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Official photo of Kingsbarns Golf Links 2nd hole and coastline, taken by Iain Lowe at Iain Lowe Photography, Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

Golf · DP World Tour pro-am championship · St Andrews

Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

Expected · Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns

A four-day pro-am across St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns, and the largest gathering of amateur golfers with professionals anywhere.

An event page tells you when it happens (with how sure we are of the date), why it matters, how the week around it feels, when to arrive and leave, where people stay, how access works, and which events come before and after it on the circuit.

Dates ExpectedThe organizer has published no 2027 dates. The championship's pattern is a Thursday-to-Sunday tournament at the turn of the month, which in 2027 gives 30 September to 3 October. The 2027 edition also follows within a fortnight of the Ryder Cup at Adare Manor, which may affect the professional field.
DestinationSt Andrews, United Kingdom · Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie Championship Course and Kingsbarns Golf Links
CategoryGolf · DP World Tour pro-am championship
Importance64 Notable · Circuit Score, editorial and provisional
International drawInternational
AccessTicketed
Typical stay4-6 nights
Best arrivalWednesday of tournament week
Best departurethe Monday after the final round
Typical timingfour rounds from Thursday to Sunday at the turn of September into October, with one round on each of three links courses and the final round at St Andrews
OrganizerIMG, on the DP World Tour · since 2001
Official sitewww.alfreddunhilllinks.com/ ↗
CalendarAdd to calendar (ICS) · Plan a trip around it
The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, Alfred Dunhill Links Championship St-andrews drive image, Alfred Dunhill Links Championship R&A Clubhouse, St, Alfred Dunhill Links Championship The famous Swilcan Bridge on the Old Course at St, Alfred Dunhill Links Championship The Old Course, St Andrews, Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

The Alfred Dunhill Links is a DP World Tour event with an unusual shape. Each professional is paired with an amateur partner for the whole week, and the field plays one round on each of three links courses in Fife and Angus, the Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns, before a cut takes the leading professionals and teams back to St Andrews for the final round. Two competitions run at once, an individual tournament for a purse of USD 5,000,000 and a team competition scored on better ball.

The amateur field is why the week has a life beyond golf: IMG assembles several hundred amateur players from business, sport and entertainment, making this one of the largest corporate gatherings in the golf calendar. For a spectator the appeal is simple: three of the best links courses in the world, walkable on consecutive days, with a fraction of an Open's crowds. Autumn weather on this coast is the price.

01Why it matters

The Dunhill Links closes the Scottish golf year and is the last significant week of the northern European season before the tour moves south and east. In our reading it is the most enjoyable tournament in Britain to attend as an ordinary spectator, precisely because it takes itself less seriously than the championships around it.

02The week around it

Early October is the end of the Scottish golf season and St Andrews is between its summer visitors and its university term at full strength.

The tournament's social programme is substantial and largely private, built around the amateur field's dinners and receptions, and it is not publicly reported in detail.

03When to arrive

Arrive Wednesday and stay to Sunday.

04Where to stay

St Andrews is the natural base and has a small stock of hotels plus a large amount of holiday letting; the town is walkable and the Old Course is at the end of the main street.

05Access and hospitality

The organizer publishes ticket information on the championship's own site each year, and spectator admission has been priced far below major-championship levels, which is part of the event's character; the tickets page could not be read in this pass and current terms should be checked.

06Where the social activity happens

The public places are the town of St Andrews itself, which is the tournament's real venue: the Jigger Inn beside the 17th, the bars and restaurants along Market Street and South Street, the Dunvegan, and the clubhouse terraces overlooking the 18th.

07Getting there

Commercial aviationEdinburgh is about an hour and twenty minutes by road; Dundee has limited service and is twenty minutes from St Andrews.
RailLeuchars, five miles from St Andrews, is on the east coast main line; Carnoustie has its own station on the same line.
CarA car is close to essential if you intend to follow all three courses: Carnoustie is forty-five minutes from St Andrews and Kingsbarns fifteen the other way.
Private aviationDundee is the closest field to St Andrews; Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow handle larger aircraft.
HelicopterCharter operates across the region and transfers between the three courses are used by some of the amateur field; there is no public landing.
MarinasAnstruther, Crail and Arbroath offer small-harbour berthing, though none is a practical arrival route.

08Practicalities

DressAutumn links clothing, and more of it than you think: waterproofs, warm layers, hat and gloves are all reasonable by early October on the Angus coast.
WeatherEarly October in Fife and Angus typically brings daily highs of 13 to 15C, about 55 to 59F, with lows near 7C, frequent rain and a persistent North Sea wind.
Getting aroundDrive if you plan to follow the tournament between courses; take the train if you intend to stay at St Andrews.
HotelsSt Andrews has a small hotel market that fills for the week and prices accordingly, and holiday lets are contracted from the previous season.
RestaurantsSt Andrews's better restaurants book out for tournament week and take reservations a month or more ahead; the pubs absorb the rest.
Reservation timingSpectator tickets are available late. Accommodation in St Andrews should be fixed six to nine months out, and any visiting golf on the three tournament courses a full year ahead.
TicketsSold by the organizer through the championship site, with tickets covering the courses in play on the day and the option of choosing which of the three links to walk on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
HospitalityThe organizer sells official hospitality as course-side pavilions and clubhouse packages, principally at St Andrews and Carnoustie.

09History

The Alfred Dunhill Cup, a match-play competition between three-man national teams, was played at St Andrews from 1985 to 2000 and was for years the town's second-biggest golf week after an Open.

10Who is there

A mixed crowd of Scottish golf followers, visiting golf travellers finishing their season, the amateur field's own guests drawn from business, sport and entertainment, and the DP World Tour's sponsors.

What else is happening

Overlap finder →

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Part of: Golf Majors Circuit

Dates on record

EditionDatesStatusSourceVerified
2027 ExpectedThe organizer has published no 2027 dates. The championship's pattern is a Thursday-to-Sunday tournament at the turn of the month, which in 2027 gives 30 September to 3 October. The 2027 edition also follows within a fortnight of the Ryder Cup at Adare Manor, which may affect the professional field. Alfred Dunhill Links Championship - official site ↗ 6 September 2026
2026 ConfirmedThe organizer's own site gives 1 to 4 October 2026 and describes the edition as the championship's 25th anniversary. Rounds are played across the Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns, with the final round at St Andrews after a 54-hole cut. As of today's date the edition has not yet taken place. Alfred Dunhill Links Championship - official site ↗ 6 September 2026
Confirmed means the organizer or governing body has published the dates. Expected and Historical pattern are estimates from the event’s usual timing and can move. Date pending means nothing reliable can be said yet.

Related events

Ryder cup and Ryder Cup Tartan rotating Ryder Cup Sep 17–19, 2027 The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, The Open Championship rotating The Open Championship Jul 15–18, 2027 The 2022 Scottish Open PGA Tour tournament held at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland, Genesis Scottish Open North Berwick Genesis Scottish Open Jul 8–11, 2027 Dubai DP World Tour Championship, Dubai Nov 12–15

In the press

All news →

Sources

  1. Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Wikipedia encyclopedia accessed 6 September 2026
  2. Alfred Dunhill Links Championship - official site, IMG / Alfred Dunhill Links Championship official accessed 6 September 2026
Last verified: 10 September 2026 · Confidence: MediumReport an error on this page