Turning off the coastal road that links St Andrews to the fishing town of Crail on Fife's eastern shoreline, visitors to Kingsbarns Golf Links drive a short distance up a narrow track before suddenly emerging at the clubhouse – a relatively small, comfortable building made from local stone. From here, atop the highpoint of the property, a panorama of the golf course unfolds, sweeping along a mile and a half of craggy beach with the North Sea as its backdrop. It takes just a fraction of a second to realise that you have arrived at somewhere very special indeed.
In the 1990s, the American course designer Kyle Phillips laid eyes on the dormant golfing property overlooking the sea and immediately understood its potential. "Being familiar with some of the new courses in the St Andrews area, I had confidence that something greater could be achieved," said Phillips. "At that point in my career as a golf course designer, I was up for a challenge." Phillips realised that with vision, hard work and patience he could turn what was essentially featureless farmland into a winning combination of rolling dunes, crumpled fairways and unparalleled sea views. His foresight and passion was shared by Californian real-estate developers Mark Parsinen and Art Dunkley, who financed much of the project and who have gone on to support other notable successes like Castle Stuart in Inverness.
