St Andrews Links
St Andrews, Scotland
St Andrews Links Club overview
The ‘Home of Golf’, St Andrews Golf Links is perhaps the world’s most famous golf club. The club is home to the famed Old Course, the oldest and most iconic golf course in the world. However, with seven spectacular courses on-site, the greatness of St Andrews Links goes further than the Open Championship venue.
The club includes The Old Course, The Castle Course, New Course, Jubilee Course, Eden Course, Strathtyrum Course, and Balgove Course, each offering a unique, enjoyable and testing round of golf. Alongside these spectacular layouts, there is a range of golfing history to enjoy.
The Himalayas putting course borders the 1st hole at the Old Course, the ladies run club boasts a dramatically undulating putting green, providing a great place to enjoy after a day on the course. The links also feature fantastic practice facilities, including the St Andrews Links Golf Academy, which allows guests to improve their game before taking on any of the challenging layouts.
Golf Courses
Known universally as the ‘Home of Golf’, St Andrews Links includes seven courses. The most famous of these is the Old Course which has hosted more Open Championships than any other venue. Despite its enormous popularity, the Old Course at St Andrews still upholds its longstanding tradition of a daily ballot (Sundays and tournament days exempt) drawn two days prior to the intended play date.
The ballot is designed to give golfers the best opportunity to play the Old Course during their visit to St Andrews and reflects its commitment to making the Old Course as accessible as possible to members of the public. It’s one of the most popular and effective ways to get a tee time for those who fail to secure a tee time, due to budget or availability reasons.
The other three courses of note and ones that we highly recommend are the New Course (one of the oldest ‘new’ courses in the world), the Jubilee Course and the Castle Course, which is the most recent addition to the St Andrews Links having opened in 2008. You can also play and practice on the Balgrove Course which is a 9-hole course ideal for beginners to get a feel of the links course type.
Golf courses at St Andrews Links
Old Course
The most famous golf course in the world, and one that will cause more emotion and first tee nerves than any other. A regular host of the Open Championship, no venue has held the event more times dating back to the first in 1873, won by Tom Kidd of Scotland. With an unrivalled history dating back hundreds of years and widely known as the ‘Home of Golf’. Despite its enormous popularity, the Old Course at St Andrews still upholds its longstanding tradition of a daily ballot.
New Course
An 1895 Old Tom Morris design, it is one of the oldest ‘new’ courses in the world. Initially opened to remove some pressure of overcrowding on the Old Course it has now become a firm favorite of the locals and is a great test of links golf. Often overlooked for the bigger names in the St Andrews area, the New Course offers a pure links experience and is much easier to access than its celebrated neighbor.
Castle Course
The most recent addition to the St Andrews Links, the 2008 David McLay Kidd design is an interesting layout situated a couple of miles east of St Andrews on clifftop links land that offers commanding views over St Andrews Bay and the town of St Andrews. A challenging course that often splits opinion, there is no doubting its quality condition or the spectacular views, but you do need to bring you’re putting A-game as the greens are treacherous.
Jubilee Course
Originally opened in 1897 to provide a venue where beginners could improve their game, the Jubilee Course was improved over the years which culminated in Donald Steele bringing it to championship quality in 1988. A hidden gem of the St Andrews area, this is more of a classic links with an ‘out-and-back’ layout, positioned between the New Course and St Andrews Bay. A great feature of the course is the elevated tee boxes which provide wonderful views east across the shoreline.
Eden Course
Located to the west of the New, Jubilee and Old Course and north of the Strathtyrum, the Eden Course is another fine links in the St Andrews Links portfolio that like many others in the area often slips under the radar. Characterized by strategic bunkering, hollows and humps in the generous fairways and undulating greens this 1914 Harry Colt design is a fun course to play and an ideal way to escape the crowds.
Accommodation near St Andrews Links
Fairmont St Andrews
Fairmont St Andrews is a beautiful 5-star resort just 3 miles outside the town of St Andrews with two championship clifftop golf courses onsite – the Torrance and the Kittocks.
Rusacks St Andrews
The Rusacks Hotel is one of the best properties in St Andrews. Recently improved to become a 5-star venue and situated overlooking the 18th hole of the Old Course, staying here is a real treat.
Ardgowan Hotel
The Ardgowan in St Andrews is a 36-room family-run, 3-star hotel in the center of town. A popular spot for golfers, this hotel is just a short walk from the 1st tee of the famed Old Course.
Old Course Hotel St Andrews
The five-star Old Course Hotel, which runs alongside the renowned 17th ‘Road Hole’ of the Old Course, exudes pure luxury and charm with lavish bedrooms, multiple dining options, and an outstanding Spa.
Kinnettles Hotel
The Kinnettles Hotel is a small, upscale boutique property in the center of St Andrews, giving guests 5-star luxury within walking distance of the world’s most famous golf course, the Old Course.
Hotel du Vin St Andrews
A modern and beautifully designed hotel equipped with every facility required to make your golf vacation to St Andrews unforgettable.
The Albany Hotel
A delightful Georgian terraced house dating back to 1764, the Albany Hotel is a friendly boutique hotel located in the heart of St. Andrews, with 22 guest rooms of different sizes and layouts.
Six Murray Park
Six Murray Park, with eight beautifully decorated guestrooms, prides itself on being a modern guesthouse whilst maintaining the original theme and traditions of an elegant Victorian townhouse.
