The first four holes on the 7,126-yard Kingsbarns routing
rival the
best quartet of starters anywhere. No. 1 requests a blind tee shot
between grassy, rolling mounds; from the fairway, this 414-yard
adventure
reveals an expansive blue horizon of ocean framing the green.
The 200-yard 2nd
hole also plays right at the water. The short, tight
par-5 3rd plays alongside
the sea all the way to the dangerously
bunkered green. And No. 4’s encroaching
fairway bunker introduces the
risk/reward theme, which is repeated often
throughout the round.
The best stretch of holes comes after the turn. Following No.
11, an
uncharacteristically tree-lined hole, the next four cavort across a
peninsula formed by a fast-running burn that flows into the sea. The
12th is an
epic 606-yard par 5 that curls around the ocean to a green
72 yards deep and
tightly set beside the water. The 15th, a par 3 over
the ocean, captivates with
a combination of beauty and danger.
Kingsbarns closes with three brutes. No. 16’s 565 yards
include
riveted bunkering and a sneaky burn behind the green. The 17th unfurls
to 474 yards that will be difficult to gobble in two bites if you’ve
produced
anything but a perfect tee shot. The home hole concludes with
an approach over
another hidden burn and a walk over the exhumed stone
bridge from Napoleon’s day
to a green that seems to float among tall
grasses.
Back inside the cozy clubhouse, you’ll feel as though you’ve
joined
in an intimate holiday gathering—especially on a brisk day enhanced by a
dram of single malt. Folks in the bar seem giddy with contagious
pleasure, often
buying one another drinks to acknowledge just how fine
life can be.
