Our second round of this Scotland golf trip was at Dumbarnie Links. Located about 25 minutes south of St. Andrews, Dumbarnie is one of the newest additions to the area and has fast become a favorite among golf tourists. Below is a review of our experience.
About Dumbarnie Links
Opening in 2020, Dumbarnie Links sits across the Firth of Forth from Edinburgh with a mile and a half of waterfront sea frontage. Dumbarnie Links is a true Premier Links course with a modern twist. The 18-hole course was founded, developed and designed by renowned course architect, Clive Clark, with 14 holes having views of the Bay and the Firth of Forth.
Before the golf course existed, the land was used for farming and was flat as it worked its way towards the Firth of Forth. During construction, the hundreds of mounds on the property were created to make each hole feel like it is on its own. We did find that there were very few times where we could see holes other than the one we were playing. Another interesting feature was that the routing of the course ensures that each hole faces a different direction and no two consecutive holes are facing the same heading.
This angle really shows the mounds created for this course.
History
Dumbarnie Links is part of The Balcarres Estate which is owned by the Earl of Crawford. The 5000-acre Estate has been in Lord Crawford’s family for more than 400 years and the distinctiveness of this piece of land dates back to the 16th Century. The Balcarres House is also part of the Estate and is based on a mansion built in 1595 by John Lindsay, second son of David, the 9th Earl of Crawford.
More recently, Dumbarnie Links hosted the 2021 Women’s Scottish Open and has been visited by some of golf’s greats such as Ian Baker-Finch, Gary Player, Sandy Lyle, and Paul Lawrie.
The Course
Dumbarnie Links has quite a few sets of tees to choose from. The total yardage for the golf course varies from 5,300 to 6,900 yards. However, there is a special set of professional tees positioned such that should an event be held at Dumbarnie sometime in the future, there are 12 extra tees whereby the course can measure up to 7,600 yards.
Regarding each hole being a different direction, it made playing in very windy conditions that much more interesting. As mentioned above, the mounds are artificial and do make each hole feel like it is on it’s own out there. You really can’t see any other holes until you walk off the green and onto the next tee.
Whitecaps show how windy it was that day with a pair of World War II bunkers on the coastline.
Driving Range
Dumbarnie Links has an all grass range with space for up to 30 players at any time and practice balls are complimentary for any guest playing the course that day. There is also a short game area with a pitching green and practice bunker, and a large practice putting green adjacent to the 1st tee. We were the third group off that morning in what was by far the windiest round we had ever played so warming up was a must for us. The wind was dead into us on the practice range so it gave us a good idea of what we were getting into that round.
From left to right - 1st tee, starter hut, driving range, practice putting green in the foreground.
Clubhouse
The Clubhouse seems small from the outside, but it has everything guests would expect from a world class golf facility including locker rooms, a well stocked pro shop, and good size bar and restaurant. The entire property gradually slopes toward the Bay with the clubhouse at the top so the views from the pro shop and restaurant are incredible, especially on a clear day like we experience.
Dumbarnie Links Clubhouse - Source: Dumbarnie Links Website
Pro Shop
The pro shop wasn’t very big but had a good selection including Peter Millar, G/FORE, Footjoy and KJUS. Andrew picked up a polo, coin, and yardage book, as he did at every course this trip. If you forget to pick anything up during your visit or just want some gear before you arrive, Dumbarnie Links operates an online shop that has quite the selection.
Restaurant
After our round, we took a few pictures, picked up a few things in the Pro Shop, then headed back to St. Andrews for some sightseeing. This was the only course we didn’t stay and eat at because we wanted to get back to town. However, there is a sit down restaurant in the Dumbarnie Links Clubhouse with an amazing view of the course and Firth of Forth.
The Old Barn and Restaurant offers golfers a casual and delicious selection of traditional fare as well as some unique creations not typically seen in many golf clubhouses. A full bar offering is also available, including bespoke Dumbarnie draft lager from St. Andrews Brewing Company and Dumbarnie whisky from The Loch Lomond Group.
While we didn’t eat at the restaurant, we did enjoy a snack at the turn. There is a well stocked halfway house between 8 and 9. One item Andrew always makes sure to get is a sausage roll because he can’t find those in the states. The one at Dumbarine was quite good.
Halfway House - Chris’s treat!
Pricing
Our entire golf trip was one package so we couldn’t tell you exactly what it cost us to play Dumbarnie Links. However, they do have their green fees listed on their website. For the 2024 summer months, it was around £300, and it appears to be £335 for 2025.
Regarding getting a tee time, our travel agent booked the tee time as part of the package. Our initial trip confirmation about 15 months before we travelled included our actual tee time. However, we were lucky enough to get a tee time at St. Andrews Old Course the day we were supposed to play Dumbarnie. Our travel company was able to get us a tee time one day later. If you are not playing as part of a package, you can reserve a tee time here.
Caddies
We will say this for every course we played in Scotland and that is caddies are worth every penny. Since we booked a golf package, our agent reserved all of the caddies for us. If you book your tee time directly with the course, caddie bookings should be made directly through the Dumbarnie Links.
The cost for a caddie at Dumbarnie at the time of our round was £65 plus gratuities, with that amount at the player’s discretion based on the level of service provided. After speaking to a few locals and doing a little research before our first Scotland trip, it seemed most golfers give more than the recommended 10% so we each gave our caddies £100 after the round.
Getting a Forecaddie was also an option for £95 when we played. Dumbarnie offers complimentary push/pull trolleys, and electric trollies for a fee, though golfers must also get a caddie with this option since the caddie is required to drive the cart.
Outside of the great banter that caddies provide, they were especially helpful this round for two main reasons. The first was the wind and how best to judge it, even on putts. Because of the dunes surrounding each hole, it made getting the exact wind direction a little tricky to figure out because what we were feeling at ground level didn’t always match what it was above the mounds. There were only a few blind shots but the biggest challenge was the visual tricks some of the holes play on you. We found that it can be hard to find aiming points on a links golf course but the caddies did a great job of guiding us around.
Andrew and Chris on the first tee.
Pouch we were handed on the first tee.
Our Experience
Upon arriving on the first tee, we were greeted by a barrel with 4 shots of Scotch, one for each of us. After partaking, the starter gave us the usual course rundown including asking us to keep up the pace since we were the third group out that morning. Similar to the other courses we played in Scotland, we were each handed a pouch with a scorecard, pencil, tees, and yardage book.
To say it was windy would be a massive understatement! One of our playing partners decided after the first hole that wearing a regular golf hat was a losing battle. Putts were massively affected by the wind to the point where we would read the green then read the wind. While the greens weren’t that fast, downwind, downhill putts were nearly impossible. Chris had a putt that was outside the hole with three feet left but a gust of wind pushed it back online and into the cup. Andrew hit his 7-iron 110 yards early in the round and 215 yards a few holes later.
And we enjoyed every second of the round! It was great to really get to experience proper Scottish winds. All of our rounds this trip had wind but not to this extent. It really added that extra element of concentration and having to think your way around the course that you just don’t get in the states. Having to take three extra clubs or even landing it 15 yards short of the green to keep it on the surface was the norm all day.
Drivable Par 4 17th with an old stone wall splitting the hole.
Final Thoughts
We had an amazing round at Dumbarnie, especially navigating the wind. The course was in immaculate shape, the caddies were great, the staff were very friendly, and we had an amazing time, so my conclusion on this course is not a reflection of any of those things. There is a feeling of manufactured links when playing this course. The rest of the courses we played during our two Scotland trips felt like they took what the land gave them and just built the course to fit the land where Dumbarnie forced the land to fit the course. I would never not recommend this course if anyone asks but I would prefer to play a true links course over this one and would probably say it was my least likely to repeat of the nine Scotland courses we played over our two trips.