The St Andrews Ladies' Putting Club -

The St Andrews Ladies’ Putting Club is a short golf blog post that looks at one of the oldest traditions in town, which is often overlooked.

Most visitors to St Andrews will know this putting club by its more commonly known nickname ‘The Himalayas’

The putting green has been played on since 1867 after it was built by Old Tom Morris for the Ladies of St Andrews.

It was originally played as a miniature 9 Hole links with a ‘Cleek’ and a ‘Putter’.

The Ladies took a further patch of land and built, on the other side of the ‘Fishermans Path’ or “Jordan’.

This made it possible to extend the course into an 18-hole course and eventually just putters were used.

The first Ladies Competition was held in 1867 where they played for the ‘Gold Locket’ for 1st prize.

For the runner-up, a ‘Silver Pebble Brooch’ was presented.

This tournament is still played today and unbelievably, the exact same awards are presented to 1st & 2nd place.

On tournament days the Ladies would erect a tent for refreshments before and after play.

Unfortunately, this often had a tendency to blow away in the wind.

It took until 1898 before a basic metal hut was built

Finally, in 1999 the existing clubhouse was built after the old hut had, again, blown down.

By 1900 the membership was doing well. They had 400 Ladies and 200 Gentlemen (Social members)

At present, they have 200 Lady Members of the club.

Current legislation does not allow social members.

The club competitions are played for between April and September each year and the prizes are still presented.

The winners, sadly, are not allowed to take these prizes home.

Since the club declined into financial ruin, the putting green was opened to the public in 1920.

If you wish to play ‘The Himalayas’ you can book a tee time here

Prices for 2024 are 4 pounds per round for adults and 2 pounds for children under 16 years.

Have you played the Himalayas before? If so, What did you score?

What are your thoughts on The St Andrews Ladies’ Putting Club?

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