For those who arrive at the birthplace of golf on a sunny Sunday morning like today, the rules of play are simple. You can pretty much do anything you want on the historic grounds of the Old Course, as long as it does not involve actually hitting a drive or taking a putt!
Historians trace the Old Course’s Sunday closure to religious laws dating at least to the 16th century, when some residents of St Andrews were cited in town criminal logs for playing on the Sabbath. It was not until 1941 that the other courses in the town of St Andrews were opened for play on Sundays
Sunday activities on the Old Course have apparently ranged from laundry being hung out to dry, to fishermen spreading their nets on the fairways so they could easily be mended! One thing is for sure though, on all but the very odd occasion, you won’t see a golf ball struck over the links of St Andrews on any regular Sunday!
