Map of this area

St Andrews, on the Fife coast, is famous as a seat of learning and the home of golf. As the former metropolitan see of Scotland, the city was in the mainstream of Scottish history and its rich heritage includes a 12th Century cathedral, 13th Century castle and 15th Century university. Today the town has a charm all its own and is a busy holiday resort in summer, reverting to the role of a university town in term time with an active cultural life.

St Andrews was an early ecclesiastical settlement associated with relics of St Andrew, it grew in importance with the founding of the St Regulus Church, a priory in the 12th Century and finally a grandiose cathedral, all of which eclipsed the Celtic settlement of St Mary on the Rock. The monastic establishment renowned as a seat of learning was the precursor of the university. With a growing university attracting scholars and students of a high calibre. 15th Century St Andrews was an active and prosperous burgh well meriting the attribution of a national role as ecclesiastical capital of Scotland in 1472. Prosperity and the population declined in the 17th Century, owing in part to the loss of the archbishopric (1689 Revolution), the changing trading patterns (now with the American colonies), as well as the political changes after the 1707 Act of Union. The 18th Century was also one of general decline.

The 19th Century saw the beginning of the growth of golf as a sport and by the turn of the century the town had achieved renown as a Mecca of golf. Its popularity as a holiday and golfing resort has gone from strength to strength.

Golf, a Royal and Ancient Game

St Andrew's links with swards of springy turf and sand bunkers have, since the 15th Century, been a place for playing golf or the early ball and stick version of this sport. So popular was the game that by 1457 an Act of Scottish Parliament was passed requiring that "futeball and the goife be utterly cryit down" in favour of kirk attendance and archery practice. Mary, Queen of Scots was an occasional player, her son James VI popularised the game in England and both James Melville and the Marquess of Montrose played here as students. Founded in 1754, the Society of St Andrews Golfers had the title Royal and Ancient conferred on it by William IV in 1834 and is now recognised as the ruling body. To meet the increasing popularity of the sport, new courses (New 1895, Jubilee 1897, Eden 1912) were laid out supplementing the Old Course, which was established several centuries ago.

By the beginning of the 20th Century St Andrews was firmly established as the golfing Mecca and the town now regularly hosts the British Open and Amateur Championships. Walker Cup Matches and a variety of other big money tournaments which draw the stars of the professional circuit, bringing record-breaking crowds despite television coverage. Two of the greatest names in golfing history are immortalised by hole names on the Old Course: Tom Morris (18th) and Bobby Jones (10th).

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