Andrews: Tips and tricks to booking a tee time
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Nearly half of Old Course tee times each year are allocated to the ballot to give people who have been unable to book a chance of playing. It is drawn 48 hours in advance of play and golfers should provide their names, home club and handicaps either online, by phone or at one of the clubhouses before 2pm, two days before the day they wish to play.
May 14, 2015 · Each year, we, Links Golf St Andrews, receive an allocation of tee times for the Old Course. All of our tee times come as part of a package or golf tour which includes accommodation, transport and golf. Our golf tours are usually for a minimum of 5 nights and will combine golf on some of the other courses in St Andrews or Scotland.
Oct 01, 2017 · FROM $607 (USD) The smarter way to get a guaranteed tee time at the posted green fee rate for that season is to write or email the St. Andrews Links Trust ( www.StAndrews.org.uk ). Each fall, the Trust holds an open period to …
Description: The golfer submits an application to St. Andrews petitioning for a tee time. The application can have up to 8 golfers so multiple applications would be submitted for larger groups. When: Applications must be in by early September with results announced in late October of the year prior to play.
The handicap limit is 36 for both men and ladies. All golfers must provide a current handicap card or certificate at the time of play. Also, there are no pre-bookable tee times for Saturdays and the Old Course is closed on Sundays.
Yes, all Old Course tee times that are booked in advance are sold as part of a two course package. Along with the tee time on the Old Course, golfers also have to take up the option to play another of the St Andrews Links Courses. This option will be the New Course, the Jubilee Course, the Eden Course or the Castle Course.
For a round, it costs about the same as your normal PGA Tour venue open to the public. Depending on the exchange rate, the 2018 green fee to play the Old Course is 180 pounds, which is about $250.
The Old Course holds a tee-sheet ballot every day the course is open to the public, and golfers (minimum of two) can enter the drawing, which is announced two days prior to play (so Wednesday tee times are announced Monday afternoon).
The smarter way to get a guaranteed tee time at the posted green fee rate for that season is to write or email the St. Andrews Links Trust ( www.StAndrews.org.uk ). Each fall, the Trust holds an open period to accept group-booking requests. The more golfers you have in your group, the tougher it will be to accommodate everyone, but this is a surefire way for smaller groups that can commit to a date well in advance. Tour operators can help you submit these requests if you'd like to use one for your trip.
The easiest option -- and most expensive -- is to book a golf package with a guaranteed tee time. While the packages used to be almost solely provided by the Old Course Experience, the Links Trust has since spread out the times to about 90 local providers, from golf packagers to local hotels and B&Bs. One new nugget for 2018, the Links Trust has partnered with ReCounter, a photography service that will photograph groups on a guaranteed time on the 1st, 17th and 18th holes and provide those groups with a code to view, share and download their images.
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Maximum allowed handicaps are 24 for men and 36 for women. The Old Course closes for golf and turns into a public park every Sunday with the exception of days it hosts a tournament like the Dunhill Links or Open Championship.
Seven miles east of town, the spectacular and modern Kingsbarns Golf Links is a top-10 course worldwide. There are five other courses in the town operated by the Links Trust besides the Old Course, the best being the New Course and Jubilee Course, both true links playing on the same soil as the Old.
For example, applications for play in 2023 must be submitted by September 7, 2022. This process was cancelled by St. Andrews for 2022 tee times due to Covid (this process should be available for 2023 times).
Requirements: Two courses are required. You must play another of the St. Andrews courses (Castle, New, or Jubilee).
There are several factors involved that impact the odds of getting a tee time through the Advanced Application, Daily Ballot or Standby Line. The odds depend heavily on things such as the group size, the month of travel and the number of days a group spends in St. Andrews.
Each Old tee time comes paired with either a Castle, New, or Jubilee time. Price: This is the most expensive way to get on the Old as each tee time includes a hefty premium over and above the green fee. The premium for a time is less in April than the rest of the season. Generally sell out many months before play.
Those who are risk averse and are willing to spend upwards of $1,000 to $2,000 per person to ‘guarantee’ a tee time on the Old will lean toward purchasing a ‘guaranteed tee time” from an Authorised Provider. This designation (spelled with an ‘s’ as opposed to a ‘z’) is bestowed on a limited number of golf tour operators who are allocated tee times by St. Andrews (Pioneer Golf is an Authorised Provider). Most golfers who play the Old Course do not pay this hefty premium and instead choose one or all of three different ways to get onto the Old. It’s important for a group leader to understand all four methods of securing an Old Course tee time since that decision is being made for all in the group. It’s equally important for anyone joining a trip to understand what approach is being taken to hopefully play the Old Course as it’s often a crucial component of a trip.
Essentially, there are two paths for securing a tee time at The Old Course. The end result of “The Guaranteed Route” is that you will end up with a tee time that is absolutely guaranteed. If booking before September 7 of the year prior to play, the graphic below illustrates that a guaranteed time at the hefty premium is reserved for you. However, if you’re successful in the “Advance Reservations” process; then you use that tee time instead which saves you from having to paying the premium for the guaranteed tee time. If booking after September 7, then the “Advance Reservations” process will have passed so then a guaranteed tee time at the premium described above is allocated to you.
If you’re in St. Andrews for six days, Pioneer Golf will enter you into the ballot six times provided the course is open.
Our Old Course tee times are available as part of a package. Please check our availability below.
Our St Andrews Old Course tee times are available to visiting golfers as part of a customised golf package which include accommodation, transport and golf (minimum 5 night stay). We offer a selection of three, four and five star accommodation options along with additional golf throughout Scotland and the rest of the UK and Ireland.
January, February, March, April, October, November and December all offer the prospect of a guaranteed tee time on the Old Course. Requirements are that you stay in a local participating hotel and sign up for rounds on two other Links Trust courses. Be aware, though, that you’ll be required to use fairway mats during five of those months.
You can book up to two foursomes, or as few as two players. There are limited advanced times for single players as well. Prepare to give the Links Trust the other names in your group, their handicaps and home clubs as well as a second course to play at St. Andrews.
But if you can handle the tariffs, this route could be for you. The OCE features three-, four- and five-night packages that include luxury lodging (Old Course Hotel, Fairmont St. Andrews, Macdonald Rusacks), clubhouse lunches, course transfers and guaranteed Old Course access for one round.
Arrive as early as 5:30 a.m. in summer’s high season, provide proof that you’re a max handicap of 24 for men and 36 for women, then wait your turn to be paired with a two-ball or three-ball game. Some days you’ll be paired within an hour. You might also check in all day, all week, and never tee it up.
Contact them by phone (011-44-1334-466718) or e-mail ([email protected]) during a two- to three-week window that begins each year in late August and ends in mid-September. The tee times are allocated lottery-style, and winners are notified in early to mid-October.
The Links Trust also allocates a limited number of Old Course tee times to local hotels and guest houses in St. Andrews (stayinstandrews.com). Occasionally, these properties will farm out their tee times to tour operators that bring them business, but most of the time this is a perfectly legitimate option for folks seeking an Old Course time.
The best way to secure St Andrews Old Course tee times is through the advanced Old Course tee time ballot.
The first is to call the St Andrews Links clubhouse (+44 (0)1334 466666) to enter over the phone. The second method is by visiting the Links clubhouse in person. The third is entering online. In all cases, you must enter as a twosome, threesome, or foursome, and you must submit the information below:
The ballot is a random drawing to determine a given day’s tee sheet on the St Andrews Old Course. Golfers hoping to play must enter the ballot before 2PM two days before the desired day of play.
They typically bundle these as part of packages sold to customers. They can be very pricey – often around $1,000 for a guaranteed tee time on the Old Course.
People line up as early as 12AM or 1AM. If you want a good chance in the summer, I wouldn’t get there later than 3:30AM.
“Dark times” are slots after normal tee times end during which locals can go out and play. If all else fails and you aren’t able to get a tee time through the ballot or singles line, visit the starter at the end of the day and ask if you can have a Dark Time. If locals haven’t taken all of the times, you may get lucky! The only negative here is that you still have to pay the full green fee, knowing you may not finish due to lack of light. In the long summer evenings you may finish with plenty of light, but outside of June and July it may get dark by the 15th or 16th holes.
Applications are accepted for these tee-times during a two-week period in August and these are drawn randomly by a computer. We can assist you in the application process but you must submit the forms directly. This is the most economical way to guarantee a tee-time for the Old Course*.
There are normally between 10 and 20 spaces on the Old Course each day that the starter will fill in with golfers that are registered on the stand-by list. Any golfer wanting to walk on will need to report to the Old Course Pavillion on the day they wish to play.
If you are successful through the ballot, our Scottish office will take care of contacting and rearranging the golf course you were scheduled to play to another available day. You will be entered for the ballot each day you are in St. Andrews.
SGH Golf are appointed Authorised Providers of Guaranteed Old Course Tee-Times by the St Andrews Links Trust. This makes SGH one of a select number of golf tour operators with the ability to sell guaranteed Old Course packages. We have been selling golf vacations to St Andrews for almost 40 years and are delighted to be able to assist you with your dream trip. 2022 Old Course Tee Times are sold on a first come basis.
This means SGH Golf receive an allocation of “ Guaranteed Tee-Times” for the Old Course, St Andrews to be included in a custom, fully managed golf trip with golf tee-times, accommodation bookings and luxury ground transportation. With our local St Andrews PGA Professional on hand to look after your every need, SGH Golf are your perfect travel company. Start planning your 2022 St Andrews Old Course golf trip today.