I was invited along to play in an Open Day at The Golf House Club yesterday (commonly known as Elie), and it proved to be a fantastic day. There was hardly a breath of wind, nor a cloud in the sky, so short sleeves were the order of the day – a rarity for October in Scotland. A shotgun start involved my group teeing off first (one of the perks of playing with the club captain!) so we had the opportunity to take a look at their famous periscope prior to starting our round. The first hole involves a blind tee shot, and rather than having a bell to tell people on the tee when to hit, they have an old submarine periscope so you can see when it’s clear to drive. If you’re ever playing the course, be sure to get to the tee early so you can have a look as it turns full circle so you get a fantastic view of almost the entire course.
Having never played the course before I was thoroughly looking forward to it and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s not a long course at only 6273 yards, but it’s still a great test of golf and an extremely enjoyable course. There are no par 5’s and only two par 3’s so the emphasis is on the par 4’s; most of which are risk and reward holes under 400 yards, with the opportunity to go for the green – or close to them – off the tee, but also with the option to play safe, leaving a short iron to the green. Thankfully my driver was working favourably, so I scored well, but with punishing rough and many a tough bunker protecting the greens, the brave can easily be penalised. With regards the condition of the course, I have never seen better in October in Scotland. The greens were immaculate and the fairways were in perfect condition.
So where does Elie fit into your schedule? Well if you’re keen on playing 36 holes a day, it fits in perfectly for the afternoon round after the Old Course or Kingsbarns, or on arrival day after a tiring overnight flight it works well because it’s not going to beat you up like a British Open course, but you will certainly come away from it having thoroughly enjoyed your round. Alternatively, if you’ve ticked off all Scotland’s Open courses and you’re looking for a hidden links, look no further.
By Keith Baird. Keith has been with PerryGolf for over13 years and is one of our Golf Travel Specialists.
