The assignment has been likened, rather romantically, to bringing a sleeping giant back to life. However one describes the outcome, it appears that links superintendent John Philp has done a splendid job of getting Carnoustie ready for the return of the British Open there on July 15th to 18th.
Gary Player, who won the second of his three Open titles at Carnoustie in 1968, described it as "the toughest course in the world". Stretching to 7,361 yards, with seven par fours measuring more than 450 yards, it has generally lived up to that reputation.
Difficulty, however, should not necessarily equate with quality. Indeed I know of certain, leading Irish golfers who have claimed that if Carnoustie were the only course they could play for the rest of their life, they would quit the game.
In the event, the formidable links on the northern shore of the Tay estuary dropped off the Royal and Ancient's Open rota after Tom Watson triumphed there in 1975, in a play-off with Jack Newton. And its future looked to be decidedly bleak after the closure of a local hotel and a general deterioration in the condition of the course.
An aggressive programme of renewal, however, led to significant developments early in this decade. In 1992, the British Amateur returned there to be won by a local player, Stephen Dundas. Then came the Scottish Opens of 1995 and 1996 and the Scottish Amateur of 1997.
Fine fescue links grasses were restored, while rye grass was largely eliminated through a continuing programme of over-seeding and intensive aeration, together with the application of wetting agents and liquid seaweed. Badly affected areas have been replaced with dense, fine fescue turf.
Meanwhile, several greens have been re-shaped and re-contoured and many bunkers have been repositioned and the faces of long-established bunkers re-built. Stands of fir trees behind the 15th and 16th greens have been removed to return to a more open vista.
"Our objective was to create links golf at its best," said Philp, who moved from number two at St Andrews to the top job at Carnoustie in 1985. "In our attempts at achieving that goal, we were accused of interfering with the natural environment, whereas, in fact, the trees in question were Corsican pines and were planted only in the 1960s. They weren't part of the original links."
Elsewhere, the triangle of trees between the third, fourth and fifth holes has been thinned considerably. Then there has been the gentle mounding and shaping along several fairways and around greens to create natural spectator vantage points. And all nine shelters on the course have been rebuilt.
Other work involved a reconstruction of the walls of the Barry Burn at the 17th and 18th holes. But some controversy has surrounded the addition of a third bunker to the two which had already made a no-go area in the centre of the sixth fairway. The carry is now a little more than 300 yards.
Philp explained: "We have also taken the fairway right back to the out-of-bounds fence on the left of what is known as Hogan's Alley and there are now 23 yards on that side. We want the pros to have to think their way around Carnoustie, not reduce it to a putting competition."
Hogan's Alley refers to the route along which the great Ben Hogan twice destroyed the sixth hole on the final day of his victory march in the 1953 Open - the only time he competed in the event. Morning and afternoon (the third and fourth rounds were then played on the last day), Hogan rifled perfectly positioned drives past the right-hand side of the fairway bunkers to finish in exactly the same spot.
From there, fairway-wood shots were hit straight for the green, easily clearing Jockie's Burn and stopping some 30 yards from the hole. On each occasion, he made birdie at this 578-yard par five.
Carnoustie is also remembered for the 1937 Open when, on his way to victory in atrocious weather, Henry Cotton shot a 71 which he described as "one of the greatest rounds of my life". Now, that proud tradition is set to have a re-birth.
