Latest news with #TheDrive
Scotsman
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
'Like winning the lottery' - how it felt playing Old Course at St Andrews for £42.50
44 lucky golfers resident in Scotland get near-perfect day for a dream opportunity Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... For just one day, they were probably the most-envied golfers on the planet and, boy, was it an occasion to cherish for 44 players resident in Scotland as they played the Old Course in St Andrews for just £42.50. Crow Wood member Paddy Donaghy played the Old Course with his future son-in-law David Tait | St Andrews Links Trust The opportunity was provided through The Drive, an initiative introduced this year by St Andrews Links Trust to 'widen access to the home of golf' in terms of playing the historic courses in the Fife town. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Between 9.10am and 10.50am on a near-perfect golfing day, the lucky players who effectively hit the jackpot headed out on the most-famous course in the world and, over the next few hours, walked in the footsteps of the greats of the game. Crow Wood member Paddy Donaghy played the Old Course with his future son-in-law David Tait | St Andrews Links Trust Paddy Donaghy, a 57-year-old who is a member at Crow Wood on the outskirts of Glasgow, played with his future son in law, David Tait. 'I've been playing golf since I was 10 years old, so that's almost 40 years now and I've never had the chance to play the Old Course,' said a beaming Donaghy. 'I heard about The Drive on the Scottish news and thought I'd put my name in to see what happens. The moment I received the email I couldn't believe it, it was like winning the lottery, a bucket list ticked. It has 100 per cent been my number one golfing experience to date.' John Ballantyne, a 66 year-old who plays his golf at East Kilbride, enjoyed the dream experience with his son, Andrew. 'I played here a long time ago when I was younger and I could never really justify the cost of coming back,' said Ballantyne. 'But, for £42.50, I thought let's jump at that. I'm over the moon. I'm proud that I've got my son here for the first time on the Old Course, it's great for the both of us playing together on the world's most-famous course.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Between May and October, a total of 179 tee times are being made available by the Links Trust to give golfers resident in Scotland the opportunity to play the courses under its umbrella at a reduced price. The Old Course offer, for example, was an eighth of the usual high-season price of £340. Brother and sister Grant and Laura Veitch played the Old Course for the first time together | St Andrews Links Trust 'I think this is a great initiative,' said Livingston man Alan Stewart, who is a member at Uphall at the end of his round. 'For amateur Scottish golfers, this is the pinnacle to be able to come and play here. It's a bucket-list experience and I was so excited I barely slept last night.' Brother and sister Grant and Laura Veitch both played the Old Course for the first time together. "I've been playing golf since I was six-years-old and playing here is It's obviously a bucket-list must,' said Laura, a member at Aberdeen Ladies GC. 'To drive over the Swilcan Bridge on the 18th and then get a wee bit of applause when holing a putt, that was good fun and such a special experience." James Boothy enjoyed a 'fantastic experience' in the company of his dad David thanks to The Drive | St Andrews Links Trust Grant, a member at Deeside, added: 'I think it's a brilliant initiative, we've been here to watch the Open before but never played and it's a once-in-lifetime opportunity that can't be missed.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Through the initiative, a total of 716 golfers in total will secure a tee time this year across the Old, Castle, Jubilee and Eden courses at a fraction of the usual cost.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Thousands of golfers apply for discounted rounds on world-famous links courses
More than 14,500 applications have been made by Scottish golfers for the chance to play the historic courses at St Andrews Links at a reduced rate as part of an initiative to widen access to the Home of Golf. Between May and October 2025, 179 tee times are being made available as part of The Drive, meaning golfers resident in Scotland have the opportunity to play at a reduced price. The first wave of available tee times has seen incredible demand with 14,547 golfers applying for the 81 available four-ball times to play on the famous Old Course and the Eden Course on dates in May and June. With the majority of applications for two-ball tee times, this means golfers had a one in 90 chance of securing a tee time. The remainder of the tee times as part of the pilot project will be on the Castle and Jubilee Courses in September and October this year, with applications opening for those times on 6 August 2025. READ MORE: Hints of 'more opportunities' for cut-rate Old Course play St Andrews Old Course golf rounds to be offered at £42.50 I embarrassed my sons on the golf course open to all The first year of The Drive will see a total of 716 golfers given the opportunity to access tee times across the Old, Castle, Jubilee and Eden courses at an 87.5% reduction on the regular high season green fees. Those who have been successful in securing an Old Course tee time in the free-to-enter ballot will pay just £42.50. The Eden Course will cost just £9.50. A round on the Castle Course will cost £22.50, down from £180, while it will cost golfers £18.75 to play the Jubilee Course, down from £150. Given the initial success of the initiative, the Links Trust is already looking at opportunities to expand tee time allocation for The Drive in 2026. A golfer on the 18th hole at the Old Course (Image: Official Photo St Andrews Links® The Home of Golf) Neil Coulson, Chief Executive of St Andrews Links Trust, said: 'We are delighted so many golfers across Scotland have embraced The Drive and are so keen to come to play our famous courses. 'As the Home of Golf, we believe in widening access to the sport and this new initiative is part of our drive to provide opportunities for golfers of all ages and abilities. Given the huge number of applications, it is clear the demand is there for Scottish golfers to experience St Andrews Links, and we are already looking at how we can expand the initiative into 2026 and beyond with more times. 'We now look forward to welcoming those who have been successful in applying for tee times on the Old Course and the Eden Course, and hope golfers across Scotland can enjoy some excellent golf.' As the custodians of the Home of Golf, St Andrews Links Trust launched The Drive initiative to support its charitable objectives to promote golf participation by encouraging players of all ages and abilities to get involved in the sport. It is part of an ongoing review of access to the St Andrews Links courses amid unprecedented local and global demand for golf to ensure they remain accessible for local residents, ticketholders and visitors. All tee times provided as part of The Drive are from existing visitor or commercial allocations and will not impact priority times allocated to Links Ticketholders. The first tee times fulfilled as part of The Drive initiative will be on Wednesday, May 21 with 44 golfers playing the Old Course for just £42.50 each. Full details and how to apply are available at:
The Herald Scotland
20-05-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Thousands apply for discounted rounds on world-famous links courses
The first wave of available tee times has seen incredible demand with 14,547 golfers applying for the 81 available four-ball times to play on the famous Old Course and the Eden Course on dates in May and June. With the majority of applications for two-ball tee times, this means golfers had a one in 90 chance of securing a tee time. The remainder of the tee times as part of the pilot project will be on the Castle and Jubilee Courses in September and October this year, with applications opening for those times on 6 August 2025. READ MORE: Hints of 'more opportunities' for cut-rate Old Course play St Andrews Old Course golf rounds to be offered at £42.50 The first year of The Drive will see a total of 716 golfers given the opportunity to access tee times across the Old, Castle, Jubilee and Eden courses at an 87.5% reduction on the regular high season green fees. Those who have been successful in securing an Old Course tee time in the free-to-enter ballot will pay just £42.50. The Eden Course will cost just £9.50. A round on the Castle Course will cost £22.50, down from £180, while it will cost golfers £18.75 to play the Jubilee Course, down from £150. Given the initial success of the initiative, the Links Trust is already looking at opportunities to expand tee time allocation for The Drive in 2026. A golfer on the 18th hole at the Old Course (Image: Official Photo St Andrews Links® The Home of Golf) Neil Coulson, Chief Executive of St Andrews Links Trust, said: 'We are delighted so many golfers across Scotland have embraced The Drive and are so keen to come to play our famous courses. 'As the Home of Golf, we believe in widening access to the sport and this new initiative is part of our drive to provide opportunities for golfers of all ages and abilities. Given the huge number of applications, it is clear the demand is there for Scottish golfers to experience St Andrews Links, and we are already looking at how we can expand the initiative into 2026 and beyond with more times. 'We now look forward to welcoming those who have been successful in applying for tee times on the Old Course and the Eden Course, and hope golfers across Scotland can enjoy some excellent golf.' As the custodians of the Home of Golf, St Andrews Links Trust launched The Drive initiative to support its charitable objectives to promote golf participation by encouraging players of all ages and abilities to get involved in the sport. It is part of an ongoing review of access to the St Andrews Links courses amid unprecedented local and global demand for golf to ensure they remain accessible for local residents, ticketholders and visitors. All tee times provided as part of The Drive are from existing visitor or commercial allocations and will not impact priority times allocated to Links Ticketholders. The first tee times fulfilled as part of The Drive initiative will be on Wednesday, May 21 with 44 golfers playing the Old Course for just £42.50 each. Full details and how to apply are available at:
Scotsman
20-05-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Whopping figure revealed for cut-price St Andrews tee times
More than 14,500 Scottish golfers applied for The Drive initiative launched by Links Trust Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... More than 14,500 applications have been made by Scottish golfers for the chance to play on the historic courses at St Andrews at a reduced rate as part of an initiative to "widen access to the home of golf". The whopping figure was revealed 24 hours before 44 players tackle the Old Course for just £42.50 each as part of an initiative called The Drive. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Between this month and October, 179 tee times are being made available by St Andrews Links Trust to give golfers resident in Scotland the opportunity to play at a reduced price. The first wave of available tee times has seen incredible demand, with 14,547 golfers applying for the 81 available four-ball times to play on the famous Old Course and the Eden Course on dates in May and June. A player tees off the on the 18th hole on the Old Course, where 44 Scottish golfers will play on Wednesday for just £42.50 each | St Andrews Links Trust The remainder of the tee times as part of the pilot project will be on the Castle and Jubilee Courses in September and October, with applications opening for those times on August 6. Due to the initial success of the initiative, the Links Trust is already looking at opportunities to expand tee time allocation for The Drive in 2026. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We are delighted so many golfers across Scotland have embraced The Drive and are so keen to come to play our famous courses,' said Neil Coulson, chief executive of St Andrews Links Trust. Initiative set be expanded into 2026 and beyond 'As the Home of Golf, we believe in widening access to the sport and this new initiative is part of our drive to provide opportunities for golfers of all ages and abilities. 'Given the huge number of applications, it is clear the demand is there for Scottish golfers to experience St Andrews Links, and we are already looking at how we can expand the initiative into 2026 and beyond with more times.
Android Authority
19-05-2025
- Android Authority
More people should know about this surprising risk to your phone's camera
C. Scott Brown / Android Authority TL;DR A car's lidar sensor can permanently damage your phone camera if you point it directly at it. A Galaxy S24 Ultra owner reported similar damage after attending a laser-heavy light show. Experts warn that a laser can be safe for the eyes but still harmful to phone camera sensors, especially at close range. Smartphone users used to be most concerned about the risks of dropping their devices or getting them wet. However, with the improvements to durability and waterproofing in flagship devices, perhaps you should be more concerned about whether you'll accidentally fry your phone camera with lasers. As highlighted by The Drive, some Volvo EX90 owners are learning the hard way that the SUV's roof-mounted lidar sensor can seriously mess with your phone camera. A Reddit user shared a video showing exactly what happens when the device's infrared laser hits a phone's lens — fried pixels and visible damage that doesn't go away. The video is worth a watch to see the damage occurring in real time. The issue was serious enough that Volvo issued a warning earlier this year, stating plainly on a support page, 'Do not point a camera directly at the lidar.' The company explained to The Drive that 'close-up' shots are the real danger, and offered a tip for cautious photographers: filters or protective covers can help, and some camera sensors have built-in defenses. But generally, if you see a lidar pod, it's best to keep your phone pointed elsewhere. Reddit The colorful specs in the video are pixels on the camera being fried by the lidar system. And it's not just lidar. A separate Reddit post from last week, shared in the r/samsunggalaxy subreddit, tells a similar tale. After attending a local event with rooms full of colorful lighting and laser effects, one Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra user noticed their phone's main lens had developed a strange white dot and two intersecting lines. The pattern remained across apps that use the camera and only showed up on specific zoom levels. These are telltale signs of laser damage, according to other commenters in the thread. None of this should be surprising to laser pros. The International Laser Display Association (ILDA) has long warned that camera sensors are more vulnerable than the human eye. While concert lasers are usually eye-safe, they can easily fry phone camera sensors, especially when the full laser beam enters a camera lens directly. That's why laser show producers avoid hitting professional video equipment and projectors where possible, but they can't be responsible for the camera in every audience member's pocket. With lidar-equipped vehicles and laser-heavy light shows becoming more common, these incidents may become more frequent. It's a problem most people won't know about until it's too late, and their $1,000 phone is stuck with a permanent scar. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
