Golf Towns - St Andrews
BY ED HODGE
6 MINS READ
How many Scottish towns have golf at their very heart? In how many is the sport simply engrained within the streets and among its residents? As part of a new series over the coming weeks, we will delve into that very question…
St Andrews, of course, is the obvious place to start. Where else! The mecca, the cradle, the birthplace of golf. It is all of these for anyone even with a passing interest in our great game. That little corner of Fife simply has to be visited, explored and savoured. Inevitably, the experience will make you return, eager for more. After all, the sight of a golfer, clubs thrown over their back, wandering through the historic streets en route to the hallowed links is just like any other day in St Andrews. The sport doesn’t just dominate the town, it’s a way of life.
Playing towards the town
Going back to my university days, I do admit the student price for a Links Ticket was a pull to deciding upon my four years of education in the Home of Golf. It was less than £100 for all the courses (OK, we’re going back a few years). Coming out of a modern history seminar to head for a casual game on the Old Course in the late winter sun often seemed a dizzy dream. History to study on the course, and off! Back then, the old Dunhill Cup days often saw the world’s best roll into town… and provide many a column inch for the intrepid sports reporter at the university paper!
I remain just as fond of St Andrews now. There is an aura about the ‘old grey toun’, a magical, spiritual feeling. Golf is synonymous and on a sun-drenched day, walking along Golf Place before turning left and casting your gaze across the 1st and 18th of the Old – that vast, wonderful green space walked by every golfing great – you can still picture ‘Old Tom’, Seve, Jack or Tiger creating magical moments.
“I enjoyed playing there,” said Nicklaus, who brought the curtain down on his playing career on the links of the Old Course back in 2005. “It’s where it all basically started and it’s why I chose to end my career there. It was just a very special place to me.”
The 150th Open fittingly returns to St Andrews next year, with the AIG Women’s Open also gracing the famous links two years later. What a feast of men’s and women’s golf.
This is the town where the game was invented, way back in the 15th century. While the Old may be one of the most important courses in golf history, it is also a public course and remains open to all. It’s run by the St Andrews Links Trust, which oversees seven courses in St Andrews, the largest public golfing complex in Europe. Put your name in that Old Course ballot and cross your fingers for a coveted tee time, especially in those busy summer months.
Today, more than 230,000 rounds are played over the seven public courses. The Links Trust also manages a number of additional facilities including a golf academy, three clubhouses and four shops.
19th holes
If the Old retains a pull for so many, especially as Covid-19 travel restrictions begin to ease, the New, Jubilee and Eden Courses are among my favourites too, all special, testing challenges in their own right. The Castle Course, on the outskirts and also under the Links Trust’s jurisdiction, is a stunning cliff-top venue unlike anything in the town itself.
With or without the clubs, St Andrews is always worth a visit. Enjoy a family afternoon on the fun-filled Himalayas putting green, grab that photo for the memory banks on the iconic Swilcan Bridge, browse the golf-themed memorabilia in The Dunvegan Hotel… and enjoy a drink at the Jigger Inn too! Savour the coffee stops, the quaint book stores, the bars, the restaurants and those golf shops! There is always a buzz in St Andrews, whatever the time of year.
Make sure you stay over, too. The Rusacks Hotel is hard to beat, overlooking the famous Old and an iconic building in golfing circles. Recently extended and upgraded, it will soon welcome guests to a rooftop area complete with an artificial putting green! In St Andrews, don’t expect anything less. Hawkswood Country Estate is another great spot close by St Andrews to call basecamp. With its own private practise ground and putting green, golf doesn’t need to end at the 18th.