One of the most fun golf rounds I had in 2025 was playing the Old Course in St Andrews backwards.
The only downside was that it wasn’t in Scotland. It was at The Oaks in Somersworth, N.H. And at some point over the next few weeks, I’m going to get to do it again.
Allow me to explain.
Toptracer, the official driving range technology at The Home of Golf and the world’s No. 1 range technology, is giving you the opportunity to play the Old Course Reversed now through May 17.
And if you have the game, you might just win a tee time for two to do it for real.
In Scotland.
At the real Old Course.
Reversed.
Toptracer and the Old Course Reversed
For the second straight year, Toptracer is holding an Old Course Reversed competition. Now through May 17, you can visit any one of the 1,250 Toptracer-equipped driving ranges in the world (including the one at St Andrews) and play The Old Course backwards, the way it was originally intended.
If you post the lowest gross score over that time, you’ll win two tee times to play the Old Course Reversed for real in April 2027.
The course is played in Toptracer’s simulation mode and, as we reported last year, is quite a bit of fun as long as you understand it’s a video game. You play the Old Course backwards, meaning the opening hole plays from the first tee box to the 17th green (the Road Hole). Then you play from the 18th tee to the 16th green, then the 17th to the 15th green, and so on. The final hole crisscrosses the opening hole, as you play from the second tee to the 18th green.
Toptracer ran this virtual competition last year. Golfers from 35 countries played more than 41,000 rounds on the Old Course Reversed.
Why play the Old Course Reversed?
Well, for starters, it’s fun.
Second, if you’re a history buff, it’s the way the Old Course was played for more than100 years. In 1774, the Old Course was reduced from 22 holes to the now standard 18. At that point, the standard route of play was clockwise. The first tee back then was where the 18th green now is and the “Road Hole” 17th green was part of a larger shared green. Golfers would share fairways and, when played in this configuration, some of the oddly placed fairway bunkers suddenly make sense.
Old Tom Morris rebuilt the Old Course in in the 1870s to its current counterclockwise routing. The course would still be set up regularly in the reversed configuration for play well into the 1970s. By that time, however, St Andrews had become a global destination for golfers and the decision was made to make the counterclockwise routing permanent.
In 2024, however, the St Andrews Links Trust made the Old Course Reversed an annual event, establishing a global ballot for golfers to apply for a weekend’s worth of available tee times.
Toptracer officially partnered with the St Andrews Links Trust in 2022. As part of that partnership, Toptracer is the only platform where you can play the Old Course at a driving range. More than 800,000 Old Course rounds were played at Toptracer locations in 2025.
About the contest
As you’d expect for such a coveted prize, the rules for the Old Course Reversed competition are pretty strict. It’s 18 holes of gross stroke play (no handicaps) from the black tees. No mulligans are allowed and the maximum score per hole is limited to five over par.
In the event of a tie, whoever posted the lowest score first will win. The prize is greens fees only. Airfare, lodging, caddie fees, meals are not included.
There’s also a closest to the pin contest, played on the reversed 11th hole. In the event of a tie, whoever posts the closest shot first wins. In the case of multiple holes in one, it’s also whoever posts first. The winner receives a St Andrews merchandise bundle.
Toptracer ranges in Arizona, North Dakota, Colorado, Tennessee and Maryland are not taking part in thev event, however. Those states have strict legal requirements for skill-based contests that require consideration (paying for range balls or bay time). Those states classify this type of activity as regulation gambling or amusement gaming as opposed to a simple marketing contest.
Rather than going through legal and legislative rigamarole, Toptracer is simply not offering the contest in those states.
For a list of participating Toptracer facilities, check out the Toptracer website.
