Whenever I travel, I enjoy exploring the history and folklore of the towns and villages I am privileged to visit.  While St. Andrews is primarily known for its golf courses and its world class university, St. Andrews is also rich in legend and story. 

I was fortunate to make my third visit to St. Andrews in 2018. Here is a summary of the notes I collected from travel brochures and pamphlets while visiting this historic area in Scotland:

·      The town of St Andrews was originally the town of Kilrimont. In 736 AD, a monk
named St Rule brought relics (bones) of St Andrew (Brother of St Peter, the
first Pope) from Greece to a monastery in Kilrimont . By 1000 the town had
become headquarters of the Scottish church and was called St Andrews. It became a pilgrimage for most of Britain and becomes a wealthy city. The cathedral was founded in 1160. The cardinal of the UK lived in St Andrews.

·      Golf was first played there in about the fourteenth century. St Andrews University
founded in 1413. James II bans golf in 1457 for a period of time because it
interfered with practicing archery.

·      Martin Luther’s complaints against Rome were posted in 1517. Protestant martyrs were burned in St Andrews in1528, 1533, 1546, 1558. An obelisk above the Old Course is called the Martyrs Monument and it has their names inscribed. In 1560 parliament ends Catholicism as the church of Scotland. Mary Queen of Scots was the first woman known to play golf—1568.

·      James Wilson was a Scot who moved to South Carolina and was a signer of our
Declaration of Independence. He was educated at St Andrews Univ. He and other
Scots had shipped clubs and balls from St Andrews to Charleston, SC in 143.

·      In the early days of golf, it took required a day’s work to make one feathery ball.
They cost one-half Crown (a gold piece), so only the wealthy could afford to
play golf. Golf professionals also caddied and made clubs and balls.

·      The Scottish Flag is a sideways cross signifying the way that St Andrew was
crucified in Greece—with arms and legs spread. The flag is called the Saltire.

·      The Royal and Ancient Golf Club was formed in 1754 by 22 gentlemen as the Society of St. Andrews Golfers. In 1834 King William IV gave the club its R&A title and the club began to make the Rules of the game for the world. When the USGA was formed in 1894, they first followed the R&A and then soon began interpreting the Rules themselves. All the world except the USA and Mexico follows the R&A’s rules decisions.

·      In the 1840’s, the town was nearly bankrupt. The land for the golf courses was
used to raise rabbits for a number of years.

·      The first 12 British Opens (called The Open) were held at Prestwick starting in
1860.

·      Old Tom Morris was Prestwick’s keeper of the greens until he replaced Alan
Robertson at St Andrews. The first Open at St Andrews was in 1873 and was the
first year of the “claret jug” trophy.

·      The townspeople bleached their linen on the course in the early days. Early Rules
mentioned linen that interfered with play.

·      The golf course originally was played as eleven holes out, and the same eleven
holes were played back in—22 holes played for a round. In 1764, the course
became 9 holes out and the same 9 holes in. In 1832, the course became 18
separate holes.

·      Holes 1, 9, 17 and 18 have greens that aren’t shared by any other hole. Old Tom
changed the first hole by widening it and he moved the 18th green to opposite
his golf shop, making it 60 yards longer. The new green was built over an old
graveyard. All the holes for the shared greens add up to 18 (2 and 16, 3 and
15, 4 and 14, etc.)

·      Old Tom Morris was born in St Andrews 16 June 1821. He died in St Andrews on May 24,1908, just three weeks shy of his 87th birthday. He had won the British Open four times (1860’s). He designed many great golf courses in Scotland. He followed Allan Robertson as keeper of the greens and head professional at St. Andrews. He had worked for Allan in the early days making clubs and balls. Tom built a thriving club and ball business in St Andrews when he returned from
Prestwick in 1865. His shop still stands in the same place today.

·      A remarkable story is how Old Tom Morris died. He had been sitting at the window
of his golf club (The New Club) having a pint of beer or two on a Sunday (No
golf on the Old Course on Sundays, even to this day). He had to go to the
bathroom which was a down staircase in the back of the club house. He got
disoriented and fell into the coal bin—an eight-foot fall. He died shortly
afterwards.

·      His son, Young Tom had the record score of 77 on the Old Course from 1869 to 1887 when his brother Jamie equaled it. Hugh Kirkaldy shot 74 in 1888. There have been 62’s in modern times.

·      An amazing fact is that golf on the Old Course was free for all comers until 1913.
Locals played for free until 1946. Today, locals pay a fee of about $200 for
the entire year. Guests pay about $218. per round. Guests account for 40% of
play.

·      Bunkers originated in St Andrews. According to the stories, bunkers on the Old Course at St. Andrews occurred naturally and Tom Morris decided to leave them there when designing some of the holes. If you are wondering how they came about, the answer is sheep!

·      In the early days, the course also doubled up as a place for grazing sheep.
Unfortunately. the sheep didn’t like the strong winds that the Old Course is
famous for. In order to protect themselves, they joined forces and burrowed
into the ground, creating holes to hide in until the wind died down. These
holes ended up being many of the pot bunkers you see on television when
watching golf at the Old Course. Sure they’re a pain to play out of but they
certainly make the game a whole lot more interesting!

·      The world’s first female golfer played at St Andrews. Mary Queen of Scots was a
member of the local golf club and many regard her as being the world’s first
female golfer. She started playing golf at St Andrews soon after her husband
Darnley was murdered.

·      Legendary golfer, Tiger Woods will only stay in room 269 at The Old Course Hotel when he stays in St Andrews. The reason being that 269 was the number of strokes it took him to win his first Open Championship in St Andrews back in 2000.

·      A lot of golf is played in St Andrews. More than 230,000 rounds of golf are
played on the seven courses in St Andrews each year. 45,000 of these are played on the Old Course alone. The Old Course has also played host to the Open Championship more than any other venue. The 150^th Open Championship is the 29^th time St. Andrews has hosted the Open.

(These notes were collected from travel brochures and local pamphlets. I have not verified the information through my own research.)