I played at Elie many years ago with my father in law, and played again in September 2023 with some golfing buddies from New York. This truly is a gem of a golf course in The Kingdom of Fife and one that I would definitely add to any trip to the St. Andrews area.
The Club is located just along the coast from the perhaps better known abroad Dumbarnie, and before the equally impressive Crail links, and is around 25 minutes only from St. Andrews. This is a link for visitor information: https://www.golfhouseclub.co.uk/visitor-information/. The tel is +44 (0)1333 330301.
Golf was first played here in the 1500’s, but the current Club was founded in 1875. This a link to the Club’s website that provides more detailed history: https://www.golfhouseclub.co.uk/history/history-of-golf-in-elie-earlsferry/
James Baird was born in the area in 1870, and won The Open several times before moving in to golf course design. He is credited with influencing the design of 200 courses including Prestwick and Carnoustie.
The Club is very accommodating - no hats please though in the gorgeous Clubhouse - with warm and friendly staff ready to assist and provide advice on how to play certain holes. Amy the AGM is a real ambassador for the Club. The starter area is unique with its submarine periscope acquired in the 1960’s as salvage from HMS Excalibur, to allow not only players to survey the property but permit the starter to gauge where players are over the hill on the blind shot at hole 1. A good practice area as well.
For a course with no par 5’s and only 2 par 3’s, rated at 70.5 and 124 and only 6,200 yards, this can be a very tough course when the wind is blowing. When we played it was a steady 22mph, which meant some of the holes really felt like par 5’s. There are several blind approach holes, 10 going down to the beach needs a careful approach. And the area around greens 7 and 9 and tee 10 is quite tight. You have to be very mindful of players teeing off on 12. The views from this part of the course are spectacular. You can easily make out Edinburgh and North Berwick. Sadly, you can also see a couple of Chinese oil rigs which have been parked in the bay for several years.
I thought the course really started at 4; and not just because The 19th Hole Bar and Restaurant is easily accessible. A lot of strategy and some tough landing spots on greens with quite a bit of undulation. When we played, the greens were in excellent condition.
The highest point on the course is at tee 14, with great views over the course and into the Firth.
I would also recommend having lunch or dinner at The Ship Inn. They have done a terrific job and offer a fantastic menu in a really lovely location in the harbour. It’s only a 10 minute walk from the Club. Elie is a very nice town - perhaps more than a few second homes nowadays and some wealth judging by the Porsche/Maserati/Teslas in the driveways.
If I were to suggest an itinerary, it would be to play Leven, Lundin Links, Elie, and Crail as part of the tour of Fife; no doubt people want to play the bigger names like The St Andrews Links (which are amazing), but these courses offer a golfing exposure much more like traditional Scottish golf as opposed to the perhaps more manufactured like Dumbarnie which feels like a course you might find in the US. They are also a third of the price.