Golf in St Andrews
The history of golf is inextricably tied to the ancient city of St Andrews.
Golf has been played on the Links at St Andrews since around AD 1400 and the Old Course is renowned throughout the world as the "home of golf". There are six 18-hole courses and one nine-hole course.
Courses
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The Old Course (Par 72)
The Old has played host to the greatest golfers in the world and many of golf's most dramatic moments including the Open and the Dunhill Cup. The course is 6,566 yards long from the medal tees. -
The New Course (Par 71)
Opened in 1895, having been laid out by Old Tom Morris, this course is 6,604 yards long from the medal tees. -
The Jubilee Course (Par 72)
First opened in 1897, the championship Jubilee course was substantially redesigned in the 1980s and is now 6,805 yards long from the medal tees. -
The Eden Course (Par 70)
Opened in 1914, the Eden is 6,112 yards long from the medal tees. -
The Strathtyrum Course (Par 69)
This 18-hole course offers a shorter, less testing layout. It is 5,094 yards long. -
The Balgove Course (Par 30)
The Balgove was upgraded and re-opened in 1993. It measures 1,530 yards for nine holes. -
The Castle Course
The newest of the courses in St Andrews, the Castle Course was opened in 2008.
This gives 117 holes in all, making St Andrews Links the largest golfing complex in Europe, supporting around 200,000 rounds annually. There are also a number of other courses nearby: Kingsbarns, St Andrews Bay, Ladybank, Crail, Elie, Downfield, Lundin Links, Carnoustie and many more to test your golfing ability.
The Links Practice Centre
There is a comprehensive facility for practising driving, iron play, pitching, putting and bunker play which is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The range has 20 covered and 20 open bays and a landing zone which is 400 yards long. A specialist teaching and swing analysis centre was added in 2006 as part of the St Andrews Golf Academy and this includes facilities for club fitting and state-of-the-art computer analysis and design.
Benefits for students
A Links ticket entitles an individual to play on the St Andrews Links Trust golf courses during the University year (1st September to 31st August). There are three different levels of Links ticket:
- £180 - This is the "full ticket" and entitles you to play on all six courses which the Links Trust own. For this ticket you must provide a valid handicap certificate as there is the opportunity to play on the Old Course which requires a current handicap certificate or card.
- £105 - This entitles you to play on five of the Links Trust courses, but not the Old Course. If you wished to play on the Old Course you would have to pay the appropriate green fees.
- £35 - This ticket allows you to play the 18-hole Strathtyrum Course and the nine-hole Balgove Course
NB. This offer is only open to full-time matriculated students.
Links Tickets available to the Public
The full range of Links tickets can be viewed at www.standrews.org.uk
University of St Andrews golf clubs
There are both men's and women's golf clubs for students that cater for all standards of golfers. The clubs are responsible for selecting the teams to represent the university in Scottish and British Universities events. They arrange regular medals and play matches against local golf clubs.