St Andrews Links (The Old Course)

Scotland is home to some of the most famous golf courses in the world, but playing them during the peak season isn't as simple as picking a date and booking a tee time. In this guide, Top100 breaks down how far in advance you should book your Scottish golf trip, highlighting the courses you should target at 12–18 months, 9–12 months, six months and three months out. 12–18 Months Muirfield – Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers The second-ranked golf course in Scotland, Muirfield has hosted 16 Open Championships and remains one of the country's ultimate bucket-list destinations for avid golfers. It is also a prime example of why planning well in advance is essential when building a Scottish golf trip. Muirfield's visitor booking process is unusually structured. For 2027, the diary for independent golfers opened on March 18, 2026, and closed on March 27, with applications accepted only during that window. Visiting golfers could submit up to three preferred dates, with only one application permitted per group. Another important consideration for groups wanting to play Muirfield is that, during the peak months of May to September, the club does not accept bookings for singles, two-balls or three-balls. Smaller groups can instead join a waiting list in the hope that a fourball becomes available through a cancellation. If Muirfield is non-negotiable on your Scottish golf bucket list, it should be one of the first things your group books – even before flights and accommodation. Royal Dornoch Golf Club – Championship Course Regularly ranked among the finest golf courses in the world, Royal Dornoch's Championship Course is another Scottish bucket-list destination where the "book it when the diary opens" mentality is justified. The demand for tee times is enormous. When Royal Dornoch opened its 2027 tee sheet in May 2026, the club revealed that summer availability for 2026 was already extremely limited, with the remaining vacant fourball slots falling late in the afternoon. More than 13,000 rounds are allocated to visiting golfers each year, but the course's global reputation means those tee times are in huge demand. Booking applications are only accepted by email and processed in chronological order. The club itself advises golfers to look ahead when planning a trip to Dornoch, and with demand showing little sign of slowing, leaving it until six or three months before your trip is a gamble. If Royal Dornoch is a priority for your trip, it should be one of the first tee times you secure. St Andrews Links – Old Course No Scottish golf trip is complete without discussing the Old Course at St Andrews, but unlike Muirfield and Royal Dornoch, getting a tee time at the Home of Golf requires a slightly different approach. Your best chance of securing an advance reservation for the Old Course is by submitting an application through the St Andrews Links Trust annual advance reservation process, which typically opens at the beginning of September for the following year. At least two golfers are required in each group, with a maximum of eight. You don’t necessarily need to secure a confirmed Old Course tee time 12–18 months in advance, as golfers who miss out on an advance reservation can still enter the highly competitive 48-hour ballot or explore other last-minute availability. If you want to save yourself the stress of applying for a tee time at the Home of Golf, there are also a number of authorised providers – including golf tour operators and local accommodation providers – offering packages throughout the high season that include guaranteed Old Course tee times. 9–12 months Kingsbarns Golf Links Situated just six miles from St Andrews, Kingsbarns Golf Links is one of Scotland's most celebrated modern links. Designed by Kyle Phillips, the course makes the most of its spectacular coastal setting, with the North Sea visible from almost every hole. Kingsbarns' reputation has continued to grow since opening, with the course now co-hosting the annual Alfred Dunhill Links Championship alongside the Old Course at St Andrews and Carnoustie. Its popularity, however, means golfers planning to play during the peak summer months should think about their tee time well in advance. Advance booking is highly recommended by the club to guarantee your place. While Kingsbarns does offer a last-minute online booking service, tee times are only released a maximum of three days in advance and are available at the full rack rate. Nine to 12 months out is a sensible target for Kingsbarns. Its proximity to St Andrews also makes it particularly important to book early if you're hoping to combine the two in the same trip. Carnoustie Golf Links – Championship Course One of the most famous and challenging links courses in the world, Carnoustie's Championship Course is a key addition to any Scottish golf itinerary. Having hosted eight Open Championships, including Francesco Molinari's memorable victory in 2018, its reputation means tee times during the peak season are highly sought after. Unlike some of Scotland's most exclusive courses, Carnoustie offers visitors a number of ways to secure a tee time, with bookings available directly through the club. However, if you're planning to play during the busiest summer months, leaving your round until the final few weeks of your trip is a risk. For a peak-season trip, booking Carnoustie's Championship Course early is particularly important if you want a preferred morning tee time or are travelling as a larger group. Royal Troon Golf Club – Old A regular fixture on the Open Championship rota, Royal Troon's Old Course is another of Scotland's most sought-after links and a natural target for golfers planning a trip during the summer months. The course has hosted the Open nine times, most recently in 2024, and its reputation means popular tee times can be snapped up well in advance. Royal Troon offers more flexibility than some of Scotland's most difficult courses to access, with its visitor season running from mid-April to October. However, visitor tee times are limited to Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, making it worth securing your round well ahead of a peak-season trip. The club also opens its diary well ahead of the playing season. For a peak-season trip, securing your preferred date early is the safest approach, particularly given the limited days available to visitors. Turnberry – Ailsa One of Scotland's most recognisable links, the Ailsa Course at Turnberry combines a rich Open Championship history with one of the most dramatic coastal settings in the country. Perched on the Ayrshire coast with views across to the Isle of Arran, the course has hosted four Open Championships and remains a bucket-list round for many visiting golfers. Turnberry offers visitor tee times throughout the season, but demand for the Ailsa is high during the summer, particularly for the most desirable morning times. Booking Turnberry’s Ailsa Course early gives you the best chance of securing your preferred date and tee time rather than relying on availability closer to your trip. 6 months Once you've secured the headline rounds on your itinerary, six months out is a good time to start filling in the rest of your trip. The courses in this category are still highly regarded and can be extremely popular during the summer, but generally offer more flexibility than the likes of Muirfield, Royal Dornoch or the Old Course at St Andrews. For a trip during the peak months, courses such as Gullane No. 1, Dumbarnie Links, Crail, Elie, Prestwick, Western Gailes, Nairn, North Berwick and Dunbar, as well as the New, Jubilee and Castle Courses at St Andrews, are well worth targeting. These courses can form the backbone of a fantastic itinerary, particularly if you're looking to experience a mix of famous championship layouts and traditional Scottish links. Six months out is also when location should start influencing your planning, with courses viewed as part of a wider itinerary. A trip based around St Andrews, for example, gives you access to Crail, Elie, Dumbarnie and the three St Andrews Links courses, while an East Lothian trip opens up Gullane, North Berwick and Dunbar. Further west, Prestwick and Western Gailes can be combined with Royal Troon and other Ayrshire links. At six months, you should still have a good selection of tee times available, but peak-season mornings and the most desirable days can begin to disappear. If there's a particular course in this category that is a must-play, don't assume you'll be able to pick it up at the last minute. Six months is a good balance between having plenty of choice and not needing to plan your entire Scottish golf adventure a year or more in advance. 3 Months Three months out is where you can start to take a more flexible approach to your Scottish golf itinerary. By this stage, the headline rounds should ideally be secured, but there are still plenty of excellent options for filling out your itinerary closer to your trip. If you haven't planned anything yet, don't panic – Scotland is full of authentic, characterful golf courses that don't require a year of advance planning. Courses such as Leven Links, Lundin Links, The Glen, Dunbar, Panmure, Montrose, Ladybank, Machrihanish, Musselburgh and Gailes offer plenty of variety, from traditional links with centuries of history to lesser-known hidden gems that could provide some of the most enjoyable rounds of the trip. This is also the point where flexibility becomes your biggest advantage. If you're happy to play in the afternoon, move between days or travel a little further from your base, you'll generally have more options. It can also be worth checking courses regularly for cancellations, particularly if there's a specific course you'd like to add to the itinerary. Don't mistake three months out for "leave everything until the last minute", though. Peak-season tee times at popular courses can still disappear, particularly for larger groups. If one of these courses is a must-play, book it once you've settled on your itinerary rather than assuming you'll find a tee time a few weeks before travelling. The good news is that you don't need to plan every round of a Scottish golf trip 18 months in advance. Identify the courses you simply can't miss and secure those first, before using the months that follow to build out the rest of your itinerary. With a little flexibility, even a trip planned just three months out can still feature some of Scotland's most authentic and enjoyable golf.

L is for LONG THE ORIGINAL “Long,” No. 14 at St. Andrews Old Course is the longest hole on the card. This and some other details from the Scottish icon have come to solidify our understanding of the term “Long”. Most templates put emphasis on approach shots—whether that’s an iron to a Par 3, or the careful measure of distance when crossing an “Alps.” Two good shots are required to reach any solid template Par 4, of course, but George Bahto justifies the importance of the tee on “Long” as a three-shot template: “The hole requires a long, deadly accurate tee shot between out-of-bounds and a hazard. An errant first stroke will leave the golfer with a continuing problem all the way to the green.” The “deadly accuracy” should be aimed at the “Elysian Fields,” a rare flat area on the course, which sits at the right-centre of the fairway. This involves the diagonal carry of the aforementioned hazard, without flying the wall that marks “out-of-bounds.” Having safely arrived at Elysian, the player has a better chance at carrying the Hell Bunker, a six foot-deep pit more than 75 yards long and covering more than 300 square yards. Those with weak tee shots should be wary of tempting fate, and are encouraged to use the No. 5 fairway as a detour to the green (which does not necessarily guarantee safe passage of Hell). Even avoiding Hell, the player must deal with devilish mounding on their approach from this position, deflecting balls away during the prescribed ground approach (having carried Hell, the player has a shorter, more head-on approach). Hell Bunker St Andrews Old course 14th hole - image courtesy of the European Tour The giant bunker obviously holds significant sway in this Par 5 template. Sound familiar? We’re getting there... The Long is a less popular template largely because the Knights Template—C.B. Macdonald, Seth Rayor and Charles Banks—did not use it definitively. Only two examples of defined “Longs” existed in the United States. One was at Macdonald and Raynor’s legendary Lido Golf Club, a spot-on recreation of the St. Andrews model. The other, still existing, sits among Macdonald’s other templates at the National Golf Links of America. Although not a clone, No. 9 shares several elements with “Long,” including its name. The tee shot crosses a pond and a set of bunkers diagonally; the more daring first shot means a less stressful second. The safer line from the tee means reckoning with a smorgasbord of sand concepts. NGLA’s “Hell” isn’t one bunker, but a string of hazards that includes one large “regular” sand pit, an Oakmont-style set of church pews, and a series of smaller bunkers stitched together with scrub grass. For its lack of St. Andrews mounding, Macdonald included several bunkers bordering the green. Although it is no longer the epic closer at NGLA since the clubhouse moved, “Long” is still the lengthiest hole at the course. NGLA 9th hole - image courtesy of Jon Cavalier @LinksGems Bahto suggests that Macdonald and his acolytes avoided “Hell” bunkering at future three-shot holes out of fear that it required skills unreasonable for the standard player of the era. At least one other Golden Age architect was happy to step in on behalf of “Hell”. A.W. Tillinghast, unlike Raynor and Banks, did visit St. Andrews during his lifetime, and it’s reasonable to assume Hell had an impact on the young golfer. He found an ally in hotelier George Crump. “The three-shot hole must be beyond the range of any player who misses either his drive or second stroke,” Tillie wrote. “The most effectual method, and I believe the only satisfactory one, is the location of a truly formidable hazard across the fairway... Obviously this break in the fairway must be great, let us say 100 yards.” Pine Valley 7th hole - Hell's Half Acre And so “Hell’s Half Acre” was born, the No. 7 hole at Pine Valley. The formula for this example of what is now known as “Tillinghast’s Great Hazard” is simple: A strong tee shot will set the player up with the opportunity to clear the title “half-acre” (at one time the hazard occupied more than an acre) and be rewarded with an easier approach. A tee shot to the rough inevitably means laying up, and then playing the third shot over the hazard (with no real chance of reaching in regulation). The most devilish scenario, however, is a weaker tee shot to the fairway, where the player must debate laying up or challenging the beast. The length of this forced carry—more than 150 yards—is enough to rattle many. Pine Valley’s “Long” is based almost purely on the talent and confidence of the player, with little room for strategic manoeuvring (even the green, upon approach, sits as an island in its own large bunker). Tillinghast adapted his concept to improve the hole’s strategy, even if that Par 5 is far from the longest on the course. A classic example is No. 4 at Bethpage Black. The Great Hazard here cuts from long-and-right down to near-and-left—decreasing in altitude as it comes forward, offering several routes for players. Those daring enough to go for two must carry another large bunker from the tee and stop short of the Great Hazard for the shortest line to the green. More conservative players can avoid the initial bunker by playing right, but they’ll face the longest, tallest carry of the Great Hazard in order to reach the next fairway. If the player who was more aggressive has second thoughts and opts to aim for the second fairway, their carry will be shorter, in both length and height. Bethpage Black course 4th hole - image courtesy of John Sabino Traditionally, the “Great Hazard” has, of course, been sand. Both Tillinghast and others have worked sans sand, however. A.W.’s work at Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey includes two Par 5s that consist of deep rough, presumably more affordable than sediment. Perhaps the most famous version, however, comes at Hirono, the greatest of C.H. Alison’s many great Japanese courses. No. 15 uses the property’s prominent trench as a daunting deterrent. Interestingly, it’s not even the most popular hazard on the hole; the pine tree in the first fairway is iconic. You’ll be less keen, of course, if you land too far to the left, and it forces you to take an extra shot before crossing the hazard. Pinehurst No.4 course 9th hole - image courtesy of the Pinehurst Resort Although Par 5s continue to get longer, there’s less interest in maintaining (or paying to maintain) epic hazards such as “Hell” or “Hell’s Half Acre.” Still, naturally sandy terrain offers some opportunity for new levels of “Hell.” One example is No. 9 at Gil Hanse’s redesign of Pinehurst No. 4. Again, it is certainly not the longest Par 5 on the route, but it does require strategic interaction with the large hazard to determine the final score. The shortest carry is to the far left, but this will leave the trickiest approach into a right-to-left green, fronted by a bunker at its left foot. The longest carry, well over 100 yards, will leave the optimal approach angle from the right. MAYBE...MAYBE NOT First, let us cull a whole range of would-be “Great Hazards”: A Par 4 simply does not apply, no matter how much sand must be carried. Tillinghast defined his “Great Hazard” as a “three-shot-hole,” and no Par 4 is long enough to justify the term “Long.” There are many Par 5s that could claim a “great hazard” among their ranks but do not necessarily qualify as a “Long,” or even a “Tillinghast’s Great Hazard.” We’ll head back to Bethpage Black for another example. No. 7 features a trap that is almost three times larger than No. 4’s hazard, and the hole is longer as well. The difference with this hazard, however, is that the player must carry it from the tee; they have no safe alternative. On a true “Great Hazard,” players get the option to put themselves in a better position before challenging the carry. This is strictly a do-or-die scenario. Granted, the diagonal tee shot allows players to choose how much sand they want to bite off, but this makes it more of a Cape than a “Long.” Tobacco Road 11th hole - image courtesy of David Davis Tobacco Road’s No. 11 is a Par 5 that offers a 150-yard crossing of a massive sand hazard. This route is forced upon only those aiming for eagle, however. Those who can’t land their second softly on a 10-yard wide target after the lengthy carry will roll into yet another sandpit. The rest of us don’t necessarily need to carry the sand at all... we can take a safer, three-shot route across 511 yards of uninterrupted fairway around the hazard. The green, surrounded on three sides by sand, is realistically more of a Cape than a “Long.” We apologize for not mentioning it several posts ago.

Golf’s Royal Clubs Architect Scott Macpherson's book on the clubs honoured by the British Royal Family 1833-2013 22nd December 2014 Architect and author Scott Macpherson, a New Zealander now living and working in Scotland, had his first golf book St Andrews: The Evolution of the Old Course published in 2007. To mark the Diamond Jubilee of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2012, the R&A commissioned Scott to write another book about the golf clubs that have acquired their royal title from the British monarchy. The result is a lavishly photographed book crammed full of facts and figures about these special clubs, supported by course related items such as maps, scorecards and full design credit details. It took four years of research, with the author visiting 57 of the 66 Royal clubs still in existence, to produce a wonderful account of just how close the links are between the game of golf and the British Royal family. Not that there’s always been such a harmonious relationship between the sport and the ruling sovereign, right enough. In Scotland, where the game first began, King James II outlawed ‘golfe’ by an Act of Parliament in 1457 – only to have King James IV take up the game forty-five years later after he’d signed the Treaty of Glasgow with Henry VII of England! A number of the clubs listed have had members of the Royal family act as Club Captain or Club President and most of the clubs have had a Royal Patron, though patronage has never automatically given clubs the right to use the royal title and several prominent clubs have fallen foul of that fact down the years. The process of obtaining royal status has evolved over time and applications nowadays would be expected to include a history of the club, details of its administration and membership, recent reports and accounts and information on any other royal or government associations. The standard of the club’s course has not always been a determining factor on whether royal title could be given though Home Office guidelines in the 1919 did state that “the status of the course is a most important factor, and the decision would perhaps depend largely on whether or not the club’s course is a championship one or in the championship class”. Nine-hole layouts like the one at Royal Worlington and Newmarket would probably have failed that particular test if it had been in operation when the club was added to the royal portfolio in 1895. Royal Perth Golfing Society was the first to be given the royal prefix in 1833 and it remains one of only four royal clubs - along with the R&A, Royal Montrose and Royal Epping Forest - to play on a public course. Royal Cromer is the only club to receive its royal designation before it actually opened, with its status announced on Christmas Day in 1887, eight days before the club officially debuted on 2 January 1888. By way of contrast, it took Royal Lytham & St Annes five attempts before its royal title was finally conferred in 1926. Some may be surprised to learn that, in more recent times, the reigning British monarch allowed Marianske Lazne Golf Club in the Czech Republic to use the royal title in March of 2003 and she repeated this investiture a decade later in April of 2013 when Homburger Golf Club in Germany was also given permission to use the royal title. It’s an interesting matter of golfing speculation now to try and figure out which of the many other esteemed golf clubs in Europe (and beyond) are currently lining up their application… If you’ve read and enjoyed John de St. Jorre’s Legendary Golf Clubs of Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland, where seven of the twelve clubs featured have the Royal prefix, then you’ll love this book. It’s only available to purchase through the R&A at the moment (contact Catherine McGirk on +44 (0)1334 460153, email catherinemcgirk@randa.org) but it may become more widely available in due course. The ISBN to look out for is 978-0-9926240-2-6. Highly recommended as a worthy addition to any golf book library. Jim McCann Editor Top 100 Golf Courses of the World