4 Ways To Get a Tee Time at the Old Course
by Gordon Dalgleish — President, PerryGolf
Prospective clients often come to us in confusion over how the Old Course at St. Andrews
works as it remains the most highly sought, publicly accessible golf course in the world.
During the summer season demand far outstrips available supply and as a result many of
the explanations provided are less than clear. The Links Trust who operate the Old Course,
alongside many of the other St. Andrews courses recognize four principal options which
provide access to the course;
1. Direct application - Old Course tee time(s) acquired
directly by the individual from the St Andrews Links Trust
through their annual Advance Reservations program. The
program accepts applications twice a year for tee times from
private parties that require at least two (2) golfers but no
more than eight (8) who wish to play the following season.
The rst deadline is in early September for an application you
are required to submit yourself that requests the dates you’d
like to play the Old Course plus one additional Links Trust
course of your choice. The second date is in early January
when any unused or returned starting times are resold.
Applicants are notied in about two weeks whether they have
been successful or not. If you are, you will pay the Links
Trust directly. If you are not successful, you need to consider
the other options listed below.
2. Ballot - For golfers who are unsuccessful with the
St Andrews Links Trust Advance Reservations program, the
Daily Ballot is an option. It is a lottery process. Every day
in St Andrews (except Friday), the Links Trust accepts local
applications until 2 pm for play two days later. Monday’s
Ballot is for Wednesday; Thursday is for Saturday and so on.
There is no Friday Ballot because the Old Course is closed
on Sunday. Winners are posted at 4 pm around town in St
Andrews and online.
The Daily Ballot may be a reasonable alternative for
golfers who are staying in St Andrews for a number of
days (increasing chances of success) or who do not have
an absolute requirement to play the Old Course. Demand
(and hence percentage success rates) do vary signicantly
at different times and due to various factors. A challenge
with the Ballot is also how to manage the rest of your golf
schedule given you will have tee times reserved elsewhere
that would need to be changed if your good fortune in
accessing an Old Course time creates a conict with your
planned schedule. Further, if there are more than four
players in your travelling party, there is a strong possibility
that even if you have some success with the ballot, some
members may get to play and some not, and at the very least
your group’s play would almost certainly be entirely split
up, and may be on different days, causing disarray to your
group’s schedule.
3. Single golfer walk up - Every morning the starter
on duty operates a list of single golfers who register to play
when an opening occurs during the course of the day. While
it is very last minute, it ensures that almost no time or slot in
a four ball goes unused.
4. Guaranteed premium times - Every year we provide
unrivaled access to guaranteed play on the Old Course
through a longstanding contract to inventory a substantial
number of guaranteed starting times for play from April to
October. We offer these times on a rst come / rst
served basis. PerryGolf Clients can purchase them from
twelve (12) months in advance of their travel to a single
week in advance. We can accommodate groups of as many
as forty (40) golfers in a single booking, even more with
sufcient notice. Those who require careful control of their
schedule are provided the exibility to do so, often when
other such routes have closed. Better still and best of all,
we are uniquely capable to arrange your experience so that
it is enjoyed by the group, as a group, for one of the greatest
rounds of golf in the game. From within our premium
time inventory, for an affordable supplement and subject
to availability, we can conrm your Old Course starting
time guaranteed within 24 business hours of receiving your
deposited reservation.
Given the confusion which seems endemic to the explanation
of how to play the Old Course at St. Andrews, I embarked
on a secret shopper exercise earlier this year in an attempt
to uncover the myriad of explanations being provided to the
traveling golfer by various companies. With almost 30 years
in the industry, I found myself frustrated by some of the half
answers and poor explanations, some certainly designed
to paint the best picture of what a particular company was
trying to pitch. In light of that I thought it may be useful
to list some key issues which the travelling golfer should
consider, and ask questions accordingly of any prospective
golf travel vendor when planning a trip to St Andrews …
Ballot Process– Some operators may openly suggest likely
success rates with the ballot which are in fact unrealistic.
I would be very wary of claims that any company has
particular success rates via the ballot that in any way may
outperform others. It is not possible for any organization,
local or otherwise to inuence the outcome (or beat the
odds) of the ballot process which is rigorously and correctly
policed by St Andrews Links Trust. Also remember that if
there are more than four in your party, the strong likelihood
is that even if you have some success with the ballot, there
is a strong possibility that some will play and some will not,
and even in its most successful possible outcome, your group
will probably be entirely split over different days.
Direct application process - A number of companies
reference the direct application process but do not allude
to the possibility your application may be rejected. They
work on an assumption of success when in reality this may
be far from the truth. In some months there may certainly
be lower demand and a better supply of times, there is
however applications are not accepted at all for the month of
September and there is only a very small chance of success in
the month of August, due to lesser times being available and
there being greater demand.
Premium times - Some companies make reference to
premium times as an option if you are unsuccessful with a
direct application but offer no insight with respect to what
that cost may be. This will likely involve buying an expensive
package which effectively includes an exceptionally high
supplement for accessing the Old Course. Importantly this
information may not be shared with you during the purchase
process, and you may only discover the true cost of this
option after you may have failed to secure a less expensive
starting time via the Direct Application process, and you nd
yourself already having paid a deposit to the travel company,
with no great options for securing a starting time on the Old
Course at a cost you may be comfortable with.
800.344.5257
PerryGolf.com
Specic hotel requirements – A number
of starting times are allocated to certain local
hotels and guest houses. Each property receives a modest
allocation. Although not the intent of the Links Trust, some
tour companies do re-sell times which have been allocated to
specic hotels as part of their tour operator package. It is a
requirement to stay in a particular property with a particular
time. Consequently guests may nd themselves staying in a
property (and paying a premium for it) which may not be in
keeping with their particular accommodation expectations,
but which they are being required to stay in simply to
access the Old Course. This route is clearly not without its
potential negatives.
St. Andrews is a great town. It has a wonderful ambiance
and sense of history to it but as described, the demand to
play the Old Course far outstrips available supply.
I understand the desires of golfers who want to play the
Old Course without any surprises, as with any service
in high demand it pays to understand your options
and most importantly plan your trip well in advance to
avoid disappointment.
Important Links
Availability of Guaranteed Tee Times
Old Course, St Andrews VIDEO
How to Play the Road Hole VIDEO
