St Andrews BallotBuddy Service
Are you a single golfer and want to play St Andrews Old Course?
- Register on our BallotBuddy service and enter the dates you are coming to St Andrews.
- If there is a date match with another single player we will hook you up.
- As a 2 ball you can now enter the ballot for a tee time.
- No more waiting in line!
Don’t wait in line – get a BallotBuddy!
Register Now
How BallotBuddy works
Decide when you are coming to play the Old Course via a ballot time and register for my free BallotBuddy Service
Submit up to 5 dates.
It’s better if you can play any time but otherwise you can specify your time restrictions
Your dates / times will be added to a database of other BallotBuddy golfers looking to team up.
If you get a date/time match with a second golfer (or more, up to 4) I will connect you to your Ballotbuddy via email introduction
As a 2 (3 or 4) ball you are now eligible to apply for an Old Course ballot time.
It’s down to you and your BallotBuddy from this point forward.
More than 4 golfers with a match? Your dates / times will be added to the database of other golfers looking to team up
No Match? Don’t despair …
You can still use the ‘walk-up’ option and wait in line.
Read more about your chances of play in my in-depth report on the Single Golfer at St Andrews
Covid-19 – its impact on BallotBuddy and Old Course Tee times in 2020 and 2021 (updated Aug 2020)
Can BallotBuddy Help you?
YES If you are single golfer without an advanced tee time
WHY? Because there must be at least 2 golfers on an Old Course ballot application
Your only other option is to ‘walk-up’ on the day, get up early and join the line outside the Old Pavilion
Chances of play that day are reliant entirely on gaps on the draw sheet and your place in the line
My unique, free and simple-to-use BallotBuddy service helps you find an Old Course ballot partner so you and your fellow golfer are eligible to submit an Old course ballot application together
BallotBuddy success
The numbers speak for themselves
2019
80% date match rate & 50 Old Course rounds played
2020
57% date match rate & 11 Old Course rounds played
DESPITE Covid-19 travel restrictions & course closures
Current BallotBuddy date match requests:
| Day | Month | All day | First to 10:00 | First to 13:00 | 10:00 to 13:00 | 10:00 to last | 13:00 to last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, 1 | May 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Sat, 22 | May 2021 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Tue, 25 | May 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Wed, 26 | May 2021 | 2 | |||||
| Thu, 27 | May 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Fri, 28 | May 2021 | 3 | 2 | ||||
| Sat, 29 | May 2021 | 3 | |||||
| Mon, 31 | May 2021 | 3 | |||||
| Tue, 1 | June 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Wed, 2 | June 2021 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Thu, 3 | June 2021 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Fri, 4 | June 2021 | 2 | |||||
| Fri, 11 | June 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Mon, 14 | June 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Tue, 15 | June 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Fri, 18 | June 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Mon, 21 | June 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Tue, 22 | June 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Wed, 23 | June 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Thu, 24 | June 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Fri, 25 | June 2021 | 2 | |||||
| Fri, 2 | July 2021 | 2 | |||||
| Sat, 3 | July 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Thu, 15 | July 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Fri, 16 | July 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Sat, 17 | July 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Fri, 30 | July 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Sat, 31 | July 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Mon, 2 | August 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Tue, 3 | August 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Wed, 4 | August 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Thu, 12 | August 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Fri, 13 | August 2021 | 2 | |||||
| Sat, 14 | August 2021 | 2 | |||||
| Mon, 16 | August 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Tue, 17 | August 2021 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Wed, 18 | August 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Thu, 19 | August 2021 | 2 | |||||
| Fri, 20 | August 2021 | 2 | |||||
| Sat, 21 | August 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Wed, 25 | August 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Thu, 26 | August 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Fri, 27 | August 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Sat, 28 | August 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Fri, 3 | September 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Sat, 4 | September 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Mon, 4 | October 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Thu, 7 | October 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Fri, 8 | October 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Sat, 9 | October 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Mon, 11 | October 2021 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Tue, 12 | October 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Wed, 13 | October 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Thu, 14 | October 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Fri, 15 | October 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Mon, 18 | October 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Tue, 19 | October 2021 | 1 | |||||
| Wed, 20 | October 2021 | 1 |
- Golfers are invited to register to find a BallotBuddy, specifying their availability to START play:
‘All day’ – golfer(s) available to start play at any time on that day.
‘First to 10:00’ – golfer(s) available to start play only between the first tee time and 10:00.
‘First to 13:00’ – golfer(s) available to start play only between the first tee time and 13:00.
’10:00 to 13:00′ – golfer(s) available to start play only between 10:00 and 13:00.
’10:00 to last’ – golfer(s) available to start play only between 10:00 and last tee time.
’13:00 to last’ – golfer(s) available to start play only between 13:00 and last tee time.Note: First and last tee times will vary according to time of year and may be found when specifying your availability as part of your Old Course Ballot application with the St Andrews Links.
- Dates and times with a number indicate where there has been a BallotBuddy date & time request and / or a BallotBuddy date & time match has been found.
- The numbers indicate the current number of golfers registered for a date & time:
- 1 golfer seeking a date & time match with another golfer (3 slots remaining)
- 2 golfers with a date & time match (2 slots remaining)
- 3 golfers with a date & time match (1 slot remaining)
- 4 golfers with a date & time match (0 slots remaining). Group is now closed.
Where your preferred date & time already has 4 golfers and 0 slots remaining (and the group therefore is now closed) you are still encouraged to register on BallotBuddy. We will publish the date & time a second time, and indicate there is another golfer seeking a BallotBuddy.
BallotBuddy feedback & reviews…
Most of this year because of restrictions, it has been impossible to play the Old Course as a single player walk-up. BallotBuddy was invaluable to join up with other golfers wishing to play the course and gain access. BallotBuddy paired me up with another golfer and we were successful on our second ballot attempt. Ginger Beer Golf Travel were invaluable helping me get another course off my bucket list when traditional options were very limited. I highly recommend them.
We have the privilege of owning a property a mere 200 yards from the 1st tee of the Old Course since 2010. But that does not help at all in getting a tee time as a single player. Chris makes this possible and we succeeded in August of this year. His initiative is unique and deserves recognition.
Looking forward to the opportunities ahead! Christian
I recently planned a trip to Scotland leveraging the low number of tourists due to Covid 19 situation. I did it in the spur of the moment, and I travelled alone. Of course playing the Old was a dream of mine, and I was very disappointed to know that due to Covid only 2+ people could apply to the Ballot and get a tee time. After looking around I found Chris' service to match up singles... I thought it was a scam, but my desire to play was just too big, so I gave it a try. Well... Chris emailed me back in a couple of hours with 2 options to pair up with other players. I immediately buddied up with Tom and as luck goes we got a tee time in the Old. We then played together Carnoustie and met again back here in London. So, what else to say other than I owe a big big big thank you to Chris and his service. If this is the way he manages his Golf Travel service, I would recommend him hands down. Thanks again Chris!!!
BallotBuddy success stories
August 2020
September 2019
July 2019
Useful Resources
St Andrews Old Course Tee Times in 2021:
4 Ways to guarantee success