Kingsbarns Golf Links is a seaside Scottish links
golf course
A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...
along 1.8 miles of shoreline near
St Andrews
St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...
, Scotland. It opened in 2000 and has been rated as one of the best courses in Scotland.
[ It has also been ranked as one of the top 100 courses in the world,][ and received numerous media and industry awards.
The course was designed by Kyle Phillips and the original developers were Mark Parsinen (1948-2019) and Art Dunkley. Dunkley retains ownership of the golf course following Parsinen’s departure in 2005.
Since 2001, Kingsbarns has co-hosted the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, which is a ]European Tour
The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...
pro-am event that is also played at The Old Course
The Old Course at St Andrews, also known as the Old Lady or the Grand Old Lady, is considered the oldest golf course.
It is a public course over common land in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland and is held in trust by the St Andrews Links, St Andrews ...
and Carnoustie Golf Links
Carnoustie Golf Links is in Carnoustie, Angus, Scotland. Carnoustie has four courses – the historic Championship Course, the Burnside Course, the Buddon Links Course and a free-to-play short, five-hole course called The Nestie. Carnoustie G ...
. In July 2017, Kingsbarns hosted the Ricoh Women’s British Open.
Location
Kingsbarns Golf Links is located along a 1.8 mile stretch of North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
coastline, seven miles from St Andrews
St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...
, Scotland. The 220-acre site is situated within the Cambo Estate
Cambo Estate lies close to the village of Kingsbarns in north-east Fife, Scotland. It is within the East Neuk, south-east of St Andrews. At the heart of the estate lies the 19th-century Cambo House, the home of Sir Peter Erskine, Bt and Lady Ca ...
.
History of Kingsbarns
Golf has been played over at least part of the current course site on and off since 1793. The Kingsbarns Golfing Society was established in 1815 and its members played on the original 9-hole Kingsbarns course until it closed in 1850.
The course was re-established in 1922 and the golfing society was reformed as Kingsbarns Golf Club which remains in existence today. Willie Auchterlonie
William "Willie" Auchterlonie (7 August 1872 – 27 February 1963) was a Scotland, Scottish professional golfer. He was a native of St Andrews. He won the 1893 Open Championship at the age of and he remains the second youngest Open Champion afte ...
laid out the course in 1922 which closed again at the onset of the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Land mine
A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
s were installed on the course site as part of the national security defence effort and the ground reverted to rough pasture.
Construction of the current Kingsbarns Golf Links began in November 1997 under the direction of architect Kyle Phillips and the course opened in July 2000. The course has no membership and welcomes visitors.
Tournaments hosted
Ricoh Women's British Open
In 2017, the Ricoh Women’s British Open was held at Kingsbarns Golf Links; the winner was South Korean In-Kyung Kim
Kim In-Kyung, also called In-Kyung Kim and I. K. Kim (born 13 June 1988), is a South Korean professional golfer currently playing on the LPGA Tour.
Amateur career
Kim was a member of the Korean National Team in 2003 and 2004 and won three tou ...
.
Alfred Dunhill Links Championship
The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship is played over three courses – the Old Course
The Old Course at St Andrews, also known as the Old Lady or the Grand Old Lady, is considered the oldest golf course.
It is a public course over common land in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland and is held in trust by the St Andrews Links, St Andrews ...
at St Andrews, the Championship Course, Carnoustie Golf Links
Carnoustie Golf Links is in Carnoustie, Angus, Scotland. Carnoustie has four courses – the historic Championship Course, the Burnside Course, the Buddon Links Course and a free-to-play short, five-hole course called The Nestie. Carnoustie G ...
and Kingsbarns Golf Links. The tournament has a format incorporating two separate competitions – an individual professional tournament and a team competition where amateur golfers play alongside the professionals.
The Jacques Léglise Trophy
The Jacques Léglise Trophy is an under-18 tournament played annually with the venue alternating between Great Britain and Ireland and the Continent of Europe.
2010 Open Championship qualifying
In 2010, Kingsbarns hosted The Open Championship
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
local qualifying event when The Open itself was held at St Andrews
St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...
.
Magazine rankings
* 13th in "Top 100 Courses in the World" Golfscape.com 2020.
* 27th in "World's 100 Greatest Courses" – ''Golf Digest'' 2020–2021.
* 5th in "Scotland's Top 100 Golf Courses" – ''Golf World Top 100'' 2019.
* 5th in "Scotland's Top 100 Golf Courses" – National Club Golfer 2019.
*8th in "UK and Ireland Top 100 Golf Courses" – ''Golf World Top 100'' 2019.
* 15th in "Top 100 Courses of UK and Ireland" – ''Golf Monthly'' 2019–2020.
References
{{reflist
External links
*https://www.kingsbarns.com/ - Official Kingsbarns website
*https://www.camboestate.com/ - Official Cambo Estate website
Golf clubs and courses in Fife
Sports venues in Fife
Kingsbarns