This is going to get me into hot water. I’m used to that. So here we go—St Andrews is beginning to bug me!

Yup. The Auld Grey Toon, the so-called Home of Golf, is losing its appeal. I’ve felt this coming for years, but my last trip sealed the deal. Over the past thirty-odd years, I’ve watched St Andrews change—and not entirely for the better.

I cut my teeth in golf journalism & photography in the early ’90s, when visitors still changed into their shoes at the back of the rental car and a round on the Old Course didn’t require a second mortgage. The Links Trust sent its brand-new communications team to my small Dundee flat to look at transparencies for a brochure. Until then, the Old Course didn’t need selling—it just was!

Enter Stage Left - Chased by a Bear

But in the ’90s, a wind of change was drifting across the Links. A deal was struck with a London theatrical ticketing agency (yes, you read that right) to flog Old Course tee times. Locals bristled, traditionalists howled and R&A members’ tea cups rattled in their saucers. But the Links Trust banked £5 million. That money built the Links Clubhouse along with cosy changing rooms and dining niceties for visitors.

The town had discovered what the North Sea breeze really carried: not salt, not seaweed—money.

The Emperor had no clothes, but St Andrews had found a Saville Row tailor.

The Kingsbarns Ripple

The tipping point came in 2000, when two Californians pitched up at a cow pasture a few miles south of town. I used to sleep in my VW campervan there on photoshoots of Fife. It was a Caravan Club Certified site which meant ‘no facilities’. Me and ethe cows were perfectly content watching the sun set on the Firth of Forth. Out of manure, they created Kingsbarns, a “field of dreams” with American standards of service, happy, smiling staff, and PR razzmatazz. And the Americans loved it.

From that point, golf in Fife became a marketplace. More courses followed, mostly funded by wealthy outsiders with deep pockets and transatlantic address books. The Links Trust, once the sleepy guardian of tradition, joined the bandwagon. The Auld Grey Toon was no longer just a pilgrimage site for golfers—it was a brand.

St Andrews Today

Don’t get me wrong, St Andrews has never looked better. On a sunny day you can wander Market Street or South Street, weave down to the East Sands, or stroll the harbour wall with the students. It’s lively, cosmopolitan, and polished—more so than at any point since St Rule rowed ashore with those relics.

But here’s the rub. That polish comes at a price. The Home of Golf now feels more like the Home of Greed. Where once the place wore its heritage lightly, it now monetises every blade of grass, every cobblestone, every tee time. Even the “Auld Grey Toon” nickname is slapped on coffee mugs and tote bags.

St Andrews may still be the centre of the golfing universe. But these days, it’s also starting to feel like the centre of a cash grab. And that’s the real hazard on the Old Course.

Set in its honey-coloured citadel overlooking the 1st and 18th holes of the Old Course, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews is, along with the USGA, the ruling body of golf.

St Andrews Castle was first built around 1200 and the ruins we see today date back to 1571.

GOLF GALORE

Thanks partly to Kingsbarns success, there was a rash of new courses popping up everywhere along the Scottish coastline mostly backed by wealthy Americans looking to make their mark in the ‘Home of Golf’. And their target market was their fellow countrymen. Old, frosty, stoic Scottish attitudes quickly melted in the ‘warmth’ of the noticeable increase in visitor numbers and new money that came flowing in. Fife Council and the Links Trust even joined the bandwagon by adding to the Castle to the half dozen council-run St Andrews courses. We had entered a new era in Scottish golf and the ‘Auld Grey Toon’ never looked - nor felt - better!

PUB LIFE

St Andrews pubs have changed a bit too! They are more visitor-oriented now and most provide good pub grub. At one time they fell loosely into three categories; students, locals or golfers. Now, through the day at least, they’re more about serving food & drink to hungry tourists. The Criterion, established in 1874 on South Street holds onto its old Fife charms and serves good pub food and beer. If it’s a decent day, sitting outside ‘The Cri’ provides a pleasant if somewhat cramped amphitheater to watch the world go by. Their famous ‘Cri Pie’ is basically a puff pastry crust with a filling of your choice - Scottish Steak & Ale being the prefered.

The Central Bar used to be a student hangout and still probably is during term time but on a sunny summer day, it’s another great pavement patio. The Trades Bar on Market Street has one of the best whisky bars. We like the and at night it gets busy as a cocktail bar. But I think everyone will agree, The Dunvegan still rules the roost as the place to hang. Jack and Sheena have only recently sold the business but can still be found . Jack was an oilman from Texas who chanced upon the property one golfing day. The owner wasn’t doing well. Jack made him an offer and he accepted it. Neither Jack nor Sheena had run a pub or hotel in their lives but over the past 20 odd years they’ve made it a roaring success.

For so many centuries, St Andrews has been a place of pilgrimage and veneration! The ancient ecclesiastical town got its start when the relics of the apostle, St Andrew were brought "to the ends of the earth" for protection. St. Rule and his precious cargo were shipwrecked on the coast of Fife and the place of his landing became established as an ecclesiastic centre.

St Andrews University students take a Sunday stroll sporting their traditional red cloaks.

Today, St Andrews is a singular island of culture and academia. Students come to St Andrews University from around the globe including the heir apparent, Prince William and it was here he met Katherine, now his wife. From the Dunvegan Pub to the old Cathedral and Castle, an informal stroll around the ‘Auld Grey Toon’ is always rewarding.

And of course golf. Upon this very soil, the game took hold, developed and flourished. Here you walk in the footsteps of all of the game’s greats from Old Tom to Tiger Woods and sample a truly unique programme that explores the fabulous heritage of Scotland’s past alongside its most enigmatic, renowned and redoubtable present.

The Old Course Hotel

The Old Course Hotel building used to be mocked as a chest of drawers. It is showing its age again. We stayed in the West Wing and even Mr Kohler’s amazing showers are malfunctioning. It’s nothing serious but when you come to the best 5-star hotel on the East Coast of Scotland you expect the best.

Hamilton Hall

Jim, fishing boats

The Adamson

In spite of its rather formal sounding name, The Adamson’s casual. It’s fairly fine dining but at the same time is the most popular place to go for cocktails.

Perhaps best of all it’s all easily accessible on foot from the main hotels in town.