The challenging par 4 7th hole at Scotscraig presents a split fairway with an option to approach from either the upper side (above left) or lower.
by Tim Gavrich
Located in Tayport, in the Kingdom of Fife, just about a 20-minute drive north of St. Andrews, Scotscraig Golf Club hosted its first rounds in 1817, making it the 13th oldest golf club in the world, although it lay fallow for 50 years during the 19th Century. The current course dates back to a redesign in 1923 by the famous James Braid. Scotscraig, an excellent combination heathland and parkland course, has served as a final qualifying site for the Open Championship.
The elements of the course are rated on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being "as good as it gets."
Golf Course Setting: 7.5
Located in the bustling town of Tayport, Scotscraig gives the feeling of a green oasis in the middle of town life. The pastoral setting of the course, while unspectacular, is pleasant and well-suited to golf, with areas of gentle movement in the terrain and some spots with rumpled ground most typical of linksland.
Golf Course Conditions: 7
The fairways and roughs at Scotscraig were in very good shape. The fairways were firm, rewarding good drives with lots of roll. The rough was fairly easy to play from in some places and thick and problematic in others. This inconsistency is not at all a bad thing; unpredictability is a reasonable penalty for a misplayed shot. The greens, while fairly smooth, were quite slow.
Quality of Green Complexes: 8
The greens and surrounds at Scotscraig are strong and interesting. The approaches to the greens and the greens themselves are kept very firm, forcing the
player to think twice about making high approach shots, even from short distances. In that regard, Scotscraig plays much like a seaside Scottish links. Also, bunkers that appear to be snuggled up against the putting surfaces are often actually set as much as 30 yards short, giving the green complexes a psychological, as well as physical, defense.
Quality of Par 3s: 7.5
The short holes at Scotscraig are quite good and vary an adequate amount, from the 150-yard 6th to the 214-yard 3rd. The most compelling of Scotscraig's par 3s is the 165-yard 13th, named "Island," which features a semi-blind tee shot to an undulating green guarded by a bunker short and left of the putting surface. In order to take advantage of slopes that feed the ball from left to right on the green, the best line is dangerously close to that bunker. The hole may take its name from the trenches of rough surrounding the green which create the island effect.
Quality of Par 4s: 8.5
The two-shot holes at Scotscraig are a strong bunch, with the only slight disappointment that there is no drivable par four on the course. Nonetheless, the variation and range of difficulty among the par 4s is engaging. The most compelling of
these is the 401-yard 7th, named "Plateau," which features a semi-blind tee shot to a short upper fairway with a lower fairway beyond. The conservative play is a short tee shot towards the end of the upper fairway, leaving a long, partially blind shot down towards the green over very rumpled land. Bounces are unpredictable and, in some cases, unwelcome. The aggressive play is down to the second fairway in order to have a short iron or wedge into the green, giving the player more control over which contours the ball needs to traverse in order to find its way near the hole.
Quality of Par 5s: 7.5
The three long holes at Scotscraig offer good opportunities to make birdies and possibly an eagle or two. The 9th and 16th are both under 500 yards from the back tees and offer good chances at getting home in two. If the player's drive on the 479-yard 16th finds the narrow fairway between stands of gorse, the green becomes an inviting target. But, a wild drive could put par out of reach. The 523-yard 14th tempts the player to reach back and unleash his longest drive of the day. A stream running along the hole about 20 yards left of the fairway must be avoided off the tee, but the best spot for trying to attack the green in two is from the left side of the fairway.
Routing of Golf Course/A Good Walk?: 9.5
Scotscraig represents one of the most efficient uses of land that I have seen in golf. Though it sits on only 106 acres, there is never a time at which the golfer feels
threatened by play from other holes. The only crossover is at the connected 5th and 8th tees, but even then the intrusion of one hole on the other is minimal. Furthermore, greens and tees are close together, which leaves the willing player with more than enough energy for a second round after the first is finished.
Overall Rating: 8
Scotscraig Golf Club is an excellent course in a relaxed, lovely part of Fife. Even though it does not have the eye-candy of its more famous links brethren, that is no reason to dismiss it as an afterthought golfing experience. It is a challenging course from the longer tees, but is nonetheless manageable for higher handicappers and shorter hitters. It would be an excellent complement to a roster of links courses on a golfing vacation in the St. Andrews area.
Yardage/Par/Rating/Slope
Blue: 6669/71/73/NA
White: 6550/71/72/NA
Yellow: 6310/71/71/NA
Red: 5791/72/74/NA
We had lunch in the classic old clubhouse at Scotscraig whose dining room (far right) looks out upon the practice putting green.