St Andrews Links Trust announces booking change which will stop Old Course golfers having to camp out overnight to get last gasp tee time

For, St Andrews Links Trust – which manages the world’s oldest course – has introduced a new Singles Daily Draw to replace the in-person Singles Queue for The Old Course.

St Andrews Links Trust’s Laurie Watson told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: “I think in the context of St Andrews, obviously we’ve got a lot of history and the Singles Queue is a relatively new phenomenon against a backdrop of 600 years.

"We’ve always had walk up play but as the course has grown in popularity in the 1990s we kind of introduced what has become known as the Singles List, the last chance for golfers to queue up, meet the starter at 6 o’clock in the morning and see if there were any cancellations or groups that they could be paired up with.

"And in truth in the last few years that's just grown and grown in popularity.

"So we’ve been seeing increasing numbers overnight and just kind of looking to see if there is a better solution to actually give those people an opportunity to maybe find out if they can get a game and perhaps get a better night’s sleep.

"I love all the stories that came out from people queuing up and making friendships. But also I’ve equally met a lot of people who’ve stood in the queue, gone through that process and it has actually soured their experience of the golf course the next day because some of them are just shattered when they get onto that back nine.

"I think if it’s your one chance to ever get to play that golf course, and you can have a good night’s sleep and we can make that process a little bit more efficient, a little bit more equitable, I think that’s a better solution for everyone involved.”

On the new online booking system to play at St Andrews, Watson added: “It’s basically for golfers who are in the town and maybe have been unsuccessful and don’t have that tee time.

"They visit our properties the day ahead of play between 9 o’clock and 5 o’clock, they fill in a pretty simple form or an app, take a picture and then they go into a process and by 6 o’clock that evening they find out if they have got a tee time the next day.

"It gives them an opportunity to enjoy their evening in St Andrews without having to queue up and hopefully makes it a better experience.

"In the summer nights St Andrews is a thriving hot spot of golfers from everywhere.

"So there’s still going to be an opportunity for golfers to get together, mix and make those friendships.

"I think it’s just we are not necessarily equipped for people to be camping out overnight.

"A summer’s night can be great in Scotland but equally we all know our weather and our temperature can be subject to sudden fluctuations so I think if we can offer a better solution then that’s the right thing for us to do.”