The St Andrews, East Neuk and Levenmouth areas of the region are most associated with golf, given the links courses that extend down the coast. However, for the golfer prepared to look a little further afield, many other wonderful golfing experiences await. Dunfermline is a thriving town in West Fife and the ancient capital of Scotland, and, with it a wide and varied selection of accommodation, restaurants and bars, it is the ideal centre for a golfing trip to the area. There are four golf courses, parkland in style, in and round the town – Dunfermline, Pitreavie, Canmore and Forrester Park.

Dunfermline Golf Club lies to the west of the town and has a true place in golfing history, as one of the earliest members of the club was Robert Lockhart who, along with John Reid, introduced golf to the United States through the formation of the St Andrews Golf Club in New York. Oh, and they also have a castle for a clubhouse!

A few miles north and east from Dunfermline is the Canmore Golf Club. The tree-lined, parkland course measures 5455 yards and was built in 1897. Its elevated position provides panoramic views of the city and over towards Edinburgh and the Pentland Hills and is great fun to play.

Opened in around 1922, the 18-Hole, par 71 parkland course at Pitreavie Golf Club offers great golf to individuals, groups, visitors, golf societies and corporate clients. You will discover a genuinely warm Fife welcome, excellent golf facilities and fine hospitality. The course was designed by the internationally renowned architect Dr Alister MacKenzie (1870-1934) who went on to design one of the world’s most famous and finest golf courses at Augusta National in Georgia, home of the US Masters.

The Forrester Park Resort was once a part of the historic Keavil Estate, which served as pastureland for the needs of the ancient town of Dunfermline. The gently rolling parkland terrain offers an enjoyable 18-hole experience for golfers of all standards and the elevated greens offer stunning views of the Firth of Forth and the Lothians. In addition to the golf course, the Forrester Park Resort offers a floodlit driving range with 16 covered bays.

The four courses offer tremendous value, with a round mid-week costing between £25 and £45. It is fair to say, with the history, golf and hospitality on offer to visitors in Dunfermline, you can be guaranteed your golf trip there will be a memorable one. 

It was brilliant to see Fife having 16 courses listed in the recently announced Golf World Top 100 Courses in Scotland. Fife has long been a destination that is at the top of the wish list for golfers everywhere and our wonderfully diverse mix of experiences on offer across our 50 courses means there is a course for everyone. This diversity is represented well across the 16 courses, with historic and modern links taking their place alongside heathland and parkland courses.  It was little surprise to see iconic Old Course heading the list at No.1 and modern classic Kingsbarns coming in at No.6, with Dumbarnie retaining its top 25 position which is a phenomenal achievement for a course that has only been open for 3 years  – a position that’s surely only going to improve as the year’s pass and the course continues to mature.

It was little surprise to see iconic Old Course, St Andrews heading the list at No.1 and modern classic Kingsbarns coming in at No.6, with Dumbarnie Links retaining its top 25 position which is a phenomenal achievement for a course that has only been open for 3 years  – a position that’s surely only going to improve as the year’s pass and the course continues to mature.

Elie, Golf House Club comes in at 26 and is a true links classic with a wonderful test layout testing every club in the player bag, with holes ranging from a 131 yard coastal par 3’s to par 4’s that range from 252 to 466 yards and everything in between. The Castle Course, New Course, and Jubilee Course all rank highly and the Torrance and Kittocks Courses at the Fairmont Resort also take their place. The Levenmouth area has further representation, with Lundin Links and Leven Links taking 49th and 60th places respectively. Although only separated by a wall, these two courses have rich individual characters that make each a unique and enjoyable challenge.

Located a bit further up the coast is the Balcomie Course at Crail, the 7th oldest club in the world and 52nd on the list. The course offers golfer’s everything they’d expect from an experience playing a course of such incredible heritage.

Scotscraig (55th) and Ladybank (50th) complete the list – the former an acclaimed inland course with a links feel, the latter a wonderful Heathland layout (the only one in Fife). The quality of each has seen both host high profile events like Final Qualifying for The Open Championship and top amateur events, with Scotscraig holding the Scottish PGA Championship in 2023.