St Andrews is the place to be in the third week of July as the Open Championship celebrates 150 years in style.

Stewart Cink triumphed at Turnberry last year
A classy field will include defending champion Stewart Cink, world numbers one Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, while Lee Westwood, US Open champ Graeme McDowell and the precociously talented Rory McIlroy will head up the European charge.
Former greats of the game will be there in abundance too at Wednesday’s Champions Challenge. The event will see 28 of the 32 surviving winners of the Open shooting it out over four holes, with participants including Tiger Woods, Tom Watson and Sir Nick Faldo.
The glitz and glamour is all a far cry from the first ever Open held at Prestwick Golf Club on October 17, 1860, when Willie Park Sr triumphed over a field of eight to take home the Champions Belt.
Back then there was no prize money (a fund of £10 was introduced in 1862). This year the champion will be pocketing £750,000 from a prize fund of £4.55million.
But despite the obvious riches on offer, the greatest reward for the champion will be triumphing at the game’s spiritual home itself. There’s nowhere quite like St Andrews - a course described by Tiger Woods as his “favourite in the world” and that Jack Nicklaus says no other course comes “even remotely close to”.

The Old Course at St Andrews has a very special charm
Lorrin Golf is offering a host of great packages to let you get the very best out of the championship. We’ll arrange for everything from accommodation to event tickets, travel, hospitality and even rounds of golf to put into practice what you pick up from the pros.
At just 13 miles from St Andrews, Dundee is an ideal base from which to visit the Open. Lorrin Golf offers packages from the city’s West Park, a lovely Victorian mansion in the west end (about 1.5miles from the train station). Packages priced from £483 include hotel, championship season tickets and a choice of either GolfLink rail tickets or season parking ticket if you prefer to travel by car.
In Edinburgh the four-star Barcelo Carlton is ideally located just a couple of minutes walk from Waverley Train Station. Packages here start at £650 and include hotel, breakfast, championship season ticket and GolfLink ticket.
The hotel’s central location also makes it the perfect spot to enjoy Edinburgh from, while a fully equipped health and leisure centre with pool, gym, steam room, sauna and beauty treatments ensures a relaxing stay.
If it’s the full five-star experience you’re after then why not visit the Open from the comfort of Britain’s No. 1 golf resort, Gleneagles. The luxury Perthshire retreat is about an hour’s drive from St Andrews and Lorrin Golf offers some great packages with both B&B and Dinner, Bed and Breakfast from £1160.

Gleneagles is a golfer's paradise
As well as event tickets Lorrin Golf can arrange for you to enjoy rounds on any of the resort’s stunning courses from the legendary King’s and Queen’s to the 2014 Ryder Cup venue, PGA.
You can enjoy golf by day and eat at the renowned Andrew Fairlie restaurant at night, seen as the top dining experience in Scotland.
Transfers to and from the Open can be arranged or, if you prefer to hire a car, we’ll sort out parking for you.
With Wednesday’s Champions Challenge sure to be a highlight of the week, there’s no better way to enjoy it than with a table at the Sportsmans Dinner.
This gourmet experience starts with a champagne reception at the St Andrews Links Restaurant immediately following the Challenge before moving on to four courses of gourmet cuisine with fine wines and a full bar. Two-time major champion and Ryder Cup legend Tony Jacklin will be the guest speaker.
Tickets, priced £299, cover your entry to the Wednesday practice day, access to the Challenge, the meal and a commemorative gift.

The golf academies offer first-class instruction
But it’s not just the Open that Lorrin Golf has going on at St Andrews this year. Throughout July we’re running our Junior Golf Camps in conjunction with the Fairmont St Andrews and the teaching team at St Andrews Links Golf Academy.
At the camps, kids from around the world enjoy daily instruction with state-of-the-art technology, rounds on top St Andrews courses, week-ending tournaments and evening entertainment.
Places have filled up fast this year, but there’s still some space for the first and last weeks in July.
Adults are catered for too with Lorrin Golf’s weekend St Andrews Academies. Taking place throughout August, you get five-star accommodation at the Fairmont St Andrews, walk-on access to the two Fairmont courses and instruction from the St Andrews Links Academy.
Like we said, St Andrews is the place to be this summer.