History · ST ANDREWS · THE OLD COURSE · 1764

In 1764, golf lost four holes.

Golf's 18-hole round comes from the Old Course at St Andrews, which was played out and back over the same holes: 22 a round. In October 1764 the Society of St Andrews Golfers merged its first four holes into two, and the round became 18.

The one to remember

18 holes since 1764.

Facts and sources

  • Before 1764 the Old Course at St Andrews ran out along the coast and back, and the same holes were used going out and coming in: 11 holes out and 11 back, 22 a round.
  • On 4 October 1764 the Society of St Andrews Golfers (the Royal and Ancient Golf Club from 1834) minuted that "the four first holes should be converted into two".
  • Because those holes were played on the way out and again on the way back, the change took four holes off the round: 22 became 18.
  • The club's rules of 1858 say: "One round of the links, or eighteen holes, is reckoned a match, unless otherwise stipulated."

Illustration: the links, the hole spacing, the shared greens with a gold flag for the way out and a white one for the way back, and the two routes are drawn to explain the out-and-back round, not surveyed (in 1764 each green had a single hole, used both ways).

Sources

  1. 18 Hole Round · Scottish Golf History checked 11 October 2026
  2. St. Andrews: 250 Years Ago Today, Golf Became 18-Holes · Geoff Shackelford (3 October 2014), quoting an R&A story checked 11 October 2026
  3. St Andrews Links (GDL00344), Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes · Historic Environment Scotland checked 11 October 2026
  4. Rules for the Game of Golf as it is played by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews over their links, May 1858 · Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (text at ruleshistory.com) checked 11 October 2026

The narration is AI-generated. Sources last checked 11 October 2026.

Script

In 1764, golf lost four holes. The Old Course at St Andrews ran out along the coast and back, on one strip of links. The same greens served both ways: 11 holes out, 11 back. 22 in a round. The first four holes were short. In October 1764, the Society of St Andrews Golfers merged them into two. Played out and back, that took four holes off every round. By 1858, the rules spelled it out: one round of the links, eighteen holes. Follow Fact Caddie for more.