Dumbarnie Links

Dumbarnie Links is already one of the best courses in Scotland and will only improve further as it matures.

Does Scotland need a new links course? Does Fife need a new links course? It’s a moot point.

A course opening in arguably the most famous golfing area in the world has to be special, otherwise it stands no chance of being successful given St Andrews New, Old and the Castle as well as Kingsbarns are its neighbours – not to mention the likes of Elie, Lundin, Ladybank and Leven.

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Well, Dumbarnie is special. And it is different. There are similarities with Kingsbarns – also man-made, with lots of sea views and strategic holes – as well as Castle Stuart – just as wide off the tee with funky greens – but Dumbarnie is distinctive. Designed by Clive Clark, it wants to flatter you, not beat you up. Off the whites it is great fun, off the blues at 6,400 yards it is playable for the majority.

The conditioning, for a new links, is frankly incredible, with impressive covering of fine fescue on the fairways. A vast amount of sand was moved to create Dumbarnie, turning it from a farmer’s field into a dune-lined course. The shaping is impressive, even if bulldozers can never match what the wind can do over thousands of years.

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Dumbarnie had to be special to standout – it is and it has. It will be extremely popular with American golfers as well as Brits for its mix of scenery, risk-reward holes and playability.

We even predict the 17th, a sharp dog-leg right which will bemuse some off the tee and might be pinpointed as a weaker hole, will end up being a heroic moment in the round. It is, already, a top 25 course in Scotland in our view, and a top 50 links in GB&I.

As it matures and settles – giving it higher Presentation marks – expect it to rise. Its positions in our Links Top 100 and Scottish Top 100s are, rest assured, cautious first rankings.

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