Fife & St. Andrews
Experience

Fife & St. Andrews Experience

St. Andrews attracts hundreds of thousands of golf travelers to Scotland every year, and for good reason. For most, a pilgrimage to the birthplace of golf is a once-in-a-lifetime experience punctuated by rounds played on The Old Course and photos taken on its Swilcan Bridge. However, six other exceptional golf courses make up St. Andrews Links’ 741 acres, including the New Course—which having been designed by Old Tom Morris in 1895 is not, in fact, new—and The Castle Course, a David McLay Kidd creation that opened in 2008 and challenges golfers with its severely undulating greens. Rich in beautiful courses, the likes of Kingsbarns and Dumbarnie would slot seamlessly into any golfing trip to this golfing mecca.

SAMPLE ITINERARY

Day

Golf

Hotel

Day One:

Gleneagles – The PGA Centenary Course

Old Course Hotel

Day Two:

St. Andrews – Jubilee Course

Old Course Hotel

Day Three:

Dumbarnie Links

Old Course Hotel

Day Four:

Carnoustie Golf Links

Old Course Hotel

Day Five:

Kingsbarns Golf Links

Old Course Hotel

Day Six:

St. Andrews – Old Course

Old Course Hotel

GOLF COURSES IN THIS ITINERARY

The Castle Course’s greens notwithstanding, the Jubilee Course—the third championship layout built in St. Andrews in 1897—is often considered to be the most challenging course among St. Andrews Links’ layouts. Originally, the course was intended for beginners, but a transformative redesign more than three decades ago converted the Jubilee Course into a remarkable test of golf.

Plenty of exceptional golf destinations surround St. Andrews, too. Along the coast to the south, Kingsbarns Golf Links earned the distinction in 2009 of being the number one European course on Golf Magazine’s list of the 50 Greatest Courses Created in the Last 50 Years.

The newest course in the region, however, is Dumbarnie Links, a layout that opened for play in early 2020. Covering 345 acres and spanning one and a half miles of coastline, the parcel of land that his home to Dumbarnie offers golfers numerous elevated tees with expansive, panoramic views across the Firth of Forth.

Those looking to play on other stretches of hallowed ground within an hour’s drive of St. Andrews can tee it up at Carnoustie Golf Links, a revered course on The Open rota that has witnessed major victories by Ben Hogan, Gary Player, and Tom Watson (among others); and Gleneagles, an exemplary golf resort that has hosted multiple Ryder Cup matches.