St Andrews Links Trust is a charitable organisation established in 1974 by an Act of Parliament and entrusted with the operation and maintenance of the golf courses and facilities on the Links. All surpluses generated by the Links have to be directed back into maintaining and developing the courses and facilities.

The Trustees are responsible for setting policy, for new developments and for ensuring that the Links is run in accordance with the Act of Parliament. The Links Management Committee is responsible to the Trustees for the operation of the golf facilities.

Both bodies are comprised of volunteers nominated by Fife Council and The Royal and Ancient Golf Club. The local Member of Parliament is also automatically a Trustee, and one Trustee is nominated by the Scottish Executive - an indication of the importance of the Links to Scotland.

In the high season the Trust employs over 250 people. This includes around 70 greenkeeping staff but excludes the 150 caddies and bag carriers who are self employed and licensed by the Trust.

The Royal & Ancient Golf Club built the New course at St Andrews in 1895, and paid for the maintenance of both the Old and New courses until the early 1950s. The St Andrews Town Council built the Jubilee course in 1897 and the Eden course in 1914. In less than 20 years, St Andrews had developed from one to four 18 hole courses.

In 1974 the St Andrews Links Trust was created to continue running the Links as public golf courses open to anyone. In 1993 the new 18-hole Strathtyrum course was opened along with a nine hole course, the Balgove, and a golf practice centre. In 1995 the first clubhouse freely available to visitors was opened by the Old, New and Jubilee courses, followed in 2000 by a second clubhouse for golfers on the Eden, Strathtyrum and Balgove Courses.