Scotland golf tour... in a camper?

[Mignuz]

Ok, me and my friends went twice in Scotland for playing golf in the "traditional" way: flied to Edimburgh, hired a car, slept in some B&Bs and played only the areas we were.

 

We were just wondering if it would be possible to make a golf tour in a camper, sleeping in front of the golf clubs we'd like to play or in their parking lot (obviuosly once this mess is over).

Here in Italy a lot of people with a camper just go to the GC they want to play, sleep in the parking lot, play in the morning and then leave to the next GC they want to play.

You don't need to stay in a camping area, as you can use the GC locker rooms for showering etc., you can even drive in the evening so you can be in the next GC for the morning after.

You could play in st. andrews and then drive to turnberry for playing the next day, for example.

Plus, it would be fun.

 

Is there any restriction in Scotland for doing such a thing?

Anyone here did something similar?

[Divot License]

The only issue you might have is parking in golf clubs, many will not want vehicles parked over night on the premises.

 

You could probably easily find other nearby places to park, such as service stations.

[Guy In Lyon]

2 hours ago, Mignuz said:

Is there any restriction in Scotland for doing such a thing?

Why not email a few of the clubs you want to play at and ask?

[CraigLester]

Shouldn't be a problem, but do your research about overnight parking.

 

Check out golfmates on your tube, these did something similar last summer.

[Schley]

Interesting idea as car/van hires can be expensive.

[FairwayFred]

Yes this is completely doable.  You can park your camper just about anywhere in Scotland. You might not be able to park it in the parking lot of every club but you can find a good spot very close without an issue. Scotland is very camper friendly.  

[nitram]

A splendid way to do this and see the country.

[Schley]

Just have to pay the hefty petrol bill. )

 

Also miss out on some of the B&B charm.

[Mignuz]

On 1/30/2021 at 1:25 PM, FairwayFred said:

Yes this is completely doable.  You can park your camper just about anywhere in Scotland. You might not be able to park it in the parking lot of every club but you can find a good spot very close without an issue. Scotland is very camper friendly.  

That's what I wanted to hear 🙂 

I checked some prices and it seems like renting a camper in 4 could be a little bit cheaper than sleeping in B&Bs and renting a car.

 

[Chanceman]

Not my idea of fun. I'd rather have a nice clean bed and some people to talk to after closing time. Not to mention a hot shower.

[scott_Donald]

I wouldn't advise going from St Andrews to Turnberry, that would be one annoying drive!

 

There is no law of trespassing in Scotland but I certainly wouldn't go parking just anywhere. I know folks who do what you are saying at the ski centres overnight. 

 

Where you thinking of golfing?

[hammergolf]

On 1/25/2021 at 2:25 AM, Mignuz said:

Ok, me and my friends went twice in Scotland for playing golf in the "traditional" way: flied to Edimburgh, hired a car, slept in some B&Bs and played only the areas we were.

 

We were just wondering if it would be possible to make a golf tour in a camper, sleeping in front of the golf clubs we'd like to play or in their parking lot (obviuosly once this mess is over).

Here in Italy a lot of people with a camper just go to the GC they want to play, sleep in the parking lot, play in the morning and then leave to the next GC they want to play.

You don't need to stay in a camping area, as you can use the GC locker rooms for showering etc., you can even drive in the evening so you can be in the next GC for the morning after.

You could play in st. andrews and then drive to turnberry for playing the next day, for example.

Plus, it would be fun.

 

Is there any restriction in Scotland for doing such a thing?

Anyone here did something similar?

I would think most places would be ok since you would be playing there the following day. I would contact the courses well before hand to ask though.

[swagee]

On 1/25/2021 at 12:25 AM, Mignuz said:

Ok, me and my friends went twice in Scotland for playing golf in the "traditional" way: flied to Edimburgh, hired a car, slept in some B&Bs and played only the areas we were.

 

We were just wondering if it would be possible to make a golf tour in a camper, sleeping in front of the golf clubs we'd like to play or in their parking lot (obviuosly once this mess is over).

Here in Italy a lot of people with a camper just go to the GC they want to play, sleep in the parking lot, play in the morning and then leave to the next GC they want to play.

You don't need to stay in a camping area, as you can use the GC locker rooms for showering etc., you can even drive in the evening so you can be in the next GC for the morning after.

You could play in st. andrews and then drive to turnberry for playing the next day, for example.

Plus, it would be fun.

 

Is there any restriction in Scotland for doing such a thing?

Anyone here did something similar?

 

Sounds like a fun idea to me. U can't go wrong with golf and road trips in Scotland. 

Who cares if anyone has ever done it. U show them how it's done, mate. Report back when u do. I'm rooting for u. 

[jonnymc44]

I can take zero credit for this, other than stumbling across whilst looking through Instagram. All credit to theukgolfguy on IG for this post, which documents journey times between a few of the top named courses in Scotland. Hopefully it's of use in gauging where you might stay, how long for, courses you might play etc.

P.S. I've also not tried putting these into sat nav either, other than one solitary spot check that ended up being correct according to Google, so apologies if the journey times are a little off, it is Scotland afterall and some of the roads are pretty treacherous, so journey times may be longer / shorter than noted.

 

 

[scott_Donald]

21 minutes ago, jonnymc44 said:

I can take zero credit for this, other than stumbling across whilst looking through Instagram. All credit to theukgolfguy on IG for this post, which documents journey times between a few of the top named courses in Scotland. Hopefully it's of use in gauging where you might stay, how long for, courses you might play etc.

P.S. I've also not tried putting these into sat nav either, other than one solitary spot check that ended up being correct according to Google, so apologies if the journey times are a little off, it is Scotland afterall and some of the roads are pretty treacherous, so journey times may be longer / shorter than noted.

 

 

 

Looks pretty good except the RAGC to Turnberry one; you probably could but doubt you can do it in 3.45. After my wedding I left the Turnberry hotel for my house in the centre of Aberdeen(RAGC on north side) and I made it home in 4 hours 20 ish and I was the quickest back out of everyone, the traffic between Turnberry and Ayr can be a killer.

 

I just put it into google maps and its 199 miles and 3.53 during lockdown.

[hammergolf]

4 hours ago, jonnymc44 said:

I can take zero credit for this, other than stumbling across whilst looking through Instagram. All credit to theukgolfguy on IG for this post, which documents journey times between a few of the top named courses in Scotland. Hopefully it's of use in gauging where you might stay, how long for, courses you might play etc.

P.S. I've also not tried putting these into sat nav either, other than one solitary spot check that ended up being correct according to Google, so apologies if the journey times are a little off, it is Scotland afterall and some of the roads are pretty treacherous, so journey times may be longer / shorter than noted.

 

 

No way some of these times are right. It shows 2:25 from Troon to Carnoustie. I made that trip, no way is 2:25. And then it shows Troon to Muirfield in 2:00, which could be possible with no traffic. There is no way to maki from Edinburgh to Carnoustie in 45 mins. 

[scott_Donald]

3 minutes ago, hammergolf said:

No way some of these times are right. It shows 2:25 from Troon to Carnoustie. I made that trip, no way is 2:25. And then it shows Troon to Muirfield in 2:00, which could be possible with no traffic. There is no way to maki from Edinburgh to Carnoustie in 45 mins. 

 

seems they are done with no traffic in mind. 

[jonnymc44]

3 hours ago, hammergolf said:

No way some of these times are right. It shows 2:25 from Troon to Carnoustie. I made that trip, no way is 2:25. And then it shows Troon to Muirfield in 2:00, which could be possible with no traffic. There is no way to maki from Edinburgh to Carnoustie in 45 mins. 

He must have been putting the times into Google in the evening whilst there's no traffic! Google tells me Troon to Carnoustie is 2h21m at the moment, bearing in mind it's 21:15 during a pandemic.

[hammergolf]

4 hours ago, jonnymc44 said:

He must have been putting the times into Google in the evening whilst there's no traffic! Google tells me Troon to Carnoustie is 2h21m at the moment, bearing in mind it's 21:15 during a pandemic.

I drove it myself. It took me a little over three hours and I missed rush hour traffic in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

[Hawkeye77]

Driving times are way off in some instances.  No way playing at St. Andrews, driving all the way to Turnberry in a rented camper, then rolling out the next day to golf sounds like fun to me and wouldn't have when I was 24, lol.  Sounds like you are going to have 4 guys all sleeping in this camper? Yikes.

 

If it's your idea of fun you should definitely do it. And you'll probably have a rollicking good time.  But ..... it might diminish the quality of the golf experience a bit.  All depends on what your idea of fun is, that's all that matters.

[milesgiles]

Just my random thoughts, I can’t see the top courses letting you do this I could be wrong. 

The weather would make or break this. It would be hell on earth if you get wet more days than not

id consider buying a camper at the start of the trip and selling it at the end. Renting a camper for a week has got to be £1000 I would think, which would pay for an exceptional air bnb..

[Schley]

NO one should discourage this lad, as don't we all want to know how it goes, while insulating ourselves from any negative consequences. I say travel far and wide and report back on all the good/bad for the community.  Enjoy.

[ChipStrokes]

if you can figure out parking, this sounds absolutely awesome! i don’t have much to contribute on the scotland front, but i love traveling by RV

 

my wife and i did 3 weeks in an RV across the southwest and california coast shortly after we started dating and it’s still to this day one of the best trips i’ve ever been on. 

 

my one tip is when you rent the RV, overestimate the mileage you’ll be driving. it’s a lot nicer to get a refund when you return it than to have to shell out money for an overage. 

 

the real benefit to traveling/staying in a camper is that you get to avoid the slog of check in/check out at a bunch of different places as you move along your route. if you want to see a bunch of different places (like the whole country of scotland lol) the flexibility is really underrated 

 

for those bringing up concerns of comfort, have you traveled in an RV? the beds are better that a motel and if my wife can deal with the bathroom for 21 days, it’ll be luxury for 4 dudes. 

[Hawkeye77]

On 2/7/2021 at 3:38 AM, Schley said:

NO one should discourage this lad, as don't we all want to know how it goes, while insulating ourselves from any negative consequences. I say travel far and wide and report back on all the good/bad for the community.  Enjoy.

 

I'll love reading about it and there must be video of these guys rolling out in the mornings!

[Mignuz]

On 2/11/2021 at 7:45 PM, Hawkeye77 said:

 

I'll love reading about it and there must be video of these guys rolling out in the mornings!

 

If this pandemic will ever allow us, we'll definitly do it.

We're all easy guys, I personally travelled Europe several times  in a van, touring with my bands, sleeping everywhere, so I was used to travel for a long time to play a show, which is more heavy than just playing 18 holes, driving and sleeping in a camper.

We'll definitly make a video if we'll do that.

 

[hammergolf]

10 hours ago, Mignuz said:

 

If this pandemic will ever allow us, we'll definitly do it.

We're all easy guys, I personally travelled Europe several times  in a van, touring with my bands, sleeping everywhere, so I was used to travel for a long time to play a show, which is more heavy than just playing 18 holes, driving and sleeping in a camper.

We'll definitly make a video if we'll do that.

 

Even if you can’t park at the courses, I’m sure there are plenty of places close by to park. Sounds like an awesome trip. My bucket list is to take a month and drive all around Scotland playing golf. Been there a couple times and love it.

[Divot License]

I've been thinking about this a little more and realized I hadn't suggested truck stops as a suitable place to park and sleep. Most large service stations have a designated area for trucks to park and sleep over night so they are a viable option to look at. 

 

As some others have suggested, contacting the clubs ahead of time and inquiring if they will permit you to park and sleep on the premise might be a good idea. Even if only a few say yes it will make planning things a lot easier.