This home could be yours for St. Andrews, Scotland golf vacations.
Can you think of a better place to stay on a St. Andrews, Scotland golf vacation than your own private home overlooking the 18th green of the Old Course?
Nobody can. That’s why it takes years, even decades, for the homes adjacent to the Old Course to become available.
Well, one of them just hit the market, and this particular home has the extra flair of being one of only four that actually have “The Links” as an address. Read more →
Tee times at the Old Course and the other St. Andrews golf courses areup for grabs on Monday.
Those planning Scotland golf vacations are often disappointed to learn that the world-famous Old Course in St. Andrews is often booked solid a year in advance, but this Monday, it and its sister St. Andrews golf courses are offering unsold tee times on a first-come, first served basis.
St. Andrews Links Trust, which manages the collection of seven St. Andrews golf courses, announced that it has tee times available for the following upcoming dates in 2009: Read more →
Play the most famous St. Andrews golf course while this is the extent of severe weather "damage".
Have you seen the email going around claiming that the Old Course at St. Andrews is in danger of “crumbling into the sea?” Well, don’t call off your Scotland golf vacation plans just yet.
The rumors are based on a recent speech made by the head of a St. Andrews environmental group. Specifically, the part about how the most famous St. Andrews golf course and “the Home of Golf” could be completely destroyed by 2050 if the effects of climate change continue or intensify.
From the UK’s Daily Telegraph, about University of St. Andrews’ Jan Bebbington, professor of accounting and director of the St. Andrews Sustainability Institute: Read more →
Consider Kingsbarns and the other courses south of St. Andrews for your Scotland golf vacations.
With the recent opening of the formidable Castle Course, taking a Scotland golf vacation to play St. Andrews golf courses might be in your sights now more than ever.
If so, don’t feel like you have to stick to the collection of courses that compose the St. Andrews Links Trust (The Old Course, Castle Course, The New Course, Jubilee Course, Eden Course, Balgove Course, and Strathtyrum).
Particularly if you’re interested in sea-side golf, there are three other worthy courses that are, like the Castle Course, routed over former pastures and croplands along the same stretch of coast on St. Andrews Bay. Read more →
The sixth hole of the newest St. Andrews golf course, The Castle, sits atop cliff overlooking the North Sea.
Next month, the most significant golf course opening, one with global ramifications, will take place. On June 28, 2008, the seventh St. Andrews golf course, The Castle Course, will officially open for public play. When it does, it will be the first championship-style course to become part of “the home of golf” in nearly 100 years.
Last week, I had the good fortune of playing this new St. Andrews golf course during a week-long Scotland golf vacation in and around the Kingdom of Fife (the peninsula in eastern Scotland where St. Andrews is located). In fact, our group had the distinction of being the first players to receive course books/yardage guides. What the world will soon see is that there is yet another great reason to make the pilgrimage to St. Andrew’s for a Scotland golf vacation. Read more →
Q: Any advice on getting a single tee time for the Old Course at St. Andrews? I know I can go to the starter first thing in the morning, but I don’t know when to get there. Would I have to buy two tee times to get into the daily ballot? Joe Z., Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
Singles should arrive no later than 5:45am to play the most famous St. Andrews golf course.
A: You are correct in theory, Joe; a daily ballot entry to play the Old Course requires a minimum of two players, but we wouldn’t recommend trying to “game” the system as the starter probably wouldn’t take kindly to it. And if you’ve spent the time, money, and effort to fly to Scotland to play the most famous St. Andrews golf course, the starter is the last person you want to mess with.
The most common way for a single to access the Old Course is by showing up at the starter’s shack on the day you wish to play, “as early as possible in the morning,” according to the St. Andrews Links Trust website. The starter will then attempt to pair you up with the first available twosome or threesome. Read more →
Q: My son and I are taking our first Scotland golf vacation in June and attempting to get a tee time at St. Andrews’ Old Course via early arrival or the ballot box. Any advice on which day(s) we might have the best chances? Also, are there any “sleeper” courses that we should play as we drive from the airport to our accommodations in Crail? Larry G., Avon, Conn.
Mondays may be the best day to try to playSt. Andrews
A: Congratulations on your upcoming Scotland golf vacation. We wish we could say that you’ll have no problem getting a tee time, but of all the St. Andrews golf courses, certainly the toughest tee time to secure is one at the Old Course.
That being said, your chances in June are much better than they would be in the peak months of July and August — just be sure to check the St. Andrews Links Trust website (standrews.org.uk) for NB or “no ballot” dates when there is no public play on the Old Course. As of the date of this tip, June 2008 was showing NB dates of the 5th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 21st and 28th. Read more →
It
The Duke’s Course is one of the best you can play on a St. Andrews, Scotland golf vacation, but it’s not a links course, and we mean that in two ways.
For one thing, it’s a parkland-style course located about two miles inland. For another, it’s not part of the St. Andrews Links Trust, which oversees the famous Old Course and its six siblings (Balgove, Castle, Eden, Jubilee, New and Strathtyrum).
Rather, the Duke’s Course is part of the Old Course Hotel, purchased in 2004 by Herb Kohler, owner of Wisconsin’s American Club and its Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run courses. As such, the hotel can guarantee its guests tee times on a championship-style golf course, something it can’t do with respect to the Links Trust courses. Read more →
