The Old Course is the most famous stretch of golf turf in the world — eighteen holes laid out across the rabbit-grazed dunes of the St Andrews Links and played continuously since at least 1457. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club, founded in 1754 in the grey-stone clubhouse at the first tee, codified the modern rules of the game from here and remains the joint custodian (with the USGA) today.
Playing the Old Course is a pilgrimage that takes planning: tee times are allocated by a daily ballot, advance reservation, and a few accessible-by-luck slots. The course is closed for play on Sundays — it remains common land — and on that day anyone is free to walk the fairways. The 18th green, the Swilcan Bridge, and the Road Hole bunker on the 17th are all unmistakable; even a non-golfer recognises them.