A look at the 6th hole at Old at Leven, a course that exists mostly in golfers’ fantasies.
Sam Cooper
“Imagine a golf course worthy of it World Top 100a classic Scottish link, set along the coast just 15 miles away St. Andrews that few people know and even fewer can play.” As alluring openers go, it was hard to top the front line of what turned out to be the most read travel story on Golf.com in 2024.
Its author, Timothy Gallant, a course reviewer for Scotland-based GOLF Magazine, went on to paint a portrait of a purist’s course, with lively terrain, “spectacular sea views” and “an eclectic array of holes that imprinted in the memory”.
“It is with 3s are crafty, his par 4s as original as any links. His path works harmoniously with the winds,” Gallant wrote.
There was just one catch, Gallant noted. Landing a time on this attractive-sounding layout is nearly impossible—not so much because the course is exclusive, but because it’s elusive.
It is only open one day a year.
Come again? How does a yeast longevity course exist in the first place?
In his history, which you can review hereGallant discussed the story of a special relationship and the rare opportunity he had to play it.
Like many great stories about golf in Scotland, the fairy tale has something to do with it Old Tom Morriswho, in the second half of the 1800s, built an existing 9-hole par 18 course.
The extended stretch, across the Firth of Forth, sat along the boundary line between the two links, Leven and Lundin, and was loved. So coveted were its grounds, in fact, that by the turn of the century the course had been broken up, with nine holes going to Leven and nine holes to Lund – a King Solomon-like scenario that left the original 18, known as Old in Leven, divided into two, with a dam running between the nines.
From that moment on, golfers on both sides of the dividing line could only dream of playing the Old in its entirety.
Once a year, however, this dream becomes a reality when the clubs in Leven and Lund come together for a friendly competition called the McDonald Trophy, held at the rebuilt links.
Gallant scored an invite to the event and shared the experience of what ranks among the toughest matchups in the game.
One day, it might get easier. In recent years, the Leven and Lundin memberships have discussed the possibility of allowing limited outside play on the original 18. If this were to happen, the lifespan of the world’s most transient course would have to be extended beyond a single day.
