Ladybank is the inland alternative on a Fife golf trip: a championship heathland course of pine, heather and silver birch about 16 miles west of St Andrews. Old Tom Morris laid out its first six holes in 1879, and the course has since hosted final qualifying for The Open seven times between 1978 and 2010, and has more recently staged Senior Open qualifying. For a links-heavy itinerary it offers sheltered fairways, a different kind of turf and full online booking with clear visitor windows.
Ladybank Golf Club green fees and tee times.
Book online through the club website. Full payment is taken by card when you book. Visitor times are Monday from 11am, Tuesday to Friday and Sunday from 9.30am, and Saturday afternoons. Groups and societies book through the club’s group bookings page or bookings@ladybankgolf.co.uk, and the office is on 01337 830814. Scottish residents get a £95 rate after 1pm in summer, and anyone can take the £95 twilight rate after 3.30pm. The club’s visitor pages do not set a handicap limit for casual rounds; the open competitions it runs cap men’s playing handicaps at 28.
INDICATIVE GREEN FEE · CHECKED NOVEMBER 2026From £95
Autumn round, 25 October–30 November 2026; spring (1 April–15 May) also £95. Winter 2025/26 was £60; the 2026/27 winter rate was not published when checked. Summer 2026 (16 May–18 October) £145 a round or £215 a day; twilight £95 after 3.30pm. Juniors £20. Open week 2027: £195 if booked by 31 May, £225 after.
Autumn, 25 October–30 November 2026
£95
Spring, 1 April–15 May
£95
Summer 2026, round
£145
Summer 2026, day ticket
£215
Summer twilight, after 3.30pm
£95
Scottish residents, summer, after 1pm
£95
Open week, 9–23 July 2027, booked by 31 May
£195
Prices change by season and booking route, so confirm the current rate with the operator. Official rates ↗
The round, in perspective.
The club was formed in 1879 with an entry fee of one guinea, and Tom Morris was asked to lay out a six-hole course. It grew over the following decades and reached its present 18 in 1961. The club calls it a heathland course of championship status, par 71 and 6,821 yards from the championship tees, set out in two loops of nine. Fairways run through corridors of Scots pine, birch and heather, so the challenge is driving accuracy rather than coping with the wind, and the ground feels quite unlike the coastal links an hour to the east. Every one of its seven Open final qualifying years, from 1978 to 2010, was a year the championship went to St Andrews, so it has long been the R&A’s inland partner for Old Course Opens.
Know before you go.
Visitor times
Mon from 11am; Tue–Fri and Sun from 9.30am; Sat afternoons
Payment
Full green fee by card when booking online
Open competitions
Men’s playing handicap limit 28
Hire
Buggies £40 a round; trolleys £7; electric trolleys £18
Maintenance week
19–23 October 2026, members only
Make the trip work.
Ladybank’s summer pricing runs from 16 May to 18 October, so a round before mid-May or after 25 October costs £95 rather than £145. The week of 19 to 23 October 2026 is greens maintenance week and closed to visitors. The day ticket at £215 is the better buy if you plan to go round twice; the pines give enough shelter that a second round on a windy day is a sensible fallback when the coast is blowing hard. The club runs a 500 Year Challenge package and a full calendar of open competitions that visitors can enter. The Open returns to St Andrews in July 2027, and Ladybank already prices that fortnight separately.
Edinburgh Airport is about 40 miles away, around 45 minutes to an hour by the Queensferry Crossing, the M90 and the A91. Ladybank station is on the main line between Edinburgh, Perth and Dundee, so you can arrive by train and take a short taxi to the club. St Andrews is about 16 miles east via Cupar.
Ladybank village has only a little accommodation, and Cupar, about six miles east, has more choice with a station on the same line. Fernie Castle, a country house hotel near Letham, is a few minutes north. Many visitors simply stay in St Andrews and drive across for the morning, which is easy outside the summer rush hour.
Make a trip of it.
Lundin and Leven are about 25 minutes south, and the contrast between heath and links makes a good two-course day. Scotscraig at Tayport is around half an hour north-east. Off the course, Falkland Palace, a Stuart hunting palace with a real tennis court built in 1539 and still in use, is about ten minutes away, and the Lomond Hills above Falkland are good for an afternoon walk.
Find your season.
Winter rates run from 1 December to 31 March and may come with fairway mats, hole closures or winter greens. Spring and autumn rates sit at £95, and summer pricing runs from mid-May to mid-October. Inland and tree-lined, Ladybank is often more sheltered than the coastal courses on windy days. Check the open competitions calendar if you want a particular date, as competition days can reduce visitor slots.
Summer 2026, from 16 May to 18 October, is £145 a round or £215 for the day. The autumn rate to 30 November and the spring rate from 1 April to 15 May are both £95; last winter’s rate was £60. Juniors pay £20, and summer twilight after 3.30pm is £95.
When can visitors play Ladybank?
Monday from 11am, Tuesday to Friday and Sunday from 9.30am, and on Saturday afternoons only. Book online with full payment, or email bookings@ladybankgolf.co.uk for group rounds.
Has Ladybank hosted Open qualifying?
Yes. It hosted final qualifying for The Open in 1978, 1984, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010, and it has more recently hosted qualifying for The Senior Open.
Is Ladybank a links course?
No. It is heathland, with fairways lined by pine, silver birch and heather, about 16 miles inland from St Andrews. That makes it a useful change of pace on a links trip, and it can be the more sheltered round when the coast is windy.
Last checked 11 November 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.
