It’s easier than you think to get a tee time at St Andrews. A little planning, a little luck, or a lot of waiting could make your golf dream come true.

If you want to play golf on the Old Course at St Andrews, you do need to have a printed out handicap to present to the starter. People will often show up at the starter’s house before 6am, so if you want to get out straight away, stay in St Andrews itself and hustle down early.

If you are not staying in St Andrews, the first train from Edinburgh leaves Waverly Station at 530am. You’ll arrive at the Leuchars train station near St Andrews an hour later. From there it is a short £2.75 bus ride to the clubhouse at St Andrews, just ask the driver where to get off. You’ll duck between houses and find yourself alongside the 18th fairway, right by the Swilcan Bridge.

What a sight.

If you are a single golfer, you cannot make a tee time reservation for any of St Andrews‘ courses, so you need to show up on the day you want to play and see the starter to ask for an availability.

If you are in a group, book in advance or call and get in the lottery to get a tee time at St Andrews.

If you’re not particular about which of the 7 courses you play at the birthplace of golf, you can have a much easier time getting on the New Course, which I played:

Top/Feature image via Hannah Swithinbank on Flickr