The Golf House Club, Elie was founded in 1875 on links played since the 16th century. The starter still uses a periscope, salvaged from the Royal Navy submarine HMS Excalibur in 1966, to check that the first fairway is clear. Five-time Open Champion James Braid was born next door in Earlsferry and won his first tournament here at age eight; he later called the course’s 13th hole “the finest in all the country”.
A 18 hole golf course with no par 5s and just two par 3s? Sounds strange but works very well at Elie. What an amazing course. The fun starts already before you hit your first shot – when the starter really uses the periscope The fun continues all the way out of the village to the sea and back again. Best hole? Probably indeed the 13th, and definitely not the 12th, where my tee shot cleared the 9th green before it came to a rest on the tee box of the 16th. I am wearing a fake beard since.
