Journey to the East Neuk of Fife
Is it possible to watch The Open and resist the urge to travel north? I think not. And even in a year when the championship crosses Hadrian’s Wall and invades England, the golfing dreams that arise are distinctly haggis-flavoured. In particular, every self-respecting golfer’s bucket-list topper: the home of golf – St Andrews.
Our most recent trip to these hallowed lands had a specific purpose in mind: a first-time experience of playing the new Castle Course, the seventh jewel in the crown that is the St Andrews golf complex.
On previous forays, we’ve always headed north out of Edinburgh, across the Fourth Bridge, hightailed it up the M5 motorway, cut east towards Cupar and motored to the ‘Auld Grey Toon’ as fast as possible. This time, however, we took a slight deviation – the coastal route that traces the perimeter of the ancient bulb of land on the northern shores of the Firth of Forth that is known as the East Neuk of Fife. Was it worth it? Heck, yeah.
LUNDIN-STYLE
‘Neuk’ is Celtic for ‘corner’ and although the geographical distinction is somewhat blurry, it’s safe to say that if you hang a right after the bridge and follow the A917 Fife coastal track all the way up to St Andrews, you’re doing the Neuk.
Poets would argue that anything that sounds as lovely as a Neuk can only start after the industrial-feeling areas with belching smoke stacks, and by that definition, it all begins at a town called Leven. It was here that we stopped for the night in the Old Manor Hotel overlooking the curiously un-heralded neighbouring courses of Lundin and Leven Links.
Built by Old Tom Morris back in 1868, and remodelled by Open legend James Braid at the turn of the century, Lundin Links is a staggering, windswept piece of land adorned with tight fairways and the customary burns, swales and nastiness that characterise golf in these parts. Little wonder that it’s a regular qualifying course for The Open – and last year, was selected as the battleground for the World Junior Golf Championships.
For a course that’s relatively new by Scottish standards, Lundin and its neighbouring Leven Links have had a hectic life with new land being purchased to expand from nine to 18 holes, deals being done with the railways and a natural parting of ways between the two ‘clubs’. We only got a peek at Leven over the stone wall and Mile Dyke that separates the two layouts, and it looks to be an interesting track, but if you’ve only got time for one round, head for Lundin.
The course
The first five holes are classic links on the edge of the old duneland on the shores of the Firth and then you turn inland, across the old railway line, and play the 'new' holes, built on farmland, that take on a parklands feel. The round finishes with four ‘old’ holes that hurl you straight back onto the links – and straight back into a howling gale!
After battling the elements, there’s nothing like a nice hand-drawn pint and some lively locals and we found ourselves just down the road from the Old Manor in the charming and ancient fishing village of Lower Largo. The Crusoe hotel and bar on the Largo pier turned out to be perfect for the task at hand – and a useless piece of travel trivia. It was here, back in 1676, that Alexander Selkirk was born – and he was the inspiration for Daniel Dafoe’s famous character Robinson Crusoe.
THE HOLY CRAIL
The following day, after a game of ‘spot the heelund koo’ (that’s a ‘highland cow’ for the uninitiated) and a drive in the country, you’ll stumble into a town called Crail, home to one of the more spectacularly natural golf courses you’ll ever play.
Crail Golf Society touts itself as the seventh-oldest golf club in the world and counts an old friend of CG’s as a member – the ex-communications manager of the St Andrews Links Trust and project manager of the Castle Course development, Peter Mason.
The society was established in 1786 and currently plays on two 18-hole courses. The Balcomie course was laid out by good Old Tom Morris in 1895, but the second track, the Craighead Links, is an infant by comparison.
Constructed by American Gil Hanse in 1998, it looks to be a fine, exposed, cliff-top course, with no trees and insane views out over the bay, but our target was the old Balcomie Links and it turned out to be everything we’d imagined.
Old Tom didn’t mess around here – probably because Mother Nature had taken care of everything by the time he arrived. As you stand on the first tee looking out over a huge tract of land falling away from you towards the sea, it’s hard to ignore the fact that the challenge ahead contains three par fives and six par threes – and those of you who’ve played golf in Scotland will know that it’s often shorties that dent the card. Add to that the elevation changes, vertical cliffs and everything sloping towards the rocky shore, and what you have is a challenge of note.
The course
While much of golf in Scotland is about the overall experience rather than feature holes, what I loved about Balcomie was the subtle blend of both. It requires guile rather than length as you negotiate the elbows, doglegs, uphills and down vales that cut through thick gourse and dare you to cut off more than you can chew. But at the same time, once you’ve safely navigated the benign opener, there are numerous unforgettable holes. Although calling it the ‘Pebble Beach of Scotland’ might be pushing things, there’s no doubt that once you crest the hill and see what lies in store for the outward loop from the 2nd through to the 4th, your heart skips a beat.
It’s sheer drama with the sea running all the way down the right and thin strips of fairway balancing precariously on the edge.
The Kodak moments are consecutive par fours of the 4th and 5th holes. It’s a simple decision on both tees as to how much you flirt with Neptune, but the 5th in particular, aptly named ‘Hell’s Hole’, is the stuff of legend. At just over 400 metres, it’s 100 metres longer than the previous hole and played in the same direction – which is mostly into the wind.
And from then on in, Balcomie is one interesting hole after anther – from blind, but drivable par fours to heart-stopping par threes like the 200-metre-long 13th with its hidden green perched atop a sharp cliff. Playing Crail for the first time must rank right up there with the best golf experiences anyone could wish for – a perfect combination of exhilaration, natural beauty and childlike wonder at what lies around the next corner.
If you’re headed for St Andrews, I can’t imagine a better trailer for what is to come than 18 holes at Crail – and I seriously suggest you put it at the top of your agenda.
KING OF THE CASTLE
And so to the end goal of this particular expedition: the controversial Castle Course at St Andrews.
Dissent came from ultra-purist quarters that felt it inappropriate to construct a new, cliff-top ‘links’ and reverse-park it into the St Andrews bouquet. For the rest of us, suffice it to say that the only irritation of having a seventh course here is that you’ll have to add one more day to your schedule.
In the time since it officially opened in 2008, the playing impressions have been divided.
There are those who think that course architect David McLay Kidd and his bulldozers have created a masterful, modern ‘man-made’ links like nearby Kingsbarns – that redefines the game’s oldest landscape in a brilliant and innovative way. And then there are those who think that blind shots, invisible landing zones, knee-high tangleweed in the second cut and greens that could double as mogul-runs in winter are at best, too severe – at worst, an abomination.
Having played the course in both excellent and abysmal conditions, we at CG can now safely say we fall into the former squadron of brave fighters!
The cliff-top setting alone makes for awesome views of the nearby grey town and the manufactured moonscape, draped dramatically over the hillside, would look fake if it were anywhere else in the world – not here. It’s definitely a ‘play twice’ track. We were fortunate to be guided on a few crucial tee shots by a kindly and attentive course marshal without whom ‘cock-and-reload’ would have been the order of the day.
To my mind, McLay Kidd was cunning in three areas. Firstly, there’s the idea of running the finish of each of the nine-hole loops down and along the cliff edge, so your lasting impression is breathtaking. And just for good measure, in keeping with a St Andy’s characteristic, he made the 9th and 18th share a massive green. Secondly, the mounding may be ‘man-made’, but it’s darn smart. Like many of the UK’s most famous links courses, it is done in such a way that views of adjacent holes are blocked out. As a result, you often feel as if the links is ‘all yours’ while you’re playing – and there’s a wonderful sense of anticipation and surprise as you work your way around.
Thirdly, as a result of the latter, there are snapshots out there that are truly unforgettable: the moment you finally make it to the green of the treacherous par-four 6th hole and the town of St Andrews slowly appears for the first time since you teed off, creeping around the tufty mounds and rising up as a backdrop; when you step onto the ‘signature’ 17th, facing anything between 165 and 185 metres over a gaping chasm, into the prevailing wind with nothing but sea water, rocks and impenetrable bush between you and the target. As any good caddie will tell you before you play your shot, “Aye, there’s plenty of room on the left, laddie!”
At the end of it all, you get to experience the extraordinary Castle clubhouse – a giant UFO designed to blend in to the terroir and kitted out in the fine style of the relatively new Links clubhouse that was built some years ago between the New and Old Courses.
And as you sit there and reflect on what just happened, and what might happen tomorrow, I’ll bet that your inner golfing voice drowns out any dissent. Sure, there are those who will take all of this in and still moan that the greenfee asked is too stiff (the Castle is the second-most expensive greenfee at St Andrews after the Old), but just like the rest of what’s on offer at the home of golf, what you are getting is something extraordinary, something unique and something truly memorable – and it’s pretty hard to put a price on that.
TRAVEL ADVISOR
LUNDIN LINKS
The Old Manor Hotel at 55 Leven Road is an excellent base for exploring the ‘East Neuk’ area, not least because of its position next to the Lundin and Leven Links courses. Rates start at £155 for a double, but look for special offers and golf-inclusive packages on the website, which offers very good value. If you’re not on a golf package, the greenfee at Lundin Links is £57.
For booking visit www.theoldmanorhotel.co.uk and www.lundingolfclub.co.uk.
CRAIL GOLF SOCIETY
The busy season in this part of the world is from April to September (greenfee is £57 during the week and £72 for weekend). A day ticket allows you to play Craighead in the morning and Balcomie in the afternoon for just £79 during the week. If you are sufficiently waterproof to travel between November and February, you can play Crail for just £35 – which must classify as one of the best deals in the world of golf.
Book a round at Crail by phoning +44 (0)1333 450686 or emailing info@crailgolfingsociety.co.uk
Visit www.crailgolfingsociety.co.uk to whet your appetite.
ST ANDREWS GREENFEES AND INFORMATION
It’s all about seasons. If you’re willing to play the Old Course in low season, ie January to March, when mats are compulsory, it’ll set you back a mere £64, but by high season, mid-April to mid-October, it rises to £140. The St Andrews Trust official website is excellent and comprehensive for information and bookings. High-season greenfees at St Andrews are as follows: Old Course £140; Castle Course £120; New £70; Jubilee £70; Eden £40; Strathtyrum £25. Visit www.standrews.org.uk for bookings or for all courses in the area – www.standrewsgolf.org.
GENERAL INFO
The official tourism agency for Great Britain has some useful info (www.visitbritain.org) and you can email them questions, but for the golfer, golf.visitscotland.com is the most useful site to bookmark. It’s the golf section of the official tourism board and a starting point for your trip.
TODAY’S READING IS FROM…
For the past decade, Compleat Golfer has relied on one resource in particular when it comes to golf travel up north: Alan Ferguson’s excellent book Golf in Scotland. Apart from general insight, useful tips and practical advice, Ferguson’s chapter on ‘8 ways to book a round on the Old Course’ alone is worth the cover price. You can order the book online at fergusongolf.com for a mere R170 – and they’ll ship it to you for free.
