A St Andrews Golf Week: What to Play, Eat and Do When You're Not on the Old Course

At a glance

Seven nights based in St Andrews. Eight rounds. Two enter the Old Course ballot; six confirmed in advance. One non-golf day for the visiting partner if there is one. Total cost per person, all in (excluding flights), in the £1,400–£2,200 range depending on accommodation and dining choices.

This is a Fife trip. It does not include Carnoustie, Gleneagles, or Ayrshire — those belong in different itineraries. The point of basing in St Andrews for seven days is the density: there are over 40 courses within a 30-minute drive of the town. We've picked the eight that show the range.

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Daily plan

| Day | Round | Notes | |---|---|---| | Mon | Travel + Strathtyrum | Arrival round to ease in | | Tue | New Course (St Andrews) | Old Course ballot entered | | Wed | Crail Balcomie | Old Course ballot result; Old Course if successful | | Thu | Elie or Lundin Links | Day off the St Andrews complex | | Fri | Kingsbarns | The non-Old Course centrepiece | | Sat | Castle Course or Eden | Old Course ballot re-entered | | Sun | Old Course (if not yet) or Jubilee | Final round |

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Day 1 — Monday: arrival

Travel. Edinburgh Airport → Leuchars by ScotRail (1 hr 25 min, £18 advance). Leuchars → St Andrews by bus 99 (15 min, £3.50). Door-to-hotel under 2 hours from landing.

Round. Strathtyrum (£25). The shortest of the St Andrews Links Trust courses, on the same property as the Old Course. A useful first round — flat, walkable, you can hit the ground running with a hire set if needed. 4 pm tee time gives you time to settle in.

Where to eat. The Adamson on South Street. Modern Scottish menu, mains £18–£28. Book ahead.

Where to stay (week-long options):

• Mid-range: Rufflets Hotel, just outside town (£140–£200/night). 10-minute taxi.
• Town centre: Russell Hotel, Marine Hotel — both around £180/night.
• Splurge: Old Course Hotel from £350/night.
• Budget: Premier Inn St Andrews (£95–£130) or Bell Craig B&B (£110–£140).
• Self-catering: a one-bed flat through Booking.com or VRBO is £100–£140/night for a week, often the best value for two players.

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Day 2 — Tuesday: New Course + ballot entry

Round. New Course (£115). Many regulars prefer this to the Old. Same property, same turf, same wind — but the routing is more conventional and the course rewards good golf more reliably. 9 am tee time. Allow four hours.

Old Course ballot. Enter via standrews.com between 8 am and 2 pm for tomorrow's tee time. Result by 4 pm.

Lunch. The Jigger Inn at the Old Course Hotel for the on-property option. Or walk into town and try Cromars (chip shop, voted UK best multiple years).

Afternoon. Walk the West Sands beach (the Chariots of Fire opening). Visit the British Golf Museum if it's raining; £12 entry, two hours.

Dinner. The Seafood Ristorante on The Scores. Reservation needed. Mains £20–£35.

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Day 3 — Wednesday: Crail or Old Course

If ballot successful. Old Course (£295). Caddie £85 + tip. Allow five hours including post-round photographs at the Swilcan Bridge.

If ballot unsuccessful. Crail Balcomie (£95). Drive 25 minutes east. Seventh-oldest golf club in the world. Short, cliff-edge, soup in the clubhouse afterwards. We would say a more fun round than the Old, even if it lacks the pilgrimage weight.

Re-enter the ballot for Saturday.

Dinner. The Tailend Restaurant for fish; Forgan's for proper Scottish; the Vine Leaf for a quieter sit-down meal. All within walking distance of the centre.

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Day 4 — Thursday: Elie or Lundin

A day off the St Andrews property. Two excellent options in the East Neuk villages, 25–35 minutes' drive south.

Option A — Elie (Golf House Club) (£125). Eighteen holes. No par-5s on the card. The 1st tee features a periscope from a WWII submarine, used by the starter to check the fairway is clear. James Braid loved this course. So do most regulars who play it.

Option B — Lundin Links (£75). Genuine links. Open Championship final qualifying venue. Better value than Elie, less famous. Newly served by the reopened Leven railway station, so reachable without a car.

Pick one. The drive south is part of the day — coffee at Anstruther, lunch at the Cellar (Michelin-starred, £55 set lunch) or fish and chips at the Anstruther Fish Bar.

Evening back in St Andrews. Recover. Pub: the Central Bar on Market Street, or the Whey Pat on Bridge Street.

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Day 5 — Friday: Kingsbarns

Round. Kingsbarns (£295). The visiting non-Old-Course centrepiece. A 2000-built links that plays like it's been there 200 years. Clifftop, sea views from every hole, condition usually a level above the Old Course.

A caddie at Kingsbarns is worth taking even if you skipped one elsewhere. They will save you four shots at minimum on a course where the angles into greens matter more than yardage.

Lunch in the clubhouse. £25 for a smoked salmon plate plus a beer. Pretty.

Afternoon. If you've stamina, drive 5 minutes back to the Castle Course at St Andrews and walk the cliffs (you don't have to play). Views over the bay are spectacular.

Dinner. The Old Course Hotel's Road Hole Restaurant. Splurge night. Three courses around £75. Reservation needed.

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Day 6 — Saturday: Castle Course or Eden + Old Course re-attempt

Old Course ballot. Final attempt for tomorrow.

Round. Castle Course (£120) or Eden (£70). Castle is the newest of the St Andrews suite (2008), clifftop east of town. Eden is short, parkland-ish, closer to Strathtyrum in standard.

For a stronger golfer, Castle is the more memorable choice. For a quieter, score-friendly round, Eden.

Afternoon. St Andrews Cathedral ruins, £6 entry, 90 minutes. Or pick up a takeaway pizza from Empire Travel Lodge and walk to the East Sands.

Saturday night. Town gets busier. Book dinner ahead. The Doll's House, Aikman's wine bar, or a pint at the West Port pub.

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Day 7 — Sunday: Old Course (if available) or Jubilee

If Old Course ballot finally successful. Day made.

If not. Jubilee Course (£95). Often considered the toughest of the St Andrews links. Closest to the sea. Often the windiest. A proper finish to the trip.

Late afternoon. Walk the Old Course as a non-player along the marked footpath that crosses the 1st and 18th. The Swilcan Bridge is open to the public — get the photograph anyway.

Pre-departure dinner. The Adamson again, or for a final muni-vibe night, the Whey Pat for fish and a pint.

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Day 8 — Monday: travel home

Train. Bus 99 to Leuchars, ScotRail to Edinburgh Airport (90 min total). Aim for a flight no earlier than 1 pm to allow a final breakfast and unhurried packing.

Breakfast spot. Northpoint Café on North Street. Where Will met Kate, supposedly. Eggs Benedict for £11.

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Realistic budget per person (excluding flights)

| Item | Range | |---|---| | 7 nights mid-range hotel | £980–£1,400 | | 8 rounds of golf | £755–£1,090 | | Caddies (3 used) | £255–£300 | | Hire clubs (5-day delivered set) | £140 | | Meals (£60/day average) | £420 | | Train + airport transfers | £80 | | Local taxis (Crail, Kingsbarns) | £80 | | Total | £2,710–£3,510 |

For two people sharing accommodation, divide accommodation only. Total per couple roughly £4,500–£5,800 for the week.

Cheaper version: Self-catering flat (£100/night), skip Old Course attempt entirely (saves £295), play Strathtyrum / Eden / New / Crail / Lundin / Jubilee instead — all in under £550 in green fees. Total per person around £1,650.

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Practical notes

Best week of the year for this trip: mid-May to early June, or first two weeks of September. Peak conditions, peak shoulder pricing, manageable visitor volume.

Old Course ballot strategy: enter on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. Four chances over the week gives you roughly an 80% chance of getting on at least once in shoulder season, around 50% in July.

Hire car? Not strictly needed. Buses cover the East Neuk villages (95 service); Kingsbarns has a free shuttle from town for booked players. A taxi to Crail or Elie is £20 each way. If you're playing six rounds outside St Andrews proper, hire a car for £40/day from Day 3 onwards.

Non-golfing partner brief: Cromars, the British Golf Museum, the West Sands beach, the Cathedral ruins, the boutiques on South Street, Anstruther for an afternoon, the East Neuk villages for a drive, Edinburgh as a day trip (90 min by train + bus). The town is genuinely interesting beyond the golf. Do not under-book the partner's options.

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