When to Begin Planning Your Golf Trip to Scotland

Q: Can I plan a Scotland golf trip on short notice?

It’s possible, but your course options will be limited. The marquee venues in St. Andrews, East Lothian, and Ayrshire often sell out well in advance. Regions like The Highlands and Aberdeen offer more last-minute flexibility. If you’re open to lesser known courses and shoulder-season travel, a quality itinerary can still come together with less lead time.

Q: What golf courses in Scotland are the hardest to book?

The Old Course at St. Andrews and Muirfield consistently top the list. Both have extremely limited visitor access and intense global demand. North Berwick, Royal Troon, and Carnoustie also require early planning. The common factor is that many of the marquee courses in Scotland are private clubs that open only a small portion of their tee sheets to visitors each year.

A Region-by-Region Planning Timeline for Scotland’s Best Golf

Daniel Jones

April 23, 2026

7 Minute Read

The planning timeline for a Scotland golf trip depends almost entirely on where you want to play. A trip built around The Old Course at St. Andrews or Muirfield requires a fundamentally different runway than one focused on The Highlands or Aberdeen.

The regions and courses on your wish list will dictate how far in advance you need to start. Here’s our region-by-region guide to when the planning clock should start ticking.

Quick-Reference Planning Timeline

St. Andrews (The Old Course, Carnoustie, Kingsbarns)

18–24 months in advance
Edinburgh & East Lothian (Muirfield, North Berwick, Gullane)

18–24 months in advance
Ayrshire (Turnberry, Royal Troon, Prestwick)

12–15 months in advance
The Highlands (Royal Dornoch, Cabot Highlands, Nairn

9–12 months in advance
Aberdeen (Cruden Bay, Royal Aberdeen, Trump International)

9–12 months in advance

St. Andrews & The Old Course

If The Old Course at St. Andrews is on your list, the planning timeline starts earlier than most people expect.

Demand for guaranteed Old Course at St. Andrews tee times has reached a point where, by January 1st of the year prior to a trip, most if not all of Haversham & Baker’s allocation is fully committed.

That means the real window for securing your spot opens 18 to 24 months before you intend to travel. If you’re hoping to play The Old Course in 2028, the conversation with your Expedition Planning Manager should be well underway by late 2026.

And if you’re reading this with your sights set on 2027, the honest answer is that you’re likely already too late for a guaranteed tee time. The 2027 Open Championship returning to St. Andrews will further compress availability across the entire region that year. For most golfers, 2028 is the realistic target.

Carnoustie opens its tee sheet shortly after The Old Course allocations are sorted, and Kingsbarns follows a similar pattern.

Whether you’re planning to book a guaranteed tee time through an Authorized Provider, attempting the advance ballot, or trying your luck on the daily ballot, there really is no such thing as planning too far in advance for St. Andrews.

Begin planning 18–24 months in advance.

Golfers on The Old Course at St. Andrews on a Scotland golf trip

Muirfield & East Lothian

The experience at Muirfield is one of the single best days in all of golf. It also happens to be one of the toughest tickets in Scotland.

Muirfield operates on an application basis for visitor tee times. Each year, typically in February or March, a brief application window opens for the following season. It's usually about a week long.

The number of applications far outstrips the number of available tee times, and even experienced golf travel companies don't secure every group they submit. Once that window closes, the club is effectively fully booked for the year.

That means the planning clock starts well before the application opens. Your group, your dates, and your travel company need to be in place months ahead of time so that the application can be submitted the moment the window opens.

If you're hoping to play Muirfield in 2028, those details should be sorted by late 2026 at the latest. Miss the window, and you're likely waiting until the following year.

Once that coveted tee time at Muirfield is secured, the rest of the trip can be built around it. That said, North Berwick deserves its own sense of urgency. The West Links has climbed onto just as many must-play lists in recent years, and its tee sheet has recently been opening in early April of the year prior.

Everyone else who has secured Muirfield around your dates will be looking to book North Berwick at the same time. When that tee sheet opens, be ready.

Begin planning 18–24 months in advance.

Ayrshire

There’s no shortage of outstanding golf to choose from in Ayrshire, with Turnberry, Royal Troon, Prestwick, and Western Gailes all located along the same stretch of Scottish coastline.

Out of these, Royal Troon attracts the most attention thanks to its place among the Open Championship venues. Tee times for the peak season here usually move quickly.

What's interesting about Ayrshire is the time here is often being planned around golf someplace else. If the headliners of your trip are in St. Andrews or East Lothian, don't sleep on filling out your rounds on the west coast as early as possible.

Begin planning 12–15 months in advance.

Golfers enjoy a sunny day at Turnberry on golf trip to Scotland

The Highlands

As anyone who’s visited The Highlands of Scotland will attest, the clock seems to slow down from the moment you arrive. Everything runs at a more relaxed pace in the Scottish Highlands, and that even applies to the timeline for planning your trip.

As one of the highest-ranked courses in the world, Royal Dornoch is where you’ll want to begin your planning. From there, the pair of courses at Cabot Highlands, Nairn, and Brora Golf Club can fill in the remaining slots. The Highlands is also home to a great collection of lesser known courses that are worthy of your time.

That said, Royal Dornoch’s growing global reputation means peak-season tee times are tightening. What was once a region you could book comfortably at short notice now rewards those who plan a bit further ahead.

But there’s no need to pester your travel companions during the winter months. Embrace the relaxed nature of The Highlands and begin planning over post-round conversations during a spring or summer afternoon at your club.

Begin planning 9–12 months in advance.

Aberdeen

Like The Highlands, planning a golf trip to Aberdeen requires less advance notice compared to St. Andrews and East Lothian. In fact, a pairing of The Highlands and Aberdeen has become one of the preferred combinations for our Members who may have come to the planning table a bit late.

Of the headliners here, Royal Aberdeen has the most limited visitor policy, with play restricted to certain days of the week. But for many, Cruden Bay and Trump International Golf Links are the primary draws.

This region is often paired with plans already in place elsewhere around Scotland. That can limit your flexibility, so our advice is similar to that of Ayrshire: don't delay in putting those Aberdeen tee times on the books once the rest of your itinerary starts to take shape.

Begin planning 9–12 months in advance.

Golfers playing Cruden Bay on a Scotland golf trip

It's Worth the Wait

As you can see, the planning timeline for a Scotland golf trip varies widely based on the regions visited and courses played. A trip anchored by The Old Course or Muirfield requires a fundamentally different approach than one built around The Highlands or Aberdeen.

The common thread? Start earlier than you think. The demand for Scotland’s best golf continues to outpace supply, and the groups who secure the strongest itineraries are the ones who begin the conversation early.

Our Expedition Planning Managers navigate these timelines every day. They know when tee sheets open, which courses are tightening, and how to build an itinerary that fits your group’s priorities. All you have to do is tell us where you want to play.

Plan early. The golf will be worth the wait.

Frequently Asked Questions

How far in advance should I book a golf trip to Scotland?

It depends on the courses and regions in your itinerary. For marquee courses like The Old Course at St. Andrews and Muirfield, you should begin planning 18 to 24 months before your trip. Regions like The Highlands and Aberdeen are more accessible with 9 to 12 months of lead time. The earlier you start, the greater the more likely you are to secure your preferred courses, tee times, and dates.

When do Scottish golf courses release their tee times for visitors?

Timelines vary by course. Generally speaking, most courses have opened for visitor tee times by the late spring of the year prior to your trip. Authorized Providers for The Old Course at St. Andrews generally receive their allocation of tee times in March-April of the year prior to play. Muirfield accepts applications for visitor tee times around February of the preceding year. In recent years, Royal Dornoch has opened its tee sheet in mid-April. Working with an experienced travel company ensures you’re positioned to book the moment tee sheets open.

Can I plan a Scotland golf trip on short notice?

What golf courses in Scotland are the hardest to book?

Is it too late to plan a Scotland golf trip for next year?

That depends on which courses you want to play and when you're asking the question. For The Old Course at St. Andrews and Muirfield, availability for the following year is typically committed in the first quarter of the year prior to travel. For Ayrshire, The Highlands, and Aberdeen it's often possible to plan in the summer or fall of the preceding year. Inside 6-9 months of travel, your options for marquee courses are likely to be limited. The best way to find out what’s still available is to enlist the expertise of a golf travel company.