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St Andrews is a matchless blend of past and present. As a town it has no equal in Scotland. Its ecclesiastical connections began at least as early as 747; the burgh came into being about 1144; the University, the first in Scotland, began in 1411. Golf was a recognized game there in 1552.

The history of St. Andrews is crowded with incidents which punctuate the cavalcade of Scottish history, and the growth of Scottish institutions and culture, with the names of famous prelates, martyrs and reformers and their deeds to be found in all quarters of the town.

Of the many historical buildings of St. Andrews, first to be noted must be the Cathedral, which founded in 1160 and then consecrated in 1318, was by far the largest church in Scotland before its destruction at the reformation. The adjoining Priory was similarly the most important monastic foundation of its time. The Castle, founded in 1200 as a fortress and home of the Bishop of St. Andrews, possess the unusual feature of a bottle dungeon. From the Castle, Archbishop Beaton watched George Wishart burn at the stake, himself to perish at the hands of an assassin soon afterwards.

The United College, principal center of University life, stands on the site of St. Salvators College ( 1450 ) and includes the old tower and collegiate church. The ancient thorn close to St. Marys College is said to have been planted by Mary Queen of Scots. The University Library building contains the old hall in which the Parliament of Scotland met in 1645-46. These are but a very few of the colorful links with Scotlands brave past, and the whole is wrapped in a quiet awareness of the age-old pride and dignity which no other town in the country can hope to meet or beat.

For more than a hundred years St. Andrews has been famed as a holiday resort, not only on account of its golf, but also for its history, scenery and its equable and invigorating climate. It is almost unnecessary to say that the Royal & Ancient Golf Club is the premier golf club in the world. All the courses are an immense attraction to vacationers, and it is the ambition of every golfer to play on the world famous " Old Course."

St Andrews is known widely as the "home of golf". According to the earliest surviving document from 1552, the "playing at golf" on the links adjacent to the "water of eden" was granted permission by Archbishop Hamilton. The most famous golf course in the town is the Old Course, purchased by the town council in 1894. The course which dates back to medieval times, is an Open Championship course - which was first staged in 1873 and will return to the town in 2010. Famous winners at St Andrews have included: Old Tom Morris (1861, 1862, 1867 and 1874); Jack Nicklaus (1970 and 1978) and Tiger Woods (2000 and 2005). According to Jack Nicklaus, "if a golfer is going to be remembered, he must win at St Andrews". There are six golf courses in total - Old, New, Jubilee, Eden, Strathtyrum and Balgove - surrounding the western approaches of the town. A seventh golf course was added in 2007 at Kinkell Braes, designed by David McLay Kidd.

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews itself is now simply a golf club. It has 2,400 members from all over the world. Although the clubhouse is situated just behind the first tee of the Old Course, the club do not own any of the St Andrews courses, despite the common misconception, and must share the tee times with members of other local clubs, residents and visitors alike. Responsibility for the management of the courses is undertaken by the St Andrews Links Trust, a charitable organisation that owns and runs seven golf courses at St Andrews.

Other leisure facilities in the town include a junior football team; rugby club (known as Madras Rugby Club); tennis club; university sports centre and a links golf driving range. The East Sands Leisure Centre, which opened in 1988, sits on the outskirts of the town as the town's swimming pool with gym facilities. The University of St Andrews have expressed plans to provide a new multi-million pound leisure centre to replace East Sands.