St Andrews Links

The Jubilee Course is St Andrews Links’ third championship layout: a par 72 of roughly 6,165 metres on the dune strip closest to the North Sea, widely regarded as the sternest of the town’s public courses.

Named for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, the course opened in 1897. John Angus’s original twelve-hole layout was intended mainly for women and beginners. Growing demand led to an eighteen-hole course, before Donald Steel rebuilt it in 1988 as a genuine championship test. Later work refined bunkers, tees and green surrounds while retaining the historic relationship with the links. It occupies a narrow corridor between the New Course and the sea. More exposed than its neighbours, it crosses pronounced dunes, dry undulations and open ground overlooking St Andrews Bay. Wind direction rarely feels constant because doglegs and changes in orientation repeatedly alter the effective line of play.

Steel’s design works with existing contours rather than relying on heavy earthmoving. Fairways pinch beside dunes and deep bunkers, and several greens sit above the approach or beyond crests. The challenge is cumulative: demanding angles, semi-blind shots and firm surfaces continually push an inaccurate ball into awkward ground. The Jubilee feels more vertical and rugged than the Old or New. Elevated tees, gorse-framed hollows and firm greens demand different trajectories. The fifteenth, with its semi-blind approach beside a dune, captures the character: the preferred route is understandable, yet a small miss can finish in severely compromised terrain.

The round sits within the exceptional St Andrews Links system, with central booking, caddie options, practice facilities and shared clubhouses. It is quieter than the Old Course, yet the neighbouring layouts and the town keep the Home of Golf atmosphere present throughout. Visitors should reconfirm handicap rules, conditions and availability when booking.

Play it to discover a less ceremonial and more athletic St Andrews. Victorian origins, late-twentieth-century architecture and genuine links ground meet in one coherent course. Many accomplished golfers consider it the estate’s most complete public test, especially when the sea wind lengthens approaches and makes the greens difficult to hold. Key facts: 18 holes; par 72; about 6,165 metres from championship markers; opened 1897; original work by John Angus; major Donald Steel reconstruction in 1988; the most seaward and one of the hardest St Andrews Links courses.

St Andrews Links competitions and elite amateur events — Annual and rotating calendar Created for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee; transformed by Donald Steel in 1988