St Andrews for high handicappers?

[rudebhoy]

A mate is talking about organising a trip this summer, getting 3 day cards and playing The New Course, The Castle and The Jubilee. There would be 4 of us, all seniors with handicaps between 20 - 24. We had a few days in North Berwick last autumn, playing The Glen and Dunbar, it blew a gale and chucked it down virtually non-stop, and to be honest it was a bit of a slog and not massively enjoyable.

I realise the weather is a massive factor, and even in June we are likely to encounter some adverse stuff. The question is - given average weather - are the above courses realistically going to be too challenging to be enjoyable for us old farts?

 

[Deleted member 23344]

As a high handicapper myself, I would say just enjoy playing a signature course (weather permitting) and don’t beat yourself up if it turns out to be tricky for you.

 

[Waitforme]

Not sure what tees will be available to play from but the Castle , New and Jubilee could be pretty challenging.
The right tees with the right weather and you’ll have a great time , 3 cracking courses.
The Eden is much more friendly.

 

[Crow]

As long as you play from suitable tees you should be fine, enjoy it.

 

[Bdill93]

You only wont enjoy it if you put pressure on the round or set yourself an unachieveable target.

Just go for the joy of playing golf, take in all of the surroundings and take your time. Its the home of golf, you'll love it.

 

[Jimaroid]

It'll be fine, plenty of senior tourists and club members with higher handicaps that play regularly.

The Castle will be more effort than the New or Jube, mainly because it has more elevation change and is a longer walk in general but it's perfectly playable. The Castle is best enjoyed socially without worrying too much about score. That's part of its charm in my opinion.

 

[patricks148]

not played the Castle, but the New isn't overly tough depending on the tee's, but you will get value for your shots, as in the ball will roll out a fair bit. i think the forward tee was under 6000. The jubilee was def the tougher of the two IMO.

just go out and enjoy it, i'd imagine there would be some wind even on the calmest of days

 

[rudebhoy]

As long as you play from suitable tees you should be fine, enjoy it.

cheers, do you get to choose which tees you play from? I thought I read somewhere the starter tells you and that's it? Or is that just the Old Course?

 

[Crow]

cheers, do you get to choose which tees you play from? I thought I read somewhere the starter tells you and that's it? Or is that just the Old Course?

Most places only restrict the back tees, if you're high handicappers you won't want to play from them anyway.

 

[KenL]

I didn't find the new or jubilee overly tough and both are really enjoyable.

Go ahead and enjoy yourself. St. Andrews is a great place to spend a few days.

Plenty other excellent courses around as well.

 

[Jimaroid]

cheers, do you get to choose which tees you play from? I thought I read somewhere the starter tells you and that's it? Or is that just the Old Course?

You play from whatever tees you like from Black, Blue or Green.

You'll likely want to play the Blues, they're generally setup friendly for pace of play and a wide range of ability.

 

[jimbob.someroo]

Played the Old and New for the first time this year. We went off the normal tees and despite the rain, didn’t find either of them particularly long even for the retired member in our group.

I never find golf completely enjoyable in the rain, but absolutely loved those two rounds and wouldn’t recommend anybody get put off by difficulty there. The rough isn’t particularly penal in comparison to other links courses, and the marshalls and people there might be the most experienced in the world in terms of getting people around and keeping play moving.

 

[MarkT]

Play a forward tee and pick a format where you can dip out for a few holes if need be. I think/hope you'll love St Andrews enough on its own to not worry about the odd loose one. It's an incredible place.

The designer Pat Ruddy says something along the lines of.. 'Every time I see St Andrews it makes me want to cry'

 

[HowlingGale]

We go away every October for a few days. In the last few years we've found a formula that works in St Andrews and I think that'll be where we go from now on.
In 2019 11 of us played the new, the jubilee and the castle. The new and jubilee are just superb (new is the best Couse I've ever played).

The guys were a bit beaten up by the castle. The handicaps ranged from 8-20. I'd say the castle is a once every couple of years venue. They would much rather play the Eden as it's a fair bit easier. The new and jubilee are stick-ons though.

 

[funkycoldmedina]

We go away every October for a few days. In the last few years we've found a formula that works in St Andrews and I think that'll be where we go from now on.
In 2019 11 of us played the new, the jubilee and the castle. The new and jubilee are just superb (new is the best Couse I've ever played).

The guys were a bit beaten up by the castle. The handicaps ranged from 8-20. I'd say the castle is a once every couple of years venue. They would much rather play the Eden as it's a fair bit easier. The new and jubilee are stick-ons though.

That's a pretty good assessment. I'm a 12 handicap and play them all semi regularly (very lucky that 3 family members are links ticket members). They're all very playable but the Castle tests every bit of my mid handicap golf game and if a bit is misbehaving I'm stuffed.

 

[davidy233]

Can't think of a much better few days than your mate has proposed - St Andrews is a wonderful little town

 

[sunshine]

I wouldn't worry about it, I've seen some absolute hackers on the Old Course. I remember seeing a group of Japanese tourists and their caddies were chucking their balls out of bunkers for them, because there was no way they were ever getting out on their own.

 

[sunshine]

Played the Old and New for the first time this year. We went off the normal tees and despite the rain, didn’t find either of them particularly long even for the retired member in our group.

I never find golf completely enjoyable in the rain, but absolutely loved those two rounds and wouldn’t recommend anybody get put off by difficulty there. The rough isn’t particularly penal in comparison to other links courses, and the marshalls and people there might be the most experienced in the world in terms of getting people around and keeping play moving.

What was it like playing off mats? I don't think I'd want to make the pilgrimage to St Andrews to play off a mat.

Also, I'm guessing the rough was significantly cut down for winter.

 

[KenL]

I wouldn't worry about it, I've seen some absolute hackers on the Old Course. I remember seeing a group of Japanese tourists and their caddies were chucking their balls out of bunkers for them, because there was no way they were ever getting out on their own.

That is highly annoying given that the one time I played it they actually asked to see our handicap certificates.

 

[Deleted member 17920]

It'll be fine, plenty of senior tourists and club members with higher handicaps that play regularly.

.

They have even let Cameron on so any chomper can have a go................

That divot on the 2nd tee is still a sight to behold