Dumbarnie Links

I finally made it to Dumbarnie Links in the Kingdom of Fife, twenty minutes south of St. Andrews. I was originally scheduled to play shortly after the course opened in 2020 but covid had other designs on those plans. After countless reschedules and false starts I finally teed it up, and it was certainly worth the wait.

Dumbarnie was designed by Clive Clark, a former professional golfer who played on the G B & I Walker Cup and Ryder Cup teams and finished third in the 1967 British Open tied with Gary Player, behind only the winner Roberto De Vicenzo and Jack Nicklaus. Clark was also the head professional at Sunningdale in the 1970s and '80s. He has done golf course architecture for decades and was a partner with Peter Alliss for many years jointly designing courses. Clark has thirty-five courses to his credit, but by far Dumbarnie is his crown jewel. Clark's design philosophy from his website, "We strive to frame holes, enhance their artistic and playable value and breathe life into them, expertly crafting balance, personality and a sense of spirit and soul." That certainly is a mouthful in terms of design philosophy.

 The striking setting of the 1st tee shot at Dumbarnie sets the tone for the day

Dumbarnie offers a unique starting proposition, a shot of Scotch whisky on the first tee for all players! After drinking a wee dram the golfer is presented with a striking first hole. The fairway on the first hole, like on the entire course, is a generous one. It is a relatively easy hole tee to green provided you miss the burn that snakes down the left side and separates the green from the fairway.

Dumbarnie's 2nd, a par five of 569 yards

The second hole also has the burn running through it, creating two distinct sections to the fairway and it also separates the green from the fairway. The punch bowl style green is artfully framed by sand dunes.

Dumbarnie is built on a massive 345 acres set on two different levels, connected by a steep slope joining the lower to the upper. Like its neighbor Kingsbarns, Dumbarie is a man made creation, sculpted by Clark and his team, rather than being entirely natural. Just like at Kingsbarns, the result is a delight. I am not a stringent unyielding purist who thinks that only courses built on entirely natural land forms are worthy ones. The course is both visually stunning and bewitching.

Dumbarnie's 3rd hole from the tee

The third hole, a par four, plays from an elevated tee and is a dog-leg to the left. It creates an interesting risk-reward decision early in the round as you decide how much of the corner to cut. The green is very well protected by dunes, tiny pot bunkers and a large sandy bunker short left.

A closeup view of the third green from the fairway

Dumbarnie's Par 3 6th

The sixth, a downhill par three of long iron-hybrid length has a sparkling view of the Largo Bay with the Firth of Forth and views to North Berwick and Edinburgh in the far distance. It is said that the course offers water views from every hole and it probably does, although on some holes you have to turn around to see the water because they play away from it. Thirteen holes play directly towards the water, more than any course I can recall. The setting is an enchanting one, part of a larger 5,000 acre estate that has been in the same family for 400 years. 

Dumbarnie's 7th hole,  approach to the green

The seventh, the second par five on the front nine, begins the transition away from the coastal holes to the holes set on a higher plateau. The hole isn't overly taxing provided you avoid that pot bunker seen in the middle of the picture, which is 50 yards short of the green.

In addition to impressive water views throughout, the countryside of Leven, where the course is located, is also charming. This view is on the left side of the seventh fairway

The perfectly situated par three 8th hole

The 8th is a beautifully framed par three, consistent with Clark's philosophy of framing holes and giving them spirit and soul. I frankly don't care whether all this was created by the gods and discovered by the architect or entirely sculpted by bulldozers. The end result is the same. Malcolm Campbell, who wrote a book identifying what makes a course a true links course, has given the thumbs up to Dumbarnie. It is in fact one of only 247 true links courses in the world.

The 8th personifies Dumbarnie more than any other hole and highlights Clark's self proclaimed title of "an artist among golf course designers." The hole is of short to mid iron length and the green is narrow and well bunkered. Jack Nicklaus isn't a fan of elevated fairways or greens and it seems neither is Clark, most tee shots and shots to the par threes play down hill.

Completely by chance I met Clive Clark while coming off the 18th green and had a chat with him about his design philosophy. Above all he wants golfers to have fun and to enjoy themselves, and his creation here delivers in spades. More designers should adopt this philosophy, which is ultimately why we play the game, as opposed to getting too caught up in golf architecture snobbery and looking down on new courses not done by the latest in vogue architects. 

Dumbarnie's 11th green

The 11th is another short risk-reward par four, only 294 yards, protected by a swale in front of the green and a two tiered putting surface. 

The 17th off the tee

The seventeenth hole is far and away the best one on the course. There is a 300-year old farmer's stone wall running through the property that Clark took exceptional advantage of. The hole plays 358 yards from the black tees and you can choose to either hit very safely to an elevated fairway left off the tee, or you can try to carry the stone wall and a myriad of tall grasses and gorse to attempt the hero shot.

The 17th as seen from safe fairway area to the left

I played it safe and to the left which is why I was able to capture these pictures. My playing partners all tried to carry the wall and the hazards into the wind. Their shots were less than ideal which gave me plenty of time to snap lots of pictures. 

The 17th, approach to green

The pot bunker seen in the foreground is 35 yards from the green, leaving a demanding sand shot to the elevated green. From tee the green the hole offers scores of strategic playing options.

The 17th, approach to the green up close

The clubhouse at Dumbarnie

At first glance the clubhouse at Dumbarnie is totally out of character with Scotland and specifically with traditional clubhouses you see in Great Britain. This is true. The beauty is felt once you are inside. The clubhouse is not meant to look pretty or traditional from the outside, but to offer outstanding views to the course, the firth and beyond. It is a great to sit inside after the round to savor the experience, as is sitting outside the clubhouse in the beautiful Scottish sunshine. I went from being a critic of the clubhouse to really liking it.

The routing of Dumbarnie

The course routing graphic above shows how artfully it was done. Take a closer look and you will find no two consecutive holes play in the same direction. In fact, you will have to work hard to find any two holes that play along the same point of the compass. This is a welcome break and was a real juxtaposition after playing traditional courses such as North Berwick on this trip where we had 3-4 holes, sometimes more, in the same direction playing into the wind, which grind a golfer down. In this regard Dumbarnie is better than nearly Kingsbarns, which I also love, however, having just played it with a wind coming off the water, there were no downwind or upwind holes. Every hole played into a cross wind because the holes run parallel to the water. Castle Stuart similarly has holes that run largely parallel to the water. The routing at Dumbarnie, like that at Carnoustie, is something special with its continual change in direction.

Dumbarnie is the 35th course I have played in Scotland and I thank god in all his grace for allowing me to get past most of my health issues to be healthy enough to enjoy so much of what is good in life and to do so with my friends.

When I reflect back on my favorite courses in Scotland and try to rank them, it always turns into a fool's errand. Hide the women and children before you look at what I wrote here, because you will find it appalling that the Old Course at St. Andrews isn't anywhere to be found. Sorry, I just don't like it. Cruden Bay would be at the top of my list, followed by North Berwick and Prestwick. I love the old school courses with blind shots and quirkiness. Carnoustie would make the top five. I love the routing and the variety of holes, and the difficult finish. Despite the current owner Turnberry would be next, followed by the triumvirate of new courses Castle Stuart, Dumbarnie, and Kingsbarns. Loch Lomond would be in the top ten even though it has had issues with the location it was built on and is by no means a traditional Scottish course. And Dornoch has to be in any top ten in the country. Such a list in inevitably misleading because when I rank my top 50 courses in the world, all of these also make the cut, a testament to how strong the golf in Scotland is.