Every golfer has a version of the same daydream: a gray morning, a stiff wind off the North Sea, and the 1st tee of the Old Course with the town of St Andrews at your back. The good news is that the daydream comes with a whole coast attached. Within easy reach of the town are five more links worth the trip on their own, from a golf society founded in 1786 to a course that opened in 2020.
The Old Course
Golf has been played on the Old Course since the 1400s, and it's still a public course, run by the St Andrews Links Trust. It has hosted The Open 30 times, more than anywhere else, including the 150th Open in 2022. The huge double greens shared by two holes, the Swilcan Bridge on the 18th and the Road Hole 17th are some of the most famous features in the game. On Sundays the course closes to golf and the town walks it like a park.
A summer round costs £355 in 2026.
The New Course
It's only new by local standards. Old Tom Morris laid it out next to the Old Course, and it opened in 1895 on the same stretch of linksland. At £155 for a summer round, it's the best value of the six, and the easiest way to get a feel for St Andrews golf on your first day.
Kingsbarns
Seven miles down the coast, Kingsbarns opened in 2000 on a 1.8-mile stretch of North Sea shoreline. Kyle Phillips designed it, and it has been one of the three courses in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship since 2001, alongside the Old Course and Carnoustie. It hosted the Women's British Open in 2017. It's also the most expensive of the six, at £486 in summer 2026 and £524 in 2027.
Carnoustie
Cross the Firth of Tay into Angus and you're at the course with the toughest reputation in Scotland. Carnoustie has hosted The Open eight times. Ben Hogan won there in 1953, in his only appearance in the championship, and Jean van de Velde's trip into the Barry Burn on the 72nd hole in 1999 is one of the most replayed finishes in Open history. A summer round is £360 in 2026 and goes to £450 in 2027.
Crail
Crail Golfing Society was founded in 1786, which makes it the seventh-oldest golf club in the world. Its Balcomie links, laid out by Old Tom Morris in the 1890s, sits at the far eastern tip of Fife, and the club's second course, Craighead, is a Gil Hanse design. Crail has already posted its 2027 rates: £180 for a summer round on Balcomie, or £240 for a day ticket on both courses.
Dumbarnie
The newest course on the list opened in May 2020 between Upper Largo and Elie on the Firth of Forth, a little more than 11 miles from St Andrews and right across the water from Muirfield. Clive Clark, a former Ryder Cup player, designed it, and Golf Digest already ranks it among Scotland's best. A round is £350 in 2026, and a replay within seven days is half price. Carts are only for golfers with a disability or medical need, and a caddie drives them.
What six rounds cost
Play all six at summer rates and the green fees come to about £1,886 a player, before caddies, using Crail's posted 2027 rate. A single-bag caddie at Dumbarnie runs £80, plus a tip. If you're planning for next summer, budget a little higher, since Kingsbarns and Carnoustie have already announced increases for 2027.
| Course | Season | Green fee |
|---|---|---|
| Kingsbarns | May 1 to Nov 8 | £486 |
| Carnoustie Championship | May 1 to Oct 31 | £360 |
| The Old Course | Apr 21 to Oct 18 | £355 |
| Dumbarnie | Apr 3 to Oct 27 | £350 |
| Crail, Balcomie | May to Sep, 2027 rate | £180 |
| The New Course | Summer | £155 |
| Six rounds | £1,886 |
How to plan the week
Base yourselves in St Andrews. Kingsbarns, Crail and Dumbarnie are all on the Fife side, so Carnoustie is the one day you cross the Tay. Edinburgh is the usual airport, and the drive north is part of the welcome.
Plan to walk every round, because links golf is built for it, and pack layers and rain gear even in July. Summer tee times go early at all six, so book the courses you care about most first and fill in around them.
Worth the flight
Six links, one town, and the oldest stories in the game. If you're deciding whether Scotland earns a full week of PTO, run it through our bucket list test, and if you're building a longer list, start with the best golf trips in America. Bring a Nassau. The wind will settle the rest.
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