St. Andrews Golf

by Gregg A. Johnson ~ Last Updated:

St. Andrews is located in Scotland and is commonly thought of as the birthplace of golf as we know it today. St. Andrews is home to the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, founded in 1754, who exercises legislative authority over the game worldwide except in the U.S. and Mexico.

The beautiful golf links in St. Andrews (acquired by the town in 1894) is the most frequent venue for The Open Championship, the oldest of golf's four major championships. Visitors travel to St Andrews in great numbers for several courses ranked amongst the finest in the world, as well as for the sandy beaches.

The St Andrews Links occupy a narrow strip of land along the sea. As early as the 15th century, golfers at St. Andrews established a customary route through the undulating terrain, playing to holes whose locations were dictated by topography.

The course that emerged featured eleven holes, laid out end to end from the clubhouse to the far end of the property. One played the holes out, turned around, and played the holes in, for a total of 22 holes. In 1764, several of the holes were deemed too short, and were therefore combined. The number was thereby reduced from 11 to nine, so that a complete round of the links comprised 18 holes.

There are six golf courses in St. Andrews including The Old Course which is where the game was first played. The clubs are open to the public as are the courses, but be prepared to wait! The Old Course has over 40,000 rounds of golf played on it every year. In fact, as of this writing, the official St. Andrews website reports that tee times for April through October of 2007 are completely booked.

You may have the best luck on one of the other courses, but you will need to make reservations well in advance. St. Andrews allow you to book tee times online, so check out their website and make a reservation as soon as you know when you'll be there.

Be prepared to pay to play St. Andrews, however. Greens fees during the prime season between April and October are $235 for an adult on the Old Course. Of course, the other courses are slightly cheaper and you'll save some money in the off-season as well.

There are plenty of places to stay when you want to golf at St. Andrews. There are over 500 hotels and numerous dining places nearby. There is easy access from local airstrips, so you won't have much problem actually getting to the links on your scheduled day to play. In the meantime, you'll enjoy some of the most beautiful countryside in the world complete with old castles and historical sites!

You can visit the official St. Andrews Link website at www.standrews.org.uk.

St Andrews Golf In The News


 Golf-Seve set for special St Andrews event - Federation chief - Reuters UK

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 13:07:00 GMT

LONDON, March 6 (Reuters) - Seve Ballesteros is on course to make an emotional return to St Andrews in July for a special four-hole event on the eve of the British Open, according to the president of the Spanish Golf Federation (RFEG). "He wants to ...


 Irish trio in St Andrews Trophy squad - Irish Times

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:49:00 GMT

Golf: Ireland’s Paul Cutler (Portstewart), Alan Dunbar (Rathmore) and Paul Dunne (Greystones) have all been included in the preliminary Britain and Ireland squad ahead of the St Andrews Trophy in August (27th-28th). The Irish trio form part of an ...


 St Andrews spots for the taking - FOXSports.com

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:30:00 GMT

SAUJANA Golf and Country Club will host the two-day 150th Anniversary Open Championship International Final Qualifying (IFQ) - Asia from tomorrow with four berths up for grabs at St Andrews in July. The event will see the strongest field ever in the ...


 Seve set for special St Andrews event - Federation chief - The Guardian

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 13:14:00 GMT

LONDON, March 6 (Reuters) - Seve Ballesteros is on course to make an emotional return to St Andrews in July for a special four-hole event on the eve of the British Open, according to the president of the Spanish Golf Federation (RFEG). "He wants to ...


 Seve set for St Andrews return: Ballesteros will play special event at ... - Daily Mail

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:14:00 GMT

The Spaniard, 52, is among 32 former champions invited to play at the home of golf. Back from the brink: Ballesteros will mike an emotional return at St Andrews 'He wants to be on the first tee at St Andrews and he will probably be there,' said ...