Think of Fife and it’s probably golf that comes to mind ... just before the East Neuk fishing villages. Certainly for me it is, as it is where I took golf lessons as a student and worked in the R&A in St Andrews one memorable Open. I reacquainted myself with a golf course this spring – but not with those highly engineered modern clubs that make the ball fly so far. I played golf as it was played 100 years ago. That means the clubs have hickory wood shafts and strange names like Mashie, Jigger,Brassie or Niblick. The ball is a modern replica of the standard stipulated by the R&A in1921. The red wooden tee – a Reddy Tee – was first patented in 1924. It’s makes a wonderful golfing experience – the whip of modern graphite clubs is removed and I play my strokes more slowly. Yes, I find the rough as the old fashioned balls don’t fly as I would expect (and I’m not very good). But I can take in the peace and quiet of this delicious countryside. As I address the ball on the seventh tee, all I can hear is the rattle of a woodpeckerchallenging the craw of the crows. The thwack of club hitting the ball is all the more sweet for that. It was a good shot too! I am at Hill of Tarvit, the National Trust for Scotland mansion house, a few miles south of Cupar. The house was built for the Sharp family between 1904 and 1908. Frederick Sharp, a Dundee financier and jute manufacturer, purchased the estate in 1904 from the Wemyss family who had owned it for more than 200 years. Like many wealthy Edwardian families of their day, the Sharps were great collectors (and friends of Sir William Burrell) and they designed their new house around some of their favourite pieces. The Arts & Crafts-style mansion is packed with furniture, paintings, Flemish tapestries, Chinese porcelain and bronzes that will entrance you. The Sharps’ architect, Sir Robert Lorimer, also designed the gardens that surround thehouse. Frederick and his son Hugh were passionate golfers and were attracted to the estate by its proximity to St Andrews where they were members of the R&A. By 1924 they had created a nine-hole golf course – in one of their fields. Today Kingarrock operates as a Hickory course – using only the clubs and balls of the Edwardian era. It had been played by the family, their guests and estate workers until the Second WorldWar, but after wartime agricultural service and the deaths of the family, it was largelyforgotten. Fast forward through the house being bequeathed to the National Trust for Scotland, its use as a hospice, and then the trust opening it as a visitor attraction, up into the 1990s when a 1924 map of the course and Frederick’s golfing bag were discovered. It became a passion project for trust members David and Michelle Anderson and – with some improvements for safety – it opened in 2008. Kingarrock is now under the care of Owen Browne, who tends it using old-fashioned techniques and an environmental-friendly approach. Early in the season, as I play my round, I am being watched from a distance by black Hebridean sheep. They have spent the winter keeping the grass in check and will return to their summer pastures beside the Eden estuary. There are bird boxes and bug homes in fallen trees and soon little red orchids will appearas nature is given free rein. Although the rough will be allowed to grow long, yellowrattle will mean it is less dense when I inevitably need to find my ball. This is a calm interlude of a day – and there’s ginger beer and shortbread back in the Forester’s cottage, which acts as the club house, to round it off. It is a glimpse of another age when leisure time was spent at play in the countryside. Of course, Fife has long been a pleasure garden. And in the 16th century it was afavourite playground of royalty, including Mary, Queen of Scots. Set in hunting grounds, Falkland Palace is a good example of how the 16th century royals went about their leisure. Built for King James V in 1539, Falkland Palace was a social hub for the Stuarts. For me, it is the Royal or Real Tennis court which attracts. It dates back to 1541. One of the two dozen real courts which exist in Britain today, Falkland is the oldest still in use. James V could only use his court for a year before he died. This walled court has a taste of squash about it and the traditional racquet is like a squash racket – but with a squint – and the ball has no bounce. With the game’s complex rules, it’s not an easy switch for a regular tennis player. I manage a serve and can ring the bells for extra points, but I know hitting the ball through one of the four lunes – small windows high up behind the server – will takesome practice. Falkland Palace is a good example of how those Royals went about their leisure. There was hunting for stags and wild boar in the oak forests, falcon flying in the hills, and then archery, chess and banquets at the palace. The palace we can visit today is not what Stuart Kings knew; it’s a restoration started by John Crichton-Stuart, third Marquess of Bute, who acquired the role of Keeper of the Palace in 1887. As I explore the rooms, I refresh my history as National Trust for Scotland guides are on hand to explain the significance of the ceilings, the royal bed and the magnificent chapel – one of the few parts of the palace which has original 16th century features. I take a break for lunch, picking up home-made scones and coffee in the Town House Deli before I head back to explore the gardens. All that history, works of art and scones make it a rather typical day of pleasure for a modern city dweller. Fact Box Hickory golf at Kingarrock is in the grounds of Hill of Tarvit near Ceres. It costs from £80 per person for nine holes. Full details at www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/hill-of-tarvit-mansion. The Royal tennis court can be viewed in the gardens of Falkland Palace. Members of Falkland Palace Royal Tennis Club play on the courts, with Sunday afternoons the best time to see them in action. https://falklandtennis.wordpress.comFalkland Palace, www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/falkland-palace