Kingsbarns VS US Courses

[mci711]

Kingsbarns vs courses like Pebble Beach, Whistling Straits, Bandon/Pacific Dunes, Kiawah Ocean Course etc. I played those courses the last 2 years, and have Kingsbarns booked for this summer. How would Kingsbarns rank amongst the top US "coastal" courses for you?

[dcmidnight]

Kingsbarns vs courses like Pebble Beach, Whistling Straits, Bandon/Pacific Dunes, Kiawah Ocean Course etc. I played those courses the last 2 years, and have Kingsbarns booked for this summer. How would Kingsbarns rank amongst the top US "coastal" courses for you?

 

On that list I've played Pebble, WS and the Ocean Course. And it doesnt take a back seat to *any* of those courses.

 

The only "complaint" you will hear is that oh, you go to Scotland, why are you playing a newer course? I dont know, because it was fantastic?

 

Leave yourself enough time to have a drink or food there too, its a fantastic spot to sit and watch the scenery.

[jvincent]

Kingsbarns vs courses like Pebble Beach, Whistling Straits, Bandon/Pacific Dunes, Kiawah Ocean Course etc. I played those courses the last 2 years, and have Kingsbarns booked for this summer. How would Kingsbarns rank amongst the top US "coastal" courses for you?

 

I've played all of those.

 

I think Kingsbarns is as good as any of them overall.

 

The only hole that I didn't like and felt out of place was the 18th. Other than that it's top notch.

[duffer987]

Different style courses, but they are all cool nth degree tracks aren't they? Quality all around. Assuming the weather isn't utter crap - in which case you'll have an interesting time - you're in for a great time and a fun round.

 

Bandon Resort x 4

Straits

Pebble

Kingsbarns

Ocean Course

[mci711]

Different style courses, but they are all cool nth degree tracks aren't they? Quality all around. Assuming the weather isn't utter crap - in which case you'll have an interesting time - you're in for a great time and a fun round.

 

Bandon Resort x 4

Straits

Pebble

Kingsbarns

Ocean Course

 

Of course, I'd say Pebble and Trails are the least linksy. I would assume Kingsbarns is most similar to Whistling Straits, at least from the pictures I have seen and my experience at WS. Agree with that? It seems that KB is a lot greener than Bandon as well. For what it is worth I would go Bandon, Pacific, Pebble, Whistling, Bandon trails, Ocean Course, Old Mac.

[az2au]

I'm not a fan of the Straits course at WS. Think it looks, feels and plays like a faux links. Kingsbarns plays like a modern but real links course. I've played every course you listed and I'd go Old Mac as my favorite because it is just so unique and fun. Whistling Straits is so far last that it isn't even worth put with the rest of them for me. I'd probably put Pebble second, then Ocean then Kingsbarns then Pacific then Bandon and then about 400 other courses I've played before WS :)

[mci711]

I'm not a fan of the Straits course at WS. Think it looks, feels and plays like a faux links. Kingsbarns plays like a modern but real links course. I've played every course you listed and I'd go Old Mac as my favorite because it is just so unique and fun. Whistling Straits is so far last that it isn't even worth put with the rest of them for me. I'd probably put Pebble second, then Ocean then Kingsbarns then Pacific then Bandon and then about 400 other courses I've played before WS :)

 

Did you have the infamous 1star review lol? Everyone has different opinions, even though I disagree with that assessment big time but that's what makes playing different courses and golf in general great.

 

Have you played Streamsong Black? That gave me an Old Mac feel.

[az2au]

I'm not a fan of the Straits course at WS. Think it looks, feels and plays like a faux links. Kingsbarns plays like a modern but real links course. I've played every course you listed and I'd go Old Mac as my favorite because it is just so unique and fun. Whistling Straits is so far last that it isn't even worth put with the rest of them for me. I'd probably put Pebble second, then Ocean then Kingsbarns then Pacific then Bandon and then about 400 other courses I've played before WS :)

 

Did you have the infamous 1star review lol? Everyone has different opinions, even though I disagree with that assessment big time but that's what makes playing different courses and golf in general great.

 

Have you played Streamsong Black? That gave me an Old Mac feel.

Nah, it isn't 1* because I don't take price into account when talking about golf courses or doing ratings. It is just below average to me as a course.

 

Haven't played Black yet but look forward to trying it.

[duffer987]

Different style courses, but they are all cool nth degree tracks aren't they? Quality all around. Assuming the weather isn't utter crap - in which case you'll have an interesting time - you're in for a great time and a fun round.

 

Bandon Resort x 4

Straits

Pebble

Kingsbarns

Ocean Course

 

Of course, I'd say Pebble and Trails are the least linksy. I would assume Kingsbarns is most similar to Whistling Straits, at least from the pictures I have seen and my experience at WS. Agree with that? It seems that KB is a lot greener than Bandon as well. For what it is worth I would go Bandon, Pacific, Pebble, Whistling, Bandon trails, Ocean Course, Old Mac.

KB plays like a proper links, even if the upper reaches of it were farmer's fields before they put a course on it, so while it maybe modern like the Straits it does play like its neighbours in Fife. I really don't care how a course comes into being, but you can tell it's "modern". It's been built as a resort course and it is tarted up and routed like you'd expect a resort course to be.

It's a 600GBP 36 hole day there or thereabouts, so it certainly has the North American resort price tag. We had an enjoyable day out there and I am sure you will too, but I don't need to go back.

[mci711]

Different style courses, but they are all cool nth degree tracks aren't they? Quality all around. Assuming the weather isn't utter crap - in which case you'll have an interesting time - you're in for a great time and a fun round.

 

Bandon Resort x 4

Straits

Pebble

Kingsbarns

Ocean Course

 

Of course, I'd say Pebble and Trails are the least linksy. I would assume Kingsbarns is most similar to Whistling Straits, at least from the pictures I have seen and my experience at WS. Agree with that? It seems that KB is a lot greener than Bandon as well. For what it is worth I would go Bandon, Pacific, Pebble, Whistling, Bandon trails, Ocean Course, Old Mac.

KB plays like a proper links, even if the upper reaches of it were farmer's fields before they put a course on it, so while it maybe modern like the Straits it does play like its neighbours in Fife. I really don't care how a course comes into being, but you can tell it's "modern". It's been built as a resort course and it is tarted up and routed like you'd expect a resort course to be.

It's a 600GBP 36 hole day there or thereabouts, so it certainly has the North American resort price tag. We had an enjoyable day out there and I am sure you will too, but I don't need to go back.

 

Yea I paid around 700 pounds for my fiance and me. Not cheap that is for sure. It is our honeymoon though so might as well go for it.

[duffer987]

Neat. Although that may open up some p1sstake opportunities for the caddies... tread carefully ;)

[cardoustie]

Very similar course to Cabot Cliffs, 18th could be better per other poster

[DandyDon]

have played all of the courses you mentioned except Kiawah (I am playing there in April), and Kingsbarns is my favorite out of all of them.

 

And I know its heresy, but if you take history out of it, I preferred it over the Old Course, Turnberry (which was my second fav), Muirfield (one of the most difficult I played( and Royal Troon as well

[Roadking2003]

Kingsbarns vs courses like Pebble Beach, Whistling Straits, Bandon/Pacific Dunes, Kiawah Ocean Course etc. I played those courses the last 2 years, and have Kingsbarns booked for this summer. How would Kingsbarns rank amongst the top US "coastal" courses for you?

 

I haven't played Bandon, but I would put Kingsbarns right up there with the others you listed. Not better, but competitive. And yes, Kingsbarns is a better track than The Old course if you ignore history.

[CMCSGolf]

This is an interesting comparison. Like Az2, I think WS is horribly overrated. It's not a bad course at all, but it is nowhere near a top 100 in my view. I've played Bandon and the Ocean course and I would say it is better than Kiawah, but worse than all the courses at Bandon. In some regard, Kingsbarns feels most similar to WS because it is a course that starts above the water and works it's way down with a lot of views. However, Kingsbarns is a much better version on a modern course on a body of water. WS offends me because it feels so contrived. On the other hand, KB also does not look/feel natural in the same way that most links courses do, but I still like it. I'll have to think a bit more about why that is, but I would say KB is middle of the pack on modern greats if you widen the group to include courses like Streamsong.

[duffer987]

Kingsbarns vs courses like Pebble Beach, Whistling Straits, Bandon/Pacific Dunes, Kiawah Ocean Course etc. I played those courses the last 2 years, and have Kingsbarns booked for this summer. How would Kingsbarns rank amongst the top US "coastal" courses for you?

 

I haven't played Bandon, but I would put Kingsbarns right up there with the others you listed. Not better, but competitive. And yes, Kingsbarns is a better track than The Old course if you ignore history.

Fair enough you prefer it - each to their own and it has those dazzling sea views - but categorically calling it better?

Especially if you are going to lean on the spurious "history" reason.

Please do list out all the reasons that make it a better course.

[jwellefson1]

Kingsbarns vs courses like Pebble Beach, Whistling Straits, Bandon/Pacific Dunes, Kiawah Ocean Course etc. I played those courses the last 2 years, and have Kingsbarns booked for this summer. How would Kingsbarns rank amongst the top US "coastal" courses for you?

 

I haven't played Bandon, but I would put Kingsbarns right up there with the others you listed. Not better, but competitive. And yes, Kingsbarns is a better track than The Old course if you ignore history.

Fair enough you prefer it - each to their own and it has those dazzling sea views - but categorically calling it better?

Especially if you are going to lean on the spurious "history" reason.

Please do list out all the reasons that make it a better course.

 

Theoretically if you take history out of the question a lot of places in general wouldn't be that special. Kingsbarns had the advantage of being able to take lessons learned from thousands of golf courses, whereas the Old Course didn't have that option. It's easy to discount the history of a golf course, but isn't history what makes so many places grand?

[Roadking2003]

Kingsbarns vs courses like Pebble Beach, Whistling Straits, Bandon/Pacific Dunes, Kiawah Ocean Course etc. I played those courses the last 2 years, and have Kingsbarns booked for this summer. How would Kingsbarns rank amongst the top US "coastal" courses for you?

 

I haven't played Bandon, but I would put Kingsbarns right up there with the others you listed. Not better, but competitive. And yes, Kingsbarns is a better track than The Old course if you ignore history.

Fair enough you prefer it - each to their own and it has those dazzling sea views - but categorically calling it better?

Especially if you are going to lean on the spurious "history" reason.

Please do list out all the reasons that make it a better course.

 

As has been discussed, "better" means a wide variety of things to people including the magazine raters.

 

KB is better, for example, due to the variety of holes including doglegs, uphill and downhill holes. The terrain is much more interesting. The views are much nicer.

 

The nice thing about golf courses is we can all rank them however we choose and one person's ranking is no better or worse than another person's ranking.

[Roadking2003]

It's easy to discount the history of a golf course, but isn't history what makes so many places grand?

 

Absolutely! Most of us include history when we rank courses.

[sabram]

I prefer the courses at Bandon over the others mentioned. I like The Ocean Course and Kingbarns about equally and if I had to chooses ten rounds between them I'd go 5 and 5. I'd have the Straits a little below the others, but there's not a course on that list that I don't like. Link to full photo tour: https://www.flickr.com/photos/golfcoursepix/albums/72157633680384864/with/8825245128/

 

Kingsbarns #2 par 3

 

Kingsbarns #3 view back /url]

 

Kingsbarns #4

 

Kingsbarns #5 mound and bunker right fairway

 

Kingsbarns #6 panorama from tee

 

- Kingsbarns #7 from tee

 

Kingsbarns #9

 

- Kingsbarns #11 green

 

- Kingsbarns #12 panorama from tee

 

- Kingsbarns #13 par 3

 

Kingsbarns #15 par 3 uphill

 

Kingsbarns #16 par 5 from tee

 

Kingsbarns #18 burn crosses in front of green Don't be short!

[mci711]

I prefer the courses at Bandon over the others mentioned. I like The Ocean Course and Kingbarns about equally and if I had to chooses ten rounds between them I'd go 5 and 5. I'd have the Straits a little below the others, but there's not a course on that list that I don't like. Link to full photo tour: https://www.flickr.c...ith/8825245128/

 

I've had your page bookmarked for a while. Great albums!

[gerdy]

This is an interesting topic.

 

Kingsbarns to me is very similar to Pacific Dunes. In fact I think it was the 4th hole one of my playing partners asked what I thought and I said "I feel like I am back at Pacific Dunes." For me, I am not a big fan. Wonderful for the camera not the greatest course of the trip. In fact, I had it 2nd to last of the 9 course I played in Scotland, DunDonald was last. Not because either were bad, they just had very modern feels to them. I enjoyed the older more traditional links courses significantly more. I also think if I had played Kingsbarns prior to all the other courses as opposed to last it would have had a different feeling for me. It was tough to go from Muirfield, Troon, TOC, Carnoustie, Turnberry. To Kingsbarns, it just didn't fit.

 

I get the comparison's to Whistling Straits but I feel that is more topography than course. I would rather play Kingsbarns than the straits course at Whistling Straits.

 

It doesn't compare at all to me to The Ocean Course. The Ocean Course is meant to be played in the air but look like a links course, mostly because of its setting. Kingsbarns in much firmer and meant for the most part to be played as creatively as you would like. I would rather play ocean than Kingsbarns, although there is bias there as I normally play ocean 5-7 times a year and know it like the back of my hand.

 

If I was ranking order I would like to play:

 

Pebble

Ocean

Bandon

Kingsbarns

Whistling Straits

[mci711]

This is an interesting topic.

 

Kingsbarns to me is very similar to Pacific Dunes. In fact I think it was the 4th hole one of my playing partners asked what I thought and I said "I feel like I am back at Pacific Dunes." For me, I am not a big fan. Wonderful for the camera not the greatest course of the trip. In fact, I had it 2nd to last of the 9 course I played in Scotland, DunDonald was last. Not because either were bad, they just had very modern feels to them. I enjoyed the older more traditional links courses significantly more. I also think if I had played Kingsbarns prior to all the other courses as opposed to last it would have had a different feeling for me. It was tough to go from Muirfield, Troon, TOC, Carnoustie, Turnberry. To Kingsbarns, it just didn't fit.

 

I get the comparison's to Whistling Straits but I feel that is more topography than course. I would rather play Kingsbarns than the straits course at Whistling Straits.

 

It doesn't compare at all to me to The Ocean Course. The Ocean Course is meant to be played in the air but look like a links course, mostly because of its setting. Kingsbarns in much firmer and meant for the most part to be played as creatively as you would like. I would rather play ocean than Kingsbarns, although there is bias there as I normally play ocean 5-7 times a year and know it like the back of my hand.

 

If I was ranking order I would like to play:

 

Pebble

Ocean

Bandon

Kingsbarns

Whistling Straits

 

Interesting you compare Kingsbarns to Pacific but don't care for it. For me Pacific Dunes > Pebble Beach and probably any other public course in the country. So the comparison would be a massive compliment. If Kingsbarns was in the US and wasn't up against all of the history of TOC and the other courses you mentioned would you feel differently about it?

 

I have also played The Ocean course more than any of the others. I love it. I am in the minority i think, and I love the front 9. It feels so peaceful to me and looking out over the marsh in the middle of the front is beautiful.

[duffer987]

Interesting you compare Kingsbarns to Pacific but don't care for it. For me Pacific Dunes > Pebble Beach and probably any other public course in the country. So the comparison would be a massive compliment. If Kingsbarns was in the US and wasn't up against all of the history of TOC and the other courses you mentioned would you feel differently about it?

That's always the question isn't it: If you change the context in relation to ______, then what do you think?

For me, a geographical shift wouldn't change what I think of KB, but it would definitely change where I'd place it amongst its competition, if I was to list my North American Top 20, compared to my UK/Ireland Top 20.

It wouldn't come close to the latter, but would certainly make it into the former - such as things are.

[Bad9]

I'm not a fan of the Straits course at WS. Think it looks, feels and plays like a faux links. Kingsbarns plays like a modern but real links course. I've played every course you listed and I'd go Old Mac as my favorite because it is just so unique and fun. Whistling Straits is so far last that it isn't even worth put with the rest of them for me. I'd probably put Pebble second, then Ocean then Kingsbarns then Pacific then Bandon and then about 400 other courses I've played before WS :)

 

I agree I didn't think WS played like a links course. at all. I really liked it but it was still target gold in the end.

[gerdy]

I tried to not sound so negative about Kingsbarns by saying why I didn’t love it. I think you make a great point if it was in the US it would probably be viewed differently by me. My basic thoughts are if I’m going to Scotland inwant to play courses from the 1800’s.

 

As for Pacfic Dunes, I think it’s a fantastic golf course, it’s not in my top 5 and probably not in my top 10 in the US, it’s definately not in my top 10 in the world. All that being said I played one of my favorite rounds of golf there. It was an afternoon round with the sun setting on the back nine, I was with two of my best friends and it was 65 degrees with no wind just magical. Bandon as a whole is probably the best for just pure golf in the US. However, after going to Scotland I greatly prefer it to Bandon plus from the east coast it’s easier to get to. In the US i’d rather go to a higher end resort with better lodging, food, amenities etc.

 

Doesn’t take away from PD I just don’t think it’s that special of a course unless you are only looking at public courses. If that is the criteria, it’s probably top 5 in the country.

 

M