SCOTSCRAIG GOLF CLUB - 15 POints
Scotscraig is one of those courses I’d been meaning to play for a long. It’s only 20 minutes north of St Andrews and 20 minutes south of Dundee but never quite seems on the way anywhere! It’s history is storied. Golf was first played in these parts as long ago as 1817 and the course as it’s played today was largely set out by James Braid in 1923.
The course is hard to categorise. I played it in the height of summer and it played like a links course - especially over the front nine. The tees and greens were green but everything in between had gone white. This is meant it was playing incredibly firm, fast and bouncy and the ball was travelling for ever.
Many of the fairways, again especially on the front 9, have undulations and there were some incredibly funky bounces! If you were playing the course without seeing the surrounding you would have thought you were on a classic links course.
Move away from the fairways though and things are a little different. Along the sides of the fairways you’ll find a while host of different hazards. Gorse, heather, trees and bunkers - this has got the lot. As such it is very hard to come up with a description of the type of course you’ll find. Let’s go for linksy-parkland-heathland!
That does mean that ball striking is rewarded handsomely here. Hit it straight and you will be rewarded, off line and a punishment usually awaits. No wonder this has been used as an Open Qualifier several times. It sorts the wheat from the chaff.
Having said that you shouldn’t be massively intimidated by it if you aren’t arrow straight. I do think they could do with moving the hazards back a bit but it’s not crazy right, and things definitely open out on the back nine.
The front nine is full of quirky fairway change, some challenging green sites and frankly loads of fun. As you come back to clubhouse and things do change a bit.
The ground on the back nine is a lot more parkland in character. So much so that you can see a bunch of trees that were planted by the sides of some fairways in recent years. Chop them down now before they become an issue would be my advice!
The ground is also a little less firm under the foot, the rough lusher and the greens little softer. While none of this is a massive problem I would love to see those holes play with such a bounce as the front nine.
The two stand-out holes for me both came on the front nine. Both require thought from the tee as just blasting it out there will likely lead to problems. The fourth requires a well placed long iron to the left of the fairway before hitting over a big dip to the green.
The seventh is called Plateau, for reasons which become very obvious when you play the hole!. You decision from the tee is whether to try to keep the ball on the top of the plateaued fairway, leading to a long iron in, or try to carry the drop and the rocks, gorse and heather that you will find in your way.
The aptly named ‘Plateau’ hole at Scotscraig
They were clever holes which really made you think. While other holes are more straightforward, Scotscraig is a thoroughly pleasant place to play golf. The summer conditions I played in were pretty extreme but I have heard very good reports of the conditioning here all round. Next time you are looking for a course to play in the St Andrews area I would have no hesitation in recommending you head twenty minutes north and play Scotscraig. You’ll find a warm welcome and some interesting golf.
BOOKING THE COURSE
You can book times at Scotscraig very easily online here. The summer 2022 green fee peaked at £100 to coincide with The Open at St Andrews before dropping to £85 in August and September. There are no reduced rates on the website. Winter green fees drop but it would be nice if they put the details on the website!
TOUR TIPS
Scotscraig is pretty equidistant from Dundee on St Andrews. If you choose to stay in Dundee then you have some great options just up the coast with Carnoustie and Panmure the pick of the crop. Monifieth is also worth a look in and will be a little kinder on the wallet. There are plenty of hotel options, the Indigo and Sleeperz are both convenient for all of the golf.
It would be fair to say though that St Andrews probably has more romance for the visiting golfer. It’s only 20 minutes drive to Scotscraig so a very easy journey. Also, Scotscraig often has plenty of availability when the courses in town may be busier.so it’s well worth giving them a call if you fancy a last minute round.
CONTACT DETAILS
Scotscraig Golf Club
Golf Rd,
Tayport
DD6 9DZ
Web - https://www.scotscraiggolfclub.com/
Phone - +44 (1382) 552515
