St. Andrews Championship Courses

For 600 years the history of St. Andrews Links has unfolded, from one simple track made through the dunes, bushes and heather has grown six public golf courses, attracting hundreds of thousands of golfers from around the world. It is proud to be recognized as the world's oldest surviving golf course and the Old Course is renowned throughout the world as the ‘Home of Golf’.

St. Andrews Old Course — The oldest golf course in the world has many remarkable features which make it special to golfers around the world. The Home of Golf, first played 600 years ago but still a real test for today's champions. Despite its reputation and status, it is a public course, one of six public courses on St. Andrews Links. The Old Course has evolved over time and was not designed by any one architect. The people who played a major role in shaping it are Daw Anderson (1850s), Old Tom Morris (1860s- 1900)and Dr Alister Mackenzie (1930s).

The course is known for its particular physical features including 112 bunkers, some especially famous e.g. 'Hell' on the long 14th, 'Strath' on the short 11th and the Road Bunker, probably the most famous hole in the world, the 17th or Road Hole. Another peculiar feature of the Old Course is the double greens, outward and inward holes are cut on the same putting surface. These greens are large and golfers can be faced with putts of almost 100 yards.

The Old Course is also unusual in that it starts and finishes in the town, but its truly remarkable feature is that in today's modern golfing world, having evolved over six centuries, it remains a true test of championship golf.

New Course — The New Course design was by W Blyth and the layout by "Old" Tom Morris. The course has the traditional out and back layout, with the 18th green just to the right of the first tee. It also has, in St. Andrews tradition, shared fairways and even a double green at the 3rd and 15th holes. It has frequently been said that if the New Course were not next to the Old it would be far better known. However recognition is coming now, in a recent ranking of the top 100 courses in UK and Ireland it was #12 in the Scottish courses listed ahead of Prestwick and other well known championship courses.

Jubilee — In 1997 the Jubilee Course celebrated its centenary, it developed from a 12-hole basic layout into a Championship course, one of the toughest tests of golf at St. Andrews. In 1897 the course was opened in celebration of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, celebrating her accession to the throne. In 1988 a re-design of the Jubilee to championship standards at 6805 yards was carried out by Donald Steel. The teeing grounds were raised providing wonderful views of the Links, but also exposing the golfers to the winds which sweep in from the bay. The course was officially opened when Curtis Strange, the US Open champion, drove a ball from the first tee in September 1989.

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