Can You Play St Andrews on GSPro? Yes

Can you play St Andrews Old Course on GSPro? Yes. Search “St Andrews Links Old Course” by Crazy Canuck in the GSPro Course Manager. It is a free community-built LIDAR version that captures the double greens, the Road Hole, Hell Bunker, and the Valley of Sin. The course is rated 4.5/5 by the community and is compatible with any launch monitor that works with GSPro.

St Andrews is the oldest course in the world. People have been hitting balls across the same fairways since the 1400s. The Swilcan Burn, the stone bridge, the shared fairways, the double greens the size of a small country — every golfer knows the shapes. Getting there in person means a plane ticket, a lottery tee time, and a credit card bill that hurts.

Getting there on GSPro means opening the Course Manager and typing a few words.

The Course: Crazy Canuck’s St Andrews Links Old Course

The definitive version of St Andrews on GSPro was built by Crazy Canuck. It is a LIDAR-scanned build that uses actual elevation data from the Old Course. The course is listed as “St Andrews Links Old Course” in the GSPro course database. It has a 4.5/5 community rating with thousands of rounds played.

Crazy Canuck is one of the most respected builders in the GSPro community. His courses are known for accurate terrain, thoughtful vegetation placement, and playable green complexes. This is not a quick-and-dirty conversion. It is a course that took months to build.

What the course gets right:

The double greens are the defining feature of the Old Course. Seven greens are shared between two holes. The 5th and 13th green covers 100,000 square feet. Crazy Canuck’s LIDAR data captures the contours correctly. You can putt from one end to the other and watch the ball follow the real slopes.

The 14th (Hell) bunker is in the correct position. It sits in the middle of the fairway on the 14th hole, roughly 350 yards from the tee. It is 12 feet deep. The GSPro version gives you the same decision: lay up short or try to carry it. The carry is 320 yards plus the wind. You are not making it.

The 17th (Road Hole) is the most famous par 4 in golf. The OB Hotel is on the right. The Road Hole bunker cuts into the left side of the fairway. The approach is blind over the corner of the Old Course Hotel. The green is shallow and narrow, with the road and a stone wall running behind it. The GSPro version captures the geometry. The shot you need to hit — a cut from the left side of the fairway that lands soft and stops — is the same shot that has broken the heart of every Open champion who played this hole.

The Valley of Sin on 18 is there. The steep swale in front of the green catches approaches that land short. You watch your ball disappear into the dip and then have to two-putt from 40 feet. It is the same heartbreak as the real thing.

Where the course falls short:

The Old Course is a visual experience as much as a golf one. The town of St Andrews, the R&A clubhouse, the university buildings, the beach — these create the atmosphere. GSPro’s rendering engine is not built for that level of architectural detail. The buildings are there as basic shapes. The old stone walls are represented but not textured. The course plays correctly, but it does not look like you are standing in the Scottish coastal town that invented golf.

That is a GSPro limitation, not a Crazy Canuck limitation. The engine prioritizes terrain accuracy over visual fidelity. If you want photo-realistic St Andrews, FSX Play or E6 Connect have licensed versions that cost $60-80 extra. If you want to play the golf course for free, this is your option.

How to Install

1. Open the GSPro Course Manager (launches from the GSPro dashboard).
2. Search for “St Andrews Links Old Course” by Crazy Canuck.
3. Click Install. The course downloads to your local library.
4. Launch the course in GSPro. Tee off from the first fairway.

There is also a “St Andrews Links Old Course Fall” version with autumn textures. The standard version is the one you want for the classic experience.

How It Plays

The Old Course in GSPro is fun. It is also absurd.

The fairways are enormous. The course was designed in an era before fairway irrigation, so the landing areas are massive to accommodate the bounce of the ball. On some holes, the fairway is 100 yards wide. You can hit a 30-yard slice and still be on the short grass. The challenge is not keeping the ball in play from the tee. It is the second shot.

The approaches play into greens that are shared, double-sized, and undulating. The pin position matters more than on any course in the GSPro library. A pin on the front of the 5th/13th green requires a completely different approach than a pin on the back. The green is 100,000 square feet. The pin can be 80 yards from where you think it is.

The wind is the primary defense. St Andrews is a coastal links. The prevailing wind comes off the North Sea. The course plays entirely differently downwind vs into the wind. The 9th hole (a par 4) is drivable with a 280-yard carry when the wind is behind you. It plays as a 3-wood plus a mid-iron when the wind is in your face. GSPro’s wind system handles this correctly. Always check the wind direction before you tee off.

Why Play It on GSPro

The licensed versions of St Andrews on FSX Play and E6 Connect cost $60-80. They are more visually impressive. The buildings are rendered properly. The textures are higher resolution. The crowd noise during Open week is a nice touch.

But they cost money. GSPro’s version is free with your $250/year subscription. The course plays the same golf. The LIDAR elevation data is the same. The greens roll the same speed. The wind behaves the same way. You are paying for better graphics, not better golf.

For most players, the Crazy Canuck version is the better choice. You save $60-80 and get a course that plays 95% as well as the licensed version. The 5% you lose is visual fidelity you will not notice after the first tee shot.

Related Courses

If you enjoy St Andrews on GSPro, try these similar courses in the GSPro library:

• Royal Birkdale — Another Open Championship links, also built by Crazy Canuck. The 2026 Open is being played there this week.
• Royal County Down — The world’s #1-ranked course. Blind shots, gorse bushes, and the best dunes in golf.
• Carnoustie — The toughest Open course. The Barry Burn comes into play on four holes.
• Turnberry Ailsa — The most scenic course in Scotland. The lighthouse on the 9th hole is the best single view in links golf.

Read the full Best Courses on GSPro guide for the complete list of courses worth your time. For a review of the platform itself, see the GSPro Software Review.