Can visitors play the New Course at St Andrews?

Yes, and considerably more easily than the Old Course. Like all six St Andrews Links Trust courses the New is open to visitors with a valid handicap; tee times are bookable up to 12 months ahead via standrews.com. Both Advance Reservation and the Daily Ballot are options, but walk-up availability is materially better than the Old Course in shoulder seasons.

Is the New Course actually new?

It opened in 1895 — the term 'New' is relative to the 600-year-old Old Course next door. Old Tom Morris designed it with the engineer Benjamin Hall Blyth specifically to handle the surge of railway-era visitors arriving in St Andrews from the 1880s onwards. By Old Course standards it is new; by any other standard it is one of the older Scottish links.

What is the green fee at the New Course?

£135 in 2026 for the standard summer rate — roughly £210 cheaper than the Old Course. Combination rates with other St Andrews Links Trust courses are available; many visitors play the New on their first day in St Andrews and the Old Course on a subsequent day. Winter rates drop to around £55.

Is the New Course harder than the Old Course?

Tour pros are split. The New shares the same firm fescue turf and exposed coastal wind as the Old Course, but has a clearer out-and-back routing without the Old Course's shared fairways and double greens. Some visitors find the New a more straightforward test (bunkers visible from the tee, less luck involved). The 9th, 'Hell', is widely considered one of the toughest par 3s in St Andrews.

Should I take a caddie on the New Course?

Recommended for first-time visitors but not essential. The lines off the tee on the New are more obvious than on the Old, but the wind off the firth still rewards a caddie's read. £80 per round plus a customary £20 tip in 2026, bookable through the same Trust caddie office.

Can I book the Old Course and New Course on consecutive days?

Yes, and this is a common visitor itinerary. The Trust booking system handles both via standrews.com. The Old Course is the harder ticket; once that's secured, the New is straightforward to add 1-2 days either side. Many visitors find the contrast between the two — same firm turf, two different routings, different design eras — to be the appeal of a St Andrews trip.

St Andrews

St Andrews New Course

St Andrews, Fife

Plate I — Links course — coastal exposure, firm running turf

Holes

6,625 yards

Par

SSS 72.8 · Slope 127

Type

Links

St Andrews

Walkability

★★★★☆

Walkable for most

Best Season

May–Sep

Year-round, best Apr–Oct

Visitor Access

Open

Mid-week ideal

Many regulars prefer it to the Old. No ballot required.

From the Notebook

The New Course at St Andrews opened in 1895, which makes the name one of the more persistent jokes in Scottish golf. It was designed by Tom Morris and extended in later years, and it sits inside the same St Andrews Links complex as the Old Course, the Jubilee, and the three other courses managed by the Links Trust. The irony of the name has worn off for most regular visitors, who tend to refer to it simply as the New — and who often come away preferring it.

The layout shares the same links terrain as its more famous neighbour: the same wind patterns off the Eden estuary, the same firm turf, the same variety of natural features. What it does not share is the Old Course's reputation for difficulty on the card, or the psychological weight that comes with playing a course that has hosted more than thirty Opens. Some golfers find that freedom useful. The New is used as an Open Championship Final Qualifying venue when the Open comes to St Andrews, which is as plain a statement as any of the quality of the examination it provides.

The par-3 4th, played across a wide sweep of open links ground, is the hole most regulars cite as the course's character statement — a long iron to a green that gathers nothing left and rejects anything short-right into a hollow from which uphill recovery is unpredictable. The 9th, a par 4 close to the Eden estuary shore, plays into whatever the estuary wind is offering, which is generally a full one. The back nine covers ground between the New and the Jubilee courses, with several holes where the shared terrain means the routing logic only fully makes sense when you understand both courses. The closing holes return toward the town; the 18th finishes with St Andrews visible ahead.

Green fees are £115. No ballot is required — tee times can be booked through the St Andrews Links Trust in the standard way. For visitors who have secured an Old Course tee time through the ballot, the New makes an obvious second round. For visitors who have not, it makes an equally good primary target. The conditions are comparable, the history is genuine if less celebrated, and the round tends to be played without the sense of occasion that can distort how people experience the Old.

Visit Website →

Two Holes Worth Talking About

What the members talk about.

9Par 3 · 209 yards

Hell

Considered by many regulars the best par 3 in St Andrews — a long iron played to a green wedged between dunes, with the wind off the firth changing club selection round-by-round. The hole that justifies the green fee on the New on its own.

8Par 5 · 504 yards

Short

Strong par 5 with the green tucked between a pair of dunes. Reachable in two only when the wind sets behind; otherwise it's a layback to a full-iron approach. The opening hole of the famous three-hole stretch (8–9–10).

The Full Scorecard

Everything else you might want to know.

Course

Designer: Old Tom Morris with Benjamin Hall Blyth (Edinburgh engineer)
Founded: 1895
Style era: Old Tom Morris
Yardage (W): 6,625 yards
Yardage (Y): Contact club
Yardage (R): Contact club
Course rating: 72.8
Slope rating: 127
Bunkers: Contact club
Greens: Contact club
Walking time: Contact club
Open season: Year-round, best Apr–Oct

Visitor

Dress code: Smart casual, collared shirts
Spikes: Soft only
Booking: Contact club
Twilight: Contact club
Winter rate: Contact club
Senior: Contact club
Junior: Contact club
Buggy: Not available
Trolley: Contact club
Caddie: £75 + tip, pre-book

Practical

Address: St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9SF
Phone: 01334 466666
Nearest train: Leuchars
Nearest airport: Edinburgh (EDI) (90 min)
Parking: Free
Wi-Fi: Yes, clubhouse
Card payment: Yes
Membership: Contact club
Joining fee: Contact club
Waiting list: Contact club

Fields marked “Contact club” aren’t public-facing in a way we’ve been able to verify. Call the club directly for these — we’ll update the entry when we have it from source.

Conditions This Week

What's the weather doing?

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Scored 0–10 for golf — wind, rain, conditions · Full 7-region forecast →

Location

St Andrews New Course on the map

St Andrews, Fife · KY16 9SFOpen in OpenStreetMap →

While They Golf

For the non-golfer in the party.

St Andrews isn't only for the golfers. Walks, drives, distilleries, castles, a long lunch — five picks within thirty minutes of the first tee.

The St Andrews companion guide →

★ Pair This Round ★

A morning at St Andrews New, an afternoon worth the drive.

Three things within an hour of the first tee. Each open to visitors; each chosen for what suits a golfer's pace, not a tour bus's.

Distillery · 5 min in town

Eden Mill

St Andrews · Founded 2014 — Scotland's first single-site brewery and distillery

In St Andrews itself. Brewery and distillery on one site, with the gin tour the more popular of the two visitor experiences. Worth combining with a walk along West Sands.

Museum · 5 min next to the Old Course

British Golf Museum

St Andrews · Established 1990

Walking distance from the New Course tee. Roof terrace café with the best view of the 18th of the Old.

Cathedral · 5 min in town

St Andrews Cathedral & Castle

St Andrews · Cathedral founded 1158

The medieval ruins on the cliff edge. Climb St Rule's Tower for the view over the Old Course; explore the bottle dungeon and the mine and counter-mine at the castle.

Plan This Round

Three things to sort before you tee off.

Where to Stay

Beds in St Andrews

Hotels, lodges and self-catering near the first tee. Map-style search via Stay22 covering Booking.com, Expedia, Airbnb and Vrbo.

Hotels & lodges nearbyfrom £89/nt Self-catering & cottagesfrom £140/nt Bed & breakfastfrom £85/nt

via Stay22 / Booking.com

How to Get There

From Leuchars or Edinburgh (EDI)

Edinburgh (EDI) is 90 minutes away by car. Train + onward taxi works for the carless visitor.

Train to LeucharsLNER / ScotRail Hire car at Edinburgh (EDI)90 min drive Local bus from towncheck timetable

via Trainline & airport hire

Insure Your Round

Cover for clubs, cancellation, hole-in-one

Most home contents policies don't cover golf clubs in transit. The picker matches you to the right kind of cover in two minutes.

Day cover — single roundfrom £4.99 UK annual policyfrom £35 European trip coverfrom £15

Birdie Brae picker

Played here? Consider

Three things worth packing.

Picked for links rounds on the Scottish coast.

Outerwear

Galvin Green Andres jacket

Wind off the firth changes club selection two irons. A breathable, fully-waterproof shell that's light enough not to swing in is the single biggest upgrade for Scottish links golf.

Layer

Sunderland of Scotland half-zip

Scottish-made merino — the locals' choice for shoulder-season rounds. Warm enough for a 7am tee time in October, light enough for the back nine when the sun comes out.

Tech

Garmin Approach S70 GPS

Handles blind tee shots and exposed-coastal yardage cleanly. Battery lasts a 36-hole day; the wind-direction overlay justifies the price on its own.

Stays Nearby

Where to stay near St Andrews

Hotels, B&Bs and self-catering within easy reach of St Andrews. Tap any property to check rates.

Rates and availability via Stay22. We may earn a small commission if you book — at no extra cost to you. How affiliate links work.

Frequently Asked

Visitors usually want to know.

Can visitors play the New Course at St Andrews?: Yes, and considerably more easily than the Old Course. Like all six St Andrews Links Trust courses the New is open to visitors with a valid handicap; tee times are bookable up to 12 months ahead via standrews.com. Both Advance Reservation and the Daily Ballot are options, but walk-up availability is materially better than the Old Course in shoulder seasons.
Is the New Course actually new?: It opened in 1895 — the term 'New' is relative to the 600-year-old Old Course next door. Old Tom Morris designed it with the engineer Benjamin Hall Blyth specifically to handle the surge of railway-era visitors arriving in St Andrews from the 1880s onwards. By Old Course standards it is new; by any other standard it is one of the older Scottish links.
What is the green fee at the New Course?: £135 in 2026 for the standard summer rate — roughly £210 cheaper than the Old Course. Combination rates with other St Andrews Links Trust courses are available; many visitors play the New on their first day in St Andrews and the Old Course on a subsequent day. Winter rates drop to around £55.
Is the New Course harder than the Old Course?: Tour pros are split. The New shares the same firm fescue turf and exposed coastal wind as the Old Course, but has a clearer out-and-back routing without the Old Course's shared fairways and double greens. Some visitors find the New a more straightforward test (bunkers visible from the tee, less luck involved). The 9th, 'Hell', is widely considered one of the toughest par 3s in St Andrews.
Should I take a caddie on the New Course?: Recommended for first-time visitors but not essential. The lines off the tee on the New are more obvious than on the Old, but the wind off the firth still rewards a caddie's read. £80 per round plus a customary £20 tip in 2026, bookable through the same Trust caddie office.
Can I book the Old Course and New Course on consecutive days?: Yes, and this is a common visitor itinerary. The Trust booking system handles both via standrews.com. The Old Course is the harder ticket; once that's secured, the New is straightforward to add 1-2 days either side. Many visitors find the contrast between the two — same firm turf, two different routings, different design eras — to be the appeal of a St Andrews trip.

Nearby courses

Browse all Fife & Angus courses →

Fife & Angus golf hub

Browse all Fife & Angus courses →

The Home of Golf, plus the Angus links circuit visitors forget. St Andrews gets the headlines; the rest of the coast deserves the trip on its own merits.

While they golf — St Andrews

For the non-golfer in St Andrews →

Climb St Rule's Tower for the finest view in Fife, walk the bottle dungeon at St Andrews Castle, and drive seven miles south to Kingsbarns Distillery.

Pair the round

On TasteSCOT

Lindores Abbey Distillery

Twenty minutes from St Andrews on the north Fife road. Lindores Abbey stands on the site of Scotland's oldest documented whisky making — the abbey ruins are included in the tour.

Getting there by train

On TripSCOT

Leuchars station

Ten minutes by bus from the New Course. Edinburgh Waverley in 50 min; Dundee in 10 min.