Elie Golf Club

This is a classy establishment and a classy course.  It is open and genteel but as the course slips away from the houses of the good burghers of the town towards the rocks and sea it bares it’s teeth and the wind whistles through. 

It all starts so gently; a drink on the terrace, dogs resting after a round, chirpy anticipatory conversation and lush green acres to lull you.  A quick look through the periscope to see where the first fairway lies and to check on the group ahead and off you go, except I didn’t need a periscope to see the lie of my second shot.  The foot of the bank was an ignominious start and I have to say that it was pretty scratchy for most of the afternoon.  The odd shaft of light in a cloudy sky but not enough to illuminate the round. 

After a stonking win on the Himalayas only that morning I was ready to roar, but, like the winner of the Par 3 competition at Augusta, my putting game, in particular, disintegrated.  I cannot really blame the micro tining which made the surfaces skiddy as I was not significantly better on the other greens.  As a golfing sage said ‘’50% of golf is fun and the rest is putting”.

The course has a great mix of holes and styles; holes routed on fairly flat land carved through swathes of thick grasses that demand your attention, using contours elsewhere that require precise chip and run shots.  I know because I was rarely precise.  Quirky holes like the tenth up and over the ridge and classic seaside links holes from 11 through 13.  The holes are set to every direction and dimension of wind.  My partner kept us in the game till 17 when my putt neither started nor finished online so we clambered over the wall to the last, windblown but impressed by the course, in order to find the home green.  Capacious and the right side of capricious the last green’s size and the inviting terrace can lead you into a false sense of security.

I would need a periscope for the rest of the week so I could see where the surface was, so deep were my putting troubles and one of my travelling companions could have done with a portable one to see out of the many bunkers he visited, and occasionally stayed rather too long,  like family after Christmas.  This is a club you would happily be a member of; interesting, demanding enough, beautifully kept and a receptive club house.  Thank you for generously donating my green fee to Alzheimer’s Society