Crail was one of the very first golf clubs in the world when it was established in 1786, and stands today as one of the early pioneers who helped shape the game we enjoy today. The film is packed with information about the club and the game more broadly in those early years, and we really enjoyed catching up with David Roy – Crail Golfing Society’s general manager to hear all about it.

For us, going into Crail was the last day of tour. We’d played 36 holes at Carnoustie, and 36 round The Old course. It’s really hard to top those few days, and whilst I (Sam) had played Crail about 6 or so years previously, we went in with fairly tepid expectations, with our minds probably more occupied on the 6 hour drive home and the jobs that lay waiting for us when we arrived.

What was waiting for us was a huge surprise – the course was epic. I’d forgotten just how great it was, and Bruce and Tom were blown away. It’s not got crashing dunes, or huge hazards to make it visually intimidating. Instead Crail delivers understated simplicity. Greens that roll like marble, some incredible views form the shore, and a superb assortment of par 3 holes.  The routing that is in place today, is essentially the same as Old Tom would have laid out, and has an aura of tranquility about it.

One thing that did strike us, was the opening stretch where you play alongside the shore, in particular holes 4 & 5. Both holes are early examples of a Cape Hole. Cape Holes are popular in the United States, often seen in the closing stretch of the PGA tour, where the hazard cuts diagonally between the player and the green, leaving the golfer with a decision as to how much carry to bite off. Whilst North Berwick is usually regarded as Ground Zero for many template golf holes, it think its hards to imaging the 4th and 5th at Crail would not have had influence on the likes of CB Macdonald who we know visited the links when he was studying under Old Tom Morris.

For people visiting the headliners in and around Fife, and wanting to get off the well trodden path to experience a traditional Scottish Golf Club – then for us, Crail is as good as it gets!

You can hear us talking about our trip to Crail, Carnoustie & St Andrews in Episode 079 of our podcast.