Kingsbarns was a great opportunity for Phillips to make his name as an architect, the moment having come shortly after he left Robert Trent Jones II's practice to strike it out on his own. Parsinen was consulted on every aspect of the design and his input garnered at every stage. A huge amount of earthmoving was undertaken in order to create the large sand dunes that run in a series of ridges parallel to the shoreline, and which now spectacularly frame many of the fairways and greens. Phillips stabilised unruly hillocks with native marram and fescue grasses, growing them rugged and wispy to make it look as if the site had been sculpted by wind and sea over aeons. The next stage in the creation was to carve beautifully twisted fairways into the dunes like tiered steps rising from the sea, ensuring the water views could be clearly appreciated from every hole. The result is the most authentic-looking modern links course ever made.
When playing the courses there is not only the spectacular scenery to reflect on, but also 18 holes where strategy is at the heart of the design. Much like the fabled Old Course down the road in St Andrews, a braver line off the tee rewards an easier approach and for every flag position on Kingsbarns' huge greens there is an optimum place to attack it from.
Make no mistake, there is not a weak hole on the course; indeed, this is about as perfect a collection of holes as you can possibly imagine. Although like any world-class layout, there are a handful that garner slightly more attention than the rest.
The opening hole starts high by the clubhouse, running 400 yards from the back tees, curving right and downhill to the sea. The way is strewn with deeply revetted bunkers, introducing golfers to the links' gnarled, windswept characteristics. This is followed by four extremely attractive holes that run out alongside the sea and back in a narrow loop. At the par-four 6th a real sense of the plateau nature introduced by Phillips to the land is noticeable as the round enters what was the location of the original course played over by Kingsbarns Society in the 18th century. The hole is not a long one at 337 yards, but the green is angled so that it favours approaches from the right-hand side of the fairway. For those brave enough to attempt it, a good drive must carry over to fairway bunkers. Any bailing out short and left leaves a tricky blind shot to the green.
