UK Golf Trip 2024

[PrincipalsNose]

Going over to the UK next March through the first week of April. Have these courses on the itinerary. Any others that should be added? Also for those who have played them, thoughts on each course and surrounding area and town. Some of these smaller UK towns have such charm to them and are fantastic to experience. 

 

In no particular order:
Royal Dornoch

Musselburgh

Muirfield

Royal St Georges

Royal Cinque Ports

Princes

St Andrews TOC

Carnoustie 

Liverpool

Lytham and St Annes

(Considering adding Swinley Forest?) Sunningdale isnt open this time of year so may wait until next trip when both can be done at the same time

 

Already have played Cruden Bay, North Berwick, Prestwick, St Andrews TOC and Turnberry Ailsa.

Edited August 25, 2023 by PrincipalsNose

[Chanceman]

Well, these places are all spaced many miles apart. So your transport plans will be key.

RSG, RCP and Princes are at the extreme SE of the Uk. Hoylake and RLS are in the middle and the others are in Scotland, way north.

What are your travel plans? Car, train, air? 

I would probably add in Rye rather than Swinley (near London) so that southern part is all together.

Then build in a few others around Dornoch like Brora, Nairn or the old Castle Stuart. 
Also why not do Birkdale to the middle section? Or delete it all together and do some other time.
Just does not seem efficient with so many focal points.

[DanMN]

That's 5-6 different areas.  When you say March to early April, is that over something like a 5 week period or something less?

 

A lot of ground to cover, but I guess if you have long enough it's doable.  Plenty of others to add in the general area of the course you listed, such as:

 

St Andrews/Fife general area: Crail, Elie, Panmure

West coast of England:  Hillside, Southport & Ainsdale, Formby, Formby Ladies

Dornoch: In addition to those Chanceman listed, Tain, Golspie, Fortrose & Rosemarkie

[sabram]

As others have indicated, playing all the courses on your list will require a LOT of travel. I'd suggest focusing on two areas. Developing an itinerary  is like putting together a puzzle which can be complicated because the clubs  offer visitor play on different days and different times. Before I'd make recommendations, I'd want to know:

How many days will you be there;

Do you plan to play golf every day;

Do you plan to have any 36 hole days;

Will you be self driving or hiring a driver;

How often are you willing to change lodging;

How long a drive are you willing to take each day;

What are the  two or three courses on your list that you most want to play

 

You can easily plan an itinerary of 10 great courses (including many on your list) with a trip where you choose two bases from among these four areas: Kent, Liverpool, East Lothian, Fife.

[hammergolf]

It’s doable, but as others have stated the logistics will be key. Not sure how many total days you’ll have, but it’s definitely a golf heavy trip. If I was designing this for a client, here is what I would recommend:

Day 1 Arrive in London then drive to Sandwich (2.5hrs) and stay there for 4 nights.

Day 2 Play Princes

Day 3 Play Royal St. George’s 

Day 4 Play Royal Cinque Ports

Day 5 Drive to Liverpool (6hrs) and stay there for 4 nights

Day 6 Play West Lancs or Wallesy or Hillside or Formby

Day 7 Play Lytham & St. Anne’s 

Day 8 Play Royal Birkdale

Day 9 Drive to Gullane (4.5hrs) and stay there 3 nights

Day 10 Play Muirfield

Day 11 Play Musselburgh

Day 12 Play Gullane then drive to St. Andrews (2hrs) stay there 3 nights

Day 13 Play TOC

Day 14 Play Kingsbarns

Day 15 Play Carnoustie then drive to Aberdeen (1.5hrs) Stay there for 3 nights

Day 16 Play Royal Aberdeen

Day 17 Play International Golf Links

Day 18 Drive to Nairn (2hrs) and play Nairn GC then drive to Inverness (30mins) stay the night

Day 19 Drive to Dornoch (1hr) play Royal Dornoch stay there for 2 nights

Day 20 Play Royal Dornoch again, trust me you’ll want to after the first round.

Day 21 Drive to Edinburgh airport (4hrs) depart

 

 

 

[Golferpaul]

I would add Turnberry.

[Kaptain]

3 hours ago, hammergolf said:

It’s doable, but as others have stated the logistics will be key. Not sure how many total days you’ll have, but it’s definitely a golf heavy trip. If I was designing this for a client, here is what I would recommend:

Day 1 Arrive in London then drive to Sandwich (2.5hrs) and stay there for 4 nights.

Day 2 Play Princes

Day 3 Play Royal St. George’s 

Day 4 Play Royal Cinque Ports

Day 5 Drive to Liverpool (6hrs) and stay there for 4 nights

Day 6 Play West Lancs or Wallesy or Hillside or Formby

Day 7 Play Lytham & St. Anne’s 

Day 8 Play Royal Birkdale

Day 9 Drive to Gullane (4.5hrs) and stay there 3 nights

Day 10 Play Muirfield

Day 11 Play Musselburgh

Day 12 Play Gullane then drive to St. Andrews (2hrs) stay there 3 nights

Day 13 Play TOC

Day 14 Play Kingsbarns

Day 15 Play Carnoustie then drive to Aberdeen (1.5hrs) Stay there for 3 nights

Day 16 Play Royal Aberdeen

Day 17 Play International Golf Links

Day 18 Drive to Nairn (2hrs) and play Nairn GC then drive to Inverness (30mins) stay the night

Day 19 Drive to Dornoch (1hr) play Royal Dornoch stay there for 2 nights

Day 20 Play Royal Dornoch again, trust me you’ll want to after the first round.

Day 21 Drive to Edinburgh airport (4hrs) depart

 

 

 

 

I know it doesn't have the history of Nairn but I would personally choose Cabot Highlands (Castle Stuart) over it. It was a favorite on our trip there. And I completely agree on playing Dornoch twice, it was my personal favorite. Otherwise this looks like a dream itinerary in retirement...whatever decade that happens.

[hammergolf]

1 minute ago, Kaptain said:

 

I know it doesn't have the history of Nairn but I would personally choose Cabot Highlands (Castle Stuart) over it. It was a favorite on our trip there. And I completely agree on playing Dornoch twice, it was my personal favorite. Otherwise this looks like a dream itinerary in retirement...whatever decade that happens.

Another hidden gem is Fraserburgh, but it was a little more out of way for Inverness. 
 

https://fraserburghgolfclub.org/

[hammergolf]

27 minutes ago, Golferpaul said:

I would add Turnberry.

He’s already played it.

[PrincipalsNose]

Im there for 3 weeks visiting some of my family who live about a hour north of Edinburgh. Im pretty dedicated and have no problem making my way via car or train in certain spots. 
 

This trip stemmed from randomly getting a time for Muirfield the 3rd week of March. I thought I couldn’t turn that down. I head out April 6th
 

Birkdale is closed until April 8th. But I have plenty other UK courses on my list for the next trip so I’m not concerned about missing it.