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    "original_url": "https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/10\/06\/travel\/golf-st-andrews-scotland-courses.html?emc=edit_nn_20261007&nl=the-morning&segment_id=227657",
    "parsed_content": "Teeing Off in the Birthplace of GolfIn St. Andrews, Scotland, history and golf intertwine, on and off the famous courses.Scenes from St. Andrews, Scotland, home to the oldest golf course in the world.Skip to contentSkip to site indexSearch & Section NavigationSection NavigationAccountAccountGoHome U.S.SECTIONSU.S.PoliticsNew YorkCaliforniaEducationHealthObituariesScienceClimateWeatherSportsBusinessTechThe UpshotThe MagazineTOP STORIESDonald TrumpSupreme CourtCongressImmigrationAbortionLatest PollsNEWSLETTERSThe MorningMake sense of the day\u2019s news and ideas.The EveningCatch up on big news, and wind down to end your day.See all newslettersPODCASTSThe DailyThe biggest stories of our time, in 20 minutes a day.See all podcastsWorldSECTIONSWorldAfricaAmericasAsiaAustraliaCanadaEuropeMiddle EastScienceClimateWeatherHealthObituariesTOP STORIESMiddle East CrisisRussia-Ukraine WarChina International RelationsThe Global ProfileLeer en Espa\u00f1olNEWSLETTERSThe WorldA guide to understanding the news, made for readers around the globe.Your Places: Global UpdateThe latest news for any part of the world you select.Canada LetterBackstories and analysis from our Canadian correspondents.See all newslettersBusinessSECTIONSBusinessTechEconomyMediaFinance and MarketsDealBookPersonal TechEnergy TransitionYour MoneyTOP STORIESU.S. EconomyStock MarketArtificial IntelligenceNEWSLETTERSDealBookThe most crucial business and policy news you need to know.On TechOur best tech reporting from the week.See all newslettersPODCASTSHard ForkOur tech journalists help you make sense of the rapidly changing tech world.See all podcastsArtsSECTIONSToday's ArtsBook ReviewBest SellersDanceMoviesMusicTelevisionTheaterPop CultureT MagazineVisual ArtsRECOMMENDATIONS100 Best Movies of the 21st CenturyCritic\u2019s PicksWhat to ReadWhat to WatchWhat to Listen To5 Minutes to Make You Love MusicNEWSLETTERSBooksReviews, news and features to help you find your next read.WatchingStreaming TV and movie recommendations.See all newslettersPODCASTSBook ReviewThe podcast that takes you inside the literary world.PopcastPop music news, new songs and albums, and artists of note.See all podcastsLifestyleSECTIONSAll LifestyleWellTravelStyleReal EstateFoodLoveYour MoneyPersonal TechT MagazineCOLUMNS36 HoursAsk WellThe HuntModern LoveWhere to EatVowsSocial Q\u2019sThe EthicistAsk the TherapistNEWSLETTERSThe WeekenderUnwind with stories about culture and the way we live.WellEssential news and guidance to live your healthiest life.See all newslettersPODCASTSModern LoveThe complicated love lives of real people.See all podcastsOpinionSECTIONSOpinionGuest EssaysEditorialsOp-DocsVideosLettersTOPICSPoliticsWorldBusinessTechClimateHealthCultureCOLUMNISTSJamelle BouieMaureen DowdDavid FrenchThomas L. 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Win ProjectionsNEWSLETTERSThe PulseDelivering the top stories in sports, Sunday to Friday.See all newslettersPLAYConnections: Sports Edition Connections: Soccer Edition Connections Coach U.S.InternationalCanadaEspa\u00f1ol\u4e2d\u6587Teeing Off in the Birthplace of GolfIn St. Andrews, Scotland, history and golf intertwine, on and off the famous courses.Scenes from St. Andrews, Scotland, home to the oldest golf course in the world.Credit...Supported bySKIP ADVERTISEMENTShare full articleBy John AtwoodVisuals by Owen RichardsReporting from St. Andrews, ScotlandOct. 6, 2026Sign up for the Travel Dispatch newsletter. Essential news on the changing travel landscape, expert tips and inspiration for your future trips. Get it sent to your inbox.Don\u2019t get me wrong \u2014 Alexandrina Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1837 to 1901, was quite the monarch, wielding the scepter influentially while the British Empire expanded hungrily around the globe. For 63 years she rocked the crown hard, all while managing to elude eight \u2014 eight! \u2014 assassination attempts.What she didn\u2019t do is play golf.ImageThe fairway of the 15th hole of the Jubilee Course at St. Andrews Links.Which has me wondering, as I stand on the first tee of the Jubilee Course in St. Andrews, Scotland, if it\u2019s fair that this beautiful, intricate links was named in honor of the famously prim and proper queen\u2019s Diamond Jubilee, her 60th year on the throne, when it opened in 1897.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTThese thoughts are dancing in my mind as I take my first swing of the day, bunting a drive down the first fairway of the Jubilee links, and that, really, is the point: You can\u2019t play the older courses of St. Andrews and not feel history swirling almost palpably around you.ImageJack Nicklaus teeing off on the 15th hole in the playoff against Doug Sanders during the 1970 British Open Championship at the Old Course in St Andrews.Credit...R&A Championships\/Getty ImagesGeneral Dwight D. Eisenhower played at St. Andrews in 1946, and the father and son tandem, Old and Young Tom Morris, played there. Credit...Getty ImagesIt is most true, naturally, on the renowned Old Course, which dates to the 1400s and is the oldest course in the world. Walking its centuries-old fairways, the memory of thrilling exploits by the game\u2019s greatest players, from the father and son tandem of Old and Young Tom Morris to modern giants like Jack Nicklaus and Seve Ballesteros, practically oozes up into your shoes.But the spell of history is cast everywhere you go in this small seaside village, whether you\u2019re on the golf courses or the cobblestone streets, where plaques and monuments and ruins abound, pulling you into the astonishing story of St. Andrews at every turn. And alternating rounds of golf with explorations of the town\u2019s past \u2014 at times a shockingly bloody past \u2014 is in some ways the ultimate Scottish sojourn.Largely because of the Old Course, golf and St. Andrews are practically synonymous.Yet the New Course, which opened in 1895, and the Jubilee Course, debuting two years later, are fascinating links with intriguing stories of their own. And on this trip I\u2019m determined to give all three of these historic courses their due and at the same time dig a little deeper into some enduring mysteries of St. Andrews itself.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTThe Old Course is a tourist draw as well as a golf course, with people taking photos on its Swilcan Bridge; on Sundays, the course is open to the non-golfing public.My 22-year-old sonDash and I arrive on a Sunday morning, when the Old Course is closed to golfers but open to all others, and the links are swarming with townspeople and their dogs out for a romp. We make our way across Grannie Clark\u2019s Wynd (the path that cuts across the first and 15th fairways), then up past the West Sands beach where the opening of \u201cChariots of Fire\u201d was filmed, to the New and Jubilee clubhouse. We hadn\u2019t made tee times in advance, but the two courses set aside a fair number of places for walk-ups, and Dash gets an afternoon spot on the New Course.ImageGolfers on the New Course, which opened in 1895. Designed by Old Tom Morris, golf\u2019s first great player and course architect, the New Course was the second one laid out on the peninsula. It is in some ways similar to the Old Course, sharing a few characteristics like several double fairways (each extra-wide and shared by two holes) and one double green (ditto), though it is shorter and has fewer dramatic contours. Dash steps to the tee and, after one quick practice swing, blasts a drive down the right side of the hillock- and gorse-lined fairway, then heads off after the ball, pushing his clubs on a rental trolley (the greens fee was 155 British pounds, or about $205).ImageThe Martyrs\u2019 Monument commemorates people who were killed for their religious beliefs.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTFollowing his round and a post-round pint in the clubhouse, we walk back to our Vrbo flat, but pause at the stone obelisk located behind the Old Course\u2019s 18th green, and it\u2019s here that the town\u2019s turbulent history first makes itself known. \u201cMartyrs\u2019 Monument,\u201d I read on a small plaque for \u201cthose put to death for asserting their religious beliefs.\u201d\u201cHmm,\u201d I say idly. \u201cMust have been hanged.\u201d\u201cNope,\u201d says Dash, reading words carved higher on the tower. \u201cDeath by fire!\u201d And that\u2019s indeed what it says, naming four Protestants who were burned at the stake in 1528 \u2014 just the first taste of the violent local history we would encounter over the next four days.On the Jubilee CoursePaul Appleton caddies at St. Andrews Links, where signs warn passersby of errant golf balls.Day two finds us out on the Jubilee Course and me in my first-tee reverie. With us on this round are two visiting Americans and the two caddies Dash and I had hired, one of whom, Paul Appleton, is an experienced English bag man. He is full of wit and charm as well as excellent advice, precisely selecting clubs for Dash and giving him great reads on the greens. (Greens fees were \u00a3155 plus \u00a3120 for each of the caddies, including tips.)ImageThe green of the 15th hole of the Jubliee Course. AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTPaul says that good players regard the Jubilee as \u201cbetter than the Old Course,\u201d and indeed the \u201cJube,\u201d as we come to call it, is a revelation.Originally a 12-hole \u201cpitch-and-putt\u201d course for women and children, it has been modified many times over the decades and is now a glorious links and a stern test of championship golf. Each hole is a beauty, especially with the gorse in bright yellow bloom, and the finishing stretch in particular is stunning as it winds through the dunes. Playing from the forward tees with my injury-afflicted swing, I manage a respectable round and finish a few shots ahead of Dash. \u201cHah,\u201d I proclaim as we leave the 18th green, \u201cpretty good for an old hack!\u201dIn St. Andrews, Market Street is home to the Central Bar pub and to Tailend, which serves fish and chips.Following the caddie Paul\u2019s advice, that night we end up at Tailend on Market Street, for the best fish and chips we\u2019ll find in town. On another evening we have an excellent curry at Jahangir (again, thank you, Paul!), although we decline to partake of the haggis pakora. Most every night we wash up at the Central, a lively Market Street pub frequented more by locals and college students than tourists, it seems, and an ideal spot for a dram before bed.Exploring Off the GreensImageA fountain in the center of town. AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTAs great as the golf, food and drink were, however, my thoughts continually crept back to the town\u2019s history.With fewer than 20,000 residents, St. Andrews is a remarkably small town, given the oversize role it plays in Scotland\u2019s history. It was named for St. Andrew the Apostle, who with his brother was one of the Galilean fishermen whom Jesus enticed to, \u201cFollow me, and I will make you fishers of men.\u201dVarious versions of the story exist, but the gist is that sometime in the fourth century a religious character known as St. Rule (or St. Regulus) was shipwrecked off the coast of Scotland while bearing a tooth, kneecap, humerus and three fingers from St. Andrew\u2019s remains, having been commanded by an angel to take them, \u201cto the utmost part of the world.\u201d Thus did the town come by its saintly name.ImageThe ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral, which was ransacked by a Protestant mob in the 1500s. St. Rule\u2019s Tower, right, still stands. The ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral and the grave of Old Tom Morris draw visitors. AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTVisiting the cathedral grounds where these gruesome relics were originally enshrined is a haunting experience. At one time the largest, most important cathedral in Scotland, its Gothic remains still tower over the town. Its construction began in about 1160 and took centuries to finish, suffering major destruction from storms, wars and a fire. Finally completed in 1440, it was only in use for a century before it was ransacked by a Protestant mob and fell into disrepair.Wandering through these stone remains, I come across the graves of Old and Young Tom Morris, the father and son pair who put golf on the map in the 19th century. Contemplating their headstones, it occurs to me that 1440 was also roughly the time that golf was reportedly first played on the links at the other end of town.Afterward, I stroll to the neighboring St. Andrews Castle, another intriguing, spooky place. Begun in the 1100s and serving for centuries as the main residence of Scotland\u2019s top clergymen, its remains sit on a dramatic headland on St. Andrews Bay. Two aspects of it are particularly compelling.ImageThe \u201cbottle dungeon\u201d is a 24-foot-deep hole cut into the rock beneath the castle that widens out into its eponymous shape. The first is the \u201cmine and countermine.\u201d In short, in 1546 Cardinal David Beaton burned a Protestant preacher at the stake in front of the castle, only to be assassinated by an angry gang that then hung his body from a window. The assailants occupied the castle and settled in for a long siege, until they heard the cardinal\u2019s avengers digging a mine into the rock to get at them. So the occupiers started a countermine, and for a year these two fervid parties chipped away at the stone until they at last broke through into each other\u2019s wrathful arms.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTAnother memorable feature of the castle is the \u201cbottle dungeon,\u201d a 24-foot-deep hole cut into the rock that widens out into its eponymous shape. This wretched pit was where the rebels threw Beaton\u2019s corpse, covering it in salt to \u201ckeap him frome styncking.\u201dA Chance on the Old CourseImageIn St. Andrews, the town and the links are in close proximity. The path known as Grannie Clark\u2019s Wynd passes in front of the 18th green on the Old Course. The highlight of our trip comes on the third day, when Dash wins a tee time on the Old Course through the daily lottery (unless you have a spot reserved well in advance through a golf travel operator, the lottery is the only way I know of to get on the much-in-demand course). We had entered every day, both as a pair and Dash as a single. He had been wait-listed at number 17, but caddies had recommended that he show up at 7 a.m. ready to play. Sure enough, at 8:15 or so the starter calls Dash\u2019s name and tells him he is next on the tee (greens fees were \u00a3355, plus \u00a3120 for the caddie). He rushes out to join three others waiting, says hello to his caddie, and promptly hooks his tee shot nearly out of bounds across the 18th fairway.And that, wonderfully, is almost the last bad shot he hits. Paired with another seasoned Scottish caddie, a wry and wise character named Neil, Dash plays the round of his life, into the teeth of a brutal North Sea wind. Following Neil\u2019s advice, Dash navigates the gorse-lined hillocky fairways, the diabolically situated bunkers, and the wildly undulating greens to the tune of 40 on the outward nine holes and 41 coming home. Most memorably, with a strong following wind he bombs his tee shot on 17 over the famous railway shed, leaving only a pitching wedge to the green, ending up six feet from the cup for birdie.\u201cHow is it possible,\u201d Dash asks as we exit the 18th green with a brisk rain beginning to fall, \u201cthat the first golf course ever built is still the best?\u201dAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT\u201cGreat question,\u201d I say. \u201cI think we\u2019ll have to come back to figure it out.\u201dImageNear the Old Course, pedestrians with clubs are a common sight. John Atwood was the editor in chief of Travel+Leisure Golf from 2000 to 2009.Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for our Travel Dispatch newsletter to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2026.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT"
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