The Duke's Golf Course

Owned and operated by the Old Course Hotel which is located next to the famous 17th hole on the Old Course, The Duke’s lies three and a half miles southeast of the hotel on the high ground at Mount Melville, overlooking the Auld Grey Toon.

The Melville Estate was first established in 1698 for General George Melville of Strathkinnes and both the mansion house and grounds were developed during the 18th century by General Robert Melville. In 1900, the property was sold to Dr James Younger of the Younger Brewing family.

Shortly after the end of World War II, the house and grounds were purchased by Fife County Council and converted into a country park, with the name reverting to its original title, Craigtoun. The mansion became a maternity hospital until its closure in 1992.

The 18-hole course was also set up as a separate golf facility at that time, designed by Peter Thomson and Ross Perrett.

A decade later, after Herb Kohler bought the Old Course Hotel and the Duke's course, architect Tim Liddy was called in to revitalize the layout, which included altering the green sites on holes 13 to 15 and introducing three new closing holes.

All the bunkers were renovated in a shaggy, sand blowout style which is rather reminiscent of hazards originally built on inland heathland courses such as Sunningdale and these magnificent bunkers are the most prominent course characteristic on The Duke’s.

Today, the course can play as long as 7,500 yards from the back tees. It has hosted a number of elite amateur events down the years, the most recent of which was the Scottish Men's Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship in 2019.