18th green at Kingsbarns

Michael Murphy’s masterpiece novel, Golf in the Kingdom, struck a nerve 30+ years ago and has been recognized since as a classic work on the deeper mysteries of the game. It will come as no surprise then that the book is based in The Kingdom of Fife. As Golf in the Kingdom’s protagonist, Shivas Irons, had his life transformed in a single day and night so too will a first or many time visitor to St Andrews. St Andrews, as the home of golf, feels like it has gravitational pull. Its acres of green golf space in the center of town is like no other place. The surrounding stone buildings look down upon centuries of golf history. Being here, you know that you are but a paragraph in this history but the fact that you are included is somehow gratifying. St Andrews is that type of place. You feel the same way throughout Fife, the kingdom, and Scotland. You sense that the only thing missing until that point in history was you. And now you are here.

Aerial view of the 1st and 18th of the Old Course

The history of golf in St Andrews began humbly enough 550+ years ago as an open field that encompassed the land where the Old Course is currently situated. Today, there are 11 golf courses in St Andrews. The newest, The Castle Course, is located but a mile from the first tee of the Old Course on the bluffs of St Andrews Bay. The Torrance and Kittocks Courses are located minutes away on the same cliffs and the award winning, Kingsbarns, is just down the road before one enters Crail. The Dukes Course has been recently redesigned and member and visitor alike rave about the changes. The New Course was designed by the patriarch of the first family of golf, Old Tom Morris, and opened in 1895. Its brilliance is often overlooked because of the shine from its next door neighbour, the Old Course. You also couldn’t go wrong at all with the Eden, Jubilee, Strathtyrum and Balgove Courses, all part of the Links Trust, a charitable organisation established in 1974 by an Act of Parliament and entrusted with the operation and maintenance of the golf courses and facilities on the Links. As for the surrounding area of Fife, it possesses 60 championship courses that offer a mix of traditional links and classic parkland golf to suit all standards and tastes. Guests staying at the luxuriously appointed Monarchs House will be transferred to the courses of their choice either by coach, taxi or helicopter. After golf, they will return to Monarchs for dinner, relax in front of the fire with a few single malts and retell the day’s stories.

Monarchs House works diligently to secure tee times for our guests that are subject to availability and day light hours.
The rest is up to you.