Eleven good gentlemen met in the Crail Golf Inn and talked golf. Quill was put to paper, and on the 23rd of February 1786 the Crail Golfing Society was founded. There are only six older golf clubs in the world.

Royal Burgh of Crail
It comes as no surprise that Crail has a historic golf club since everything about the place has a history. Early records have it as Cherel and by 1153 as Karel. Origins of these names go back to the Pictish words for ‘fort’ and ‘rocks’. A stone cross-slab is preserved in the parish church suggests religious associations back to the 8th century.
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1786 Resolution
There is evidence that golf was played in Crail long before 1786. Two years before George Washington was elected the first President of the United States and three years before the storming of the Bastille in Paris, a group of eleven gentlemen 'fond of the diversion of golf' met at the Golf Inn and formed the Crail Golfing Society.
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Mark of a Legend
Old Tom Morris lived from 1821 to 1908 and is rightly viewed as the father of the game as we know it. In 1894 Crail Town Council acquired the lease of land at Balcomie and sought Old Tom’s opinion ‘as the representative of the game of golf’. His view was that the ‘links were very suitable for a nine hole course, and I am bound to say that there is not a better in Scotland’.
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Danes Dike
Danes Dike is known locally as a 1200 year old defensive wall built by Viking marauders to keep out the local Pictish tribes. More importantly, the wall comes into play on four holes of Craighead Links. The wall extends from the farm of Craighead south-eastwards down to the shore.
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Lindesay Medal
In 1830 David A. Lindesay, Esquire of Wormiston after expressing his surprise and regret that a Golfing Society of such long standing, was still without any honorary distinction, presented the Society with a silver medal and proposed that is should be gained by any gentleman whether a member of the Society or not.
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A King's Cave
Local tradition has it that Constantine II, King of Alba (903-943) was killed in or around the cave during a battle with the Danes. Like many stories recounted by members as they walk from 14th to 15th on Balcomie it only has a nodding acquaintance with the facts.
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Ranken-Todd Bow
'Crail is the home to one of Scotland’s venerable and most unusual tournaments, the Ranken-Todd Bowl, played annually amongst the clubs of Fife. It ranks as one of the greatest tests of skill and endurance in golf' Peter Alliss
View MoreLifeboat Shed
Still standing proudly today at the back of the 14th green and casting a shadow over the 2nd tee box of the Balcomie Links is a unique stone building. This was the Crail Lifeboat House that operated between 1884 to 1923.
Trophies and Medals
Competitive golf is at the very heart of our Society. The club's first trophy, the Lindesay Medal presented in 1830, is one of the oldest trophies in golf. Championships that date back hundreds of years are still played for today.
Village Putting
Across the street from Crail Primary School is the Crail Festival Putting Green. It is shown on old maps of the town as Ashburn Park. The Putting Green was brought back to life by Crail Festival Society after many years of closure. In 2011 Greenkeepers from Crail Golfing Society began the work of turning the green into the first class putting surface we have today. This collaborative process has resulted in an integral part of the summer community in Crail.
A New Era
In the late 1990's the Craighead Farm was put up for sale. The Society took a bold and pivotal decision to expand and build another golf course. Designed by acclaimed American course designer, Gil Hanse Craighead Links has established itself as a course of championship pedigree and a wonderful addition to the old links of Balcomie.