A heathland track that is long enough to be used for Open Championship qualifying. It certainly has its merits in that department, but "irreverent fun" would not be a correct description either. Most of Fife's links courses offer a few more quirks, while Ladybank's beauty is of the sterner type.

The setting is very nice, the soil sandy, the shrubs and gorse penal and the greens slick - as it would be expected from a quality heathland course. Perhaps a bit uncharacteristically the bunkers are not too severe and can usually be played out of. While the fairways are not completely flat, they certainly could have used a few more strategic options.

As it is, only a few holes offer something other than the usual par 4 routine. There are a few diagonal drives, where the line off the tee has to be considered carefully and the par 3s are quite engaging. The premium here is put on driving, anything sliced or pulled is likely to disappear within the thick vegetation lining the fairways. The greens are not very undulated either, so this course is buoyed mainly by its superb playing characteristics.