St Andrews golfers 'squeezed out' by soaring visitor numbers to Home Of Golf?

Well over 100 golfers, all resident in the town, say they are losing out as visitor numbers to the Home of Golf soar - and when they do get on, they are becoming increasingly frustrated by the time it takes to play 18 holes with rounds now lasting five hours or more.

The survey was conducted by St Andrews Resident Golfers Association (STARGA), a group set up recently to gauge opinion among resident golfers who have a historic right to get a ticket to play the seven courses run by charitable trust, St Andrews Links Trust (SALT), which include the world famous Old Course, New Course, Eden and Jubilee.

There are around 700 resident ticket holders in St Andrews, and the association said there was a feeling that their “golfing experience” had been adversely impacted by a boom in overseas visitors getting tee-times - they said an annual influx of around 100,000 has now rocketed to 150,000 post-lockdown.

A spokesperson on behalf of the association said: "The survey has delivered a clear message about how the residents of the town feel about how their golfing experience has deteriorated over recent years.

“Many of the underlying problems stem from increasing visitor rounds which since 2009 have gone up by more than 50% to 151,000. The town owns the links and the governing act which set up the trust recognised this, mentioning residents as one of only three groups who should be protected in the future. The association hopes that the trust improves transparency and engages more with the local golfing community to identify solutions which will restore parity for residents of the town.

“Everybody wants to play here in summer, and the unintended impact is that the pace of a game of golf has got much slower, and, in our view, over tourism is hurting the courses. It is a known concept and it is happening right here - and people are reacting badly to it” said a spokesperson.

The association’s biggest issue is getting a tee-time in the first place.

It accepts the chance of getting on the world renowned Old Course is very limited, but that demand is having a knock on effect by pushing golfers on to the adjacent courses which are viewed as the main local courses.

“People who come here to play the Old Course find they cannot get on and that cascades on to the New, the Eden and Jubilee. The availability of tee times is just not there - there is a compounding factor and residents feel they are losing out. ”

The survey said that 92% of respondents feel that availability of tee times has got worse or much worse over the years. “We have seen some golfers simply stop playing these courses after many years- one past captain went to play The Dukes - while others are getting increasingly frustrated at the lack of access. People who are working don’t have the flexibility to take the slots left,” said the spokesperson.

For Drew Lumdsen, the joy of playing tiger courses is seeping away because of lack of access.

He tees off several times a week.

“You could see it coming even before Covid,” he said. “It feels more for tourists than locals. There used to be two windows where we could get access and times to play on the Eden and Jubilee.

“But it is getting more and more difficult because everyone wants to play golf in St Andrews. I know a lot of golfers who have given up their Links ticket and gone elsewhere. It is almost out of control., We need to take a stance. The number of tour operators coming here is going up and they seem to be booking in advance - the advance visitor bookings are killing us.

“They seem to be squeezing in more and more people with preferred times in the morning, and it is ridiculously difficult to play golf here. It was never like this - we never had a problem, we went through the system and usually got the times we wanted. Now it is impossible.”

STARGA’s survey showed 90% of respondents agree or strongly agree that increased visitor numbers had a negative impact on their golf experience- and 97% felt there were more visitors all year round.

Some 75% wanted to see students’ tickets limited to term time, while many comments called for more local tee times and wanted the Links Trust to revert to its pre-pandemic 7:00am opening which residents felt worked well.

Added Drew: “We don’t want preferential treatment, but the courses are for the people of St Andrews.”

STARGA wants to begin a wider discussion on the issues affecting local golfers and wants to see the Trust take on board its concerns.

A spokesperson for St Andrews Links Trust said: "St Andrews Links is a global golf tourism destination and significant economic driver in St Andrews, Fife and across Scotland offering access to various groups in accordance with the Links Act and the Trust's charitable mission to promote public participation in sport.

"In the last five years, both before and after the pandemic, we have seen a significant increase and unprecedented demand for our golf courses from both ticket holders and visitors, in line with global trends. The number of rounds played has risen at a similar rate for both ticket holders and visitors and there has been no decrease in the number of times available to ticket holders during this time.

"Earlier this year, we conducted an independent survey of our ticket holders, with more than 1,200 responses focusing on areas such as access to the golf courses. Nearly nine in 10 of those surveyed said their links ticket represented good value for money with the majority of courses receiving positive feedback for availability of access. However, course access was highlighted as an area of concern for many with more dedicated ticket holder times cited as the best way to deliver improvement.

"In the past two years, we have created a Golf Access Group, dedicated to reviewing access methods and forecasting future demand at St Andrews Links. As part of those ongoing efforts, in April this year we were pleased to announce additional tee times for ticket holders, including an increase in 2024 and a substantial adjustment of more than 10,000 exclusive ticket holder tee times to improve access across our courses for the 2025 season.

“Ensuring fair access to the golf courses has always been and remains a top priority for the Trust. We will continue to monitor these changes and update ticket holders on their impact in due course."