The ballot for local priority times - 08:00 to 10:00 on Saturday, 3rd April - will be drawn in advance. Applications will be accepted by the Reservations Department of St Andrews Links Trust either in person or by phone from Monday, 9th February until 2pm on Monday, 23rd February. The results will be posted on the Links Trust's website and at local golf clubs that afternoon.
"Some local golfers may wish to make arrangements in advance, so we are holding a ballot for some of the times six weeks prior to the event," said Peter Mason, the Links Trust's external relations manager. "The remaining local preferential times will be balloted at the normal time."
The reverse, or clockwise circuit, was the original route taken by golfers playing the Old Course. It was only after the creation of the current first green in the 1870s by Old Tom Morris that today's more famous layout was opened up, and for many years the course was played over both circuits on a weekly basis. As recently as the 1970s the Old Course was played in a clockwise direction for one month every winter.
The opportunity to play the Old Lady backwards gives modern golfers a rare chance to plot their way through a variety of hazards not normally visible or even in play.