The course is jam-packed with strong golf holes and wonderful views, with perhaps the most memorable pair being the 12th and 15th
Kingsbarns Golf Links Course Review
Green Fee Range £200-£288
Medal Tee – Par 72 – 6,351 Yards
Visitor Times: At all times
Website: www.kingsbarns.com
Kingsbarns Golf Links Course Review
A creation of Mark Parsinen and Kyle Phillips, Kingsbarns in Fife is set on land with a rich golfing history.
Related: Top 100 courses UK and Ireland
The links was used for the sport as far back as 1793 when the blue-coated golfers of Kingsbarns gathered for their spring and autumn meets.
The links was turned over to farmland in 1850 but, in 1922, Willie Auchterlonie laid out a nine-hole track that was played by locals and holidaymakers.
It survived until the Second World War when the land was mined as part of the defence effort.
The layout in play today was opened in 2000 and swiftly earned a reputation as a modern classic.
It’s a wonderful track, blending the techniques of contemporary course design with the rugged simplicity of a traditional Scottish links.
Kinsbarns from above. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
It has been a stalwart of the Golf Monthly Top 100 and regular co-host of the Dunhill Links. In August 2017 it hosted the Ricoh Women’s British Open.
The course opens with dogleg-right par-4 to a green that is well protected by run-offs and a couple of deep pot bunkers where it is usually sensible to take an extra club for the approach.
The second is a very attractive short hole with a large green where it is safest to stay left although there is a partially-hidden bunker waiting to swallow anything that is too far to the left and long.
Depending on the wind, the third will raise hopes of a birdie. It’s a par-5 with a wide green that will reward sensible play, the biggest danger being a massive and deep bunker short and right.
Turning 180 degrees, you play two fine dogleg par-4s, one to the left, then one to the right. The latter is protected by a grassy knoll that can make the approach a little more tricky.
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For big-hitters, the sixth is driveable with a split fairway. Make the upper level on the right, and the ball can feed down to the green.
Seven is a really challenging two-shotter, stroke index one, before some very welcome relief at the beautiful par-3 eighth.
You return to the welcoming clubhouse via a testing par-5, and the back nine begins with two solid par-4s that take you out to a copse that separates you from the next three holes.
The twelfth is a stunner; a long hole that skirts its way along the shore to a beautifully-sited green at the far end of the course.
Thirteen is another very pretty par-3, the shortest on the course but protected by a collar of bunkers and slopes that make finding the green from the tee essential.
The par-3 15th
A straightway par-4 takes you to the most daunting and most theatrical hole on the course, the final par-3 which is played over a rocky inlet.
Sixteen and seventeen continue along the shoreline although it should really not come into play, and the closing hole is another thriller back up by the clubhouse with the approach to the split-level green requiring a carry over a deep ditch.
Course changes since previous ranking
New tees on 3rd and 16th holes (par 5s), directly on the coastlines edge with spectacular views – new bunker at the back right hand side of the 10th stopping thinned balls from ending up in the gorse behind the green.
Proposed course changes
Nothing yet confirmed
Kingsbarns Golf Links Course Review – Golf Monthly Verdict
The emphasis at Kingsbarns is on fun and relaxation, and while the golf is not cheap, there is a very attractive rate for under 18s and the warmest of welcomes for all. It is a very special course indeed, and one that should be on every keen golfer’s must-play list
This article Kingsbarns Golf Links Course Review appeared first on Golf Monthly.