Tee Shot
The Old Course is famous for its blind shots but none more famed or feared than the over-the-shed shot on the 17th tee. The old railway shed now houses gear for the Old Course Hotel and the lettering on the side serves as target. The caddie will tell you the play is over the "O" in "COURSE," but that's only if you hit it straight. Err right, and you're in the hotel's pond. Cheat left, and you're in knee-high fescue. Hit the fairway and who knows where you'll roll -- during the Open, the fairway will run 9.5 on the Stimp, about a foot faster than a typical muni-course green.
Iain Lowe
Left Rough
A triangle of rough separates the second and 17th fairways, and the Old Course grounds crew goes to great lengths to keep it tough but fair. Superintendent Euan Grant says, "We don't trick up the rough on the left, but we don't really mow it too much either. If it is up this July, it'll be long, tall fescues – easy to find your ball, not so easy to get it out. We don't wan any disasters like at Carnoustie [in 1999]." Golfers must play to the front right of the green from the left rough, playing for a five, praying for a four.
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The Road to Ruin 
