Embracing Its Legacy

LEVEN, SCOTLAND | Many golfers travel to the Fife region in eastern Scotland to play some of the world’s oldest courses, including the most ancient one of all, the Old Course at St. Andrews. On my most recent visit there, I played the newest.

This wasn’t so much about snubbing tradition as it was about seizing a rare opportunity to see, walk and play a big-time course in its infancy, just as the finishing touches were being made but before its gates are thrown open to the public.

Dumbarnie Links is nearly ready to launch and its big reveal is highly anticipated, not just in Fife and in Scotland but also around the golf world. But the COVID-19 pandemic has put the course’s debut in limbo. Dumbarnie's announced opening date is May 16 and the course's management team still hopes for at least “a modified opening,” but any plans are – at best – uncertain, given that the pandemic remains unpredictable. Much of Great Britain is in lockdown and the Scottish golf industry is closed until further notice.

Regardless, the sprawling links...