Photo Tour: Anstruther

Last summer, during a short trip to Scotland where I met up with Andy and Brendan during the Open Championship, I spent two very interesting (separate story!) nights in Cellardyke, a small village near St Andrews. Just down the road was Anstruther Golf Club, a nine-holer that traverses a surprisingly varied landscape for such a small property. The first and last holes play up and down a steep hill. The second immediately crosses back over the first and shares a flat plateau with a few other holes. With Nos. 5, 6, and 7, the routing dives down the coast.

The coastline was often dotted with walkers enjoying the balmy July weather and, after waiting a few minutes to let a few of them wander out of my landing zone on 5, I started up a conversation with a couple of ladies with fairly thick Southern drawls. After a minute, a bald man and his friend joined them. I had been chatting with Stewart Cink’s wife, apparently. After watching me hit a disappointing shot to the tiny, perched sixth green, they continued their walk to the pub in the village on the other end of the course. (This was Saturday of Open week and Cink had failed to make the cut.)

It was a super enjoyable solo round. Here are a few shots I took along the way:

This is the hill on No. 1, with the flag on No. 2 visible.

The first hole

The second hole crosses over the first green (not visible) and also runs past the third tee.

The second hole and third tee

The fourth runs along the edge of the plateau and features a stunning tee location, the first glimpse of 5, some old buildings, and a pretty cool green.

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An old building

The Cink clan happened to photobomb this shot before I knew who they were.

The Cinks

On the fifth hole, with the wind blowing steadily off the ocean, I basically had to start this shot over some walkers, so I figured I should wait and take a picture instead.

From the fifth tee

No. 5 is a striking hole.

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The sixth hole, which criss-crosses with the seventh, plays to an incredibly small tabletop green.

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No. 7 climbs back up to the plateau.

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The wonderful tee shot on No. 9 plays back toward the town and features two well-placed bunkers.

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Back to the starter's hut at the end of a lovely walk