St Andrews Old Course

No golfing expedition to Scotland is complete without a round on the Old Course at St. Andrews. It's golf the way God likes it to be played.

Take a trip north of the border and you can expect to play some quality tracks at affordable prices. But no golfing expedition to Scotland is complete without a round on the Old Course at St. Andrews. It's golf the way God wanted it to be played.

The myth about the old is that it's one of the toughest courses in the world - not true. In fact generous fairways and greens are a rare commodity on champioship courses. So making a respectable score is a real posibility. But there are two serious obstacles - bunkers and wind.

If the wind blows (which it often does) you'll need to bring your 'A' game to record a respectable final total. Usually the wind blows with you on the way out and into your face on the tougher back nine. With out of bounds running down the right hand side of the last five holes avoiding a slice goes without saying.

Then there are the bunkers. Don't underestimate the hearbreaking quality of sand. These steep faced rivetted bad boys will make a monkey out of the best players in the world so don't even think about trying a heroic shot 'that Tiger would be proud of.' In particular 'Hell' on 14 and the 'Road Hole Bunker' on 17 are not to be messed with.

Whether you've ripped the course up, been blown away or got stuck in the sand you'll never forget the Old. The last three holes were crafted by the golfing Gods and simply must be played.

Best Hole: The 17th is one of the toughest and most famous holes in golf. A tough drive is followed by a near impossible second. Relish the challenge and try and avoid killing any spectators.

Location: West Sands Rd, St. Andrews, Fife KY16 9XL

Tel: 01334 466666

Web: www.standrews.org.uk

Click here for our guide to Fife

Neil Tappin
Editor

In July 2023, Neil became just the 9th editor in Golf Monthly's 112-year history. Originally working with the best coaches in the UK to produce instruction content, he has also presented many Golf Monthly videos looking at all areas of the game from Tour player interviews to the rules of golf. 

Throughout his time with the brand he has also covered equipment launches that date back well over a decade. He clearly remembers the launch of the Callaway and Nike square drivers as well as the white TaylorMade driver families, such as the RocketBallz! If you take a look at the Golf Monthly YouTube channel, you'll see his equipment videos dating back over a decade! He has also conducted 'What's In The Bag' interviews with many of the game's best players like Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm. Over the years, Neil has tested a vast array of products in each category and at drastically different price-points. 

Neil is currently playing: Driver: TaylorMade Stealth Plus Fairway Wood: Titleist TSR2 Hybrid: Titleist TS3 Irons: PING Blueprint S (4&5), PING Blueprint T (6-PW) Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM7 50˚, 54˚, 60˚ Putter: Odyssey Triple Track Ten Ball: Titleist Pro V1X