LATEST
NEWS

Richard Humphreys
/ Categories: News

New links course opens for play in Scotland

The new Dumbarnie Links course at Lower Largo on the south coast of Fife in Scotland opened for play on 29 May, following easing of lockdown measures in Scotland that signalled the country’s return to golf.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Head of Golf David Scott said: “We were ready on 16 May but obviously Covid-19 came in and put a spanner in the works. Here we are on 29 May, thrilled to be getting open with a full tee sheet.”

Designed by golf course architect and former Ryder Cup player Clive Clark, the course is built upon land that is part of the Balcarres Estate. It features unobstructed views over the Firth of Forth and towards Muirfield, North Berwick and Edinburgh.

The Dumbarnie project began when Clark’s friend and golf journalist Malcolm Campbell told him about a site of “pure links” near St. Andrews. With his interest piqued given that a new links is a “rare animal”, Clark met with Lord Balneal – the owner of the land – and after discussions with him, Balneal leased the site for the construction of a golf course.

Read more: GCA visited Dumbarnie Links in 2018, when construction was in progress.

In Perry Golf’s ‘Greenside Chat’ podcast, Clark highlights the risk-reward short par fours as some of his favourites, as well as the front nine’s short holes. He says: “The two par threes on the front nine that point right out to this panoramic view of the Firth of Forth. Those holes are visually very attractive.

“Some of the holes, like five, are slightly inland but there’s two fairways,” said Clark. “If you go to the right fairway, there’s a great nest of bunkers right in the middle. The right-hand fairway is 50 yards wide, but it is a big sweeping dogleg. If you go the shortcut down the left, you have not got 50 yards anymore, you have 25, and that’s between sets of bunkers on either side.”

Read more: Clive Clark spoke to GCA about his design in depth earlier this year.

The bunkering is a half-and-half mixture of traditional sod-stacked pot bunkers along with what Clark described as “natural bunkers surrounded by tall fescue grasses waving in the wind.”

Clark has worked alongside Scottish architect Paul Kimber, who handled project management; a crew from Ecobunker led by Llewelyn Matthews; and the Landscapes Unlimited team, who handled construction.

Previous Article Infinite Variety completes two more holes at Blackwell
Next Article The Grove completes bunker renovation project
Print
6141 Rate this article:
No rating
Slideshow HTML
  • Dumbarnie
    Mark Alexander

    The new Dumbarnie Links course, designed by Clive Clark, has opened for play

  • Dumbarnie
    Mark Alexander

    A view of the fourteenth and third holes

  • Dumbarnie
    Mark Alexander

    The par-three sixth, with a view of the Firth of Forth as a backdrop

  • Dumbarnie
    Mark Alexander

    Greens are relatively flat but have subtle breaks

  • Dumbarnie
    Mark Alexander

    The bunkering is a half-and-half mixture of traditional pot bunkers along with “natural bunkers surrounded by tall fescue grasses”

ADd Image Credit here for home page
Mark Alexander
Richard Humphreys

Richard HumphreysRichard Humphreys

Other posts by Richard Humphreys
Contact author

Contact author

x
Winter 2024 issue of ASGCA’s By Design magazine is out now
Magazine, News | Wed 11 Dec, 2024

Winter 2024 issue of ASGCA’s By Design magazine is out now

Golf course architects take on the challenge of redesigning the Road hole at St Andrews

The October 2024 issue of Golf Course Architecture is out now!
Magazine, News | Thu 17 Oct, 2024

The October 2024 issue of Golf Course Architecture is out now!

The Keep at McLemore, a Bill Bergin-Rees Jones mountaintop design in northwest Georgia, features on the cover

FEATURE
ARTICLES

Taking time to recapture character
Inwood Country Club
Opinion | Daniel Friedman

Taking time to recapture character

Inwood’s Daniel Friedman talks about how the New York club has spent the last 20 years trying to make up for the previous 80 years of change that had slowly eroded the character of its Herbert Strong-designed course

A masterpiece comes into view
Cobbs Creek
Opinion | Mark Wagner

A masterpiece comes into view

Mark Wagner provides an update on progress of the revival of Cobbs Creek

Bill Amick: Long calling for short
ASGCA
Interview | Adam Lawrence

Bill Amick: Long calling for short

Adam Lawrence spoke to the designer about his life and his attempts to encourage golfers to play shorter courses

The triumph of the Dyeciples
ASGCA
Feature | Adam Lawrence

The triumph of the Dyeciples

Adam Lawrence asks why architects who trained with Pete Dye are so dominant in today’s golf design business

The Keep: On top of the world
Evan Schiller
On site | Richard Humphreys

The Keep: On top of the world

Richard Humphreys reports on a new layout that is destined to catch the eye. Designed by Bill Bergin and Rees Jones, McLemore’s second course occupies a spectacular setting on a mountaintop plateau

Goodwood: Down in the woods
Report | Richard Humphreys

Goodwood: Down in the woods

Golf At Goodwood has a new practice facility designed by James Edwards and built by MJ Abbott

Cedar Rapids: Blown away
Vaughn Halyard
On site | Adam Lawrence

Cedar Rapids: Blown away

After an acclaimed 2015 restoration by Ron Prichard, Iowa club thought it was set fair for the future. But Mother Nature had other ideas, says Adam Lawrence

North Ranch: Time for transformation
North Ranch CC
Report | Richard Humphreys

North Ranch: Time for transformation

Fifty years after it was originally laid out, the Ted Robinson layout has been re-envisioned by Jackson-Kahn Design and rebuilt by Landscapes Unlimited

Team building
Turfgrass
Interview | Richard Humphreys

Team building

Turfgrass has launched its US arm with the appointment of John Lawrence, Adam Moeller and Brad Owen. Richard Humphreys speaks with them, Turfgrass founder John Clarkin and director of agronomy Julian Mooney to find out more

Birdie Act: An end to templates?
Kevin Murray
Feature | Adam Lawrence

Birdie Act: An end to templates?

Legislation before the US Congress would extend the copyright protection that currently exists for buildings architecture to golf course design. But would that preclude the construction of classic hole designs, asks Adam Lawrence?

The art of project management
Leeds Golf Design
Opinion | Giulia Ferroni

The art of project management

Giulia Ferroni of Leeds Golf Design spells out the intricacies of executing a masterplan and the skills required from a golf course architect

Gopher Watch Competition – October 2024
Gopher Watch, News | Mon 21 Oct, 2024

Gopher Watch Competition – October 2024

Which course has Sandy the gopher visited this month?

MOST
POPULAR

FEATURED
BUSINESSES