Courses · THE OLD COURSE · ST ANDREWS

The most famous course in golf is closed on Sundays.

The Old Course at St Andrews is closed for normal play on Sundays and becomes a park, with dogs on the fairways and photos on the Swilcan Bridge. The rest goes back to the church of the 1500s; Old Tom Morris said the course needed it. Big championships such as the Open are the exception.

The one to remember

If the golfer doesn't need a rest, the course does.

Facts and sources

  • St Andrews Links Trust: “As the Old Course is closed on Sundays there is no Friday ballot.” Sunday golf has never been permitted there, with exceptions for important golfing events and filming, and visitors are free to roam the course on Sundays.
  • On Sundays the Old Course fills with walkers and dogs, people stretched out on the fairways and families posing on the Swilcan Bridge (GOLF.com, 2022; MCT, 2010).
  • In 1552 Archbishop John Hamilton’s charter, which allowed a rabbit warren on the north part of the links, reserved the right of the people of St Andrews to use them for “golfe, futeball, shuting and all games” (National Library of Scotland; Scottish Golf History).
  • Historians trace the Sunday closure to the religious laws of the 1500s: St Andrews kirk session records of 1583, 1598 and 1599 show people taken to task for playing golf on the Sabbath.
  • Old Tom Morris, Keeper of the Green from 1864 or 1865 until 1903 or 1904 (sources differ), is credited with the dictum “If the goufer disna need a rest, the course does.”
  • The Open’s final round is played on a Sunday; the 155th Open returns to St Andrews on 11 to 18 July 2027.

Illustration: the course, the town and the people are drawn from photographs and maps, not surveyed. The 1500s scenes (the town and its cathedral, the rabbit warren, the golfers, archers and footballers, an elder sending golfers in on the Sabbath, and the Swilcan Bridge, whose date is uncertain), the Victorian Sunday with Old Tom Morris seen from behind, and the championship crowd are illustrations of the narration, not records.

Sources

  1. Old Course Ballot · St Andrews Links Trust checked 11 October 2026
  2. #TBT: Sunday golf in St Andrews · St Andrews Links Trust blog (26 January 2017; archived 19 April 2024) checked 11 October 2026
  3. Guided Walks of the Old Course · St Andrews Links Trust checked 11 October 2026
  4. On Sundays, The Old Course at St. Andrews becomes a dog park · GOLF.com (Sean Zak, 23 June 2022) checked 11 October 2026
  5. A good walk, unspoilt · Otago Daily Times (MCT travel feature, 13 December 2010) checked 11 October 2026
  6. Early moments in Scottish golf · National Library of Scotland checked 11 October 2026
  7. 1574 St Andrews, The Student Golfer (1552 Charter and the Kirk) · Scottish Golf History checked 11 October 2026
  8. Is St Andrews The World's Oldest Golf Course? · Golf Monthly checked 11 October 2026
  9. Our History · St Andrews Links Trust checked 11 October 2026
  10. St Andrews Links (Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes, GDL00344) · Historic Environment Scotland checked 11 October 2026
  11. This Celebrated 150th British Open Is Also a Tip of the Cap to Old Tom Morris · Sports Illustrated (Bob Harig, 13 July 2022) checked 11 October 2026
  12. Smith provides a fitting finale · The Open (The R&A) checked 11 October 2026
  13. The 155th Open, St Andrews · The Open (The R&A) checked 11 October 2026

The narration is AI-generated. Sources last checked 11 October 2026.

Script

The most famous golf course in the world is closed on Sundays. Instead, the Old Course at St Andrews turns into a park. People walk their dogs down the fairways. Others lie out on the grass, and families pose for photos on the Swilcan Bridge. In 1552, a charter let the archbishop breed rabbits on the links, but kept local people's right to use them for golf, football and shooting. The Sunday rest goes back to the 1500s, when the church took golfers to task for playing on the Sabbath. Old Tom Morris, who looked after the course for about forty years, is said to have put it more simply. If the golfer doesn't need a rest, the course does. The rule bends for big championships. When the Open comes to St Andrews, the final round is played on a Sunday.