Ranked · updated 2026

The Best Old Tom Morris Era Links You Can Still Play

Q: Which Old Tom Morris courses can you still play today?

Most of them, and that is the joy of his legacy. Old Tom Morris laid out or remodelled around 75 courses across Britain and Ireland, and the great majority remain in play. The most accessible to visitors include Royal Dornoch, Lahinch, Prestwick, Cruden Bay, Machrihanish, Nairn and Crail Balcomie, all of which take visitor bookings. The Old Course at St Andrews, which he shaped as keeper of the green, is open by daily ballot and advance application. Royal County Down and Muirfield admit visitors on a more limited basis. Always confirm visitor access and tee times directly before booking.

Old Tom Morris shaped the look of links golf as we know it, laying out or remodelling some 75 courses across Britain and Ireland in the late 1800s. Most still stand, and most still take visitors. These are the ten we rank highest, the ones where his routing, his instinct for natural ground and his greens remain the heart of the round. Our verdicts, plus how to play each one.

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By the GolfForKings editorial desk · How we rank · Last reviewed June 2026

Photograph: Royal Dornoch Golf Club, kevin heggie, via Google

Why these courses, and how we ranked them

Thomas Mitchell Morris, born in St Andrews in 1821, was a greenkeeper, clubmaker, four time Open champion and, above all, the first great course architect. Travelling by train and trap, often for a fee of a few pounds and two days on site, he laid out the bones of courses from Kintyre to County Down, working with the land rather than against it. The fairways followed the dunes, the greens sat where the ground gave them, and the hazards were the ones already there. That instinct still defines great links design.

Our ranking weighs three things: how much of Old Tom's original work survives in the course played today, the sheer quality of the golf, and whether a visiting golfer can actually get on. A course locked to members, however historic, ranks below one that welcomes you. Designers, founding dates and Open records below were verified by web search in June 2026. Always confirm visitor access and current fees directly before booking.

The ten best Old Tom Morris era links to play

The Old Course at St Andrews

Shaped by Old Tom from 1865 · Fife · par 72

The truest surviving expression of his hand. As keeper of the green at St Andrews from 1865, Old Tom widened the celebrated double greens, separated the outward and homeward holes, and built the present 18th green that now carries his name. Thirty Opens have been played here, more than anywhere on earth. You play it by daily ballot or advance application, never simply on demand, and a confirmed time is the real prize. No other round in golf carries this much history under your feet.

Plan a St Andrews trip · Scotland green fees

Royal County Down

Old Tom Morris, 1889 to 1890 · Newcastle, Northern Ireland

Old Tom was paid a sum not to exceed four pounds to travel from St Andrews and lay out the links beneath the Mountains of Mourne in 1889. A nine opened that March, and a full eighteen by July 1890. His routing gave County Down its blind drives over gorse covered dunes, its tumbling fairways and its heather fringed bunkers, and Harry Colt refined it later. Routinely rated among the very best courses in the world, it is as dramatic a links as exists. Visitor access is limited, so book well ahead. Indicative 2026 visitor green fee around 450 pounds; always confirm directly before booking.

Plan a Northern Ireland trip · Causeway Coast golf

Royal Dornoch, Championship

Old Tom Morris, 1886 · Highlands

Golf had been played at Dornoch for centuries, but Old Tom was commissioned to lay out a formal eighteen in 1886, using the natural terraces of gorse and sandy turf above the Dornoch Firth. The raised, crowned greens and the procession of holes along the shore make it the benchmark for traditional links, far up the Highland coast and worth every mile. A bucket list round that, unlike some on this list, genuinely welcomes visitors. Indicative 2026 green fee around 360 pounds; always confirm directly before booking.

Plan a Highlands trip · How to play Royal Dornoch

Lahinch, Old Course

Old Tom Morris, 1894 · County Clare

The St Andrews of Ireland, crafted by Old Tom on the wild Atlantic dunes of County Clare in 1894. It holds two of his most daring inventions, the blind Klondyke and the famous Dell, holes that would never be built today and are all the better for it. Alister MacKenzie reshaped much of the course in the 1920s, but the spirit and the quirk are pure Old Tom. A joyous, characterful links and the anchor of any southwest Ireland trip. Indicative 2026 green fee around 290 pounds; always confirm directly before booking.

Plan a southwest Ireland trip · Golf in southwest Ireland

Prestwick

Old Tom Morris, from 1851 · Ayrshire

The birthplace of the Open and the course where Old Tom built his reputation. After leaving St Andrews in 1851 he laid out the links for the new Prestwick Golf Club, and six of his original greens are still in play. Prestwick hosted the first Open in 1860 and 24 in all, second only to St Andrews. The blind shots, the vast Cardinal bunker and the cavernous Himalayas make it a glorious, eccentric throwback. Visitors are welcome on set days. Indicative 2026 green fee around 295 pounds; always confirm directly before booking.

Plan an Ayrshire trip · Best courses in Ayrshire

Muirfield

Old Tom Morris, 1891, later Harry Colt · East Lothian

The home of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers owes its original layout and routing to Old Tom, who set out the course in 1891 on the East Lothian coast. Harry Colt later gave it the celebrated two loop design that turns the wind against you on every hole, but it was Old Tom who first put Muirfield on the map. A sixteen time Open venue and one of the fairest tests in golf. Visitor access is restricted to set days, so plan ahead. Indicative 2026 visitor green fee around 395 pounds; always confirm directly before booking.

Plan an East Lothian trip · Golf in Scotland

Cruden Bay

Old Tom Morris and Archie Simpson, 1899 · Aberdeenshire

A wild, joyous links on the northeast coast, originally laid out by Old Tom Morris with Archie Simpson and opened in 1899. The towering dunes, hidden greens and blind shots give it a cult following among connoisseurs who prize fun over fairness. It is the kind of course modern committees would never dare build, and golfers adore it for exactly that. Welcoming to visitors and a perfect foil to nearby Trump International. Indicative 2026 green fee around 185 pounds; always confirm directly before booking.

Plan an Aberdeenshire trip · Golf in Scotland

Machrihanish

Old Tom Morris, 1879 · Kintyre

Remote, romantic and worth the journey to the tip of the Kintyre peninsula. Old Tom extended the links from twelve holes to eighteen in 1879 and in doing so created what many call the greatest opening hole in golf, a drive that dares you to carry as much of the curving beach as your nerve allows. Pure, natural links golf far from the crowds, and a pilgrimage for those who chase the game's roots. Visitors warmly welcomed. Indicative 2026 green fee around 110 pounds; always confirm directly before booking.

Plan a Kintyre trip · Golf in Scotland

Nairn

Old Tom Morris, 1890, later Braid · Highlands

A polished Highland links on the Moray Firth, where Old Tom revised the earlier layout in 1890, extending the course west along the shore; James Braid later added his touch. Famous for greens of exceptional quality and a front nine that hugs the beach, Nairn has hosted the Walker Cup and the Curtis Cup and rewards precise, thoughtful golf. Sunny by Scottish standards and very welcoming to visitors, it pairs beautifully with Royal Dornoch and Castle Stuart. Indicative 2026 green fee around 195 pounds; always confirm directly before booking.

Plan a Highlands trip · Golf in Scotland

Crail Golfing Society, Balcomie Links

Old Tom Morris, 1895 · Fife

The seventh oldest golf club in the world, on a spit of Fife coast east of St Andrews. Old Tom formally laid out the Balcomie Links in 1895, declaring there was none better in Scotland, and the short, sea hugging course remains a pure delight, with the firth in view from nearly every hole. Friendly, affordable and a short drive from St Andrews, it is the ideal counterpoint to the marquee names and one of the best value rounds in Fife. Visitors welcome. Indicative 2026 green fee around 110 pounds; always confirm directly before booking.

Plan a Fife trip · Golf in Scotland

Designers, founding dates and Open records verified June 2026 from club histories and ranking listings. Indicative green fees are peak season and move with the calendar, so always confirm visitor access and current rates directly before booking. Check tee time availability.

Just outside the ten

The list could run far longer. Tain, in the Highlands, was laid out entirely by Old Tom in 1890 and is a hidden gem on the Dornoch run. Rosapenna in Donegal, where he set out the original Old Tom Morris Links after visiting in 1891, remains a wonderful base on the Irish northwest. North Berwick's West Links bears his influence, and Carnoustie owes its early shaping to him before later hands lengthened it into golf's greatest test. A heritage trip can string several of these together in a single week.

If you want to walk in his footsteps properly, base yourself in two regions. Fife gives you the Old Course and Crail within half an hour of each other. The Highlands link Royal Dornoch, Tain and Nairn along one stretch of coast. Add Ayrshire for Prestwick, or cross to Ireland for Lahinch and Royal County Down, and you have the finest themed golf trip in the game.

Plan an Old Tom Morris golf trip

We secure the tee times that are hardest to get, including the Old Course ballot and limited access clubs, and build the rest of the week around his more welcoming links. Tell us roughly when and who is travelling, and one concierge costs it to the head, with no obligation.

Old Tom Morris course questions

Which Old Tom Morris courses can you still play today?

Most of them, and that is the joy of his legacy. Old Tom laid out or remodelled around 75 courses across Britain and Ireland, and the great majority remain in play. The most accessible to visitors include Royal Dornoch, Lahinch, Prestwick, Cruden Bay, Machrihanish, Nairn and Crail Balcomie, all of which take visitor bookings. The Old Course at St Andrews, which he shaped as keeper of the green, is open by daily ballot and advance application. Royal County Down and Muirfield admit visitors on a more limited basis. Always confirm visitor access and tee times directly before booking.

Did Old Tom Morris design the Old Course at St Andrews?

He did not lay it out from nothing, but he shaped it more than any other person. As keeper of the green at St Andrews from 1865, Old Tom widened the famous double greens, separated the outward and homeward holes, built the present 18th green, now named after him, and oversaw the course as it took the form played today. The Old Course is the truest surviving expression of his hand on golf.

How many courses did Old Tom Morris design?

He is credited with laying out or remodelling roughly 75 courses across Britain and Ireland during his career, often for a modest fee and a couple of days on site. Many were later revised by Harry Colt, James Braid and others, so the courses we play are layered works, but the original routing and the instinct for using natural ground are his. Royal County Down, for example, was laid out by Old Tom in 1889 to 1890 and refined by Colt decades later.

Can you play several Old Tom Morris courses on one trip?

Yes, and it makes one of the finest themed golf trips in the world. Fife pairs the Old Course at St Andrews with Crail Balcomie within a short drive. The Highlands link Royal Dornoch, Tain and Nairn. The west coast joins Prestwick and Machrihanish, and a trip to Ireland can take in Lahinch and Royal County Down. We build Old Tom Morris itineraries around the tee times that are hardest to secure and fill the week with his more accessible links.

The Tee Sheet

The historic courses worth the journey, the booking windows and the value rounds. Every other week.

Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course histories and indicative fees verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.