St Andrews

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Golf in St Andrews

St Andrews Royal and Ancient Golf Club (or "R&A") is the international governing body for golf, and dates back to a meeting of 22 of the local gentry in 1754, who founded the Society of St Andrews Golfers, being "admirers of the ancient and healthful exercise of golf". The game itself has been played here since the fifteenth century. Those early days were instrumental in establishing Scotland as the home of golf, for the rules were distinguished from those of the French game by the fact that participants had to manoeuvre the ball into a hole, rather than hit an above-ground target. It was not without its opponents, however - particularly James II who, in 1457, banned his subjects from playing since it was distracting them from archery practice.

The approach to St Andrews from the west runs adjacent to the famous Old Course, one of seven courses in the immediate vicinity of the town. The Old Course's strictly private clubhouse, a stolid, square building dating from 1854, is at the eastern end of the course overlooking both the eighteenth green and the long beach made famous in the film Chariots of Fire. Pictures of golfing greats from Tom Morris to Tiger Woods, along with clubs and a variety of memorabilia donated by famous players, are displayed in the admirable British Golf Museum on Bruce Embankment, along the waterfront below the clubhouse (April to mid-Oct daily 9.30am-5.30pm; rest of year Thurs-Mon 11am-3pm; £3.75).

Where to play

It is possible to play any of the town's courses, ranging from the nine-hole Balgove course (£10 per round) to the venerated Old Course itself - though for the latter you'll need a valid handicap certificate and must enter a daily ballot for tee times; if you're successful the green fees are £85 in summer. All this and more is explained at the clubhouse of the St Andrews Links Trust (www.standrews.org.uk), the organization which looks after all the courses in town, located alongside the fairway of the first hole of the Old Course.

Arguably the best golfing experience in St Andrews, even if you can't tell a birdie from a bogey, is the Himalayas, a fantastically lumpy eighteen-hole putting course in an ideal setting right next to the Old Course and the sea. Officially the Ladies Putting Club, founded in 1867, with its own clubhouse, the grass is as perfectly manicured as the championship course, and you can have all the thrill of sinking a six-footer in the most famous location in golf, all for just 80p per round.