No. 7 At St. Andrews

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Two-dozen routings were plotted, though Kidd knew – and got – the one he wanted all along. Maximizing the mile-long coastline that looks back to the spires of St. Andrews, across towards Carnoustie, and out to the North Sea, both nines lead golfers away from the water, building anticipation before bringing them back for a dramatic finish. Seven holes play on or along the cliffs, and Nos. 9 and 18 share a double green on stunning Kinkell Point. The most photographed hole will likely be No. 17, a stout par-3 that plays over a yawning chasm.

Working in Kidd's favor is an all-star team that includes indefatigable senior design associate Paul Kimber, highly respected lead shaper Mick McShane, and whiz-kid dozer and digger-driver Conor Walsh. Unlike the vast majority of course architects who design at a computer, Kidd prefers to draft just enough to secure his permits and justify his budget. The real design is done in the dirt.

Transforming the potato field into a wooly seaside landscape that looked as if it had been created by centuries of harsh Scottish winters meant first creating the canvas and then finding the golf holes. A two-foot by three-foot sandbox in the site office served as their drawing board. Much of the course was fashioned by Kidd and Kimber modeling what they wanted in the sandbox with McShane and Walsh later going out and building it in the earth.

Course No. 7 will prove a stern test of golf, but the bigger challenge may be for David McLay Kidd to keep his talented band together. Kind of like those four lads from Liverpool.