Old Course Ballot Tips: How to Improve Your Chances

The Old Course ballot is, at its core, a lottery. You cannot cheat it or guarantee a result. But timing, strategy, and preparation make a measurable difference between visitors who get on and those who spend a week entering and never playing. These tips are ordered by impact — the ones at the top genuinely move the needle.

1. Choose off-peak dates if getting on the Old Course is the priority

This is the single most effective change you can make. Success rates in June, July, and August run around 8–13%. In April, May, September, and October they're closer to 15–25%. In November through March they can reach 30%+.

If your Scotland trip has genuine flexibility and playing the Old Course is your primary objective, plan around the shoulder months:

• April — post-Easter crowd drop; course in decent shape; cooler but manageable
• Early May — before the summer peak arrives; quieter town, better odds
• September — arguably the best month overall: summer crowds gone, course often in its best condition, odds recovering, weather frequently excellent
• October — noticeably fewer visitors, significantly better odds, still playable weather in most years

A seven-day trip in September gives better-than-even cumulative odds of at least one successful ballot day. A seven-day trip in July sits closer to 55%. The maths are meaningful. See the ballot odds breakdown for the monthly detail.

2. Enter as a single if you can

Single players have a structural advantage in the ballot. The Links Trust fills tee times from available slots, and a single player can complete a tee time that already has two or three players booked. A group of four needs an entire empty slot.

In practice, a solo entrant has roughly 1.5–2× the odds of a successful ballot entry compared to a group of four entering together.

For a group travelling together: entering as two separate pairs — or even as individuals — and planning to join up if successful is a legitimate approach. Two separate pairs who both succeed get the same round as a four-ball, just booked differently. Coordinate your preferred tee time range so any successful entry overlaps with the others.

3. Enter every eligible evening of your stay

The ballot opens at 2 pm and results are announced by 4 pm the following afternoon. If you're staying in or near St Andrews for multiple nights, enter every evening regardless of whether you've already played — or already failed. There is no limit on how many consecutive days you can enter.

You can decline a successful ballot result if it clashes with plans. Doing so occasionally won't penalise future entries. It's better to enter and decline than to miss a day's entry.

4. Know the day-of-week pattern

Not all days are equally competitive. Monday is typically the hardest — entries for Monday accumulate throughout Sunday, a full day for newly arrived visitors who are eager. Thursday is often the easiest weekday.

If you can choose which days to enter most seriously (i.e., if you have a more flexible schedule on certain days), aim for mid-week entries and treat Monday as the long shot.

5. Set the alarm for the walk-up queue

The walk-up single player queue starts forming at the caddie pavilion before 5:30 am. Any tee times remaining after ballot allocation are offered to walk-up players. Success rates in shoulder season (September, October, April) can reach 1-in-5 or better for solo players. In peak season it's closer to 1-in-10 to 1-in-15.

What makes walk-up work:

• Arrive before 5:30 am — later arrivals go to the back of the queue
• Go as a single; pairs are harder to slot in
• Have no fixed plans for the morning; tee times from walk-up vary unpredictably
• Bring warm layers; the starter's hut is exposed and the wait can be cold
• Accept that you might queue for two hours and not get on — then go for breakfast and enter the ballot for tomorrow

It's a real option, not a myth. Particularly useful if you're staying in St Andrews for a week and are willing to take the early mornings seriously.

6. Check for course closures before you enter

The Old Course is closed every Sunday (a public walking day — no golf). It is also closed periodically for major tournaments, maintenance, and the Dunhill Links Championship in early October. Check the Links Trust website before entering to avoid wasting entries on closed dates.

Tournament closures affect several consecutive days and reduce available ballot windows, which is worth knowing when planning your trip dates.

7. Consider the Advance Reservation system

The Advance Reservation system is a separate, priority route for visitors staying in approved St Andrews accommodation for a qualifying minimum number of consecutive nights. It opens well before the season and allows booking specific tee times in advance rather than entering the lottery.

The rate is higher than the ballot rate. The trade-off is certainty: you pay more, you book far in advance, and you get the round.

Who it suits:

• Visitors for whom the Old Course is a bucket-list trip that needs to happen on this visit
• Groups who cannot afford the trip-planning uncertainty of the ballot
• Golfers staying in St Andrews anyway who don't want the daily ballot anxiety

Who it doesn't suit: visitors for whom the ballot is part of the fun, those who aren't staying in approved accommodation, or those building a trip around multiple courses rather than one.

8. Don't rely on a tour operator's promises

Tour operators — golf package companies — sometimes imply or state directly that they can secure Old Course tee times. Some can, through advance reservations or society slots. Some are overstating what they can actually deliver.

If a package includes a "guaranteed" Old Course round, ask specifically:

• Is this through the Advance Reservation system?
• Is this through a society booking?
• What is the specific tee time, and when will I receive confirmation?

If the answers are vague, the guarantee may not be what it appears. Ask for written confirmation of the booking before paying.

9. Book the New Course or Jubilee as a safety net

The New Course (founded 1895) and Jubilee Course are both outstanding rounds in their own right — and unlike the Old Course, they can be booked in advance through the Links Trust. Booking one of them for the same window as your ballot entries gives every day a confirmed round regardless of ballot results.

This is the approach most experienced St Andrews visitors take. The Old Course is the goal; the New Course or Jubilee is the guarantee. The trip has a great round either way.

10. Prepare properly if you win

Getting on the Old Course through the ballot is genuinely exciting. A few things to have ready:

Before you enter:

• Valid handicap certificate (men ≤ 24, women ≤ 36) — iGolf, club certificate, or EGA certificate all accepted
• Credit card registered with the Links Trust account (charged when ballot confirmed successful)
• All player names and handicaps ready (you'll need them for the entry)

When you win:

• Caddie booking — arrange immediately; caddies at St Andrews are in demand and the best ones are booked quickly. Contact the caddie master at the Old Course after confirmation
• Accommodation adjustment if your tee time requires an early start
• Transport to the first tee — check the exact starting time and factor in the walk from town (10 minutes from the Scores)
• The round takes 4–5 hours; plan nothing else for the morning

On the day:

• Arrive 30 minutes before your tee time minimum
• Sign in at the starter's hut
• The course is long (over 6,700 yards from the medal tees); consider taking a trolley or caddie
• The Swilcan Bridge photograph takes time; your playing partners will understand, but coordinate before you reach the 18th

The honest summary

The ballot is arbitrary. The Old Course is extraordinary. The gap between those two facts is best bridged by entering every day, genuinely enjoying St Andrews and its other courses if the ballot doesn't break your way, and treating a successful round as the bonus it actually is rather than the singular point of the trip.

Build the trip so it's excellent without the Old Course. Then the ballot becomes a lottery you're happy to win rather than a mechanism you're afraid to lose.

Use the ballot probability calculator to model your specific trip, or read the full odds breakdown to understand what to realistically expect.