Thousands apply for discounted St Andrews tee times

More than 14,500 Scots golfers applied for discounted St Andrews tee times as part of a new initiative to widen access to the Home of Golf.

The St Andrews Links Trust introduced The Drive last month, offering 179 tee times between May and October 2025, all at a reduced price.

In total, the first wave of available tee times saw 14,547 golfers applying for the 81 available four-ball times to play on the iconic Old Course and the Eden Course.

With most of the applications for two-ball tee time, golfers had a roughly one in 90 chance of securing a tee time.

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Those successful in the free-to-enter ballot will pay just £42.50 to play the Old Course and only £9.50 to play the Eden Course – an 87.5% reduction on the regular high season green fees.

The first year of The Drive is expected to give a total of 716 golfers the opportunity to access tee times across four of the courses owned by the body.

Remaining tee times as part of the pilot project will be on the Castle and Jubilee Courses in September and October this year, with applications opening for those times on 6 August 2025.

And due to its success, the Links Trust is already planning to expand The Drive into 2026.

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Neil Coulson, chief executive of St Andrews Links Trust, said: “We are delighted so many golfers across Scotland have embraced The Drive and are so keen to come to play our famous courses.

“As the Home of Golf, we believe in widening access to the sport and this new initiative is part of our drive to provide opportunities for golfers of all ages and abilities.

“Given the huge numbers of applications, it is clear the demand is there for Scottish golfers to experience St Andrews Links, and we are already looking at how we can expand the initiative into 2026 and beyond with more times.

“We now look forward to welcoming those who have been successful in applying for tee times on the Old Course and the Eden Course, and hope golfers across Scotland can enjoy some excellent golf.”

John Turnbull A graduate of the University of Stirling, John joined the bunkered team in 2023 as a Content Producer, with a responsibility for covering all breaking news, tour news, grassroots content and much more besides. A keen golfer, he plays the majority of his golf at Falkirk Tryst Golf Club. Top of his 'bucket list' is a round of Pebble Beach... ideally in the company of Gareth Bale.