Carnoustie Links Hotel

Melanie Henderson finds out what the new Carnoustie Golf Course Hotel has to offer the world's golfing elite - and the keen golfing tourist.

The hotel is not built on one of the most famous links courses in the world for nothing, and there is no getting away from the fact that, from foundations to bricks and mortar to lavish interior, it is built to service both players and viewers of that great game. In fact, its construction is the key to the rejuvenation of its seaside base as one of the toughest, and most celebrated, golfing venues in the world.

So if you can't help but notice that the blooms in reception are in vases decorated with club-swinging figures, or that the floor tiles also sport colourful people in voluminous plus-fours, it is no particular surprise. It is only right that the walls should be adorned with well-chosen photographs of the course's great conquerors (captions read along the lines of "The Classic Hogan Swing - Poetry in Motion") and it is only logical that the whole of the ground floor area should be spiked-shoe friendly.

All right, you will pay a £20 premium for a room with a view over the illustrious first tee or the crucial 18^th green but, if you are the type who lives life in terms of brilliant drives and inspired putts, it is possibly the best £20 you will ever part with. A perfect view outside and a perfect lie (no lumpy mattresses here) inside. What more could the certified golf addict possibly want?

The four-star deluxe 85-room Carnoustie Golf Course Hotel and Resort, opened at the beginning of May, will be seen by around seven million people in the UK alone during the television coverage of this year's Open Golf Championship, which tees off on July 15. Fittingly, among the first international guests to use its top-notch facilities will be the world's golfing elite. For the first time in 24 years, the talents who tackle the formidable links - made all the more arduous by the bracing North Sea breezes - will be able to stay on site in the lap of luxury. And about time too, say those who have played and loved the ruggedly beautiful course.

"We are an integral part of the reason the Open is coming back to Carnoustie," says Sales and Marketing Manager Andrew Burnet. "It was played here last in 1975 - and won by Tom Watson - and the people who have continued to come and play here have had the course on their list of must-play places for a long time. But until now there hasn't been the kind of world class accommodation that was required.

"Golfers love accessibility - that's paramount and it's something we obviously have, firstly in terms of physicality, being right on the course itself, and secondly because we have locker rooms, a pro shop and full facilities here. The feedback we've had has been great. People are just delighted that they can stay on the spot at Carnoustie at last."

The £15 million development will be completed by 46 five-star timeshare apartments, due to open later this year. The word "links" is in fact a convenient pun - the Links Management Committee is now based at the hotel, and guests also have the advantage of being able to pre-book on the Championship Burnside and Buddon Courses. And if your swing's in need of a boost, resident professional Willie Milne is on hand with expert advice.

Some swings, though, are made in heaven, or at least as practised as they ever will be - and both greens and fairways are in prime condition to welcome the stars and their accompanying entourage.

"The green-keepers have done a remarkable job in bringing the course up to a tremendous standard," says Andrew. "But it's still a very, very tough course. We're very much looking forward to it."

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