St. Andrews raises cost of local season pass, but residents still get the best deal in golf

I’ve never doubted my chosen institution of higher learning more seriously than one late night last fall in St. Andrews.

I was at One-o-One, a take-out joint in town that serves up late-night pizza and just about anything you can throw in a deep fryer.

It was there I met a college kid from Philly, studying abroad for the year at the University. I told him why I was in town, and he told me about the greatest deal I’ve ever heard in the world of golf:

“Dude I pay like 100 quid and can play all the golf I want here,” which of course includes the Old Course and five (and as of this summer six) other city-owned links.

“So you’re telling me you can golf all you want on the Old, and live in this awesome town filled with sexy, international co-eds who sport more plaid skirts and knee-highs than Britney’s …Baby one more time video?”

“Sweet, huh?” he smiled, got his pizza and headed home. He’s probably played the Old Course 30 times.

I went to school at Indiana University. It had its share of babes too, but the golf was unremarkable. The university course is the worst college course I’ve ever played (You felt jipped even paying the $15 student rate). Yet live in St. Andrews or simply go to school for the year and you can play all the golf you want for the cost of an 80 GB IPod.

Which is why I, along with any touring golfer who pays £125 ($250) to play the Old Course shouldn’t have much sympathy for some disgruntled residents upset that the Links Trust raised the local season fee from £135 to £165 for this season. The Links Trust says its largely in part to the fact they’re opening up a brand new course, the Castle Course this year.

Of course, some locals feel slighted. “When will the hikes end?” they ponder.

The Links Trust says the season pass is a tremendous value, and they’re right.

The squabble reminds me of a previous job when I worked on a cruise ship, and the crew became outraged when HQ raised the cost of a bottle of Corona in the crew bar a quarter to $1 - when the passengers in the decks above were paying $4.75 for the exact same beer.

It can seem unfair at first, but sometimes you need to take a step back and acknowledge that you’re still a very privileged individual.