The Secret to Getting a Tee Time at Scotland’s Most Exclusive Courses

Story and Photos By Jim Bebbington

A trip with buddies to northeast Scotland can be one of the best golf experiences a player can have. It is home to St. Andrews’ seven courses, Carnoustie’s famous Hogan’s Alley, the breathtaking charm and challenge of North Berwick (pronounced: ‘Bear-ick’), the beautiful vistas of the Gullane complex, and many, many others.

It can also leave your wallet a smoking ruin of smoldering ash.

Here’s a little secret about most of the top, exclusive courses in Scotland – they want you to come. Getting a tee time isn’t impossible – with planning. But the costs of golf there can be very high – $400 for Old Course summer 2024; Kings Barns up the hill is more than $500 –  visitors pay top-rate so that local members can play at a substantial discount. They’re glad we’re there.

Now, how do you make it happen – and keep the costs under control?

WHEN TO GO

The Scots have a saying – if you’re going to wait until it stops raining to play golf, you’ll never play.

Summer is always the best chance to get clear, warm days in Scotland. However, just as in Colorado, it is very possible to plan for a round in December or January and get crisp, cool, calm weather; throw on a sweater and you are all set. But, you can also get blasted sideways by howling winds and pelting rain. True story: visiting in 2016 for Hogmanay (one of the world’s largest New Year’s Eve celebrations that has to be seen to be believed) I booked a foursome at Bruntsfield Golf Club in Edinburgh. The days had been highs in the 50s and clear all week. The morning of our round we got into the cab and by the time we reached Bruntsfield four inches of snow fell. The course staff were very supportive and would have let us play, hitting from tiny plastic mats we would have had to carry with us. We took the cab back, disappointed.

Takeaway: Look for travel and golf deals at off-peak times of the year and take your chances; tee time costs can be cut by two-thirds.

WHERE TO STAY

If you want to feel young again – as in ‘Hey, look at me! I’m in college again!’ young – you cannot do better than staying in the dorms at either St. Andrews University or the University of Edinburgh in the summertime. Room rates are some of the least expensive in town. So too, often, is the quality of the furniture in your room. You will be staying in actual dorms used by actual students – you remember what those are like, right? Feel free to shudder. But, they are clean and convenient, and in Edinburgh, you will be surrounded at the daily cafeteria breakfast by fellow adults – vacationers, musicians in town for Fringe Fest, touring motorcycle clubs whose intimidating-looking bikes hide the fact that most of them are high school teachers, librarians and retired postal workers.

Takeaway: Rather than try to publish a gigantic URL to the two websites, we recommend you Google “Summer accommodation” and the name of either St. Andrews University or Edinburgh University. Summer rates during the high season can be found for about $250 a night for two people.

WHEN TO BOOK

This is the key to a Scotland golf vacation – plan it a year in advance. Travel groups and agencies are there for your last-minute trips. Many can book you straight into nice places and get good tee times but will be charging a premium for doing that. For tee times in particular, the courses at St. Andrews Links tee time bookings begin in late August each summer for the following year. Want to stay in a nice AirBnB in Edinburgh in August, during their 30-day Fringe Fest celebration? So do about 500,000 other people. Book early for the best deals.

HOW TO GET A TEE TIME

There is a ton of great golf to be had without playing the St. Andrews Old Course. But no other course can make adults hug on the 18th green feeling they have accomplished something special. Here’s how to get out.

1. Use the annual lottery. It opened on Aug. 30 and closed for entries on Sept. 20, 2023. It’s highly competitive but it’s the best first option and you will never forget the day you get the email telling you ‘You’re in.’