Six great things to do in St Andrews apart from playing the Old Course

Features

Matt Cooper
August 23, 2024

Bobby Jones once said: “I could take out of my life everything except my experience at St Andrews and I would still have a very rich and full life.”

Admittedly, Jones was rather good at the game. One of the greatest of all-time, in fact.

But, even for an average golfer, any journey to the auld grey toon of St Andrews is essentially a pilgrimage.

Some are fortunate enough to make the trip on more than one occasion but for most it will be a once-in-lifetime event and the majority of visitors will not be lucky enough to actually play The Old Course because getting a tee time is not easy (in fact, it is very hard).

Not to worry, however. Any trip to St Andrews is rewarding and here is our guide to making the most of it.

The R&A World Golf Museum

Where better to immerse yourself in the history of the game than in the home of the sport?

The R&A World Golf Museum is everything such a facility ought to be. On the one hand, an absolute treasure trove of artefacts and memorabilia, but it is also bang up-to-date in presentation and story-telling.

In fact, a recent overhaul has allowed the museum to fulfil two briefs. It satisfies the curiosity of the committed golfer who knows the sport inside out and it also introduces the game to the uninitiated.

For many of the former, their arrival in the town can be an emotional experience and the museum is used to welcoming them through its doors and adding to the drama of their visit with art work, photographs, posters, historic clubs, ancient balls and examples of golfing apparel through the ages.

For the latter the interactive units and visual displays introduce them not only to the game but also to the importance of St Andrews in its growth.

The Himalayas

You might not get a tee time on The Old Course but you can easily test yourself at the St Andrews Ladies’ Putting Club.

Just 10 minutes from the centre of town, situated between the second tee on the Old Course and the West Sands beach, the putting green is the best fun in town.

Open on weekends in March and daily from April to October it is just £4 a round for adults and £2 for children (book online to avoid disappointment).

This is not straightforward putting green, however. Indeed, it is well-named with steeply undulating slopes across the entire course.

Grannie Clark’s Wynd and the Swilcan Bridge

Just because you can’t play on the Old Course it doesn’t mean you cannot step on it.

Grannie Clark’s Wynd is the road that crosses the first and 18th fairways and it is a public highway so there is nothing to prevent you making your way along it (be sure to look left and right first) and even stopping to take a photo of the 18th green and the R&A Clubhouse that stands beside it.

You can also slip out onto the course to have your photo taken on the Swilcan Bridge. It’s the classic St Andrews image and not limited to golfers. Get your foot on the wall and make sure the clubhouse and the town is on show in the background.

The Old Tom Morris Trail

Follow in the footsteps of the man who made golf what it is today.

Old Tom Morris revolutionised the design of courses, clubs and balls. He also transformed who and how we play the game – and his legacy is apparent on pretty much every corner of the town.

The house in which he is born no longer stands but a stone plaque marks the spot, in between Rascals Bar and the New Picture Theatre cinema on North Street.

A mere few yards from the 18th green is the great man’s old shop and his grave can be found in the kirkyard of St Andrews cathedral on the far side of the town.

Old Tom’s gravestone is a simple affair, unlike the monument to his son Young Tom, who died tragically young.

The Jigger Inn

Tucked into the corner of the dogleg on the 17th hole, this small pub is one of the greatest drinking spots in all of golf.

If it’s raining, or especially windy, tuck yourself up within the thick and ancient walls and warm yourself with a wee dram and a babble of conversation around the open-hearth fire.

But if the sun is out, settle down in the beer garden and peer out across the course towards the town. There are not many better places for a golfer to watch the sun go down than the self-styled “most famous 19th hole in golf”.

The Dunvegan Hotel

St Andrews doesn’t have just the one pub worth drinking in. For golfers, the Dunvegan (pictured at top of page), 100 yards away from the 18th green, has been a haven for players who have just completed their rounds, whether professional, amateur or hacker.

The walls, and even the ceilings, of the Dunvegan’s bars are packed with photographs of famous, not-so-famous and celebrity golfers who have teed up a stiff drink after teeing up 18 shots on the Old Course.

Golf Channel called it: “One of the best hangouts in golf.”