How to Get on the Old Course and Where to Stay When You Do
The Old Course is a public links, owned and run by the St Andrews Links Trust, and that is why it is both open to you and hard to get onto. Anyone with a valid handicap can try for a tee time, so demand from golfers around the world lands on one course in one small town. Your plan has to account for that from the start.
This guide covers the three realistic ways to get a tee time at St Andrews Old Course, how each one fits with where you sleep, and the order in which to make decisions. If you want the wider Scotland sequence first, the booking order for a luxury golf trip to Scotland covers it. This piece stays in St Andrews.
Why St Andrews is harder to book than any other golf town in Scotland
Most famous Scottish links belong to private clubs that sell visitor tee times in limited numbers. St Andrews has seven public courses under one trust, and the Old Course is the one almost every visitor wants. A first-time visitor, a returning visitor and a group of four friends are all after the same few dozen starting slots a day.
Several things narrow the supply further:
- The Old Course is played on foot, and most visitors take a caddie.
- It is traditionally closed to play on Sundays.
- The season that suits most golfers, roughly late spring through early autumn, is also when accommodation fills first.
- Big events in the town can take over tee sheets and hotel rooms for weeks.
The pressure falls on two things at once: the tee time and the bed. Golfers who secure a hotel first and hope for a round later are the ones most often disappointed. Golfers who think about both together usually get what they came for.
For timing, the month-by-month guide to the best time of year to play golf in Scotland will help you weigh daylight, weather and crowds before you pick dates.
Three ways onto the Old Course, and who each one suits
Realistically there are three routes. Each trades certainty against flexibility and cost.
Route one: the daily ballot
The ballot is a draw for tee times held for the following days. You enter, and if your name is drawn you get a time. It costs nothing to enter beyond the green fee if you win, and it suits golfers who can be in St Andrews for several days and are comfortable with an uncertain result.
The ballot works best for travelers who have a flexible itinerary, other good golf lined up and a fallback they would be happy with. It works poorly for anyone with a single free day and a fixed return flight.
Route two: an advance package
Some tee times are sold ahead of time through authorised providers, usually bundled with accommodation, and sometimes with caddies, meals or transfers. You pay more and commit earlier, and in return you know the date and time of your Old Course round months before you travel.
This route suits golfers on a once-in-a-lifetime trip, groups coordinating several people’s calendars, and anyone who would rather not spend a week hoping to be drawn.
Route three: the flexible fallback
The third route builds the trip around the town’s other links, and treats the Old Course as a bonus you pursue through the ballot and any cancellations. You book the other rounds in advance, stay somewhere sensible, and enter the ballot on each day you are free.
This suits travelers who enjoy golf in general and would be content with a week at St Andrews even if the Old Course does not come through. It also lowers the cost of the trip, since you are not paying a package premium.
A quick way to choose:
If this describes you Lean toward One shot at St Andrews, fixed dates Advance package Four or more days, flexible plans Ballot, with a fallback Large group, tight calendars Advance package Happy to play any good links Flexible fallback
How the daily ballot works and how to improve your odds
The rules are set by the Links Trust and can change, so read the current ballot page before you travel. In outline, you enter ahead of the day you want to play, the draw is made, and results are announced later that same day. At the time of writing, entries are generally due by mid-afternoon two days before play. Confirm the current cut-off and the way you submit entries, because missing it means missing the draw.
You cannot influence the draw itself, but you can improve your chances through how you enter and how many chances you give yourself:
- Enter on every available day. Each day is a separate draw, so a trip of five playing days gives you several attempts.
- Keep your group flexible. A group of two or three is often easier to place than a full four, because a smaller group fits into a wider range of gaps on the tee sheet. If your party is large, consider whether it can split.
- Accept less popular times. Entering with a note that you will take any time is better than narrowing the draw to a prime morning slot.
- Carry your handicap proof from the first day. A winning entry that cannot be validated is wasted.
- Do not plan around one try. Treat the first attempt as the first of several, not a make-or-break event.
Odds are never guaranteed. The honest approach is to plan for a good week of golf at St Andrews, and treat an Old Course tee time from the ballot as a likely-but-uncertain addition.
When a package is worth paying for
A package makes sense when certainty has real value to you. For a golfer over 40 planning a bucket-list trip, it often does: flights and hotels are paid for, a family member may be traveling, or this may be the one visit the trip is built around.
Look at what is actually in the package before comparing prices. A useful package should specify:
- The exact date and starting time of the Old Course round, or the method of confirming it.
- How many nights of accommodation are included, and at which property.
- Whether caddies, transfers or additional rounds on other St Andrews courses are part of it.
- What happens if weather closes the course, and what the cancellation terms are.
A package is worth less when it bundles things you would not choose yourself, such as a hotel too far from the course or extra rounds you do not want. It is worth more when it ties the hardest piece, the Old Course time, to a place to sleep you would have booked anyway.
Packages often sell out for peak weeks well before the season begins, so the earlier you look, the more choice you have. If you prefer to compare current options side by side, the booking partners linked at the end of this article list packages and availability for your dates.
Building a St Andrews week around more than one round
Even with an Old Course tee time secured, one round is a thin reason to travel. The town rewards a few days of golf, and the other courses are worth playing in their own right.
The Links Trust operates several courses within a short walk or drive of each other, including the New, the Jubilee, the Eden, the Castle and the Strathtyrum, plus the short Balgove course. Each has a different character, and most visitors will find at least one they would happily play again. The New Course and the Jubilee are the usual second choices after the Old.
Beyond the Trust, there are well-known courses a short drive away. Kingsbarns, Crail and Carnoustie are all reachable by car or taxi, and several golf hotels in the area offer their own courses. A sensible shape for a five-day trip might be:
- Arrival day with a short walk around the town and the first-tee view.
- A Trust course you have booked in advance.
- A ballot entry day, with a booked fallback in case you are not drawn.
- A day on a course outside St Andrews.
- A final ballot day or a second round you particularly enjoyed.
Leave one afternoon with nothing booked. Rain delays, a late ballot result or simple tiredness are easier to handle when the schedule has some give. For a sense of other courses worth knowing in Scotland, Scotland’s hidden golf gems beyond the famous names is a useful companion read.
Where to stay: walking distance, golf hotels and quieter bases nearby
Your choice of route should shape where you sleep. The town is compact, but the three main options feel quite different.
In town and within walking distance of the first tee
Staying in the town centre or along the seafront puts you on foot to the first tee, the clubhouse area, restaurants and pubs. Several well-known hotels sit right by the course, including Rusacks and the Old Course Hotel, and there are many smaller hotels and guesthouses within a short walk.
This suits ballot-route golfers, because you can enter, check results and move quickly if a time opens up. It also suits anyone who wants an evening in town without worrying about a taxi. Prices and availability are highest here, particularly in summer.
Golf hotels and resorts on the edge of town
Larger resort hotels a few miles out, such as the Fairmont St Andrews, give you on-site courses, spa facilities and more space, at the cost of a drive or short taxi into town. They suit package golfers, mixed groups where not everyone plays, and travelers who value the hotel itself as part of the trip. If resort-style stays are your preference, the guide to the best luxury golf resorts in Scotland and which kind of trip each suits compares them in more depth.
Quieter bases nearby
The East Neuk villages along the Fife coast, such as Crail and Anstruther, offer a slower pace, often at lower prices, with a drive of around twenty to thirty minutes into St Andrews. Confirm drive times for your own route before you commit. This base works well for the flexible-fallback route, because you can play courses along the coast on days you are not at St Andrews.
The trade-off is practical. Ballot results come in during the afternoon, and a base away from town makes it harder to pivot at short notice. If you stay out of town, arrange your own transport in advance, and do not count on easy evening taxis.
A simple match:
Route Best base Advance package The hotel in the package, or a town-center hotel Daily ballot In town, within walking distance Flexible fallback In town or a coastal village, depending on budget
What to confirm before you pay
Most disappointment in St Andrews comes from small details missed at booking. Check these before you pay a deposit.
Handicap proof. The Old Course asks for a valid handicap certificate or equivalent proof. The limits have long been published as 24 for men and 36 for women, but check the current figures on the Links Trust site. Make sure your home club or golf association can issue the proof in a form accepted by the Trust, and bring it with you. Do this well before departure, not on the day you fly.
Caddies. Caddies are available and widely used on the Old Course. Find out whether one is included in your package or has to be arranged separately, what the fee is likely to be, and how gratuity is handled. Ask for each member of your group, not just one. A caddie’s local knowledge of the bunkers and lines is worth more here than almost anywhere else. For general etiquette on caddies and tipping in links golf, the Ireland guide to caddies, cars and tips covers customs that carry over in many respects, though check Scottish specifics locally.
Cancellation terms. Read these for the hotel and the golf separately. Ask:
- Can the tee time be moved or refunded if you fall ill or flights change?
- What happens if weather closes the course?
- Is the deposit refundable, and until when?
- What is the policy for a player dropping out of a group?
Travel insurance that covers golf and cancellations is worth considering, since most deposits are non-refundable close to the date.
Names and group size. Check that every player’s name is entered correctly and that your group size matches what you booked.
Dress and arrival. Confirm the check-in time before your slot and any dress guidelines at the clubhouse, so the morning of your round is relaxed.
A booking timeline from first idea to first tee
Exact release dates for tee times and packages vary by provider and year, so use this as a sequence rather than a calendar, and check each provider’s current schedule.
- Nine to twelve months before. Choose your dates with seasonality in mind and decide which route you are taking. If a package is the plan, start looking now, since the best weeks go first.
- Six to nine months before. Book accommodation or your package. Reserve at least one non-Old-Course round at the Trust’s other courses or elsewhere nearby, so the trip stands up without the Old Course.
- Three to six months before. Arrange flights, transfers and a car if your base is outside town. Request caddies where they are not included.
- One to three months before. Get handicap proof, review cancellation terms again, and confirm tee times in writing.
- The week before. Re-read the ballot rules and cut-off times, save the entry page on your phone, and check the forecast.
- On site. Enter the ballot on every available day, keep the afternoon open for results, and have a fallback ready.
If your preferred weeks are already tight, the practical approach is to check availability sooner rather than later. You can check current St Andrews golf package and tee time availability through our booking partners, and compare Old Course options before your preferred dates fill.