The New St Andrews Golf Course Reviewed

The Saint went for a round on the Craigtoun Course after its rebrand by the St Andrews Links Trust

St Andrews is often described as “heaven on earth” when it comes to golf, but a cold, rainy Wednesday morning on the Craigtoun Course was hardly a celestial experience. Though the conditions were thoroughly miserable, the Craigtoun is a fantastic addition to the St Andrews course roster, posing very different challenges from the links courses on the coast.

The Duke’s Course came into the hands of the St Andrews Links Trust in January. One of the first steps the Trust took was to change the course’s original name owing to its ties with St Andrews. The now-rebranded Craigtoun Course, named after the nearby country park, is a five-minute drive from St Andrews and the latest addition to the town’s ever-growing golf circuit.

Right from the first tee shot, it was obvious that my customary erratic approach wasn’t going to cut it. The fairways, though fairly generous for a woodland course, are significantly narrower than those on the links. Booming slices with the driver are out of the question, so opting for a fairway-finding iron is the smarter call.

The course punishes players who sacrifice distance off the tee with long holes. The second hole, a 613-yard par five, was especially gruelling with the wind blowing a gale. The long holes were made all the harder by the state of the ground, which has been waterlogged after weeks of dire weather in St Andrews. It must be said that the ground staff have done an admirable job keeping the course open during the winter months, and I am sure that, come spring, the fairways and greens will be in much better shape.

Even on such a grisly day, it was clear that this course would be stunning in a few months’ time. The views over the town and beach, although obscured by rain at the moment, are as good as they get. Large-scale excavations for a new, private eighteen-hole course are taking place by the second and third holes, but the building site doesn’t interfere much with the scenery.

The rows of tall trees shelter the fairways from the wind, maintaining a peacefulness about the Craigtoun that is sometimes lacking on the links. By spring, once the rain has abated, with the greens playing a touch quicker and the fairways offering a bit of roll, Craigtoun will be a joy to play.

The clubhouse experience is a crucial component of any round of golf, and the Craigtoun clubhouse is fantastic — among the best public clubhouses in St Andrews, in fact. The food and pints are fairly priced, it offers great views of the course, and the staff were charming.

It was hard not to visualise sitting on the balcony, overlooking the eighteenth, when the sun finally returns. A summer at the Craigtoun sounds like an enticing prospect indeed.

Image by Joey Chataway