On Wednesday 19th June 2024 we set out to complete 72 holes of golf as part of The Big Golf Race. We took on this challenge to raise money and awareness for Prostate Cancer UK. It is an incredibly important cause as 1 in 8 men will get prostate cancer during their lifetime. G also partners with them through her day job, so has first-hand experience of working with the charity and seeing their work. We decided not to venture far and to do the challenge right on our doorstep in St Andrews. Where better to attempt this challenge than The Home of Golf?
The 1st round of our attempt at The Big Golf Race for Prostate Cancer UK took place on the Strathtyrum course in St Andrews. We left the house at 05:30 and began the mile or so walk down to the course. Our car had unfortunately been struck with a golf ball the night before, which left it with a smashed windscreen, rendering it unusable. The walk meant we were certain to add an extra couple of miles onto our marathon golfing day. However, the weather was absolutely glorious meaning we did not grudge the extra time outdoors, especially when walking down the stretch of The Old Course to reach the Strathtyrum. Despite the early time, there were already a number of golfing enthusiasts walking the course.
The Strathtyrum was the perfect course to begin the race on. It is the shortest 18-hole course in St Andrews, measuring only 5004 yards. At a par 69 it features 5 par 3s, 11 par 4s and 2 par 5s. Our goal for the 72-hole day was to finish cumulatively under par, and this was the perfect chance to begin the day by making a few birdies and getting a head start on this goal. However, the Strathtyrum does not come without difficulty. There is trouble (mainly gorse and rough) lining every fairway and the greens have some significant slope for their small size. Cam found this out the hard way as he lost 4 balls during this round. One bonus of this was that his bag was significantly lighter for the remaining rounds!
At around 06:30, G hit the 1st tee shot of the day, with a safe driver down the middle on the short par 4 1st hole. Cam then followed, with his ball just skidding past G’s in the fairway. G then hit the approach up to 12 feet, with Cam just missing the putt for, what would have been, the dream start. The wait for our 1st birdie would not be long as G curled in a 10-foot attempt on the par 4 2nd to take us to 1 under par. A couple of routine pars then followed at the 3rd and 4th holes as we began to find a rhythm to both of our games. At the Par 5 5th hole, with the green keepers hard at work, Cam managed to thread his drive between them, leaving a short approach into the green. G left the approach on the front edge of the green and Cam duly rolled the putt up to tap in distance to take us to 2 under.
A shoutout on this round to the greenkeepers, who were incredibly supportive in our efforts to get round. We were very much in their way during their morning preparation; however, they gave so many supportive comments and were so accommodating in allowing us to continue to speed round and reach our 2nd tee-time at 09:04.
Our 1st hiccup of the day came at the par 3 6th hole, where both of us failed to hit the small and severely sloped green. G then hit a good chip up to 5 feet and Cam unfortunately let it slip meaning we had made our 1st bogey of the day. We had to then dig deep for pars on the next 2 holes as our approach shots were out of position. Cam made 2 excellent 10-foot putts, back-to-back, to ensure we didn’t slip any further.
At 1-under through 9 holes, it was all to play for on the back-9, with some scoreable holes still to play. The 10th hole is a short 300-yard par 4. It is lined by gorse all the way up to the green. With G down there safe, Cam found one of his best driver swings and hit it onto the front edge of the green. After 2 putts, our 3rd birdie of the day had been found. The 11th hole then followed. It is a long par 5 dogleg from right to left. Cam and G both left their drives up the right side and in the thick rough. G then recovered the 2nd shot well by punching out 50 yards into the fairway. Cam then followed this up with a lovely 9 iron from 140 yards, with G then able to convert the 15-foot birdie attempt. This took us to 3-under par through 11 and in a great position to finish the round strongly.
Unfortunately, after the 11th hole, our progress stalled, and we made several uninspiring pars. Many of these were putts that just missed or didn’t quite have the speed. However, there were no threats of any bogeys meaning it was stress free golf. We reached the 18th still at 3 under par. The final hole on the Strathtyrum is one of the toughest on the course. It plays as a long par 4 with a slight dogleg left for the longer hitters as it is bisected by a road that runs through the fairway. The closer you get to the green, the narrower the fairway gets as rough encroaches on the left and trees to the right. Cam found his best drive of the day on this hole, leaving G with a wedge shot from around 100 yards. A chunk to the front edge of the green left Cam with a tricky 80-foot putt. He misjudged the break on it, leaving G with a 25-foot putt for par. Finally, a putt found the hole leaving morale very high going into the 2nd round.
Our final score was 66 (3 under par), which left us in a good position going into the later rounds. Despite not playing our best, we had fully warmed up and did not expend too much of the energy that we would need much more of later on. We came off the course at 08:30 (only 2 hours after starting), which gave us time to recuperate before out next tee-time on The Eden course at 09:04.
To watch the video from our 1st round you can follow the link below:
CGgolfs⛳️ 