Located on the shores of the beautiful Scottish coastal town of St Andrews sits one of the world’s oldest golf courses, St Andrews Links.

Considering golf has been played at St Andrews since the 15th century, there’s reason enough to visit just for the history of the course. That said, the seven different public courses that are available to play on are well groomed examples of classic Scottish golfing amongst the dunes of Fife county.

While the Old Course is the most sought after course to play, I was lucky enough to play the deceivingly named New Course – opened for play in 1895!

We enjoyed 18 holes of challenging yet exciting golf on the New Course. No two holes were the same and each made required different skill with different clubs. You’ll be using the full range of clubs when playing – drivers, irons and wedges. You’ll also encounter deep rough, smooth fairways and hazardous sand traps throughout.

After finishing up a wonderful game of golf, we headed to the clubhouse for lunch at Tom Morris Bar and Grill. It overlooks the courses and is a casual dining restaurant steeped in the history of St Andrews.

We started out our meal with a Cock a leekie Scotch egg. It was a just set Kilduncan free range egg paired with prune jam and pickled tomato. I sipped on a local lager and my boyfriend sipped on a Bramble, one of the signature cocktails on offer. A chilled beverage is a necessary treat after a long game of golf!

For my main course, I had the hake fillet that laid atop a curried mussel, carrot and leek stew. The flavors were lovely!

My boyfriend, Matthew had a ribeye filet that was scotch and dry aged for 28 days. It was paired with charred shallot, potato croquette, and peppercorn sauce. The steak was charred and caramelized on the outside yet tender inside.

Overall, St Andrews is a wonderful course to play as an amateur golfer or as an experienced golfer. Considering it’s known as the “Home of Golf”, make sure to stop at the gift shop in the St Andrews Links Clubhouse as there’s a wonderful assortment of branded clothing and items! After such a wonderful experience, you’ll be enticed to pick up a thing or two.