The Old Course at St Andrews Golf Course

Course Details

About The Old Course at St Andrews Golf Course

The Old Course at St Andrews is the birthplace of golf — a statement so frequently made it risks cliché, yet remains undeniably true. The links occupies land where the game has been played for more than 500 years, shaped by centuries of natural evolution, prevailing wind, and the footsteps of every great player in the history of the sport. Managed by the St Andrews Links Trust, the Old Course is a public facility: any golfer with a handicap certificate can apply for a ballot to play it, and visitors who do are walking the same turf as Old Tom Morris, Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods. The course's design is both ancient and supremely strategic: double greens shared by multiple holes, the vast Valley of Sin fronting the 18th green, the Road Hole (17th) with its railway sleeper bunker and tarmac road as a lateral hazard, and the fearsome Swilcan Burn that guards the 1st and 18th greens. The Open Championship has been held at St Andrews 30 times, more than any other venue, and the atmosphere during Open week — the Swilcan Bridge, the R&A clubhouse, the town spilling onto the links — is entirely without parallel in sport. A ballot place is one of golf's most sought-after tee times.

Why Play The Old Course at St Andrews

• ▸ Golf has been played here since at least 1552 — the oldest golf course in the world
• ▸ Double greens, the Valley of Sin, the Road Hole (17th), and the Swilcan Bridge — unique in all of golf
• ▸ Public ballot access: any golfer with a handicap certificate may apply to play
• ▸ 30 Open Championships held here — more than any other venue in golf's oldest major
• ▸ Swilcan Bridge farewell moment: Jack Nicklaus's 2005 walk and Tiger's 2022 wave are golf's most iconic retirements

The Old Course at St Andrews Golf Course Characteristics

Practical Information

Current Weather at The Old Course at St Andrews

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Visit The Old Course at St Andrews Golf Course

St Andrews, United Kingdom