A brief history of Opens at St Andrews

Yardages

One of the most remarkable aspects of The Old Course is its similarity today to its earliest days staging The Open.

From back when Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris graced the fairways through to the likes of Sam Snead, Peter Thomson, Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods, the course has stayed much the same.

In the nine Opens at St Andrews between 1955 and 1995, the yardage of The Old Course was always within 15 yards of 6,936 yards.

From 1978 until 1995, the course was exactly 6,933 yards, three yards shorter than it was in 1955. As driving distance increased, the first time St Andrews measured over 7,000 yards, at 7,115, was for the 129th Open in 2000.

Since then the yardage has increased further, with the course for The Open in 2015 measuring 7,297 yards. Still, the course stands only 350 yards longer than it did nearly a century ago.