Getting The Elusive Tee Time on the Old Course at St. Andrews
By Mark Rosenberg
Seaside Golf Vacations
It’s every serious golfer’s dream to play the Old Course at St. Andrews. But it’s harder to get a tee time at the Old Course than on any other public golf course in the world. Unless you know someone who is a member of the R&A, you might have given up hope of ever playing the course. But, now’s your chance to get that coveted tee time, and you can do so at face value!
There are four ways to book a tee time on the Old Course. The first two require you to travel to St. Andrews and hope for the best. The third way requires you to pay an outlandish surcharge. Ah, but the fourth way is a little-known method that presents itself only once each year, and that opportunity is only 2 weeks away.
Here are the four ways to book a tee time:
1) Submit your name through the daily ballot that is held 24 hours prior to the day you want to play golf and hope your name is drawn - see Note 3 below - Monday's tee times are drawn on Saturday.
2) Play as a "casual golfer," which we call walk-ons. You get to the starter's shack at prior to 6:30 AM (depending on the time of year) and ask the starter to pair you with a twosome or threesome.
3) Purchase your tee time through a broker with a very high surcharge - typically can only be purchased as a foursome. If you have 2 people, you pay double or try to re-sell the other twosome to another group. The Old Course Experience is a broker that is run by the St. Andrews Links Trust, but there are other brokers that can also get tee times. But you’ll pay about four times the going rate if you book through a broker.
This brings us to method # 4: Submit your name through the annual lottery that is held at 10:00 AM local time (5:00 AM Eastern) the first Wednesday of September (September 7, 2011) for the following year. But last year, the lottery sold out in less than 15 minutes, so you must be on-line and ready to submit your entry at 5:00 AM EDT!
Here’s how the lottery works:
a) Figure out how many people are committed to playing – You can book tee times for any number of golfers between 2 and 8. If you book it, you bought it, so make sure your buddies don’t back out on you!
b) Pick your dates – Tee-times are allocated on a first come first served basis, so maximize your chances by choosing dates when the courses are quiet. Busy dates for each course can be found by going to http://www.standrews.org.uk/Playing-golf-in-St-Andrews/Busy-Dates.aspx. August is an extremely busy month. There are a number of competitions scheduled each September, so no advance bookings are available in September.
c) Nominate a "Lead Golfer" – Tee-times are not transferable. When you check in at the Starter at the Old Course, you must present identification and, if you’re not accompanied by the "Lead Golfer," you’ll lose your tee time.
d) If your name is drawn, the St. Andrews Links Trust will notify you within 8 weeks. Be prepared to pay at that time!
IMPORTANT NOTES:
1) Gentlemen must have a certified handicap of 24 or less and ladies must have a certified handicap of 36 or less to play the Old Course. You will be asked for your handicap certificate when you arrive at the course.
2) If you wish to play between April 1 and October 31, you must purchase a tee time on two of the six courses that comprise the St. Andrews Links. In addition to the Old Course, the other courses are the New Course, the Jubilee Course, the Eden Course, the Strathtyrum Course, and the Castle Course.
3) In January of 2012, the St. Andrews Trust will make the first change in over 100 years to the daily ballot. Until January, the daily ballot is held at 4:00 PM the day before you want to play. Next year they will change it to 4:00 PM two days before, allowing people to book a round of golf on another course nearby if they could not get on the Old Course.
Once you make your tee-time on St. Andrews, please contact us and we'll be happy to build a complete golf vacation for you around that tee-time. Call us at 1-877-732-6999, e-mail info@seasidegolf.com, or visit our website http://www.seasidegolf.com.
Have you played the Old Course at St. Andrews? If so, please post a comment to tell us about your experience.