5 (Hole O'Cross - Out)

Par 5, 568 yards

Seven bunkers at around 250 yards make it advisable to aim further left off the tee than might seem necessary, as conditions sweep the ball towards the hazards. On a calm day, few players will be bothered by the Spectacles bunkers 60 yards short of an elevated green.

Hole No 6 (Heathery - Out)

Par 4, 412 yards

Some things to worry about: a patch of heather and a cluster of bunkers to the right of the fairway, the deep Coffins bunkers to the left, and a gully guarding the front of the green. The best line in is from the 13th fairway. Then a chip should be enough to negotiate the ridge at the front of an unpredictable putting surface.

Hole No 7 (High - Out)

Par 4, 390 yards

One of only two doglegs on the course, this left-to-right hole is banked by rough on the right and has the massive Shell bunker guarding the green. The left half of the fairway offers the easiest route to the green, which runs from left to right.

Hole No 8 (Short)

Par 3, 175 yards

The green is best viewed from the seventh fairway, as the flag looks further away than it is from the tee and shots are often overhitin what is usually a crosswind. Deep bunkers run beside both sides of the green, one of the slower putting surfaces at St Andrews.

Hole No 9 (End)

Par 4, 352 yards

The ideal line is down the middle, but only a slight push will bring the treacherous Boase's bunker into play. Most players will attempt a run-up second shot, but often the ball pulls up short because the front of the green is one of the softest pieces of land on the course.

Hole No 10 (Bobby Jones)

Par 4, 380 yards

Right-to-left dogleg with bunkers and gorse lying in wait to catch a pulled tee shot, and Boase's bunker positioned in the middle to snaffle any mishit lay-ups. It is probably best to aim right off the tee and then pitch to a raised green from the edge of the fairway.

Hole No 11 (High - In)

Par 3, 174 yards

Two cavernous bunkers - Hill (left) and Strath (right) - truncate the front of a raised green, which has an upward slope from front to back. The ideal shot will land between the two bunkers, but a pull-hook over Hill will career off a sharp downslope.

Hole No 12 (Heathery - In)

Par 4, 348 yards

Six pot bunkers dot the fairway, and now the tee has been pushed back 34 yards many players will aim left of Stroke, the first and widest of these traps. If the pin is on the middle-right, a line down the right of the fairway offers a straight shot to the flag.

Hole No 13 (Hole O'Cross - In)

Par 4, 465 yards

Drive left of the bunkers that run down the middle of the fairway and are unlikely to be carried now the hole has been extended. The approach must clear a stretch of broken ground and a steep, insular bank before reaching a well-protected plateau green.

Hole No 14 (Long)

Par 5, 618 yards

An extra 37 yards has brought the Beardies bunkers back into play and turned this into the longest hole on the Open roster. Few will reach the green in two. The second should be drawn across the Elysian Fields and left of Hell bunker, 100 yards from the green.

Hole No 15 (Cartgate - In)

Par 4, 456 yards

Most tee shots should clear the wide Cottage bunker at around 250 yards, but the smaller Sutherland bunker beyond poses a threat. A large trap eats into the front of the putting surface, so take an extra club and aim the approach at the middle-back of the green.

Hole No 16 (Corner Of The Dyke)

Par 4, 423 yards

The line is left of the triumvirate of bunkers, often with a long iron downwind to pull up short of the rough and mounds on the left of the fairway. The second shot needs to clear two deep bunkers short of a lengthy green, the softest and most receptive on the course.

Hole No 17 (Road)

Par 4, 455 yards

The drive needs to be faded over the wall of the Old Course Hotel, which juts out in front of the tee from the right. Choppy rough left of the fairway makes second shots a lottery. At the left of the green is the Road Hole bunker. An option is to leave a pitch-and-run or long putt.

Hole No 18 (Tom Morris)

Par 4, 357 yards

In the foreground is the stone bridge over the Swilcan Burn. The tee shot is wide, but most players will veer left. The front of a deep, sloping green is protected by the Valley of Sin, into which underhit approaches always topple.

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