A modern links shaped by hand above the Fife shore, six miles from St Andrews.
Kingsbarns sits on the Fife coast six miles south-east of St Andrews, and it is the newest course on most Scottish itineraries. It opened in 2000, yet golf on this ground goes back to the Kingsbarns Golf Society of 1793. The North Sea is visible from every hole, and the layout drops towards it in a series of shelves. It is also one of the three venues of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, alongside the Old Course and Carnoustie.
Advance tee times for the following year open on 1 June, and the club takes those requests by phone on +44 (0)1334 460860, by email, or on a toll-free line from the US and Canada (1-800-441-1391). Late availability appears on the club’s online system up to three days ahead, at full rack rate only. No handicap certificate is required; the club asks only that you keep pace. A replay round at a reduced rate is offered when booked within seven days, provided one of the two rounds is an afternoon time. Buggies are kept for golfers with a medical certificate, cost £40, and must be driven by a caddie (whose £80 fee also applies).
Visitor green fee, 27 March–30 April 2027. £486 until 8 November 2026; £524 from May 2027, rising to £590 during Open week at St Andrews (12–20 July 2027). Prices change by season and booking route, so confirm the current rate with the operator. Official rates ↗
Kyle Phillips designed the course with developers Mark Parsinen and Art Dunkley, and much of what looks natural was shaped by machine from farmland. That is the quiet achievement here: dunes, swales and fairway ripples that read as centuries old. Fairways are generous, so the questions come from angles and from greens that shrug off weak approaches. The 12th, a long par five that bends along the shore, is the hole most often singled out. The 15th is a par three played across a rocky inlet to a green perched above the sea. Kingsbarns plays firm and fast in a dry summer, and the wind off the water decides how long it feels.
Kingsbarns closes from 9 November 2026 to 26 March 2027 and shuts for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship each autumn, along with a handful of other dates. The July 2027 Open at St Andrews will put pressure on every tee sheet in Fife, so requests for that summer should go in as soon as the June window opens. The clubhouse has a restaurant and a well-stocked shop, but there is no lodging on site. Most visitors combine a round here with the Old Course ballot or the other St Andrews Links courses.
Edinburgh Airport is about 55 miles away, roughly an hour and a quarter by road over the Queensferry Crossing. Leuchars station, on the Edinburgh–Aberdeen line, is around 12 miles away; taxis meet trains there. From St Andrews the drive along the A917 takes about 15 minutes.
Nearby: 1. Crail Golfing Society (4 km) · 2. The Castle Course, St Andrews Links (7 km) · 3. The Old Course (10 km) · 4. The Golf House Club, Elie (16 km) · 5. Dumbarnie Links (18 km) · 6. Lundin Golf Club (21 km) · Compare all St Andrews & Fife tee times
The club points visitors to St Andrews, where the choice runs from the Old Course Hotel and Rusacks to small guest houses around North Street and the harbour. The Fairmont St Andrews, on the clifftop between the town and Kingsbarns, is the closest large hotel. For something quieter, Crail and Anstruther in the East Neuk are 15 minutes south, with harbour cottages, inns and the Anstruther Fish Bar for an easy supper after golf.
The St Andrews Links courses are the obvious partners: the Old, New, Jubilee and Castle courses all sit within a short drive. Crail Golfing Society’s Balcomie Links, founded in 1786, makes a contrasting, shorter round at the tip of Fife Ness. Carnoustie is about 45 minutes north across the Tay. Away from golf, the Kingsbarns Distillery is a short walk inland from the course, and the coastal path from Kingsbarns beach to Crail is a good half-day walk.
These packages have a confirmed round at Kingsbarns Golf Links in the itinerary, with the other courses, nights and hotels listed so you can compare like with like.
7 nights B&B, 4 rounds plus an Old Course ballot attempt
Rounds: Kingsbarns · Carnoustie Championship · Gullane No. 1 · North Berwick West Links
Stay: 4 nights in St Andrews, 3 in North Berwick
Four nights in St Andrews gives you four chances in the Old Course ballot, with Kingsbarns and Carnoustie confirmed either way.
10 nights B&B, 8 rounds
Rounds: Western Gailes · Prestwick · Royal Troon · Dunbar · Crail Balcomie · Carnoustie · Kingsbarns · North Berwick
Stay: Ayrshire, East Lothian and Fife, including Rusacks St Andrews
Eight links in ten nights, mixing Open venues with Prestwick and Western Gailes, which many first trips miss.
10 nights B&B, 6 rounds
Rounds: St Andrews New Course · Kingsbarns · Moray Old Course · Royal Dornoch · Cabot Highlands
Stay: St Andrews, the Highlands and Edinburgh
Fife and the far north in one trip, for golfers who want Royal Dornoch and Cabot Highlands as much as the Home of Golf.
Prices are Golfbreaks’ published per-person guide prices in US dollars, checked November 2026; your quote depends on dates and group size. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. How we work
The course opens on 27 March 2027 and runs until early November, with peak rates from May. Late spring and September often bring firmer ground and less crowded sheets than July. Expect the course to close for a week around the turn of September and October for the Dunhill Links.
Explore golf by monthYes. Kingsbarns is a pay-and-play links open to visitors every day of its season, which runs from late March to early November. There are no membership or introduction requirements; you simply need a confirmed tee time, booked by phone or email or, within three days of play, online.
No. Kingsbarns does not ask for a handicap certificate, which sets it apart from Carnoustie and the Old Course. The only condition the club publishes is that you can keep up with the normal pace of play.
Advance bookings for the following season open on 1 June each year. Peak summer mornings and Open-week dates in July 2027 are likely to be taken first, so it pays to have your preferred dates and group size ready on the day.
There is no hotel at the course. Most golfers stay in St Andrews, about 15 minutes away, or at the Fairmont St Andrews on the coast road. The club recommends the Stay in St Andrews website for guest houses and hotels.
Last checked 4 October 2026. This is an independent planning guide, not a first-hand review or a booking service. Check live availability, access, fees and travel details with the operator before booking. Airport suggestions are starting points for route planning.
How we research our guidesPhoto credits and licencesShared greens, the Swilcan Bridge, and the town where golf feels at home.
Eight Opens, the Barry Burn and a finish that has humbled the best in the game.
Plateau greens and long northern evenings where Donald Ross learned the game.
