Scotscraig Golf Club

Just ten miles north of St Andrews is found Scotscraig Golf Club which dates to 1817, believed to be the thirteenth oldest golf club in existence. Originally the club competitions were to be contested in three rounds of their six holes. However in 1835 the club was abandoned for 52 until 1887 when the club was reconstituted and the original six holes were extended to nine. The clubhouse was built in 1896 and in 1923 the course was extended to eighteen holes and redesigned to it’s present form by none other than James Braid.

The clubhouse is on the small side, not overbearing. It is painted white and the clubs symbol, a mounted knight with shield and lance, is displayed on the front. The pro shop was small and crowded but the staff couldn’t have been nicer. I haven’t played this course since 2007 and my recollections of it are incomplete, there was no journal that year. I remember it as a quirky layout, part links, part heathland, part parkland course. It’s not a true links course as it is removed from the sea, but much of the land has all the characteristics of linksland.
Also, it’s not a traditional links out and back course. They both nines loops back to the clubhouse like American courses. The ninth is a relatively short par 5 called Flagstaff. The green is near the clubhouse and has a large picture window that is way to close for comfort, especially if you happen to be slicing. I remember asking one of my playing partners where he aimed as he approached the ninth green. His response was “way to the left”, precisely how I approached that shot. It’s probably not that close at all, but it seemed that way the day we played.


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I remember the holes nearest the clubhouse as having broad fairways separated by gorse, bushes and heather. As one got farther from the clubhouse the whins and heather grew thicker and the holes got a little more peculiar. The second nine had a stretch of relatively open holes with a water hazard and could be easily mistaken for holes at the Augusta Country Club here in Maine. Like St Andrews, the seventeenth hole is also called Road.
Scotscraig is used for final qualifying when the Open is contested at St Andrews. On their website they drop the names of many famous players who have played or qualified there. It plays to 6670 yards for championships competitions, however visitors and members alike play it at 6310 yards. Believe me there is enough trouble that this yardage is plenty.
They have a very useful website (Scotscraig Golf Club) with all the information we need concerning fees, specials, dress code, pictures of all the holes including stroke saver information (yardage book), and the like. I found this Youtube video about golf courses of Fife that includes some video of Scotscraig. This is certainly a course we should consider during or visit.

ODL