Carnoustie Golf Links Championship Course Key Information
Golfing purists love this links test. A challenging layout with one of the great finishes in golf.
The Championship course at Carnoustie delivers one of the sternest yet measured tests of golf of any layout in the world. It’s a course that demands both skill and strategy.
REASONS TO PLAY CARNOUSTIE
– One of the strongest tests of golf on the planet
– A championship layout with tremendous heritage
– Some of the most pristine putting surfaces you'll find on any links
RANKINGS
UK & Ireland Top 100 Golf Courses 2025/26 - 8
There’s a strong case for saying that Carnoustie’s Championship Course may be the most challenging in our Top 100 golf courses UK&I rankings.
When it comes to quality, it is certainly one of the best golf courses in Scotland and one of the best links courses in the UK. It delivers a complete test of golf as displayed each time a Major championship visits, whether that be The Open Championship, or the AIG Women's Open.
Francesco Molinari won over baked fairways in 2018 with the ball running like a scalded cat upon landing. Padraig Harrington came through an epic tussle with Sergio Garcia in 2007. But, for many Carnoustie will always stir memories of 1999, Jean Van de Velde’s 72nd hole collapse, and Paul Lawrie’s famous comeback victory. Anna Nordqvist won a memorable AIG Women's Open at Carnoustie in 2021.
There may be no views of the sea around the course at Carnoustie but the terrain is pure links. The turf is firm and sandy over natural bumps and hollows. The narrow fairways are protected by gorse, streams and magnetic bunkering as they pick their way carefully towards the vast, supremely maintained, greens.
There are no weak holes on the course, with each demanding excellence. Whether the requirement is solid, accurate ball striking, as on long par-4s like the testing 2nd and 15th, or a more strategic approach, as on the short but very well protected 3rd. That's a combination I think shows the quality of this track.
Golf at Carnoustie began in the 16th century but the first course didn’t appear until 1850 when legendary St Andrews professional Alan Robertson designed a 10-hole track. It was Robertson’s protégé Old Tom Morris who extended the layout to 18, but the Championship course as we know it didn’t really begin to take shape until 1926 when James Braid oversaw extensive modifications.
Prior to the Open Championship of 1931 it was decided the finishing holes were not challenging enough so, local man James Wright redesigned the final three. I think it's fair to say he was successful. Wright, arguably, created the toughest closing stretch in British golf.
What's new for 2025/26? What our panellists said…
It is just so very hard to find any fault! The closing stretch is obviously world class, but there are simply no weak holes and the continual changes of direction and strategy force the player to adapt to the wind and hit a huge variety of shots. Always an enormous sense of occasion at Carnoustie.
One of my favourite designed courses in that I always anticipate I can shoot a great score on the course if I play well yet it is littered with holes that can blow your score in a medal in the blink of an eye. If I could only play 1 course over and over but no other, Carnoustie is my choice.
Our party loved the course and were wowed by the toughness of the finish. What the course lacks in scenery it makes up for in the golfing challenge it sets. There is at Carnoustie, that intangible quality that only a handful of courses has, a clear sense of occasion as one arrives on the 1st tee lasting until departing the 18th green.
Carnoustie Golf Links Location
Carnoustie Golf Links Championship Course Scorecard
Best Courses Near To Carnoustie Golf Links Championship Course
For all the best courses north of the border check out our best golf courses in Scotland
Best Places to stay near Carnoustie Golf Links
The Carnoustie Golf Hotel - Book now at Booking.com
Stay right on the edge of the famous links and you could enjoy a room with views of the famous Barry Burn and the challenging 18th hole. There's a spa facility, a gym and a comfortable bar.
19th Hole Hotel Carnoustie - Book now at Booking.com
Less than half a mile from Carnoustie Golf Course, the 19th Hole Hotel provides decent sized rooms with 32-inch TVs and even cosy bathrobes. The full Scottish breakfasts are famously good and you're just 300 yards from the town centre.
Forbes of Kingennie Country Resort - Book now at Booking.com
A selection of luxury lodges within easy reach of Dundee and Carnoustie. Some lodges even have their own hot tubs.
Carnoustie Golf Links Championship Course Gallery
Tournaments Hosted at Carnoustie
- The Open Championship - 1931, 1937, 1953, 1968, 1975, 1999, 2007, 2018
- AIG Women's Open - 2021
- The Senior Open - 2010, 2016, 2024
- The Amateur Championship - 1947, 1966, 1971, 1992, 2015
Carnoustie Golf Links Historical Top 100 ranking UK&I
- 2025/26 - 8
- 2023/23 - 7
- 2021/22 - 5
- 2019/20 - 5
- 2017/18 - 5
- 2015/16 - 6
- 2013/14 - 8
- 2011/12 - 7
- 2009/10 - 7
Frequently Asked Questions
CAN I PLAY CARNOUSTIE?
Carnoustie Golf Links is open to the public, just like all of the Open Championship venues in the UK. Visitor days are Tuesdays and Thursdays, with mornings reserved for fourballs and afternoons available for foursomes play. Male golfers must have handicap of 28 or less, and women must have a handicap of 36 or less.
HOW HARD IS CARNOUSTIE?
The Championship Course at Carnoustie is one of the toughest golf courses in the British Isles and is regarded as one of the hardest courses on the Open rota, hence the 'Carnastie' nickname.
The men's par is 72 from the Whites and 70 from the other tees, and the ladies' par is 74 from the Green tees and 74 from the Blacks.
White tees: 6,945 yards (Slope Rating: 139, Course Rating: 75.2)
Yellow tees: 6,589 yards (SR: 135, CR: 73.6)
Green tees: 6,139 yards (SR: 130, CR: 71.5)
Ladies green tees: 6,139 yards (SR: 140, CR: 77.3)
Ladies black tees: 5,610 yards (SR: 145, CR: 74.4)
HOW MANY COURSES DOES CARNOUSTIE HAVE?
Carnoustie Golf Links has three courses - the world famous Championship Course as well as the Burnside Course, which Ben Hogan played to qualify for the 1953 Open that he subsequently won, and Buddon Course, the newest of the three, which is a Peter Alliss and Dave Thomas design.
