Castle Course at St. Andrews Doing Well


The new Castle Course in St. Andrews, Scotland, hosted over 4,000 rounds in its opening month. Both local and visiting golfers have played the new cliff-top layout, leading to it being fully booked on many days. Since it opened for play on June 28, the new venue has attracted golfers from as far as Australia, Japan, Dubai and the U.S.

The course, designed by David McLay Kidd, has attracted widespread praise from national and international golf and travel media. It's already won a prestigious award for its outstanding conditioning.

With a large number of bookings already received for the remainder of its first season, through October 31, the course has exceeded the expectations of St. Andrews Links Trust, which manages and maintains Castle and the six other public courses in town, including the venerable Old Course, New, Jubilee, Eden and Strathtyrum, and the nine-hole Balgove. Overall, the seven courses host over 200,000 rounds annually.

Alan McGregor, general manager, said, "It has been an excellent first month of operation for the Castle Course and it has been pleasing to see so many local and visiting golfers enjoying the new addition to golf in St. Andrews. Given the changeable weather it is even more remarkable that so many days have been fully booked.

"We have received much positive feedback from both local and visiting golfers, which suggests that people have welcomed the opportunity to play golf on an exciting new course which offers some stunning vistas of St. Andrews and out to the North Sea."

Castle Course was named 2008 Turf Professional Project of the Year for its quality of greenkeeping. The award is determined by a panel including representatives from the Institute of Groundsmanship, the British Golf Greenkeepers' Association and leading turfcare journalists. Previous winners include Ascot Racecourse and Lords Cricket Ground. It has also been praised for its "truly exceptional" turf quality by the Sports Turf Research Institute.

With five tees per hole, Castle Course features wide fairways and generous landing areas. Its large undulating greens are pure fescue and receptive to a variety of approach shots. Castle Course has also brought economic benefits to the town, creating jobs for 40 people in various departments.

Castle Course's first season runs through October 31. Tee times can be booked by calling 0044 (0)1334 466666, emailing reservations@standrews.org.uk, or visiting Standrews