A Pictorial: Kingsbarns Golf Links!!! (18th hole discussion now in session)

[Kyle Henderson]

11th hole schematic:
http://www.kingsbarns.com/hole11.php

The 11th is a brawny par 4 (481 yards for the pros). Challenging the left-hand bunkers off of the tee will open up the green a bit and should take the trees out of play.


This prominent hollow guards the front of the green, but shots that bail out long and left will find tight lies in another tricky swale. A severe slope runs away from the green on the right into the forest.

[Anthony Gray]

  The right front area looks different than the original design. Didn't that area used to be hazard?

  Anthony

[Marty Bonnar]

Anthony,
no, that's how it's always been.

The 11th to me is possibly the worst hole on the course. I find the design VERY contrived and the shaping unconvincing in the extreme. It's a pretty boring hole to play/caddy too!
The green is a bit one-dimensional (is that even physically possible?) and is over-shaded pretty badly by the coppiced sycamores to the right. I noted a pretty serious moss 'infestation' on that right side over the years and it definitely gets a bit spongy/springy over there when it's been raining.

Still, the glories of the 12th are, as we like to say in trail-blazing circles, 'just around the corner'...

FBD.

[Kyle Henderson]

12th hole schematic:
http://www.kingsbarns.com/hole12.php

After a brief stroll through the woods…


…one emerges on the 12th tee, a long and beautiful par 5 that stretches beside the shoreline as it curves gently to the left.


Anyone seeking the green in two must flirt with the ocean and/or bunkers at the front and rear of the green’s right side. Most amateurs should lay up down the right side to leave a short approach along the widest dimension of the green.


Back left pins are especially hard to approach

[Brian Phillips]

I will probably get ripped apart for what I am about to say.

I have been waiting for this hole to come up.  Everyone probably loves but to me the hole is forced upon us just because it is along the coastline.  I would love to ask Kyle or Stuart if this was one of the first holes designed during the routing analysis. I get the feeling that they did't dare not build it.

It is very, very long especially into the prevailing wind and just feels like 3 long slogs (sometimes 4) to eventually reach a ridiculously long green that you could use a lob wedge on from tip to tip.

I really have nothing good to say about the hole apart from the fact that it is along the coastline.  The next two holes are fun though!!

[Anthony Gray]

  The 12th has to be in the top 36 holes I've played. Was it made or found? Who cares? LOve the green. Saw a three there one time.

  Anthony

 

[Jonathan Davison]

Brian
I remember Mick McShane has an original brochure from the project, I think the routing was by an English Architect and I am sure its very similiar to Kyle's routing. Its a few years since I saw it but I am sure they are close.

[Kyle Henderson]

13th hole schematic:
http://www.kingsbarns.com/hole13.php

A shortish par 3, the 13th hole offers a simple par in calm conditions for the skilled player, yet this hole can wreck one’s card in severe winds.The 13th green is protected by a steep slope in front and a smattering of bunkers at each corner.


This view looks to the sea from behind the green (scroll right to see the 13th tee). The bunker in the foreground (behind the green) is not readily apparent from the tee.

[Anthony Gray]

   
postage stamp replica?

  Anthony

[Jaeger Kovich]

I like 12, its not the best hole ever, but it is solid, and the view makes it memorable. Actually the most memorable thing on 12 is the "Ring of Fire" as my caddy called it... You cant see it in the pics from 12, but if you look a the pic from 13 tee, look at the gorse on the right... "Ring of Fire!" Could this be natural? I  hear gorse is just impossible to keep where you want it, but I cant believe that just happened!

I thought the 13th was an average hole at best. It isn't very long, so you normally hit a short iron there, but the tee and green are both hidden from the wind coming over those rocks from the left, so the ball just goes nowhere because its blasted by wind you couldn't feel/see via the flag... chipped in from the lip of the left bunker.

[Kyle Henderson]

14th hole schematic:
http://www.kingsbarns.com/hole14.php

The 14th is a short par 4 that can be played any number of ways. Bunkers and slopes positioned in the middle of the fairway force players to be decisive in terms of both line and distance from the tee. With the turf running quickly, this hole seems like it would be more difficult when played downwind.

[Kyle Henderson]

15th hole schematic:
http://www.kingsbarns.com/hole15.php

The 15th is a picturesque par 3 that features a carry over the sea to a green running diagonally from left to right. On the tee box, players are shielded from the prevailing wind by a grove of trees. I can’t imagine trying to hit any shot other than a fade at the left side of the green. Then again, I can't hit an 8-iron 200 yards without skulling it.

[Anthony Gray]

  Do you forget about the pin and just aim at the back bunker?

  Anthony

[Kyle Henderson]

That's precisely what I did. I suppose a strong easterly wind could change that strategy on rare occasions.

  Do you forget about the pin and just aim at the back bunker?

  Anthony

[Kyle Henderson]

16th hole schematic:
http://www.kingsbarns.com/hole16.php
 
The 16th is a par 5 with bunkers sprinkled about the line of charm. Though it runs along the shore, a small ridge of dunes isolates most of the hole from the sea. Hence, the 16th does not feel as intimately connected with the water as the 12th  or 15th holes.


The central fairway bunker pictured sits in the ideal spot for a layup. Ideally, one can place their ball just beyond the bunker on the right side of the fairway, yielding an approach line down the axis of the green between bunkers front/left and the old burn that runs behind the right side of the green --an unseen and potentially maddening hazard.

[Kyle Henderson]

Hole #17 schematic:
http://www.kingsbarns.com/hole17.php

An extra-beefy par 4 from the tips, the 17th fairway narrows significantly past the driving zone, climbing steadily to the green. There is less shame in laying up than making a greedy triple bogey on this penultimate test.

[Kyle Henderson]

18th hole schematic:
http://www.kingsbarns.com/hole18.php

The 18th is a challenging par 4 finisher. Drives should be played towards the clubhouse.


The 18th green is approached from left of frame. Both the burn and bridge were unearthed during construction and incorporated into the design of the final green complex, requiring precise distance control if there is to be any hope of par.


It’s hard to improve upon a sunny day on the links of Kingsbarns, though a delicious lunch in the clubhouse and an afternoon round on another of Fife’s finest courses certainly did the trick for me.

[Matt MacIver]

Kyle - excellent pictures and commentary, thanks again.  I missed a few holes but wanted to comment:

#11 - I've never really understood when someone said "this hole is out of character with the rest of the course" until I saw this hole.  Maybe it's only the woods on the right, which I wouldn't have touched, but I just didn't get it.  Or perhaps the collection area front right of the green was too over-reaching. 

#15 - love the way the woods really protect the wind on the tee while not protecting the green, making club selection especially difficult. 

#18 - the green slopes materially front-to-back, I presume to make it easier to hold a wood/long iron.  I like that concept because even if you hit just an average tee ball you get another crack at pulling off a great 2nd shot and still making a score on the last hole. 

[Anthony Gray]

  Kyle,

  Again well done. I am surprised by the lak of posts. I wonder what it is on THe Doak Scale.


  Anthony

[Kyle Henderson]

Anthony, I'd peg Kingsbarns in the Doak 8-9 range. As I (hopefully) see more of the great courses, it will probably move more towards an 8.

[Ash Towe]

Kyle,
Thanks for the photo tour.  All the courses covered on this expedition have been most enjoyable.

[Kyle Henderson]

My pleasure, Ash.

A question for all: Does Kingsbarns look natural to you? If not, where is man's hand most evident (aside from the rock-walled burn and revetted bunkers)?

[Jeff Taylor]

It looks natural but I hate that I had to see the before pictures. Now I know and will look for it when I return in May of 2010.