St. Andrews Links - Eden Course

The Eden Course, over a 100 years old, is 5th in the chain of command at the Links Trust behind the Old-New-Castle-Jubilee. But it's a delightful walk, and the front nine is especially strong with a few holes that run along the Eden Estuary. The back nine is less memorable and a couple holes feel more parkland in nature with small ponds, not really what you expect when you come to the St. Andrews Links. But the HS Colt design has some really solid greens. It's a little shorter and easier than the New, so it's a great option for lesser players. Eden fits into the St. Andrews 7 quite nicely and is a good reason why you should get the 3- or 7-day unlimited golf ticket from the Links Trust. The clubhouse is great and is the closest to the academy and driving range, so warming up is a breeze here.

We played The Eden on our arrival day at St. Andrews. While we arrived, our bags and clubs didn’t so we needed to play in travel clothes using rental clubs. While the clubs weren’t familiar, The Eden is a perfect warm up for a list round the rest of the Links. The course isn’t all that long (6,250 yards from all the way back), but the front nine especially offers a representative sample of the types of shots you’ll play throughout your stay on the bigger courses. The course also routes very close to The Old Course, so you’ll get a bunch of great views that can serve as recon for future rounds. The back nine feel less "linksy" as you get further from the The Old Course routing. All in all, I would highly recommend getting a warm up round at The Eden. This is not only for the links practice, but to insert a small time buffer due to the real concerns around European travel and lost/delayed luggage. If you try and push for a bucket list round very early in your stay it could prove to be a real negative if your gamers turn up missing.

This was the perfect place to shake off the rust and yawns from flying all night. It's a course in St. Andrews, but it's not the Old, where you really want to make sure that you're well rested.

The walk was terrific, even on this somewhat chilly afternoon. The front nine was stronger than the back, but still, overall, it was a great experience. I'd play again in a heartbeat it if was off the plane, or if I wanted to get in a few holes at the end of the day chasing daylight.

Let's face it, the Eden course is not the reason you travelled to St. Andrews. But if you need a warm-up round after a long trip or are looking for a afternoon round after playing one of the "names", the Eden will test all parts of your game. While it's shorter and with perhaps slightly fewer bunkers, the course is laid out on the same land as the original three courses, the bunkers are just as penal and the greens might be slightly more interesting. At a much lower price point, the Eden is well worth the visit.

This course was a last minute addition after 3 members of our group got on the Old Course and the other 3 of us didn't. Like all the courses in the St Andrews Links group it was in great shape, well layed out, great for working and challenging for all skill levels. Cost was very inexpensive and it was easy to get a tee time. Its also conveinently located next to the range and practice facility. This course is worth playing if you have the time to add a course to your golf schedule!