How new kid on block Dumbarnie Links has already established its reputation as one of Scotland's top golf venues

It opened not long after the Covid pandemic hit before hitting a bump in the road when it was closed for a few weeks last spring due to growth issues with the greens. But, in just a short space of time, Dumbarnie Links has established itself as a venue proving popular with the visitors from around the world who flock to Scotland on golfing pilgrimages.

Yes, of course, St Andrews is the main focus of these trips on the country’s east coast, but, as was the case with Kingsbarns Links in particular when it opened just over 20 years ago, Dumbarnie Links has added to the lip-smacking offerings close to the game’s cradle and, in recognition of its instant impact, the new kid on the block has already picked up some coveted awards.

“We are thrilled with the way everything has worked out here,” Clive Clark, who designed the course, which sits between Lundin and Elie with stunning views to the south across the Firth of Forth, told The Scotsman. “Our golf course gets better and better and everything works smoothly in the other areas.

“Clearly I am very passionate about the project and I think the way it has been developed is excellent. David Scott, our general manager, has done a wonderful job. Invariably, a golf course is the heart of a project, but there’s a lot of other auxiliary things going on – in the clubhouse, the meet-and-greet welcome, the pro shop, the restaurant – and the whole package here, I think, has worked out incredibly well.”

default

At last year’s Scottish Golf Tourism Awards, Dumbarnie Links landed the main prize as it was named Scotland’s ‘Best Golf Experience’ while it also came out on top in the ‘Best Golf Course’ category for green fees of £151 and over. In addition, it was named as ‘Best New Golf Course’ in the 2021 World Golf Awards.

“Very much so,” replied Clark, who is based in California but was speaking during his annual summer visit to a venue that, with all due respect to the various other projects he’s worked on during a successful career as a course designer, seems to be his pride and joy, to being asked if he felt its reputation had already been established outside Scotland.

“We’ve been fortunate to get a number of very nice awards since we opened and a lot of publicity, which is great. Helped by 15 investors, one is based in London but all the others are friends of mine in California, the vision from the start was to have a high-end daily fee where people would feel they were a member for the day of a high-end golf club and I think we have achieved that. So the feedback from the players here and social media has been first class – we are delighted about that.”

Having provided the bulk of the traffic in its first season, it was Scottish golfers who initially delivered rave reviews and, on the back of that, the message about what is an overall experience and not just a round of golf has started to spread around the world.

The dune areas flanking the fairways of the Clive Clark-designed course at Dumbarnie Links have matured since it opened in May 2020. Picture: Dumbarnie Links

“Tour operators are now seeing us almost as a must-play venue and are putting us on itineraries,” said Scott, who brought bags of experience to his role from from Kingsbarns, where he built the operations team for its opening in 2000, and the Old Course Hotel, where he latterly filled the role of Director of Golf, Leuchars and Estates. “From a tour operator standpoint, they are looking for their golfers to get a quality experience. We are delivering that and long may it continue. They are coming off the golf course with smiles on their faces, having had a fun time on a true links course that doesn’t beat you up.

“The fact we’ve hosted a Scottish Women’s Open (in 2021) and won a couple of awards makes it easier for them to tell their customers they should go to Dumbarnie Links. They might say ‘we’ve never heard of that place’, but the tour operators can now say ‘here’s why we would recommend it’.”

As well as maturing around the edges and, therefore, becoming more stunning visually, course manager Grahame Taylor and his team have the greens both looking great and running nicely. “Last year we had to make a very hard call and that was to close our golf course. We could have tip-toed along, but it wouldn’t have been good for our reputation and the important goal for us was to have a successful Open Championship, where we had the likes of Gary Player, Bob Charles and Ian Baker-Finch playing,” said Scott.

“If we’d not taken the hard decision to close and get our golf course into good order once again, then we’d have had 1400 guests leaving an Open Championship week saying ‘great golf course but I want to come back once they’ve fixed the greens’. That would have been the kiss of death to us. It was a tough call financially, but we made the right decision and we are reaping the rewards of that decision as the course is in great order and we are excited with how this season is going.”

California-based Englishman Clive Clark is "thrilled" with the progress of Dumbarnie Links in its short existence. Picture: Dumbarnie Links

The aforementioned Women’s Scottish Open, won by American Ryann O’Toole, helped put Dumbarnie Links on the map and, with a set of professional tees that can make it play up to 7600 yards, the aim is to host a top men’s event in the not-too-distant future. “We’ll see what transpires, but I think eventually we will get a high-end men’s event,” said Clark, with Scott adding some meat to the bones. “The DP World Tour and IMG are aware that we are interested in hosting an event and also The R&A,” he added. "We don’t have anything in the offing just yet, but we are hopeful that in three or four years’ time we might have something here.”