Golf Courses in Fife: St Andrews, Links, Heath and Council Courses

Most people link Fife with one town. Although St Andrews is famous, it is only part of the story. The county also has links on the East Neuk coast, a heathland course at Ladybank and a good spread of council-run golf. This guide picks out fourteen courses, using facts from each club’s own website.

Golf courses in Fife at a glance

Our directory currently lists 46 open courses in Fife, counted on 15 October 2026. You can see them all on the Fife golf courses page. That is a lot of golf for one county, so the list is easier to use if you pick an area first.

Fife sits between two cities. If you are coming from the north, try our page of golf courses near Dundee. From the south, golf courses near Edinburgh is a useful start. For the wider picture, read our guide to golf courses in Scotland. Our earlier post on golf courses in Norfolk covers a very different coast in the same way.

St Andrews and the Home of Golf

St Andrews Links lists eight courses on its website. They are the Old, New, Jubilee, Eden, Strathtyrum, Balgove, Craigtoun and Castle courses, and all eight are in our directory. The website gives each one a start date, although some are much newer than you might expect.

The Old Course gets a date of “circa 1400” on the website, while the Castle Course gets 2008. The Balgove Course gets 1993. The links also runs a golf academy, so lessons are an option too.

Links along the coast

Kingsbarns Golf Links says it lies along 1.8 miles of North Sea coastline. The club adds that it co-hosts the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship with the Old Course and Carnoustie.

Crail Golfing Society has two courses. For Balcomie Links, the society says the first mention of golf is 1857. It also says Old Tom Morris laid out the first nine holes in 1895 and extended the course to 18 in 1900. Natural hollows, stone walls, shared greens and bunker faces clad in old railway sleepers all feature. At Craighead Links, the society says its design follows and bisects the remains of medieval drystone walls.

Leven Links says it is thought to be the first course in the world with 18 tees and 18 separate greens. The website also explains that two clubs, Leven Golfing Society and Leven Thistle, play over the links.

Heathland and old clubs

Ladybank Golf Club describes a classic heathland test. The club says it began in 1879, and that Old Tom Morris designed the original six holes. Because it measures almost 6,800 yards from the championship tees, it is a longer course than most on this list.

Scotscraig Golfing Club says it began in 1817 and is the oldest course still owned and played by its founding club. It says Davie Robertson first laid it out, and that Old Tom Morris and James Braid later refined it. The club describes a blend of links and heathland characteristics. Our guide to heathland golf explains how that kind of turf plays.

Park, Braid and Morris designs

Several Fife clubs trace their layouts to famous names. While Lundin Golf Club says its first five holes are in the classic links tradition, the club then describes nine newer holes, from 1908, designed by James Braid.

Burntisland Golf House Club says Willie Park Jnr, twice Open champion, designed its parkland layout of 1896 and James Braid updated it in 1922. The club also calls it Park’s only course in Fife. The club says visitors are welcome seven days a week, and it describes views over the Firth of Forth towards the Forth Bridges.

Council and community golf

Fife is also good for value. For example, Kinghorn Golf Course says its local council bought the links in 1886 and asked Old Tom Morris to design the first nine holes, which opened in 1887. The course grew to 18 holes in 1906. It lists a par of 65 over 5,141 yards.

Dunnikier Park Golf Course is longer. It lists 18 holes, a par of 72 and 6,532 yards. The website says J.R. Stutt designed it and that it opened in 1963. It calls Dunnikier one of Fife’s most popular municipal courses. Both courses are run by Fife Golf Trust, which says it manages seven courses in all. Our guide to municipal golf courses explains what to expect.

Nine-hole rounds

Short rounds work well in Fife. For example, Falkland Golf Club describes a 9-hole course beneath Falkland Palace. It says records show golf there as early as 1503, and that visitors can book online. The Baird Course at Elie is a 9-hole links of 2,080 yards, which the club calls an easy walk. Browse every 9-hole course in the directory, or read our guide to nine-hole golf courses.

Comparing the lengths

Because each club publishes its own yardage, treat these as a guide. Here are the figures we found, shortest first.

• Elie Baird Course: 2,080 yards over nine holes.
• Kinghorn Golf Course: 5,141 yards, par 65.
• Dunnikier Park Golf Course: 6,532 yards, par 72.
• Ladybank Golf Club: almost 6,800 yards from the championship tees.

A short course is not always easy, because wind and firm turf on a links change the shots you need, whatever the yardage says.

Golf for different players

Beginners often prefer a short course. The Baird Course at Elie and the nine holes at Falkland both fit that idea, and our beginners’ guide to golf courses explains what to look for. Parents can read our junior golf guide, and women golfers can read our guide to women’s golf. However, experienced players may want a longer test, such as Ladybank’s heathland or a links round at Kingsbarns or Crail.

How to choose a Fife golf course

Start with your budget and time. A full day at St Andrews is a special occasion, while a council course keeps costs down. We do not quote prices here because they change, so check each website. Our pay and play golf guide explains the cheaper routes, and our links golf guide helps if you want to try a seaside course. Travelling with a group? Read our golf society day guide. Some clubs limit visitor times or close for events, so it pays to check the club’s own page before you set off, and to book ahead for the better-known courses.

You can compare Fife with other areas on our golf statistics page. Each listing in the Fife directory links to the club’s own website, because that is where the latest details live.

A note on our sources

Every figure above comes from the club’s own website, checked on 15 October 2026. Where a club does not publish a fact, we have left it out. However, clubs change their details, so the club’s site is always the most current source.