Why toasties, not tee times, have become all the current rage in St Andrews

It’s been that silver lining in those lockdown life clouds. As a Fife resident, the opportunity to make the occasional trip to St Andrews to break up the monotony of daily exercise on the doorstep, enjoyable as though that may be, has been grabbed.

Normally a hive of activity, even on a Sunday when the Old Course is closed, the area around the R&A Clubhouse in St Andrews lies eerily quiet on Sunday due to Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

A couple of times, the trip has been made for a game of golf but, on the other occasions, it has simply been for a stroll through the Auld Grey Toun with my good lady, who, as you might expect, always enjoys returning to her birthplace.

Soon after we arrived on a visit early in December, it didn’t get my full attention, unfortunately, due to news having just broken about Peter Alliss passing away, but a return trip on Sunday was uninterrupted.

The sun was out, the temperature was nudging double figures and, as has become a custom of ours, we parked down near the Links Trust clubhouse and West Sands.

That started, really, when I stood listening to Christy O’Connor jnr one day - I think it must have been during the 1990 Open Championship - and he mentioned that St Andrews was the only venue where he never used courtesy cars.

The Irishman preferred strolling through the town, soaking up its atmosphere and enjoying the sights, and, for me, too, there are few greater pleasures in life.

I’ll let you into a secret, in fact. During the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, I’ve often stretched my legs up in the town rather than out on the links. Yes, I know that’s probably wrong, but it’s true.

This particular stroll through the town was extremely enjoyable but, at the same time, a stark reminder that the St Andrews most people know and love is not that St Andrews at the moment due to the Covid-19 restrictions.

Market Street and South Street, normally a buzz of activity, were almost deserted apart from the people in queues outside coffee shops and takeaway food outlets.

On the walk from the centre of the town, it felt almost eerie to see places like Greyfriars Inn, Ardgowan Hotel, Dunvegan Hotel, the Golf Inn and Hams Hame all lying closed, as has been the case for some time now.

It’s the same story with the likes of Auchterlonies, St Andrews Golf Co, the Old Course Shop operated by the Links Trust and the R&A Shop. Tills in those places are being heavily hit, too, due to doors currently being shut as non-essential businesses.

As it was a Sunday, there was no-one out playing on the Old Course but, normally, that paves the way for non-golfers to wander out onto the hallowed turf for photographs, either with the iconic R&A Clubhouse in the background or down on the Swilken Bridge.

Not at the moment, though, and that, of course, is an illustration of the fact that everyone currently visiting in St Andrews has been there and done it, numerous times over in many cases, but, at the same time, certainly don’t take it for granted.

As we took a stroll down to the 17th tee, I couldn’t help myself thinking about how fortunate people are to get that opportunity when, for example, the closest Joe Bloggs can ever get to Augusta National is a view of the main gate from Washington Road.

It gives you goosebumps standing on the Road Hole and 18th thinking about all the great champions who have made that special walk and, of course, an opportunity for someone else to experience one of the best feelings in the game is looming on the horizon.

In preparation for the 150th Open Championship, which had been due for July but has been pushed back 12 months due to the coronavirus pandemic, lots of building work is currently taking place.

The Old Course Hotel is swathed in scaffolding at both ends as major renovation work is carried out on Herb Kohler’s prized property while a sizable extension to the Rusacks Hotel is also taking shape, though the verdict on that is likely to be mixed.

By summer 2022, the world will hopefully be back to near normality and the Old Course will welcome its traditional bumper attendance for the Claret Jug event, but, for now, it seems St Andrews has become more popular for toasties than tee times.

The Cheesy Toast Shack is located at the St Andrews Sailing Club at the East Sands and a socially-distanced constant queue of people - I can now recommend the popular mac and cheese one - confirmed it has become a centre of attention while the rest of the place resembles a ghost town.

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