St. Andrews, Scotland – There is nothing like playing a great round of links golf, where the sea and land meet. One of the finest in the world is Kingsbarns Golf Links in the home of golf, St. Andrews, Scottland. Kingsbarn recently celebrated its tenth anniversary season in style with a 30 percent surge in rounds of golf by visitors.
More than 27,000 rounds were played this season over the famous links capping an excellent season. Such was the increase in demand that the season was extended by two weeks in November to accommodate additional play. Although this recent photo of Kingsbarns shows there won’t be any golf played today!
Kingsbarns also recently cemented its position as one of the United Kingdom’s finest courses when it was ranked No. 11 in the prestigious Golf Monthly Top 100 courses.
“We are absolutely delighted with the way the season has gone especially as we celebrated such a major milestone,” said Stuart McEwen, general manager at Kingsbarns. “We have now passed the 280,000 round mark since the course opened in July 2000 and that is testimony to the excellence of the course design and the hard work of the greenkeepers and other staff here who help to ensure the course and facilities are in top class condition every day of the season. The signs are already looking good for 2011 with bookings up by 10 percent on this period last year and we look forward to another ten years of success.”
The staging of the Open Championship in nearby St Andrews placed Kingsbarns in the spotlight and led to some of the greatest golfers ever to have played the game making the short trip down the coast. Tom Watson, Gary Player and Lee Trevino took to the fairways and were warm in their praise for Kingsbarns.
While the course condition attracted widespread praise throughout the season, Kingsbarns also excelled off the course with caddie manager Davy Gilchrist being named the Caddiemaster of the Year in the Golf Tourism Scotland Annual Awards for the second year in succession.
“We work very hard to ensure that golfers enjoy an outstanding experience when they play golf at Kingsbarns and leave with wonderful stories to tell,” said Davy. “Caddies have a huge role to play in that regard with 60 percent of all visitors taking a caddie for their rounds. I am fortunate to have such a great team here and they are fully committed to providing the highest standards of service.”
Kingsbarns reopens for the 2011 season on April 1. The green fee for next season is $293 with a 50 percent discount for golfers playing a second round within seven days.
Located just seven miles southeast from St. Andrews, Kingsbarns is a must-play seaside links course which regularly features in top 100 golf courses rankings in the world. Designed by Kyle Phillips, the golf course is set on land which gently slopes down towards the coastline, so nearly every hole boasts spectacular views of the sea. At 7,181 yards from the championship tees, Kingsbarns is a formidable enough test to be included in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship rota each autumn alongside the Old Course at St. Andrews and Carnoustie Golf Links. Kingsbarns prides itself in excellent customer service and great accessibility for tee times. Visitors are treated as members for the day and enjoy assistance from the moment they step off their car until they leave.
Kudos to a great year, Kingsbarns.