Course Madness: WGGC Final Four - (9) Cabot Cliffs vs (1) St. Andrews Old Course

Course Madness: WGGC Final Four - (9) Cabot Cliffs vs (1) St. Andrews Old Course


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The World Greatest Golf Course is now entering the Final Four.

We are down to the FOUR best golf courses voted by you at THP

Here is the thread to show the full pool and all the results. You decide on which is the World's Greatest Golf Course.
https://www.thehackersparadise.com/...ss-greatest-golf-course-in-the-world.8916364/

This is a matchup of History and Nostalgia vs the picturesque look of a golf course.

(1) St. Andrews Old Course


St Andrews Old Course.jpg



Here's what makes the Old Course, the "Home of Golf," so special.

It's almost impossible to think about the Open Championship without thinking about the history of the game. After all, this championship has been played longer than any other tournament and at courses that have been around as long as the game itself. This year's venue, The Old Course at St. Andrews, is the most famous of them all and is considered the "Home of Golf."

The game was first played at the Old Course sometime in the 1400s. There are very few things in the world of sports that have as much history as the Old Course and the Open Championship. Here are a few of the features that make the Old Course a unique venue.

Shared Greens:
One unique feature of the Old Course is its shared greens. Most golf courses in the world consist of 18 separate putting surfaces, but not the Old Course. There are just 11 large greens here and they are huge. In fact, on average, the shared greens at the Old Course measure a mammoth 22,000 square feet.

Swilcan Bridge:
Have I mentioned that the Old Course is really old? Well so is the Swilcan Bridge, which spans the Swilcan Burn between the first and 18th fairways. In fact, it has been there for at least 700 years. Its initial purpose was to help livestock cross the burn but now has become an opportunity for one hell of a photo-op. It's almost a requirement to take a picture here while playing the Old Course and you will see the Champion Golfer of the Year taking pictures here with his Claret Jug.

Bunkers:
Are you one of those people that always seems to be in a bunker? Well, playing the Old Course might be a terrifying proposition for you. There are 112 bunkers scattered all over the legendary course and to add a taunting element, most of them have names. With names like Coffin and Hell, it's no surprise that players will want to avoid these bunkers that are essentially a one-stroke penalty.

Another St. Andrews Fact:
The 10th hole is named for Bobby Jones, who apparently hated the course at first. As he played the Old a few more times, he fell in love with it. In 1958, the town of St. Andrews gave him the key to the city.

Twitter: @TheHomeofGolf
Website: https://www.standrews.com/Play/Courses/Old-Course

Old-Course-Scorecard-2020.jpg



(9) Cabot Cliffs

cabot-cliffs-canada.jpg



Spectacular, diverse land


There were at least 10 parcels of property that needed to be purchased to build what became Cabot Cliffs, which includes dunesland and coastland that seemingly begged to be a golf hole. The inland holes are almost as interesting and dramatic as the holes that run along or near the coast. The views throughout the round are hypnotizing. Where most great courses can take a few holes before you walk onto a “Wow!” tee box, Cliffs hits you in the chin on the second hole and doesn't let up until you're walking off the 18th green.

There are forced carries (Nos. 2 and 7), but nothing too difficult for the highest handicapper. There's plenty of room off the tee, big greens, a wide variety of looks to the par 3s and reachable par 5s. There are multiple cape holes (Nos. 5 and 17), and a Biarritz green (no. 8).

The greatest debates will revolve around which is the better nine, front or back? I like the back, but others will disagree. Which is the best par 3? I like no. 9, but 16 is ridiculous and tremendous and spectacular and so much fun. Which is the better cape hole? The fifth is fantastic, and as you walk off the lower green of the fourth hole, you will be pulled into one of the more memorable tee shots on a course full of tee-box euphoria. Which is the best par 5? My vote is the fifteenth.

The par-72 Cliffs feature six par 3s, six par 4s, and six par 5s. From the sixth to the 10th hole, pars are 3-5-5-3-5. A fun mix of reachable and birdie holes that start on the coast, goes inland, and then back to the coast.

Before I left Cabot, a few of us sat around a table and played course match play, going hole-by-hole, Pebble Beach vs. Cliffs. Cliffs won holes 1 through 5. Pebble won holes 6 through 10. It was 5 to 5 going to the 11th tee. Cliffs won 11 through 17 and Pebble took the 18th. Cliffs win 12-6.

Twitter: @cabotcliffs
Website: https://www.cabotlinks.com/golf/cabot-cliffs/

Cabot Cliffs Score Card 1.jpg





Cabot Cliffs Score Card 2.jpg





Cabot Cliffs Score Card 3.jpg
 
Does a course with picturesque views and rampant run up the world rankings have a chance against the history of where golf was created?
 
So much history at St. Andrews, and I don't know much about Cabot..😬 Hopefully that explains where my vote is going..
 
I'm going with Cliffs because I love and respect what its owner, Mike Keiser, has done for the golf industry.
 
I have to go St. Andrews. Too much there and since I've never played it, I feel like I would have to.
 
Cabot is beautiful but it isn’t the Old Course.
 
St. Andrews' history is awesome!
 
The beauty of Cabot has my vote. Yes I understand the history of St. Andrews is great....But those views @ Cabot.
 
Just for the history I chose the Old Course
 
Home of Golf without a doubt.
 
Cabot cliffs is just amazing looking.
 
It's like beauty vs the beast, but I have to go with history here
 
I gave my vote to Cabot, but St Andrews should win.
 
I got to go with St Andrews on this.
 
I've been riding Cabot from the start and I'm not going to stop now. Also looks like I'm not alone. This one is wayyy closer than I thought it would be!
 
Haven’t been to either but I imagine it’s hard to compare these 2 since they’re just so different. St. Andrews history is unmatched but cliffs views are supposedly some of the best in the world,
 
This one is a lot closer than I thought it would be. St. Andrews just for the history.
 
I will take Cabot Cliffs over the old course. North Merica!
 
I've been extremely fortunate enough to have visited and/or played all four of the Final 4 courses. All are awesome golf courses, but only 3 of the 4 have the added "butterflies in stomach" feeling when walking in/approaching the first tee. Cabot was great, but it didn't have that "feeling" about walking in the footsteps of the greatest golfers on Earth. St. Andrews it is...
 
Ran across this review of the holes at Cabot Cliffs

Wow! There are great courses out there, and then there are courses like Cabot Cliffs that take the game of golf to a whole new level in terms of course design, setting, and experience. Many Americans have yet to enjoy a true links experience on the sandy soil that separates land from sea, but Bandon Dunes finally brought that opportunity to the states and is exposing patrons to the greatness of links golf that players on the other side of the pond have enjoyed for over 100 years. Bandon Dunes founder, Mike Keiser, decided to take another crack at bringing links golf to North America with the installation of Cabot Links which was simply the appetizer for what would come with Cabot Cliffs. The Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw designed Cliffs course is a jaw dropper in every sense of the term and sits on the coastal edges of the Gulf St. Lawrence which is where the Great Lakes empty through the St. Lawrence river into the Atlantic Ocean. Water views are prolific, greens are large and undulating, fairway are generous and engaging, and the hole designs are a ton of fun to play. After a flat and somewhat uninspiring open hole, the course takes off on hole #2 with an elevated tee shot that is followed up by an uphill approach over a natural ravine to one of the largest greens on the course. The routing continues to amp things up until players embark on the most stunning stretch of closing holes anyone could hope to find, starting with the par five 15th. The fantasy-come-to-life 16th hole stands next to Cypress Point's 16th hole as the most beautiful and inspiring one-shotters in the world with a heroic carry to a peninsula green sitting on the rock cliffs above the Atlantic Ocean. Also along the way you'll find two greens on the par three 4th, a Biarritz green on the par five 8th, and a driveable par four on the coastal 17th. All of the turf is covered in fescue grass which creates firm and fast conditions, a feature that takes advantage of the fairway undulations famously found on links courses, and green speeds are kept below ten on the stimpmeter so that the said undulations can be reasonably handled to numerous hole locations. The course is walking only and players have the option of hiring a caddie to carry their bag, renting a Riksha pull cart, or throwing their clubs on their back.

Drivable 15th hole
60B48AD9-2496-45E0-8287-47A63B34E6CC.jpeg
 
Cabot made a heck of a run
 


Cabot
 
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