Leven Links

The championship course at Leven was used once again at the Millennium as one of the four final pre-qualifying courses when the Open Championship is played at St Andrews.

As well as boasting the 11th oldest golf club in the world, The Leven Golfing Society, the Standard Life Assurance Company's Amateur Champion Medal, gifted by the company in 1870 lays claim to the title of "The Oldest Open Amateur Strokeplay Championship In The World". A true sea-side course - the editor of Golf Monthly described the older part of the Leven Links as 'being one of the best stands of Bent and Fescues in Scotland'.

Originally Leven was a 9 hole course, maintained by the players themselves and their families (a paid Keeper of the Green did not appear at Leven until 1876).
The extension to 18 holes took place in 1868. The inaugural competition over 36 holes played on Oct 2nd, 1868 was won by "Young Tom" Morris with a score of 170.

It retained its layout until 1909 when pressure of players forced a division at the Mile Dyke. Lundin Links G. C. extending the eastern section and the Leven clubs taking over the football ground north of the bowling green, decanting the playing ladies to a new ladies course and renting further ground north of the then railway line.

As Ian Keenleyside wrote - The strength of Leven Links is in its succession of 'less easy' holes and the fact that one turns at the 13th into the prevailing west wind with a lot of work still to be done. At the end is the Home Green, prior to 1893 being small and square, but now a large putting surface fronted by demonic Scoonie burn. This wide natural water hazard described in the past as 'yellow as Pactolus or as black as Styx, or again, with the colour of Ketchup, the density of pea soup and the smell of Gaol fever'. Not quite as bad today but it will still take two superlatively struck shots to reach the putting surface in regulation. The 18th hole is reckoned to be one of the finest finishing holes in golf.

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