St Andrews Discount Tee Times Spark Huge Demand

MORE than 14,000 Scottish golfers have applied for the chance of a lifetime - the opportunity to play the historic links at St Andrews at a hugely reduced rate, as part of a major new initiative to widen access to the Home of Golf.

Running from May to October, "The Drive" initiative offers 179 discounted tee times on the Old, Castle, Jubilee and Eden courses, aiming to make the game’s most storied venue more accessible to local players.

The Old Course is arguably the most famous course on the planet, but anybody who has been lucky enough to play golf at St Andrews will tell you that the Castle, Jubilee and Eden courses also provide memorable challenges. There are even some who claim that the Eden is better than the Old Course.

Featured Content

The first allocation of tee times saw an over overwhelming response.

With just 81 four-ball slots in May and June, organisers received a whopping 14,547 applications, with the majority applying as two-balls—meaning the odds of securing a spot were as slim as one in 90.

Earlier this year, Landmand, a modern and acclaimed course in Homer, Nebraska, saw similar demand and is known for selling out its annual allocation in a matter of hours. All available tee times for the entire 2025 season sold out in under an hour on New Year’s Eve 2024. The rush was so intense that it temporarily crashed the course’s online booking platform.

Landmand, which opened in 2022, has seen interest accelerate dramatically. In 2023, tee times sold out in two months, 2024 in under three hours. But the 2025 sell-out in just 50 minutes underscores the extraordinary demand for access to standout golf experiences, both historic and new.

In its first year, The Drive will provide 716 Scottish golfers with the opportunity to play on the Old, Castle, Jubilee, and Eden Courses at a massive 87.5 per cent discount on standard high-season green fees.

Golfers successful in the free-to-enter ballot for the Old Course will pay just £42.50. It would normally cost anything between £240 and £340 depending on the time of year. A round on the Eden Course will cost only £9.50.

Those teeing it up on the Castle Course will pay £22.50, a significant reduction from the usual £180. Meanwhile, the Jubilee Course will be available for just £18.75, down from the standard fee of £150.

The remaining tee times available through this pilot initiative will be offered on the Castle and Jubilee Courses during September and October, with applications for these later dates opening on 6 August 2025.

Given the initial success of the initiative, the Links Trust is already looking at opportunities to expand tee time allocation for The Drive in 2026.

All tee times provided as part of The Drive are from existing visitor or commercial allocations and will not impact priority times allocated to Links Ticket Holders.

The first tee times fulfilled as part of The Drive initiative were on Wednesday, May 21 with 44 golfers playing the Old Course for just £42.50 each.

Related Articles

What is a St Andrews Links Ticket And How Do You Get One

Ranking All 18 Holes at The Old Course, St Andrews