Eight Opens, the Barry Burn and a finish that has humbled the best in the game.
Carnoustie is a public links in a working Angus town, run for the community rather than by a private club, and any golfer with a handicap can book it. The Championship Course has staged eight Open Championships since 1931, two Women’s Opens and three Senior Opens. It is often called the hardest course on the Open rota, and its closing holes have decided more than one Claret Jug. Two shorter links, the Burnside and the Buddon, share the same ground.
Book online through Carnoustie’s own booking site or by phone on +44 (0)1241 802270. You need a valid handicap certificate, with limits of 28 for men and 36 for women on the Championship Course. Personal buggies are not allowed except for registered disabled golfers, who pay £80 and must use a driver. Push trolleys cost £10 a day and PowaKaddys £25 a round. Local season-ticket holders have their own ballot for tee times, so some prime slots are not on the visitor sheet. A ticket covering all three courses within three consecutive days costs £349.50 in April and £480 from May to October, with an extra Burnside or Buddon round for £90.
Championship Course visitor green fee, April. £360 from 1 May to 31 October 2026. Burnside and Buddon from £99 (£135 in high season). Prices change by season and booking route, so confirm the current rate with the operator. Official rates ↗
The Open venue, last used in 2018 when Francesco Molinari won. Expect a long, exposed par-71 test from the visitor tees, with the burn and out-of-bounds in play on the closing stretch. A handicap of 28 for men and 36 for women applies, and this is the round to plan your trip around.
A par-68 links threaded through the same ground, with the Barry Burn crossing several holes. Ben Hogan played Open qualifying here in 1953. Shorter and less punishing, it makes a sound warm-up or second round of the day, at around a third of the Championship fee.
The newest of the three, opened in 1981 and redesigned in 2016, running out towards the Barry Buddon ranges. It is par 68 and suits a relaxed afternoon after a morning on the Championship. The five-hole Nestie short course nearby is free to play.
Golf has been played on these links since at least the 16th century. Allan Robertson laid out ten holes in 1842, Old Tom Morris extended the course to 18, and James Braid’s 1926 revision gave the Championship Course its modern shape. The land is flatter than many links, so the challenge comes from length, out-of-bounds, deep bunkers and the Barry Burn, which snakes across the closing holes. The 6th, a par five nicknamed Hogan’s Alley after Ben Hogan’s 1953 victory, squeezes between bunkers and an out-of-bounds fence. The 14th, Spectacles, has twin bunkers set into a ridge short of the green. The last three holes are where Jean van de Velde’s 1999 lead disappeared.
Carnoustie works as a base in its own right or as a day trip from St Andrews, about 40 minutes south. The Rookery, the restaurant at the links, covers food before and after a round. An indoor performance centre with seven simulator bays is a useful rainy-day fallback. If you want the Championship Course on a particular date, book it first and fit Burnside or Buddon around it rather than the other way round.
Edinburgh Airport is about 75 miles away, roughly an hour and a half by road. Dundee Airport, with a limited schedule, is around 20 minutes. Carnoustie station sits on the Edinburgh–Aberdeen line and is a short walk from the first tee, with direct trains from Edinburgh in about 90 minutes.
Nearby: 1. The Old Course (18 km) · 2. The Castle Course, St Andrews Links (19 km) · 3. Kingsbarns Golf Links (22 km) · 4. Crail Golfing Society (25 km) · 5. Dumbarnie Links (34 km) · 6. The Golf House Club, Elie (35 km) · Compare all St Andrews & Fife tee times
The Carnoustie Golf Hotel & Spa stands behind the 1st tee and 18th green, so you can walk to the course. In town, guest houses along Links Parade and Park Avenue are within a few minutes’ walk. Dundee, 12 miles west, offers a wider choice of hotels and restaurants near the V&A Dundee and the waterfront. Golfers splitting a trip between Angus and Fife often stay in St Andrews and drive up.
Panmure, a private club next door with visitor times, and Monifieth Medal, a mile further west, make strong second rounds without moving base. Montrose Medal, one of the oldest courses in the world, is 25 minutes north. St Andrews and Kingsbarns are within an hour. Away from golf, Arbroath Abbey and its smokehouses are ten minutes up the coast, and Glamis Castle, childhood home of the late Queen Mother, is about 30 minutes inland.
These packages have a confirmed round at Carnoustie Golf Links in the itinerary, with the other courses, nights and hotels listed so you can compare like with like.
7 nights B&B, 4 rounds plus an Old Course ballot attempt
Rounds: Kingsbarns · Carnoustie Championship · Gullane No. 1 · North Berwick West Links
Stay: 4 nights in St Andrews, 3 in North Berwick
Four nights in St Andrews gives you four chances in the Old Course ballot, with Kingsbarns and Carnoustie confirmed either way.
7 nights B&B, 5 rounds including an Old Course ballot attempt
Rounds: Turnberry Ailsa · Royal Troon Old Course · Muirfield · Carnoustie Championship
Stay: 2 nights in Troon, 2 in North Berwick, 3 in St Andrews
Four Open venues confirmed and a ballot try at a fifth, crossing Scotland west to east in one week.
10 nights B&B, 8 rounds
Rounds: Western Gailes · Prestwick · Royal Troon · Dunbar · Crail Balcomie · Carnoustie · Kingsbarns · North Berwick
Stay: Ayrshire, East Lothian and Fife, including Rusacks St Andrews
Eight links in ten nights, mixing Open venues with Prestwick and Western Gailes, which many first trips miss.
Prices are Golfbreaks’ published per-person guide prices in US dollars, checked November 2026; your quote depends on dates and group size. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. How we work
Visitor rates are published for April to October, with a lower April price. Winter golf is offered but operates on different terms, so check the winter season page before booking from November. Long June evenings allow afternoon starts on the Burnside after a morning round.
Explore golf by monthYes. Carnoustie Golf Links is a public facility, so you do not need to be a member or introduced by one. You do need a handicap certificate within the limits for the Championship Course, and a confirmed booking made online or by phone.
The Championship Course has limits of 28 for men and 36 for women, and visitors should carry a valid handicap certificate. Burnside and Buddon are more forgiving options for golfers who sit above those limits or want a gentler round.
The Championship Course costs £249 in April and £360 from May to October 2026. Juniors aged 14 to 18 pay £180 and those 13 and under pay £90. Burnside and Buddon cost £99 in April and £135 in high season.
Yes. Carnoustie station is a few minutes’ walk from the links clubhouse, making it one of the few Open venues you can reach comfortably by train from Edinburgh, Dundee or Aberdeen.
Last checked 4 October 2026. This is an independent planning guide, not a first-hand review or a booking service. Check live availability, access, fees and travel details with the operator before booking. Airport suggestions are starting points for route planning.
How we research our guidesPhoto credits and licencesShared greens, the Swilcan Bridge, and the town where golf feels at home.
A modern links shaped by hand above the Fife shore, six miles from St Andrews.
Plateau greens and long northern evenings where Donald Ross learned the game.
