By Dave, The Carnoustie Caddie. On the bag since 1998. Updated 10 September 2026.
The card says 18. Ask a caddie and the honest answer is whichever hole the wind is on. The 16th is a 245-yard par 3 that Tom Watson called the hardest par 3 in golf. On the 17th the Barry Burn cuts across the fairway and runs all the way up the left. The 18th has the burn short of the green and out of bounds up the left. Nobody plays all three well on the same day.
Is the 16th the hardest hole at Carnoustie?
On most days, yes.
It’s called Barry Burn. 245 yards off the back tee, 235 from the tee most visitors play, and 248 when the Open is here. A par 3. The green sits up and sheds anything not struck pure, with bunkers either side waiting.
Into the wind it’s a driver for a lot of American visitors, and a driver to a par 3 is a strange feeling. Tom Watson called it the hardest par 3 in golf. For the record, it isn’t even the hardest par 3 at Carnoustie. Ask the 9th and the 14th on the Burnside. Tom Watson won the Open here in 1975 and failed to make par on it in all five plays, four rounds and the playoff. In the 2007 Open the whole field managed 19 birdies on it all week.
What about the 17th?
It’s called Island, and the name tells you everything. 433 yards off the back tee on the visitor card, 460 in Open setup.
The burn snakes in from the right, cuts across the fairway, and runs all the way up the left, which is where the island fairway comes from. There are no bunkers off the tee, and that is the only mercy on the hole.
The line is the right edge of the three greenside bunkers, and you need 246 yards exactly on that line. Anything left of the bridge is wet. Right brings thick rough, then the 18th tee, then out of bounds. Left is the burn. There is no bail out. Pick your line and hit it.
And the 18th?
Home. 444 yards off the back tee, 499 for the Open. The most feared finishing hole in golf.
The burn sits in front of the green, out of bounds runs left and long, and the green slopes toward the fence. In 1975 Johnny Miller found a fairway bunker here and couldn’t get up and down, missing by one the playoff Tom Watson went on to win against Jack Newton. In 1999 Jean van de Velde needed a six and made seven. In 2007 Padraig Harrington found the burn twice, made six, and still won the playoff.
Three of the best players of their generations, one hole, three different ways to get hurt.
The bet I make on the 14th tee
Here is how I explain the finish to a player, and I say it to most of them.
If you can go level par from 14 to 18, I will caddie for free.
I have never had to caddie for free.
Look at what those five holes are. The 14th off the yellows is a 459-yard par 4, and that is the one with the Spectacles bunkers sitting 50 yards short of the green. The 15th is Lucky Slap, a 459-yard dog leg left with the fairway cambering right into two bunkers. The 16th is a long par 3 playing anywhere from 210 to 250. The 17th is the island. And the 18th is the 17th going the other way.
Those holes are set up to play downwind, but the wind here is tidal and it changes. Maybe 60 per cent of the time it is behind you. The other 40 per cent you are walking into it, and that is a different golf course altogether.
The one nobody names
The 6th. Hogan’s Alley, and that’s the hole’s official name, not a nickname. A par 5 with out of bounds down the left, bunkers through the middle, and a sliver of fairway between them that Ben Hogan drove on all four days in 1953, the only Open he ever played, and won.
Everybody talks about the finish. The 6th is where your round quietly leaves you.
The bunkers are the whole story
There are 112 of them, and you can see most of them. That is the scary part.
The 2nd on its own has ten, and every one of them is designed to get you. It does not matter which tees you play off either. There are bunkers in your range from all of them.
The rule out here is that if you can see a bunker, assume there is another one hidden behind it. That is what costs you strokes. Not the one you planned around, the one sitting behind it you never knew was there.
James Braid put a lot of them there in 1926, and he built them to catch good players, not bad ones. That’s why a straight hitter who takes the sensible line has a better day here than a long hitter who trusts his eye.
Booking and prices
The Championship Course is £360 per round in 2026 high season, 1 May to 31 October, roughly $485. April is £249, roughly $335. Current green fees are on the Links’ own green fees page, and the yardages and the card are on their Championship Course page.
Dollar figures are rounded at about $1.35 to the pound and move with the rate.
Every hole, and how she really plays: The Carnoustie Caddie: How the Course Really Plays.
Quick answers
What is the hardest hole at Carnoustie? By most measures the 16th, a par 3 of 245 yards, or the 18th. Caddies here will tell you it’s whichever hole the wind is on.
How long is the 16th at Carnoustie? 245 yards off the back tee, 235 from the tee most visitors play, and 248 when the Open is here. Par 3. Tom Watson called it the hardest par 3 in golf.
What is Hogan’s Alley at Carnoustie? The 6th hole, officially named for Ben Hogan, who drove between the out of bounds and the central bunkers on all four days of his 1953 Open win.
Why is the 17th at Carnoustie called Island? The burn snakes in from the right, cuts across the fairway and runs all the way up the left, leaving the island of fairway the hole is named after. The line is the right edge of the three greenside bunkers and you need 246 yards on that line. Anything left of the bridge is wet.
How hard is the finish at Carnoustie? Go level par from the 14th to the 18th and I will caddie for free. I have never had to caddie for free. The 14th is a 459-yard par 4 with the Spectacles bunkers 50 yards short, the 15th a 459-yard dog leg left, the 16th a par 3 playing 210 to 250, the 17th the island, and the 18th the 17th going the other way.
How many bunkers does Carnoustie have? 112. You can see most of them, which is the scary part, and the 2nd alone has ten. The ones that cost you are the ones hidden behind the ones you can see.
Before you play Carnoustie
The Carnoustie Caddie: How the Course Really Plays is all 18 holes the way I would give them to you on the bag. The wind, the bunkers that actually cost you shots, where the burns sit, and the club to hit standing on the tee.
Signed copies, posted from Carnoustie, inscribed to whoever you want. Or get it on Amazon.
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I am an independent caddie and this site is not affiliated with Carnoustie Golf Links.