GOLF DESTINATIONS

St. Andrews Golf Courses

You owe it to yourself to experience, at least once in your lifetime, the commonly accepted birthplace of golf - St. Andrews. Don't however, allow yourself to be distracted from the existence of a variety of magnificent coastal and inland courses. Each offers everything you could want from a visit to this part of Scotland.

St. Andrews Links has six beautiful courses with their own distinctive character. No matter what your level of golf is, you can find great enjoyment. The sixth course, the Balgove, is a nine-hole course primarily for children and beginners, and is recognized as one of the finest in the country.

Generally regarded as the 'Home of Golf', St. Andrews is second to none as a golfing mecca. It has been closely associated with golf from the game's earliest beginnings and is of course, home to it's governing body, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club. It has also made golf's most prestigious tournament, the Open, it's own.

Contrary to popular belief, St. Andrews is built on public land and welcomes visiting golfers from all over the world. Green fees are very affordable. The town has almost been completely given over to golf and therefore offers the golfer every possible amenity.

Besides playing golf, one can also visit the excellent Museum of Golf nearby. For more details see www.standrews.org.uk.

To play St. Andrews, you have to turn up early and enter your name into a massively oversubscribed ballot. Your best bet for a guranteed tee time, is to contact a tour operator.

The Golf Courses of St. Andrews

Old Course

Holes: 18 Yardage: 6566 SSS: 72

Golf historians believe the game was being played here 100 years before Columbus reached America and more than 200 years before Shakespeare was hard at work in England. There is no denying that the Old Course at St. Andrews represents the most esteemed destination of golfers worldwide.

New Course

Holes: 18 Yardage: 6604 SSS: 72

Built in 1895 in response to the growing demands on the Old Course, the New Course was commissioned by the R&A, designed by Blyth and laid out by Old Tom Morris. It is a classic links course with great skill designed to exploit the natural topography. It is built over flat open-spaced ground with many undulations and depressions. Sandy soil and coarse grasses dominate the course. Interestingly some of the fairways and greens are actually shared amongst the holes. Some say that the reputation of the Old Course has caused the magnificence of the New Course to be one of golf's best kept secrets.

Opened in 1897 with 12 holes and named in honour of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee accession to the throne, the Jubilee course was intended as a course for ladies and beginners. Since then it has been upgraded to championship standard (1988). Like other St. Andrews' courses, it is long and exposed to the elements, where wind, length and the natural links topography are dominate aspects of any round.

Eden

Holes: 18 Yardage: 6112 SSS: 70

Opened in 1914 and designed by H.S. Colt. Updated by Donald Steel in 1989. The Eden course is a very natural course designed to offer the character and interest of the championship courses but not the same degree of difficulty. As such it provides the low handicapper an opportunity to enjoy a round of classic links golf.

Jubilee

Holes: 18 Yardage: 6805 SSS: 73

Opened in 1897 with 12 holes and named in honour of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee accession to the throne, the Jubilee course was intended as a course for ladies and beginners. Since then it has been upgraded to championship standard (1988). Like other St. Andrews' courses, it is long and exposed to the elements, where wind, length and the natural links topography are dominate aspects of any round.

Strathtyrum

Holes: 18 Yardage: 5094 SSS:

Designed by Donald Steel and opened in 1993, Strathtyrum complements the longer championship courses by offering a game to suit the high and low handicapper alike. The length combined with carefully placed bunkers (12) and hidden greens demand good iron play. Sloped and undulating greens often make getting down in the regulation two, a real challenge. The prevailing winds blow east to west and can severely impair distance.

Balgove

Holes: 9 Yardage: 1503 SSS:

Opened in 1993 as part of a general re-modelling, Balgove has evolved into a beginners course with children given priority over adults in the summer months. It has proper tees, greens and bunkers and a par of 30.