Golf's most scenic 19th hole in St. Andrews just got better at the Old Course Hotel's new rooftop terrace

I was at the Old Course Hotel in St. Andrews for two nights back in April, where I enjoyed a Road Hole view from my guest room and soaked in the views from the Road Hole Bar and Grill with their recently-added floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the course and town.

But I also got a sneak peak of a new deck they were planning on opening this summer. When I saw it, it was little more than a little deck to maybe store some patio furniture or for employees to take a smoke/cell phone break.

But any hotel manager is going to look at that space and think they’re missing out on a serious opportunity to create another source of revenue and customer satisfaction. And Debbie Taylor, Managing Director at the hotel, has wasted little time. The new terrace at the Old Course Hotel is now open and certainly worth a stop for any golfer in search of a most pleasurable vantage point of the Old Course and perhaps St. Andrews’ best whisky list - featuring blends from every distillery in Scotland.

The terrace is especially unique because while there are a handful of pubs and restaurants that overlook the Old Course , this is the only one I can think of that is both outside and elevated as much as it is.

And from here, you can especially get an idea for how the Old Course was originally intended to play in a reverse, clockwise direction in the 19th century. You can see some bunkers that appear pretty irrelevant with how the course is played today, like two well behind the 16th green and well left of the 2nd green, which are only going to get action on really, really windy days (or from absolute hacks). Below is a photo I took from the terrace before it opened on a beautiful spring morning in St. Andrews, to give you an idea of what your view is from here.

And click here for our latest feature on the Old Course Hotel in St. Andrews, which along with the Duke’s Course just keeps getting better and better.

The view from the newly-opened terrace at the Old Course Hotel in St. Andrews.

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