The “New” Course of St Andrews is hardly new. Over 100 years old, The New Course is one of the finest golf courses in the world today. Why the name? The St Andrews Trust came up with the name merely to distinguish it from the “Old” Course. Opened in April 1895, the course was built in response to increasing demand for golf at St Andrews, both from locals and from the visitors who were flocking to the town in increasing numbers on the recently constructed railway.

The construction of the New Course was paid for by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club as part of an arrangement under which the club was allocated the right to certain starting times on the Old Course. These arrangements were enshrined in the first Act of Parliament concerning the Links which was passed in 1894 and was the forerunner of the current Act of 1974 which specifies how the links are to be run. The R&A engaged W Hall Blyth, an Edinburgh civil engineer, to design the New Course, and entrusted the layout to “Old” Tom Morris. The result is a classic links course that uses the natural features of the land to create a first-class golfing challenge. The course has the traditional out and back layout, with the 18th green just to the right of the first tee. It also has, in the great St Andrews tradition, shared fairways and even a double green at the 3rd and 15th holes.