Thanks to one of the most impressive road signs I have ever seen, as you drive towards St Andrews you are reminded this most historic of towns is located in a kingdom.
The ‘Kingdom of Fife’, for a multitude of reasons, has played a pivotal part in Scotland’s extraordinary heritage. Kingsbarns is so named because its location made it an ideal place to store grain for the 11th century King Malcolm. With the land jutting out into the North Sea, it ensured this valuable commodity was easier to defend from foreign and domestic raiders.
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In fact a reminder of former glories is everywhere you look along this stretch of legendary coastline, not least, of course, up the coast at St Andrews.
Across the bay, where Old Tom Morris used to go for his daily morning bathe, you can make out Carnoustie on a clear day while just about the ideal place to soak up all this beautiful scenery is whilst playing the two courses at Fairmont St Andrews – The Kittocks and The Torrance. When things aren’t going well with your game, it is very handy to have the distraction of some of the most glorious views imaginable.
The view from the Presidential Suite across to St Andrews
In fact everthing is easy on the eye at Fairmont St Andrews.
From the moment you enter the five-star, 212-room hotel, you can just feel the quality and it is easy to see why the resort hosted something as massive and ‘fancy’ as the G20 summit in 2009.
Tiger Woods also chose to stay here last year while contesting the 150th Open (it’s hard to know which fact is more impressive). The 15-time Major champion stayed in the Presidential suite, which looks across the courses and down towards St Andrews.
The quality of the golf on offer is also reflected in its DP World Tour status. The Torrance course hosted three successive Hero Opens, starting in 2020.
There are big plans to redevelop the layouts but major investment is never far away at Fairmont St Andrews. A massive upgrade to all the bathrooms in the hotel was recently finished – for enjoyment reasons, the showers are difficult to leave.
The two main restaurants offer an abundance of culinary excellence and there is more than a nod to Scotland’s traditions. Whether it is Haggis Bon Bons or beautifully-prepared smoked salmon, you can enjoy something truly outstanding. The Clubhouse & Grill is currently being renovated in time for this year’s peak season but Kittocks Den, where we dined on day two, is handily placed and most visitors will enjoy its relaxed vibe.
The open-plan lower ground floor dining area is called The Squire, after the legendary Gene Sarazen, who was involved in the original lay-out of the 36 holes and, everywhere you look, there are reminders of Scotland’s cultural past. Many of its most famous sons and daughters are honoured in print. There was something very comforting about walking to my room past a smiling Billy Connolly.
There are two bars in the hotel, both of which also serve food and if you wanted something a little more relaxed then this is the place for you.
The Zephyr Sports Bar incorporates a golf simulator but there is also the opportunity to test your rugby and football skills… among other sports. It all adds up to a hugely enjoyable social experience, as long as you don’t embarrass yourself after a couple of glasses of wine.
When you are playing golf for real, both the Kittocks and the Torrance, which have been operational for just over 20 years, provide an excellent test for all standards of golfers.
What you immediately notice when playing the Kittocks is the classic nod to St Andrews’s sporting past – double greens. The first, a sweeping par five, shares with the par three 13th and my playing partner managed to put his approach to the back of the 13th, meaning he had a 200-foot putt back towards the pin at the front of the first. There is another double green as the course reaches its outer limits – the 7th and 10th – and the holes that are played along the coastline are as eye-catching as you would expect.
Aussie architect Bruce Devlin made full use of the geographical golden ticket he was handed, particularly at the par three 3rd, 6th and 16th, while the three-hole stretch that begins at the seventh is as pretty as you will find anywhere.
The Torrance is played more inland but is still a highly interesting lay-out. The short par four seventh is one of the great risk-reward offerings out there while the 16th, with its perfectly straight wall, all the way down the left-hand side, provides you with views that will live long in the memory.
We played the par three 17th with the pin on the left-hand side and the wind pushing the balls towards the North Sea, creating the ultimate death-or-glory scenario. Just so much fun.
Walking up 18 you also get a great sense of the scale of the whole estate and that feeling of space is everywhere. Part of that massive expanse has been used to grow much of what you eat in the restaurants. The hotel even has its own bee hives and part of what they produce is used to make candles for the hotel.
The Fairmont Spa, complete with ten treatment rooms, is the perfect place to unwind and with a pool, jacuzzi, steam room and sauna in tow, you have the ideal place to recuperate after 18 holes.
It’s a wonderful operation and for those looking for 36 holes, with an overnight stay included, you just can’t go far wrong.
For more information about Fairmont St Andrews and to book a visit, click here
An alcoholic education
The story behind the creation of the Weymyss-family-owned Kingsbarns Distillery is truly remarkable. A local caddy, Doug Clement, roused the local community into transforming some abandoned farm buildings, creating a new business that the local aristocrats eventually bought out and, with the assistance of a grant from the Scottish government, a multi-million-pound whisky and gin-making business came into being.
The Wemyss family’s involvement secured the future of the venture and just under ten years later, single-malt whiskys are being produced. The process means the range is still very new but the next few years promises to be an exciting period of growth for The Kingsbarns Distillery. The first cask of whisky was filled in March 2015 and it takes three years and a day for the liquid to reach single malt status.
On the same site is the Darnley’s Gin centre. The process for making this iconic drink is rather shorter and one of the attractions of the centre is an option to make your own version. The options are dizzying but thankfully help is at hand via a very helpful gin-making expert.
It takes about three hours from start to finish to make your own gin although the advice is leave it three days before tasting it. It has to settle.
As part of your visit you are taken back in time as the history of the region and the influence of whisky-making is explained (see video below).
To book a visit to the Kingsbarns Distillery and the Darnley’s Gin factory click here.
