Where to golf next: Historic golf and scenic courses

Judi Janofsky & Rich Steck, golf.com travel writers, 13 May 2000

St. Andrew's five-star Old Course Hotel Golf Resort & Spa has something new:

Twenty-three additional rooms, 16 of which are suites. Opening this month, the new accommodations will offer views of all three championship courses and are just steps away from the famous 17th hole of the historic Old Course. In fact, the rooms are so close, they used shatter-proof glass on the windows! The new additions also feature garden access on the ground floor and first floor balconies off the sitting areas, extra large beds, dual voltage outlets, direct dial phones with data ports, TV, safes, CD player and a trouser press for the fastidious. Bathrooms are expansive, with marble surfaces and separate shower stalls. Three of the new suites are 270 square feet and feature dining areas for six, Jacuzzi spas for two and cozy fireplaces, plus a 240-degree view from the Old Course's first tee to the beach and all six links courses.

Later this summer, the Old Course Hotel will be premiering the newest course available to guests, the Kingsbarns Golf Links, located just six miles south of St. Andrews in the seaside village of Kingsbarns.

Half of the holes have water in play and the rest offer sweeping views of the sea and shoreline.

What a nice package: great accommodations, great golf and Scotland, too.

For rates and course information, call +44-1-331-4743-71 direct, or Leading Hotels of the World at 1-800-223-6800. Travel on the Web to www.oldcoursehotel.co.uk