Crail? Or anywhere in the East Neuk!

[Hawkeye77]

Just curious about anyone's experiences with the original course at Crail? Looks intriguing!

 

Thanks!

 

Edit: now have some time for a round or maybe two if we push it in the East Neuk area. Staying in Lower Largo and playing Crail for sure now, but looking at Leven, Lundin, Elie, etc. (and already have some good input in this thread, but didn't think I should be starting another one, so edited this one).

[sabram]

It is a very interesting course and a good value. The first 14 holes are on one side of the clubhouse and the last four are on the other side and have a slightly different feel. Crail Balcomie, Elie and Lundin are three really interesting and fairly proced courses in the East Neuk of Fife.

 

P1010562 - Crail Balcomie #1 from tee (#14 at right)

 

P1010573 -

Crail Balcomie #4 from tee

 

P1010582 -

Crail Balcomie #6 and #5 from 7th tee

 

P1010599 -

Crail Balcomie #11 uphill pitch to double green (with #8)

 

P1010602 -

Crail Balcomie #12 par 5 second shot- to layup short of burn (or not)

 

P1010605 -

Crail Balcomie #13 long uphill par 3

 

P1010609 -

Crail Balcomie #14 downhill par 3

 

P1010613 -

Crail Balcomie #17 from tee

[Hawkeye77]

Those are awesome pics - thanks!

[Stall]

One of my good buddies has a membership there so I play it regularly. Its a good fun course with some really nice holes. True there are some of the holes which are just straight lines and could be cut into a local park but you probably have to expect it given how old it is. Definitely worth a game, it is good and the greens are always in great nick regardless of the time of year.

 

The other course, Criaghead is pretty good as well. Theres a great stretch of holes at the start of the back 9.

 

Balcomie still the more enjoyable however.

[Ralphyboy84]

I would give both a miss personally. I find the balcomie to be one of the most over rated courses in the country and the greens on the Craighead absolutely farcical. Much better off at Elie, Lundin or Leven in my opinion

[Hawkeye77]

I would give both a miss personally. I find the balcomie to be one of the most over rated courses in the country and the greens on the Craighead absolutely farcical. Much better off at Elie, Lundin or Leven in my opinion

 

Quite the dissent. Looking for a course an easier drive from St. Andrews than North Berwick for a few reasons, and Crail looks beautiful, has Tom Morris going for it (yes, I know he won't be joining us, lol) and I think is a track the family would enjoy across the range of ability if we all play, and loving the views of the water. Something about it is calling, but never been there, never played.

 

Happy to hear your plusses of the other courses!

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Balcomie, very quirky golf course, loads of fun and plenty challenging even at 6k from the tips. The par 3 3rd had one of my favorite green complexes of my entire trip. Incredibly helpful to play with a caddie or member as the routing overlaps in a couple spots and would be very easy to fire at the wrong green. Worth playing, wont be the most memorable or talked about course of the trip but I enjoyed it.

[thecraw]

I would give both a miss personally. I find the balcomie to be one of the most over rated courses in the country and the greens on the Craighead absolutely farcical. Much better off at Elie, Lundin or Leven in my opinion

 

Elie is quirky and enjoyable. Is it "much" or even "any" better than Balcomie? I guess that's a matter of opinion. I wouldn't say you're wrong but I enjoyed both. Lundin on the other hand is a better test of golf. 100% with you on that.

 

Leven? No. It was tired, tatty and lacking a lot of TLC the last time I played it. The clubhouse and the starters hut are horrendous looking and need money spent on them, the course itself was suffering from a lack of definition and was pretty untidy in places. Great last hole but again the sleepers at the burn need attention and tidied up and defined.

[Ralphyboy84]

I would give both a miss personally. I find the balcomie to be one of the most over rated courses in the country and the greens on the Craighead absolutely farcical. Much better off at Elie, Lundin or Leven in my opinion

 

Elie is quirky and enjoyable. Is it "much" or even "any" better than Balcomie? I guess that's a matter of opinion. I wouldn't say you're wrong but I enjoyed both. Lundin on the other hand is a better test of golf. 100% with you on that.

 

Leven? No. It was tired, tatty and lacking a lot of TLC the last time I played it. The clubhouse and the starters hut are horrendous looking and need money spent on them, the course itself was suffering from a lack of definition and was pretty untidy in places. Great last hole but again the sleepers at the burn need attention and tidied up and defined.

 

For me Elie is streets ahead of Crail and for me is the best course on the stretch of coast. I agree with your comments about Leven as well, though I still enjoy playing it.

 

I think the problem I had with the Balcomie was I went in with quite high expectations as a lot of people rate it quite highly. However apart from the first 4/5 holes round the coast and the par 3 down the hill on the back 9 (14?), the course was a huge disappointment for me. The last 4 holes in particular are farcically poor. It felt like they’ve just been squeezed into an area the size of a football pitch!

 

Like I said, much better off at Elie, Lundin or Leven (even the castle course if staying in St. Andrews). I’d also highly recommend Scotscraig or ladybank if you fancied an inland course. Ladybank in particular is fantastic

[imakaveli]

Balcomie is a good wide course where you can enjoy a relaxed golf round, be sure to keep left on the first 4 or 5 holes ;)

The club pro is a great guy and has a little museum in the pro shop!

[Hawkeye77]

Balcomie is a good wide course where you can enjoy a relaxed golf round, be sure to keep left on the first 4 or 5 holes ;)

The club pro is a great guy and has a little museum in the pro shop!

 

LOL, I'll just pretend I'm at home - OB left the last 4 holes, never seem to have any issue keeping it left!

[clp34vmp]

I've got Crail lined up for my trip in August. This will be my first trip to Scotland, and I'm hoping to be able to play a wide variety of different courses while there and not just stick to the usual trophy courses. Hopefully, I'll be back over many more times and will get the chance to see most of them eventually. Crail seemed to fit the bill as a course that retains the quirky charm that much older courses can have. It also looks like a course that is not likely to beat me up to badly, which I may need by that point in the trip.

[Stall]

It also looks like a course that is not likely to beat me up to badly, which I may need by that point in the trip.

 

Yea, you will be fine. The only beatings you will get is if you can't keep the ball off the beach on the sea holes, and or stick it in the cabbage field to the right on 7 i think it is.

 

The other course used to be one to properly kick you in the nuts when they let the rough grow up, they don't seem to have been doing that the last few years.

 

Really nice club house and facilities by the way, you will enjoy it.

[Walter]

We played Crail Balcomie last year in August.

 

It was a great course with a nice head pro (walking his dog around the course) saying hello and even "raising the flag" on our arrival.

 

Course is rather short but with some great sea side holes and authentic feeling.

Short drive from St Andrews and great addition when playing the "bigger names". Would play it before you play Carnoustie though.

[Hawkeye77]

We've rearranged our time in the St. Andrews area so we've decided to play Crail for sure, in addition to our time we already have set on Old and New. Touristy things are interfering with the opportunity to also take a trip down and around to North Berwick (it looks just awesome but just don't want to sacrifice much of Sunday - can't play there Saturday at all - want to spend a good part of Sunday walking the Old Course, etc.). Had to rearrange lodging (long story, apparently our confirmation since October was unknowingly double booked by the owner so we ended up out and scrambled a couple weeks ago and have ended up in a very nice place down the coast in Lower Largo, so it all worked out fine).

 

That puts us right at Lundin Links, but I've been looking at and also strongly encourage by a couple of folks who either live and play there or have been there and played to consider Elie, which looks like a really nice course.

 

Any thoughts?

[imakaveli]

We've rearranged our time in the St. Andrews area so we've decided to play Crail for sure, in addition to our time we already have set on Old and New. Touristy things are interfering with the opportunity to also take a trip down and around to North Berwick (it looks just awesome but just don't want to sacrifice much of Sunday - can't play there Saturday at all - want to spend a good part of Sunday walking the Old Course, etc.). Had to rearrange lodging (long story, apparently our confirmation since October was unknowingly double booked by the owner so we ended up out and scrambled a couple weeks ago and have ended up in a very nice place down the coast in Lower Largo, so it all worked out fine).

 

That puts us right at Lundin Links, but I've been looking at and also strongly encourage by a couple of folks who either live and play there or have been there and played to consider Elie, which looks like a really nice course.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Played Lundin, it’s a great course! “Perfection” is a stunning par 3!

[davep043]

I've played both, and each one is good. Lundin is probably more challenging, especially the first 4 holes out along the Firth. From there it turns inland, up the hill to a more "parkland" terrain, and then back down the hill to finish in the links again. Elie is interesting, 2 par-3 holes, and 16 par-4s Even so, it never got boring, the routing twists and turns, lengths vary. Again, there are some really good holes along the coast. I think you'd be happy to play either one, whichever fit your schedule better.

[AcmeGolf]

Took a trip last July, played..

 

Old Course

New Course

Castle Course

Western Gailes

Kingsbarns

Turnberry

The Kittocks at Fairmont

Crail Balcomie

 

Crail was probably the least preferred by everyone on the trip. It had a lot of history, but just didn't stack up to the rest. Didn't help that my caddie was local member/golfer who carried the clubs and that was about it, not much for conversation, could not read a putt to save his life and used my range finder for yardage.

[Hawkeye77]

Took a trip last July, played..

 

Old Course

New Course

Castle Course

Western Gailes

Kingsbarns

Turnberry

The Kittocks at Fairmont

Crail Balcomie

 

Crail was probably the least preferred by everyone on the trip. It had a lot of history, but just didn't stack up to the rest. Didn't help that my caddie was local member/golfer who carried the clubs and that was about it, not much for conversation, could not read a putt to save his life and used my range finder for yardage.

 

Appreciate the input, thanks. Still playing it! Won't be getting caddies there, however.

 

Until some changes in other plans to accommodate other interests among the family North Berwick was a must play for me. But, we can't play everything and are making some good decisions to take advantage of our location and driving/time in the day and catch some historic links courses in the "Neuk". We can spend a nice leisurely Sunday walking the Old Course, lunch, hanging out in and around St. Andrews and still have a nice late afternoon or after dinner 18.

 

Crail looks to be pretty scenic, has great history and will be playable for all 4 of us (not saying it's easy or anything like that and I've never played there), but Leven, Lundin, Elie, for example, look to possibly be more challenging and only two of us are playing whatever course we pick among those (may get in a bonus 9 at Anstruther as a family if we can swing it time wise, or 2 of us may even get in 36 on Saturday, who knows).

 

Although Royal Dornoch is the centerpiece up north for the week we are there, Brora, Moray, Boat of Garten, Struie (cheap and good for the whole family it seems) maybe even Golspie/Tain who knows are our focus. Castle Stuart looks amazing but too expensive and too new and it loses out to what should be a really enjoyable round at Moray, and it looks like maybe with a wrxer accompanying me and the oldest daughter!

 

Happy to meet any locals!

 

We start with a couple of nights in Glenfinnan (Harry Potter train photos and photos and exploring in the Glen Coe and other areas around there a must for the family) but will sneak in 9 holes at Traigh which probably isn't on any "must play" lists, but why the heck not.

 

Interesting how the trip has been evolving since the news about the lottery and getting on Old/New - kind of come all the way around from "I'm in Scotland (Scotland!) and golfing so who cares what I play", to "I must play these because whatever" now back to the original. St. Andrews and Royal Dornoch are "the" courses for me (still having never played either) and we've just sorted out the rest by other activities, good advice and help on this forum, trying to play old time links courses and the day trip to the forest/park and a round at Boat, again based on scenery and some good recommendations.

 

Long post, sorry, and it's interesting to read all the different perspectives and anyone's criteria and option are valid.

 

And another plug for Allan McAllister Ferguson - the book has been a constant companion for the past year, engaged him for some consulting on lodging, etc. and he's been a great help and saved us some $$$ (have done our own planning, it's not really that hard, but the money spent for advice on how to plan/some ideas on where to stay and many other things has been well worth it, and he's a great guy and true gentleman).

 

Anxious to read other opinions on the East Neuk!

[davep043]

I'd say you have the attitude to have a great time, no matter what courses you play. Royal Dornoch is my favorite course in the world. I played Tain once, and really enjoyed it, and a good friend highly recommends Brora and Boat of Garten. You can't go wrong.

[imakaveli]

Remember to talk with the Club pro at Crail, great guy!

[thecraw]

Traigh is a fabulous little track, stunning location.

 

Its rough, certainly an unpolished rough round the edges course, but its fun holiday golf. It won't disappoint you and what it lacks in condition it more than makes up for with fun and location.

[Calliopejuly]

Craig is alright, but I prefer Elie and then Lundin. Elie clearly ahead of both though. All three are great examples of “local” courses that are good tracks, good fun, fair challenge. Crail Balcomie is an Old Tom, Elie a Braid, not sure about Lundin. Enjoy!

[Gem]

I have probably played Crail Balcomie around a dozen times over the years and just don't really like it much at all. I have always been surprised at the positive comments it gets.

 

Elie is a lot of fun but quite expensive. Lundin and Leven are enjoyable and all three worth a visit.

 

I would also recommend going to Ladybank, a fantastic heathland type course. Scotscraig is also good and not far away.

 

You couldn't get me back on the Castle course even if you paid me. Stupid greens waste an otherwise nice looking course.

[Gem]

Took a trip last July, played..

 

Old Course

New Course

Castle Course

Western Gailes

Kingsbarns

Turnberry

The Kittocks at Fairmont

Crail Balcomie

 

Crail was probably the least preferred by everyone on the trip. It had a lot of history, but just didn't stack up to the rest. Didn't help that my caddie was local member/golfer who carried the clubs and that was about it, not much for conversation, could not read a putt to save his life and used my range finder for yardage.

 

Appreciate the input, thanks. Still playing it! Won't be getting caddies there, however.

 

Until some changes in other plans to accommodate other interests among the family North Berwick was a must play for me. But, we can't play everything and are making some good decisions to take advantage of our location and driving/time in the day and catch some historic links courses in the "Neuk". We can spend a nice leisurely Sunday walking the Old Course, lunch, hanging out in and around St. Andrews and still have a nice late afternoon or after dinner 18.

 

Crail looks to be pretty scenic, has great history and will be playable for all 4 of us (not saying it's easy or anything like that and I've never played there), but Leven, Lundin, Elie, for example, look to possibly be more challenging and only two of us are playing whatever course we pick among those (may get in a bonus 9 at Anstruther as a family if we can swing it time wise, or 2 of us may even get in 36 on Saturday, who knows).

 

Although Royal Dornoch is the centerpiece up north for the week we are there, Brora, Moray, Boat of Garten, Struie (cheap and good for the whole family it seems) maybe even Golspie/Tain who knows are our focus. Castle Stuart looks amazing but too expensive and too new and it loses out to what should be a really enjoyable round at Moray, and it looks like maybe with a wrxer accompanying me and the oldest daughter!

 

Happy to meet any locals!

 

We start with a couple of nights in Glenfinnan (Harry Potter train photos and photos and exploring in the Glen Coe and other areas around there a must for the family) but will sneak in 9 holes at Traigh which probably isn't on any "must play" lists, but why the heck not.

 

Interesting how the trip has been evolving since the news about the lottery and getting on Old/New - kind of come all the way around from "I'm in Scotland (Scotland!) and golfing so who cares what I play", to "I must play these because whatever" now back to the original. St. Andrews and Royal Dornoch are "the" courses for me (still having never played either) and we've just sorted out the rest by other activities, good advice and help on this forum, trying to play old time links courses and the day trip to the forest/park and a round at Boat, again based on scenery and some good recommendations.

 

Long post, sorry, and it's interesting to read all the different perspectives and anyone's criteria and option are valid.

 

And another plug for Allan McAllister Ferguson - the book has been a constant companion for the past year, engaged him for some consulting on lodging, etc. and he's been a great help and saved us some $$$ (have done our own planning, it's not really that hard, but the money spent for advice on how to plan/some ideas on where to stay and many other things has been well worth it, and he's a great guy and true gentleman).

 

Anxious to read other opinions on the East Neuk!

 

Sounds like you should have a fantastic trip. Glad to see you mention Moray, that is my favourite course here in Scotland.

[Hawkeye77]

Remember to talk with the Club pro at Crail, great guy!

 

Was just reviewing this - we did and he was! Very accommodating!

[imakaveli]

Remember to talk with the Club pro at Crail, great guy!

 

Was just reviewing this - we did and he was! Very accommodating!

 

He showed us his collection of memorabilia, such a great guy!