A lot of people bash the Castle for the severity of greens - while the greens here are quite wild as a golf course nerd I don't find them overly goofy. There are certainly a few that don't function the way they're supposed to and just don't fit into the length of the hole, for example 10 which has a short template like green but plays 180 dead into the wind, but in my opinion that's not the main detractor from the Castle.

The course overall feels very boring. It's built into the side of a hill which is used as an excuse for the terrain, but nearby Kingsbarns faced the same issue and produced a far better routing. There's a lack of variety in the shots you play, with a lack of short par fours or gettable fives. It's seemingly a monotonous slog of hitting a driver as hard as you can just to hit a long iron from the fairway with the ball a meter above your feet. It's not the difficulty that defeats this place at all, but rather the unbearable lack of interest in it. There are a few decent holes, such as 6, 9, 16-18, but it's overall just a complete miss of a course especially considering the scenery.

In my opinion, Castle is the fifth best course in St Andrews. It is the most picturesque course I've ever played, even moreso than Pebble, Cypress or Bandon. But the design is really that bad that it doesn't deserve recognition. You'd find it more enjoyable to walk the Fife Coastal Path below the fairways than play the actual course.