Crail Balcomie Links

Crail Golfing Society, founded 1786, is the seventh-oldest organised golf club in the world. The Balcomie Links — laid out in 1895 by Old Tom Morris on the East Neuk coast of Fife — has been described, fairly, as the most consistently fun round of golf in Britain. The course is short (5,861 yards, par 69) but every hole has a sea view and most have the sea in play.

The 5th, played from a clifftop tee with the rocks of the Balcomie shore directly below, is the photographed par 3. The 13th and 14th run along the cliff edge; the 17th is a bizarre and brilliant short par 4 played towards a green tucked behind a small headland. Conditioning is excellent for the price — the East Fife coast drains naturally, and the greenkeeping team punches well above its budget.

Visitor green fee is £95 weekday, £125 weekend in 2026 — for a Morris course of this character and quality, exceptional value. The club also runs the newer Craighead Links (£95) on the same property, designed by Gil Hanse in 1998 — pair the two for a 36-hole day at around £190 total. The clubhouse serves the best soup on the Fife coast. For visitors basing in St Andrews, Crail is the obvious half-day round outside the St Andrews complex.