Elie Golf House Club

Favorite Hole

No. 10, par 4, 288 yards 

A one-of-a-kind drivable par 4. There are so many world-class holes at Elie to choose from, but the 10th is truly unforgettable. It’s a short poke and achievable for almost every player; the key is cresting the mountain that stares right back at you. A tee shot that clears the hill will run down to a green that pitches severely from front to back. For the accomplished player, the key here is judging the rollout. Right behind the green sits the Firth of Forth and misses right and left face tricky but fun recovery shots that require considerations of how to use the severe downslope towards the green.

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Overall Thoughts

I fell in love with Elie in 2022 during a late-night round with great friends the week of the 150th Open Championship at the Old Course. For the past three years I was dying to return while wondering, Am I irrationally in love with Elie? I returned for two rounds in the spring of 2025 and I can definitively say there is nothing irrational about my love for Elie.

Golf courses, like music, make people feel different things. Elie is a golf course that makes me feel a zest for life. No matter how I feel before, I feel better when I step onto the grounds. The golf course and landscape combine to create one of the places I would consider playing as my last round before I die. 

I am under no notion that Elie is a perfect golf course or that it should be considered among the world’s best. Elie doesn’t have the most dazzling green complexes or the most strategic hole designs, but it brings out more emotion for the game of golf and life than just about anywhere, aside from a few courses I grew up playing. That means something. I have been trying to wrap my head around why Elie makes me feel this way, and I think that it centers around the course’s routing and a few key design features. 

Elie’s property is stellar. The golf house and Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 18 all sit on an inland parcel of land which features a rugged ridge line that is used for the tee shots on the first and third holes, as well as the approach on the second. The fourth and the 17th navigate the narrow part of the property before it spills out to an expansive field of links land on the Firth of Forth which houses the remaining 12 holes. 

Like its neighbor, the Old Course, one of the best qualities of Elie’s routing is its interaction with the town. It starts in the town and plays away from it on the third hole. The sixth hole then takes you out to the sea, where you’re met with one of the best links settings the country has to offer. Perhaps what makes Elie’s routing unique is the way the holes move back and forth from the water. The seventh immediately takes you away until the ninth brings you back to set up the unforgettable stretch of Nos. 10-13, which plays right along the Firth of Forth and offers picturesque views across to East Lothian, not to mention some thrilling golf. It seems you are heading back to the town for good on the 14th hole, but the 15th hole sneakily has you play over a giant hill and gives you one last panoramic view of the firth. From there you play towards the town and the dramatic contours of the 18th bring you back to the Golf House. 

As mentioned earlier, Elie features zero par 5s, 16 par 4s, and two par 3s. While many might consider this a problem, I generally feel like par becomes an afterthought during your round due to the range of holes. There are short par 4s, such as the 316-yard sixth, 252-yard seventh, and the 288-yard 10th, which play as par 3.5s. Accompanying these scorable holes are brutes like the 440-yard ninth, the 466-yard 12th, and uphill 414-yard 14th. We’ll call those par 4.5s. This variety, paired with the terrain, can make certain holes play drastically different day to day depending on the wind. 

Course Tour

Hole 1, par 4, 420 yards 

On the first tee at Elie it’s common to think, “Wait a second, I’m supposed to hit it over THAT hill in front of me?”  It’s an incredible tone-setter that signals this will not be an ordinary round of golf. After hitting over the steep hill, the hole plays gently downhill to a beautiful green with a few wavy contours. 

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Hole 2, par 4, 284 yards 

Playing right back to the edge of the ridge the first hole plays over off the tee, the second hole offers the first of many drivable par 4s for long hitters. The skinny narrow green is best approached from the right side. 

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Hole 3, par 3, 214 yards

The dramatic third presents the first of Elie’s epic reveals. From the top of the ridge you see the long iron approach to the third, as well as the majority of the golf course and Firth of Forth. It’s a striking view. As for the hole, this long par 3 favors a shot that lands on the right side of the green and funnels left. The best miss, however, is short left. 

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Hole 4, par 4, 378 yards 

After crossing the road, you encounter the fourth hole and the 19th hole pub. This semi-blind tee shot doglegs left. The main feature of the hole is a buried wall that runs through the fairway and into the green, one of the finest on the course. It would be wonderful if they regained the lost playing corridor on the left side of the hole. It would create a fun dynamic of wanting to keep your tee shot on either side of the wall depending on the hole location. Now, because of the narrow fairway, the only choice is right, which makes for tough second shots to left pins. Perhaps one reason there isn’t a left fairway right now is because of the neighborhood and road on the left, but it would be cool! 

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Hole 5, par 4, 365 yards 

The fifth is home to some of the most sensational fairway contours on the golf course. Right through the landing area is a series of troughs and hollows which can make the approach to thegreen, which runs away from players, quite tricky if you draw a tricky side, down or upslope lie and couple it with a breeze. A word to the wise, if you are a long hitter, play the back tee to bring the contours into your driving area. If you are a shorter hitter, don’t go to the back tee. It’s way more fun dealing with them than walking by and imagining what your shot might look like.

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Hole 6, par 4, 316 yards 

The second great reveal of Elie comes on the short par-4 sixth, which plays over a ridge. Out of sight from the tee are a series of bunkers up the left and a green which spills away to the sea. Favor the right off the tee and allow for your wedge approach to run out on this green which screams away. Keen players will check out the ninth green from the next tee box (more on that in a few holes).

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Hole 7, par 4, 252 yards 

Another short par 4 plays the opposite direction of No. 6. When it’s humming downwind, you will be shocked at how short you play this tee shot. Think maybe 50 yards shorter. The green has a continuation of the wall from the fourth. It’s a hole you feel like you should make a birdie, but often walk away with a par. 

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Hole 8, par 4, 382 yards 

The eighth takes you up to the northwest portion of Elie’s property for the first time. A road cuts diagonally in front of the green and presents a tricky shot to front pins with firm conditions. You have to mind your landing spots on approach as this green and the neighboring 16th deceptively run out. 

The fairway is a bit choked out and on holes like Nos. 8, 14 and 16, you see the places where a widening would help capture the scale of the property a bit more. 

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Hole 9, par 4, 440 yards

The attention of the course often goes to Nos. 10-13, but an argument can be made to include the ninth in that great stretch. A long par 4 across a tilting part of the property, playing near the bunkers on the right makes the approach to the green much easier. The approach drops sharply and the entire green runs away, which forces players to land well short of the hole and let the ball run. Playing to a front pin is particularly delicate. I could sit behind this green during visitor times and cackle at shot after shot that ends up five yards over the putting surface because players did not take note of the green when they were standing on the seventh tee. This is an example of a hole that gets more interesting to play every time you see it. The hole location, wind, and ground conditions can dramatically change where you are playing your shot.

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Hole 10, par 4, 288 yards 

See the favorite hole section above.

Hole 11, par 3, 131 yards 

A short par 3 that is seemingly jammed in between the 10th and 12th offers wonderful views and a delicate shot to a very narrow and sloping green. 

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Hole 12, par 4, 466 yards 

The back tee may be more intimidating, but it’s an easier shot. It makes the beach and water more of a carry but removes the angular challenge the dunes and water present from the middle tee, which is right of the 11th green. Soak it in while walking up this fairway. Look at the beautiful green and up to the epic 13th that awaits. Golf doesn’t get much better.

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Hole 13, par 4, 380 yards 

One of the finest holes in Fife. A well-placed centerline bunker should not be messed with. Play short of it and leave a modest approach into this repelling green that sits on the ridge that backs up to the mountain behind. The backstop behind this green is your friend and can be used to funnel shots to back hole locations. Also, beware of the front right hole location. It’s filthy! 

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Hole 14, par 4, 414 yards

A point where you think the beautiful vistas have ended as you play uphill and away from the Firth of Forth. This is a really good, tough, uphill par 4.

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Hole 15, par 4, 338 yards

Again, golfers are presented with a mountain in front of them, similar to the first, but 240 yards further away and in more of a hogsback. This central fairway feature sheds balls backward, right and left. Playing from the right offers the best view and the ability to play into the backside of the slope which hurdles down through the green. This is the final severe front, back sloping green you encounter at Elie and the final view of the Firth of Forth. 

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Hole 16, par 4, 407 yards

You’re heading home now with the first of a tough trio of par 4s. Being in this narrow fairway is important to be able to control your spin and carry numbers into this green. 

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Hole 17, par 4, 439 yards 

With the town getting closer, this big par 4 plays over some nice ground and back up against the road you cross after the third. The green is a simple one that tilts severely with the ground. 

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Hole 18, par 4, 359 yards 

The closer plays over some of the most pronounced rippling contours to a green that has a nice little false front that can catch unsuspecting golfers as they try and bounce uphill approaches into the green. 

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2 Eggs

(How we rate courses)

Your favorite courses aren’t always the best courses. I am not going to say that Elie has no flaws. They could mow out their fairways a bit more, and there are a few let-down holes throughout the routing. When I think about the reasons I like Elie so much, it’s the mix of heroic shots, such as the 10th, holes that challenge your shotmaking, like the ninth, and a heavy dose of quirk, like the first tee shot and the back-to-back short par-4 sixth and seventh holes. It breaks rules with its 16 par 4s and stands as a one-of-one test. It’s so unequivocally itself. While this scores as a 3 egg in my heart, I’m only giving it two on paper, which makes me sad.

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