Includes, Kingbarns, Dumbarnie, & St Andrews Torrance Course. Plus, St Andrews Old Course is also possible
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At Faraway Fairways we’ve become increasingly aware that a number of you want to ‘get away from it’, but don’t necessarily want the commitment of a long ‘tour’. In other words, you want a top golf break over a weekend, but you have so many other things going on around you that time is a problem. It shouldn’t come as any surprise to learn therefore that Faraway Fairways have just the answer with our Kingsbarn and Dumbarnie weekend golf break, one of six options we’re excited to offer. This particular option is different to the other five in so far as we have at least two world class courses as the focus rather than an apex draw and a supporting cast. There’s a real potential bonus in this one though. We’re staying in St Andrews. Yes, we can enter the Old Course ballot, and yes we are near enough to play the Old Course if we win, and yes we should be able to shuffle the pack in such a way that we’ll be able to salvage Kingsbarns or Dumbarnie if they go into conflict with the Old Course tee-time. It’s a shot to nothing really, for it we lose, then we just play Kingsbarns or Dumbarnie as planned
The Kingsbarn and Dumbarnie weekend golf break is designed for someone who can leave work mid-day Friday, or even early evening, so long as they can arrive in Scotland (Edinburgh) early on Saturday morning. Anyone taking it from the UK or continental Europe will be back at work by Monday morning. But here’s a twist, by virtue of flying back across time zones, so will anyone from North America.
The Kingsbarn and Dumbarnie weekend golf break isn’t exactly a new concept you might suggest? True, we’ll give you that ‘short putt’! But most of these packages tend to be resort first and golf second. Faraway Fairways’ big weekend golf breaks put the golf first. Well to no small extent in Scotland, you have to, Spain we ain’t!
So it might sound a bit ambitious at first, and its probably not completely unfair to think that this type of break is more likely to appeal to those of you with have fast moving lifestyles and a bit of ‘go’, but then the world is becoming a smaller a place. When you walk back into work on Tuesday and someone enquires whether you “did anything interesting at the weekend?” it would perhaps be nice to reply “played golf in Scotland. And you?”
3 Nights
Scotland
Transport
Self-drive probably best. Airport transfers with local 'golf taxis' is also viableLogistics
Single hotel baseNon-Golf Offer
Moderate - St Andrews with FifeMileage
Low - Approximately 150 miles. Approximately 3 hrs 30 minsTravel Class
Luxury, Premier, or AffordableOld Course
Low chance of play through the ballot (circa 33%). Walk-up rule should work on MondaySaturday - St Andrews Torrance or Kittocks
The Kittocks and Torrance courses are slight departures from the links tradition of St Andrews, being a few miles outside of town on a stunning cliff-top location overlooking the bay and town below. With a splendid sense of isolation and exposure they both play ‘linksy’. The result is spectacular. The Kittocks course is a long and challenging, requiring nerves of steel to navigate its many holes running alongside the coastline. It’s played host to Europro Tournament 2007 and 2009 and Scottish Youths National Championship 2016. The Torrance course is characterised by its deep revetted bunkers, and large greens and has hosted the Seniors European Tour Event six times between 2009 and 2014. They tend to be held in similar regard.
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Sunday - Kingsbarns
Records of golf being played at Kingsbarns date to 1793. The modern course opened in 2000, and is set on three-tiered levels, sloping towards the coast. Nearly every hole has stunning views of the North Sea. The par 3, 15th requires a tee shot over the waves, and vies with the 12th for the accolade of ‘signature hole’, a par 5 which hugs the shoreline to an exposed green. Perhaps of greatest significance is the number of times it beats more illustrious neighbours in surveys amongst visiting Americans since its always immaculately presented. Kingsbarns completes the trio of East Coast giants that host the European Tour’s Dunhill links challenge each year alongside Carnoustie and the Old Course.
Monday - - Dumbarnie
Dumbarnie is Scotland’s newest world class golf links, (2020) and is expected to rank in the world’s top-100 when the next lists are published. It’s located on an escarpment, 80 ft above sea-level at its peak, the design has made good use of the natural contouring to introduce views of the sea on two loops of nine. The terrain has been worked into a series of hillocks, knobs and knolls. A number of elevated tees have been used to provide the drama of hitting drives out to the ocean. Unusually for a links, water has also been introduced, albeit mainly confined to burns rather than lakes. The fairways are wide and forgiving with driveable risk and reward par 4’s a particular feature of the lay-out
Although this break is focused on Kingsbarns & Dumbarnie we perhaps shouldn't lose sight of its proximity to St Andrews which would permit us to attempt a couple of ballot applications for the Old Course, or at the very least, just visit the town
The St Andrews Links Trust don't publish ballot strike-rates. Faraway Fairways do occasionally succeed in extracting an off the record opinion however. In addition to this, we’re also able to draw on our own evidence, and that which we’re able to extract from credible co-operative partners (usually hotels) plus what other tour operators might tell us. We have a good guideline idea of strike rates by month of the year and by day of the week
It needs to be stressed that these are indicative averages only. Different parts of a month will behave differently dependent on any end of factors. The ballot is quixotic and unpredictable, Extended runs of good or bad luck can, and do, happen. They are provided in good faith, but can of course fail, and can't therefore be used as a basis for compensation
Multiply by the number of days you are available to give you a guideline
Ballot Strike-Rates
MONTH OF THE YEAR
| APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT |
| 59% | 21% | 20% | 16% | 14% | 17% | 19% |
DAY OF THE WEEK
| MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN |
| 20% | 21% | 16% | 23% | 15% | 30% | n/a |
St Andrews 'Guaranteed' Tee Times
Guaranteed tee-times aren't sold for weekend slots so you'd be needing to specifically source one for the Monday and then try to arrange the mandatory second course forward of the Old course (not something the Links Trust routinely do - but possible with a bit of persuasion)
There is a heavy price premium on a guarantee a tee-time. Plus they usually involve a minimum hotel stay in St Andrews of at least three nights, playing an additional St Andrews course is mandatory, and normally a minimum food & drink spend in a specified hotel. So are they worth it? The answer to that question really is "it depends ...". If money is no object, and you don't mind paying much more than you might need to ... On balance though, Faraway Fairways wouldn't be of the opinion that it is worth even attempting to source one.
Handicap requirement
“A current official handicap card (Golf Club affiliated to a Golf Union/Association) record or certificate must be presented to the starter prior to play. Maximum handicaps – 24 Men, 36 Ladies. St Andrews will not accept letters of introduction from a local Club Professional”. Players who are unable to meet this standard are invited to tackle the alternatives we’ve nominated instead.
Some known issues to consider
St Andrews hosts the Open in 2022 and will be shut from June 1st until it's finished in mid-July.
St Andrews, Carnoustie, and Kingsbarns jointly host the Dunhill Links challenge in the first week of October
For a bespoke itinerary, please click here and complete our Request a Proposal form
al@faraway-fairways.com
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