St. Andrews Golf Tour May 2013
"Is the Old Course a must play on this tour?" If this is a one-off trip the answer will probably be a resounding YES and serious thought must now be given on how you get a tee time at this historic golf course.
I thought it would be a good idea to write a piece about preparing a golf tour to Scotland and St. Andrews in particular.
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| The iconic Old Course view |
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| Practice putting green Old Course St. Andrews |
These great golf courses are the ones that generally appear at the top of the 'must golf' list for those who travel to Scotland and are therefore oversubscribed during the high season of May, June, July and August if left to the last minute. Good forward planning should secure you tee times .
The following three options can be considered for the Old Course:
1. The least expensive route is to arrive in St. Andrews, and apply for an Old Course tee time via the Ballot system which is basically a lottery draw that is made 48 hours in advance of when you wish to play. The green fee is a set price and for 2013 is 155 Great British Pounds. If you are based in the town for four or five consecutive days, the probable odds favour you getting out onto the Old Links. The official line is that up to 50% of tee times are available through the Ballot route but in my experience this is more likely to be 35-45% depending on the time of year.
There are so many great golf courses at St. Andrews and in the surrounding area that you will never be short of some compelling Scottish Links golf as you wait for the Old Course Ballot results, which are posted at 4pm on the Internet and are available at the Caddie Pavilion, in local pubs and hotels.
2. The mid expensive option is to apply in advance for your Old Course tee time through the St. Andrews Links Trust. This happens every year on the first Wednesday of September for your chosen golf date the following year. It is a two course policy application and you pick a second from one of the other golf courses at St. Andrews: New, Jubilee, Eden, Strathtyrum and Castle courses. The cost is the standard green fee set for that year and between two - eight golfers can apply. Payment is due on notification of success in December.
3. The third and most expensive option is to purchase a golf tour package that gives a guaranteed Old Course tee time of your choice. This can be done through a local hotel who get a limited amount of slots per year, a golf tour operator like myself at Caddie Golf Tours or through The Old Course Experience, who supply tee times to tour operators and all who wish to play and pay. This third option should be considered for those golfers who simply must golf the Old Course, and may have very limited time options in which to do so. There are other advantages of buying into such a package and details are supplied on request.
Caddie Golf Tours have worked hard over the last few years supplying golfers from across the World with good honest advice about golfing in Scotland and St. Andrews. This is where I live and work and you can tap into my experience, gain the best of it, and help make your tour the best it can be.
The following is an example of what Caddie Golf Tours can provide. This April/May 2013 St. Andrews golf tour began with a couple of emails in December 2011, stemming from a referral, and took a more formal footing through March 2012. It involves x12 golfers from the USA who will all golf on the Old Course. Their tee times on the Old were secured using Caddie Golf Tours and our relationship with The Old Course Experience.
Day1. Arrive and transfer to St. Andrews for one week residence in Rusacks Hotel
Day2. Golf Old Course St. Andrews
Day3. Golf Kingsbarns Links am / Golf Kingarrock Hickory Golf Course pm
Day4. Golf New Course St. Andrews
Day5. Golf Muirfield GC the 2013 Open Championship venue
Day6. Golf Carnoustie
Day7. Rest day or Golf options: Old Course via Ballot, Kingsbarns 2nd round, Crail Balcomie, Dukes...and so many more to chose from
Day8. Departure
The golfers will be picked up and transferred between the arrival airport, hotel and all golf courses during their stay. A few of the golf courses can even be walked to from the Rusacks Hotel!
This is a one stop tour, playing the best of the golf courses in and close to St. Andrews. Initially the desire was to travel, golfing in the Highlands of Scotland at Royal Dornoch, Nairn and Castle Stuart Links before spending the last four nights in St. Andrews. Once I had established with the Lead Golfer that the Old Course was essential, and it became obvious that the party wanted to spend as much time as they could enjoying the 'Auld Grey Toon' of St. Andrews, the planning of the golf trip became focused on securing those tee times
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| 1st tee of Old Course St. Andrews after 2010 Open Championship |
1. The least expensive route is to arrive in St. Andrews, and apply for an Old Course tee time via the Ballot system which is basically a lottery draw that is made 48 hours in advance of when you wish to play. The green fee is a set price and for 2013 is 155 Great British Pounds. If you are based in the town for four or five consecutive days, the probable odds favour you getting out onto the Old Links. The official line is that up to 50% of tee times are available through the Ballot route but in my experience this is more likely to be 35-45% depending on the time of year.
There are so many great golf courses at St. Andrews and in the surrounding area that you will never be short of some compelling Scottish Links golf as you wait for the Old Course Ballot results, which are posted at 4pm on the Internet and are available at the Caddie Pavilion, in local pubs and hotels.
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| Codere Party July 2012, New Course St. Andrews |
3. The third and most expensive option is to purchase a golf tour package that gives a guaranteed Old Course tee time of your choice. This can be done through a local hotel who get a limited amount of slots per year, a golf tour operator like myself at Caddie Golf Tours or through The Old Course Experience, who supply tee times to tour operators and all who wish to play and pay. This third option should be considered for those golfers who simply must golf the Old Course, and may have very limited time options in which to do so. There are other advantages of buying into such a package and details are supplied on request.
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| Thomson Party on Swilken Bridge Old Course, October 2006 |
The following is an example of what Caddie Golf Tours can provide. This April/May 2013 St. Andrews golf tour began with a couple of emails in December 2011, stemming from a referral, and took a more formal footing through March 2012. It involves x12 golfers from the USA who will all golf on the Old Course. Their tee times on the Old were secured using Caddie Golf Tours and our relationship with The Old Course Experience.
Day1. Arrive and transfer to St. Andrews for one week residence in Rusacks Hotel
Day2. Golf Old Course St. Andrews
Day3. Golf Kingsbarns Links am / Golf Kingarrock Hickory Golf Course pm
Day4. Golf New Course St. Andrews
Day5. Golf Muirfield GC the 2013 Open Championship venue
Day6. Golf Carnoustie
Day7. Rest day or Golf options: Old Course via Ballot, Kingsbarns 2nd round, Crail Balcomie, Dukes...and so many more to chose from
Day8. Departure
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| MacDonald Rusacks Hotel on 18th fairway Old Course |
This is a one stop tour, playing the best of the golf courses in and close to St. Andrews. Initially the desire was to travel, golfing in the Highlands of Scotland at Royal Dornoch, Nairn and Castle Stuart Links before spending the last four nights in St. Andrews. Once I had established with the Lead Golfer that the Old Course was essential, and it became obvious that the party wanted to spend as much time as they could enjoying the 'Auld Grey Toon' of St. Andrews, the planning of the golf trip became focused on securing those tee times
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| Entrance to the St. Andrews Golf Club |
As the x12 golfers are in the town for a full week we will look to secure them Membership of the St. Andrews Golf Club, founded in 1843, for the duration of the stay. A great way for the gentlemen to become part of the golfing community in St. Andrews.
The thrust of my argument is that good forward planning can produce results so if you or any of your golfing partners require assistance with organising a golf trip to the Home of Golf, Scotland, please do not hesitate to contact me at Caddie Golf Tours. I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.
The thrust of my argument is that good forward planning can produce results so if you or any of your golfing partners require assistance with organising a golf trip to the Home of Golf, Scotland, please do not hesitate to contact me at Caddie Golf Tours. I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.
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