How To Get A Tee Time - Old Course St Andrews

By Brian Weis

Getting a tee time at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland is a highly sought-after experience for many golfers around the world. The Old Course is a public course, and there are several ways to secure a tee time:

Enter the ballot: To enter the ballot you must have a minimum of 2 players. A ballot entry must be submitted two days before play, where you are then entered in a lottery system for an available tee time. Your chances of success are about 1 in 5. To enter the ballot, you can do so online at the St Andrews Links website (Old Course Ballot System, via phone, or in person by the Old Pavilion.

Tip: Do not enter multiple submissions for your group. Your submission requires each golfer name, handicap card and home course. This eliminates multiple submissions.

Book a guaranteed tee time: You can book a guaranteed tee time on the Old Course by staying at one of the St Andrews Links Trust's four on-site accommodations - The Old Course Hotel, Rusacks Hotel, Hamilton Grand or the Scores. You can also book a guaranteed tee time by purchasing a package through a tour operator like The Experience St Andrews.

Try the daily walk-up: A limited number of tee times are available each day on a first-come, first-served basis via the daily walk-up queue. Golfers queue up outside the Old Pavilion from around 4 am, and the tee times are allocated at 7 am.

Tip: Look at the ballot results for the day you plan on queing up. You can gauge how many open spots there are. (Open spots are either singles (1 ball) or twosomes (2 ball). If you want to golf with a buddy you can understand quickly your odds. Or you split up. You have the greatest chance to get a tee time as a walk up as a single.

The Process.
Line up by the club house near one. As the line forms each person remains in line and announces there number. You can chat with each person standing online to see if they plan on playing as a single or 2 ball. Once again, looking at that days ballot results will give you a clear picture if you will be playing or not. One thing to note, locals do not have to accept playing with the walkups. At 6:00am the proshop opens and they begin process the line. Each person selects their tee time. Your option might be right away so have your clubs ready. Should you get a later tee time you will have time to go home, shower and freshen up. In Either case I would be prepared to play. Coffee and light breakfast items/snacks are available to get your day started.

Requirements to play: The old course does require a handicap card or a letter from your club stating your handicap. The maximum handicap to play the old course for men is 24. For women it is 36. The other courses at St. Andrews do not require a handicap.

It's important to note that demand for tee times on the Old Course is extremely high, and planning ahead is essential. It's best to try to book as far in advance as possible, and be prepared to be flexible with your travel dates.

Revised: 03/09/2023 - Article Viewed 11,070 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.