FAIRMONT ST ANDREW (TORRANCE) - 14 POINTS
St Andrews is blessed with many wonderful golf courses. While the Old Course is the best known, the adjoining New Course and nearby Jubilee are both really strong golf courses in their own right. Only 20 minutes away you have the wonderful Kingsbarns course and, just a little further away, you find lovely places such as Crail or Elie.
Just outside the town itself is the Fairmont Hotel and its two courses – The Torrance and the Kittocks. The resort was the brainchild of the American property mogul Don Panoz and the original two courses, the Torrance and Devlin, were opened in 2001 and 2002 respectively. The courses have undergone significant changes over the years - the Torrance now has some holes from the Devlin course and new bunker work and irrigation has been carried out.
My view of the course is fairly predictable. In some parts of the world, the Torrance course would be one of the best in the area. However, the isn’t just any old part of the world - this is the Home of Golf - and I don’t think there is any real reason to play the Torrance course over any of the links courses in the area. This isn’t links golf - the land was a farmer’s field before the courses were built - and the ball runs accordingly on the ground. It’s not an awful golf course, and if you were in the area and couldn’t get on any of the other courses you wouldn’t hate it here. It’s just fairly dull golf in comparison with the illustrious company.
The first few holes play on higher ground, behind and around the hotel. There’s pretty good width off the tee and, when I played, the rough was manageable too. There are a few features on these holes - there’s a burn in play short of the green on the 1st, a slightly incongruous lake feeding the burn on the third and various walls scattered about. While you will never feel like you are on a true links courses you will find revetted bunkers, greens that you can often run the ball up to, and nicely shaped greens. It’s like a first cousin to a links course.
The 7th brings a 300 yard par 4 which does its job of asking you whether you want to lay up left or risk getting over myriad bunkers short of the green. That, and the par 3 8th, are probably the pick of those early holes before you head over the road and to the more attractive part of the course.
The back 9 (well, 10) holes are framed by the Firth of Tay and the town of St Andrews behind them. These holes are flatter than the opening holes and have a little more of a links-type feel to them. The back 9 is 200 yards longer than the front and feels it, with three par 4s over 400 yards and 2 par 5s over 500 yards. Water comes into play again with burns on the 12th and 14th, so carefully clubbing is important to stay dry. A lot of earth has been moved to create the in-vogue mounding between holes which is inoffensive but hardly spectacular.
They have saved the best for last on the Torrance course. The 16th is a par 4 at the edge of the property, perched on the cliff with the beach 100 feet below, so you have to approach with caution. Then comes a strong par 3 with a two tier green, perched above a dry stone wall with bunkers well placed around. The last is a par 5 which long hitters will be able to get up to, but the two tier green won’t guarantee a birdie even if you do.
The Fairmont is a 5 star hotel and keeping the courses to a good standard will be important for their reputation. When I played, the greens had just been treated and it was pretty damp, so I probably didn’t see the course in its best state but you could see they were investing in the facility and I imagine, when they get the greens going, they are pretty pleasant to putt on. The practice range, putting green and pro shop have all been finished to a high quality.
The hotel here is excellent and the service was great when we stayed. I would absolutely rate it as a good place to stay. As I said, this isn’t a bad golf course, and if you had to add a round here to your Fife golf itinerary, it wouldn’t be a disaster. They often run good green fee deals and so could be an ‘add-on’, but I probably wouldn’t make a special trip just for the golf.
BOOKING THE COURSE
All of the information on how to book is on the hotel website here. The advertised green fees range from £50 in the winter to £150 in the summer. However, there are frequently deals to be found and there are always twilight rates.
Your first port of call should be checking out the price that comes up when you try to book a specific tee time on the website as it may well be at a reduced rate. If that doesn’t work, then have a look on google to see whether anyone else is offering a special deal.
Prices correct as of August 2023.
TOUR TIPS
As I said the Fairmont hotel is well worth staying at. The hotel has quite an American feel to it and the service levels are really high. They also offer some good deals on accommodation, sometimes with golf and food included.
You’re only 10 minutes drive away from St Andrews itself so if you do choose to stay here it’s very easy to get into town. For advice on what to do and where to stay in St Andrews have a look at my review of the course.
When it comes to other courses to play there are the obvious candidates like The Old Course and Kingsbarns - but Fife has so many other options. For pure fun, Dumbarnie ranks very highly, while the south Fife coast attractions of Elie, Crail, Leven and Lundin are all well worth seeing. They all give a true links experience.
CONTACT DETAILS
Fairmont St Andrews
St Andrews
KY16 8PN
Telephone - +44 (1334) 837000
Web - https://www.fairmont.com/st-andrews-scotland/golf/fairmont-standrews-golf/
