Carnoustie Golf Course in the town of Carnoustie, Angus, in the east of Scotland is one of the venues in the Open Championship rotation. Golf is recorded as having been played here in 1527, earlier than at St Andrews, where the first record of golf dates from 1552. In 1890, the 14th Earl of Dalhousie, who owned the land, sold the links to the people of the town, to be kept available for their recreation in perpetuity. While the townspeople are the owners, today the links are administered on their behalf by Angus Council.
The original course was of ten holes, crossing and recrossing the Barry Burn. The opening of the coastal railway from Dundee to Arbroath in 1838 brought an influx of golfers from as far afield as Edinburgh, anxious to tackle the ancient links. This led to a complete restructuring of the course, extended in 1867 by Old Tom Morris to the eighteen holes which had meanwhile become standard. Two additional courses have since been added — the Burnside Course and the shorter though equally testing Buddon Links.
Carnoustie first played host to The Open Championship
in 1931, after modifications to the course by James Braid in 1926. The winner
then was Tommy Armour, from Edinburgh.
Later Open winners at Carnoustie include Henry Cotton of England in 1937, Ben Hogan of the USA in 1953, Gary Player of South Africa in 1968, Tom Watson of the USA in 1975, Paul Lawrie of Scotland in 1999 and Pádraig Harrington of Ireland in 2007. The last three championships were all won in playoffs.
The Golf Channel's reality series The Big Break, in which aspiring golfers compete for exemptions on professional tours and other prizes, filmed its fourth season at Carnoustie in 2005. As that year also saw the Ryder Cup at The K Club in Ireland, that year's show was based around a US vs Europe theme, with the two teams competing for European Tour exemptions.
In North America, the course is infamously nicknamed "Car-nasty," due to its famous difficulty. 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 term Carnoustie effect dates from the 1999 Open, when the world's best players, many of whom were reared on manicured and relatively windless courses, were frustrated by the unexpected difficulties of the Carnoustie links, which was compounded by the weather. One much-fancied young favourite, a 19-year-old Sergio García of Spain, went straight from the course to his mother's arms in tears after shooting 89 and 83 in the first two rounds. The Carnoustie effect is defined as "that degree of mental and psychic shock experienced on collision with reality by those whose expectations are founded on false assumptions." This being a psychological term, it can of course apply to disillusionment in any area of activity, not just in golf.
The 1999 Open Championship is best remembered for the epic collapse of French golfer Jean Van de Velde, who needed only a double-bogey six on the 72nd hole to win the Open—and proceeded to shoot a triple-bogey seven, tying Paul Lawrie and 1997 champion Justin Leonard at 290, at six over par. Lawrie won the playoff and the championship (and Van de Velde won a place in sports infamy).
The Open Championship was once again contested at Carnoustie in July 2007. The eight year absence was far shorter than the lengthy 24 years it took to return to Carnoustie, between 1975 and 1999.
Harrington triumphed over García in a 4-hole playoff. The eighteenth hole once again proved itself among the most dramatic and exciting in championship golf. Harrington had a one-shot lead over García as he approached the final hole in the fourth round, but proceeded to put not one but two shots into the Barry Burn on his way to a double-bogey 6. García, playing in the final pairing of the day, reached the 18th with a one-shot lead over Harrington, but bogeyed the hole, setting up the playoff. In the four-hole playoff, which ended on the 18th, Harrington took no chances with a two-shot lead on the 18th; his bogey was enough to defeat García by one shot.
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