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| Home Scottish Links Golf The Basics AFSD - how to determine the real length of a golf course Helpful Websites Aberdeen & Grampian Highlands Royal Aberdeen, Cruden Bay... Ayrshire Royal Troon, Turnberry, Prestwick... Just east of Edinburgh Scotland's Golf Coast Muirfield, Gullane, North Berwick... Northern Highlands Royal Dornoch, Brora, Nairn... St. Andrews area Carnoustie Charleton Crail - Balcomie Crail - Craighead Drumoig Duke's Course Elie Kingsbarns Ladybank Leven Lundin Scotscraig St. Andrews Bay St. Andrews Old Course St. Andrews New Course St. Andrews Jubilee Course St Andrews Castle Course St Andrews Eden Course St Andrews Strathtyrum & Balgove Courses St. Michaels Other golf courses Machrihanish, Pitlochry... . Links Lite Great links golf for everyone Donate What others say |
Crail Craighead Links ©Do you like a challenge? How about this one -- I challenge you to shoot your handicap on this golf course. Odds are you won't come close. This is one tough test of golf. With a typical Scottish wind, it's very, very tough. And situated as it is right next to the North Sea, it's almost always windy. Anyone who shoots his handicap is rare. Hosting the Fife Stroke Play Championship the best score was 77. These were fine golfers in the most famous golfing area of Scotland and the best they could manage was 6 over par. That's one tough golf course.(I don't know what the weather was like on that specific day, but I'll bet it was windy.) Craighead is equal of any of the Open Championship qualifying courses in the area and I feel it will soon be added to the qualifying rota.
Founded in 1786, The Crail Golfing Society is the 7th oldest golf club in Scotland. The Craighead Links is the second of their courses. The first and more famous Crail Balcomie links is one of my favorite courses and one of the best kept secrets in the world of golf. (I have a separate write-up on it.) The new Craighead links were completed in 1998. Considering the second St. Andrews course was opened in 1898 and it's called St. Andrews NEW Course, any golf course in Scotland as young as the Craighead links is considered an embryo. Be that as it may, this is a really fine layout--tough but fair--and one I absolutely recommend. Best one-two punch in golfDon't pass up the Crail Balcomie links to play this one. But if you are looking for a well laid out, imaginative golf course with wind and natural beauty abounding, one that will test your game to the utmost, this may be the one for you. And because it was designed to be different from the Balcomie course, you won't be playing the "same" course with a different name. Together the Balcomie and the Craighead links constitute a tandem that is one of the best values in Scotland. As an independent golfer you will be able to return to these courses as often as you wish. Because of the wind, the courses will be different each time you play them.Crail Craighead course is routed so that the wind is constantly hitting you from a different angle. Situated as it is on the Fife Ness, which is the very tip of a piece of land with the North Sea on one side and the Firth of Forth on the other, winds are an ever-present challenge. The first tee is high above the sea and beach and the views are spectacular, giving the golfer a 100 mile radius of viewing. This layout is not as hilly as its older, adjoining sister, but the variations of elevations are subtly utilized to create imaginative holes. It's best if you can arrange a match with someone familiar with the course because many holes put a premium on position. A great drive to the wrong side of the fairway is not as good as a so-so drive on the correct side. Position golf is rewarded. When I played with a member he was extremely helpful and probably saved me from 3 or 4 bogeys.
Craighead starts out with a par 5 that, if the wind is in your face (which it usually is), needs three good shots to make the green. The green, like many on the course, is the inverted saucer shape that requires careful entry lest you roll off the back. The second is a favorite of mine--a severe dogleg right, it requires an accurate drive of sufficient length or else you have to come in over deep bunkers tucked close to the green. Without a good drive it's very difficult to par. |
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Crail Craighead has great greensThe greens at Craighead are terrific. Some holes have more humps and bumps than a Sharpei's face. The 5th, a 213 yard par 3 with a huge hump on the front of the green, looks as if it was laid out by Quasimodo. The 6th makes you feel you are putting on a huge green potato chip ("potato crisp" in the UK). The 12th has a big dip on the left side of the green. The 17th is the "spoiler" hole. The green is severely tiered so that a ball landing on the wrong tier will be a truly challenging putt. This hole, by the way, is my favorite. It's rated only the eighth most difficult, and I'm not sure why because according to Alasdair Busby, the former secretary of the club, it has destroyed more cards than any other on the course and is a holy terror with the wind blowing. At 197 yards you are hitting over monster bunkers to a severely tiered green that falls off front, back and sides. The only way I parred it was to make a 90 foot putt. (Yes, certainly I paced it off! Wouldn't you?)
Make note of the flag position and consult your yardage book on every approach. These greens force you to aim carefully lest you end up with an impossible putt. Other greens are more subtle with interconnected undulations that require a long read and steady nerves. I found that my read behind the ball was much different than my read over the ball. Too often after deciding on the line, I'd change my mind when I was over the ball. Trust your read behind the ball. Analyze the putt from all sides, decide on your line, then trust your decision and hit the ball where you decided to aim. Also, be aware that most of the greens are crowned, that is they fall off on some or all sides. The impact of this is that anything a bit long or a bit short will just roll off the green and you will have a devil of a time chipping or putting back up.
The wind will affect you Unless you're a long hitter, it's probably a good idea to play from the yellow tees. I always do. The back tees have three par 4s over 460 yards--one of which is 487 yards. Of course some of these are from elevated tees but nevertheless, they are quite long. Most mid-handicappers can't get there in two unless there is a strong wind behind them. If the wind is in their face these are par 6s! The par 3s from the championship tees are 233 yards, 198 yards, 197 yards, and 160 yards. Again, if you're a mid-handicapper, you'll be using woods or even drivers on some of these holes. If there is any kind of wind in your face, on a few of the par 3s you'll be using your driver just to lay-up! I play to a 12 handicap and am not a long hitter and play the middle tees, finding them challenging enough and all I can handle. When I first played Craighead in 2002, the member I was playing with had a small wind gauge and he measured the wind at a steady 20 mph with gusts to 30. It was challenging to say the least and made for an interesting day. I was using driver on some par 3s and driver/3 wood/wedge on long par 4s. But with the wind at my back, I drove 10 yards past the green on the par 4, 10th hole! (Okay, okay, so it's only 283 yards from a very elevated tee and the wind was howling behind me but let me tell you, it feels soooo good to drive the green on a par 4.)
There are breathtaking views of the sea from many holes, so even if you're having a bad golf day it will not be a good walk spoiled. Give yourself a treat and play this course if you have the opportunity. I played it for the first time in 2001 and now try to play it every time I'm in the area. If you decide to play it, be sure to bring your game. Tee times and more info -- tel (0) 1333 450 686 . Speak with Reservations Secretary Doreen Mayes, who can book your tee time and tell you about the green fees and all the excellent golf/food packages.
Graeme Lennie is the Pro and is an outstanding source of information about not only his own two courses, but about all of the courses in the area. If you are going to be around for a while and want to play the "must plays" in and around Crail and St. Andrews, talk to Graeme. And if your game is not quite what it should be, Graeme is one of the finest instructors in Scotland. He'll diagnose your problem quickly and help you to have a better golfing holiday in Scotland. Golf Nook Scotland rating --a very enthusiastic BIRDIE. Website www.crailgolfingsociety.co.uk _________________________________________________________________ Mary-Alice suggests ...
Some of my favorite places to visit are down
in this enchanting area. But we'll start
at the golf courses. Because the two Crail
golf courses are in such a spectacular location,
right at the elevated corner of land where
the Firth of Forth (large estuary of the
River Forth) meets the North Sea, I had to
experience some of the courses myself. It
was a raw day, with the Saltire (Scottish
flag) standing straight out in the whipping
wind. From my elevated position I could see
virtually the entire layout of the Balcomie
course. The Craighead course is located somewhat
behind the Balcomie course, so I walked the
first two holes with Richard to get a better
perspective. Yet it was enough to give me
a taste of how beautiful and how challenging
the courses are. |
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| Picturesque Crail Harbour Photo courtesy of www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk |
