Anstruther

Few Scottish seaside towns carry quite the character of Anstruther, a working fishing village on the East Neuk of Fife whose harbour still smells of the sea and whose chip shop draws pilgrims from across the country. Golf in this corner of Fife sits in the long shadow of St Andrews, just up the coast, but the East Neuk has its own proud, unhurried relationship with the game — courses here tend to be community affairs, woven into the fabric of the place rather than designed for spectacle.

A par of 62 tells you immediately that this is a shorter, compact layout — the kind of course where local knowledge counts, where the wind off the Firth of Forth can turn a modest pitch into a serious decision, and where the point is enjoyment rather than examination. Courses of this stamp in coastal Fife typically run over ground shaped by the same glacial tumble that makes the region so naturally suited to golf.

It's the sort of place you play in a couple of hours, then walk to the harbour for a fish supper. That combination is, in its own way, fairly hard to beat.