There may be better courses architecturally, but you can't convince me there is a better golf experience in the world than the Old Course.

When planning a golf trip to Scotland, there is one course everyone wants to play, the Old Course at St. Andrews. This is the birthplace of golf, where the game was created and it has hosted the Open Championship more than any other course.

We found out we won the ballot to play the Old Course while playing North Berwick. Our tee time was on a Tuesday morning at 6:50 am. I barely slept the night before knowing I would be hitting some of the most well known shots in the world of golf. I would be walking the same fairways as the best golfers the world has ever seen, and I would be getting to do it all with my dad.

Showing up to the course and walking through town with your clubs just continues to raise the anticipation. You check in and head over to the first tee after hitting a few putts. The first tee shot is possibly the easiest tee shot you will ever hit with a 129 yard fairway, but being able to hold the club is almost impossible as you are so nervous and excited. My dad and I both hit good tee shots and we were off!

The front 9 works away from town and runs parallel to the back 9 until you get to hole 8 when it loops with holes 9, 10, and 11. It's very easy to see how the course can be played in reverse. The double greens are also incredible, some of the largest greens I've ever seen/played, but not gimmicky by any means. The back 9 works back towards town once again playing parallel to the front. I personally had an amazing stretch of holes birdieing 14, 15, and 16 before coming to the iconic 17th.

Hitting over the Old Course hotel is crazy, one of the coolest tee shots in golf. You have no idea where your ball is until you come around the corner hoping to find it in the fairway. The approach is one of the most challenging in golf, the green looks so small from the fairway and the road hole bunker swallows any ball struck poorly. The green set up against the road is so cool, but so challenging. The 17th is the best golf hole I've ever played and it's not even close.

After finishing the 17th, teeing off on 18 is magical. You hit over the Swilcan bridge to the massive fairway you already played on 1. You take your iconic picture on the bridge and finish the round with a very large and actually benign green, except for of course, the valley of sin.