What's so great about the Old Course? Mike Tirico has 18 thoughts on the matter.

ST ANDREWS, Scotland — The Old Course never gets old for Mike Tirico.

In 25 years covering the Open Championship, the NBC golf commentator has seen his appreciation only grow for this place.

"The whole 'home of golf' thing, if you don't play, it might seem a little silly and Pollyanna," he said. "But if you play and the game is in your soul, I think you do feel it."

This marks the fifth Open that Tirico has covered at the Old Course, the first four when he was at ABC/ESPN.

Here, in his words, are 18 great aspects of these 18 holes:

Don't fence me in

There are no jitters like the first hole in golf. You're playing with new friends, playing in front of people. That's magnified by the historic setting here, where the rules of golf have emanated from that building for years, the R&A, and are disseminated around the world.

The good news is, the first hole of the Old Course is the widest fairway on planet Earth. It's 100-plus yards across, so you can almost do anything and be fine. But even Thursday, Ian Poulter almost hit it out of bounds to the left. This place even gets the best of players