St. Andrews: Crail GolfingSociety: The Balcomie Course

St. Andrews: Crail Golfing
Society: The Balcomie Course

December 4, 2019 Off By BBF

St. Andrews is packed with golf, so this golf course could be easily discarded or overlooked by many a tour company. However, my advice is DON’T MISS THIS GOLF COURSE. This is another one of those spots where golf has been documented to take place for basically 500 years. The Balcomie course took its current formation in 1895 as finalized by none other than Old Tom Morris. 

I think Crail is a must play when you’re in the area..more so than the New Course. Crail is out on the water and has extremely dramatic views. The last 5 holes are considered to be the most visually stunning in golf and I believe there is some truth to that. Certainly for the people in the clubhouse overlooking those last five holes… I know in our foursome there was some golf that stunned us.

While you’re playing, you have to imagine golfers over 100 years ago with a feathery ball and a hickory stick trying to make a go of this golf course. Sure, there is always someplace safe to hit it when you play the Old Course or the New Course, but Crail Balcomie might be the original home of the forced carry, or at least original risk/reward.

The other piece of advice while playing this golf course… bring a caddie. Local knowledge goes beyond just trying to post a decent score, it literally is the difference between going from green to tee in some cases, or hitting the correct direction off the tee box. It’s a members golf course that is expected to be memorized by the members- so signage is sparse. One sign you will want to get a picture with is the sign in front of the cave when you are headed to the final holes. It commemorates a battle on the property that goes back quite a ways, and points out the King of the Scots was killed by the vikings on that very spot. Might be best not to imagine hoards of men running around on the land 1500 years ago trying to kill one another with swords… lest you get distracted from the job that lay ahead for the last 5 holes. 

How It Ranks

  • Bucket list rank (from 1 to 5 buckets): 4 Buckets
  • Location: Europe/Scotland
  • Spectacle/ visual: 8
  • History: 9
  • New/ancient: Ancient
  • Playability : 7
  • Memorability : 9
  • Buddy-a-bility : Yes. Near St. Andrews, this is a certain buddies golf trip
  • Service/etc: 7: Be sure to ask the barmaid about the best local Chippy
  • Value: 8
  • Shopping: 5 — So unmemorable it makes it totally memorable. A shack at the start contains some humble merchandise, feels more like a bait shop than a golf shop.
  • Warm up facilities/Range: NA– (we skipped warming up)
  • Food & Drink: 7 — be sure to grab a post round beer and enjoy the view of the golfers coming up, it’s second to none


CategoryEurope: Scotland Four Buckets
TagsGolf Course Reviews Golf Travel

About The Author

BBF or “Big Ball First” comes from a golf saying for hitting a shot fat. Or hitting the “big ball first” in that you hit the ground (the big ball) before hitting the golf ball. In the BBF blog, it’s a metaphor for traveling the planet, soaking in exclusive experiences, and pointing people to the Awesome, the Great, the Good, and the not so good out there. We’re hitting the big ball running with tales from international golf courses, with fine wine, fine food, did I mention golf…well, especially the ‘buddies bucket list golf trips’. The hope is that like minded people will enjoy the stories, and hopefully use it as a reference point. If this blog helps people prioritize the experiences they want to have on our planet then we will have succeeded on our mission. We only have so many go’s at “bucket list” travel experiences. Especially the bucket list buddies golf experiences. My hope is you can refine your experience based upon my learning, and take your “big ball first” experiences to the next level.