East Lothian Advice

[Messma]

Anyone who has played Muirfield in the afternoon, are all afternoon times foursomes/twosomes (ie alt shot)? The visitors tab on their website indicates it would be alt shot, but I wasn’t sure if that was just for the 36-hole day. I’m playing through Greywalls in June and have an afternoon tee time. Greywalls didn’t say anything about it either way. Still very excited to play Muirfield even if it’s alt shot, just want to know what to expect. 

[scott_Donald]

On 12/14/2024 at 6:36 PM, hammergolf said:

So I assume the bar stool putting game is gone as well….. Sad

 

I just texted my friend who uses it as his local and he says the new one is awesome and the food is great. they have spent 3.5million on the place!

 

He is also just on the waiting list for membership at Muirfield!

 

 

[clabarre72]

Thanks great info folks!

[hammergolf]

1 hour ago, scott_Donald said:

 

I just texted my friend who uses it as his local and he says the new one is awesome and the food is great. they have spent 3.5million on the place!

 

He is also just on the waiting list for membership at Muirfield!

 

 

Just out of curiosity, how long is the waiting list there?

[scott_Donald]

39 minutes ago, hammergolf said:

Just out of curiosity, how long is the waiting list there?

 

8-10 years, deaths are the main cause to leave. He has 3 member friends and he played there 10 times this year so he is fine. 

[hammergolf]

2 minutes ago, scott_Donald said:

 

8-10 years, deaths are the main cause to leave. He has 3 member friends and he played there 10 times this year so he is fine. 

I figured it was around 10 years. Are they more open are they to outside play from other Scottish clubs or is it still restricted to only playing with a member?

[El Gringo]

3 hours ago, scott_Donald said:

 

I just texted my friend who uses it as his local and he says the new one is awesome and the food is great. they have spent 3.5million on the place!

 

He is also just on the waiting list for membership at Muirfield!

 

 

Sure, but it’s close to 3x the price 😢. Plus, the bar has nowhere near the character of the old place. That said, the rooms were in need of renovation. I wouldn’t stay there, but would happily drink there. Now, the bar is just another drinking place not too different than found in good hotels. No soul.

Edited December 15, 2024 by El Gringo

[scott_Donald]

10 hours ago, hammergolf said:

I figured it was around 10 years. Are they more open are they to outside play from other Scottish clubs or is it still restricted to only playing with a member?

 

very restricted; need to be with a member.

[clabarre72]

Does anyone have any advice whether to rent a car for four of us or hire a car service. 13 years ago when I did this car service was reasonably priced, the first quote I got was not. Any car service recommendations?

[El Gringo]

57 minutes ago, clabarre72 said:

Does anyone have any advice whether to rent a car for four of us or hire a car service. 13 years ago when I did this car service was reasonably priced, the first quote I got was not. Any car service recommendations?

Depends on where you are staying and playing. The bus service is excellent between NB and Gullane. May only be worth getting a car/taxi on the days of the track.

[ALTSean]

1 hour ago, clabarre72 said:

Does anyone have any advice whether to rent a car for four of us or hire a car service. 13 years ago when I did this car service was reasonably priced, the first quote I got was not. Any car service recommendations?

 

Last summer, we rented a Volvo XC90 from the EDI airport and it worked great for four guys, clubs, and luggage. It was big enough to hold everything, but still fit the roads and parking spaces in St. Andrews. We plan do the same thing next summer when we have a trip to the East Lothian area.

[hammergolf]

On 12/16/2024 at 4:17 AM, scott_Donald said:

 

very restricted; need to be with a member.

Thats what I figured 

[Bsarosi]

On 12/16/2024 at 9:00 AM, ALTSean said:

 

Last summer, we rented a Volvo XC90 from the EDI airport and it worked great for four guys, clubs, and luggage. It was big enough to hold everything, but still fit the roads and parking spaces in St. Andrews. We plan do the same thing next summer when we have a trip to the East Lothian area.

 

This is very helpful for our threesome. We're about to book a rental car for April and trying to decide between an SUV and van. I'd prefer the SUV for parking purposes but worried about space for luggage and golf clubs. Hoping to book a 3-row SUV but if we got a 2-row, we could put a seat down and prob have enough room for luggage and golf clubs.

[Chanceman]

1 hour ago, Bsarosi said:

 

This is very helpful for our threesome. We're about to book a rental car for April and trying to decide between an SUV and van. I'd prefer the SUV for parking purposes but worried about space for luggage and golf clubs. Hoping to book a 3-row SUV but if we got a 2-row, we could put a seat down and prob have enough room for luggage and golf clubs.

That’s exactly our issue. Last time we rented a Ford Tourneo which certainly had plenty of room but was a tad unwieldy in small spaces. An XC90 sounds good if it has the room for 4. 

[sabram]

On 12/20/2024 at 5:50 PM, Chanceman said:

That’s exactly our issue. Last time we rented a Ford Tourneo which certainly had plenty of room but was a tad unwieldy in small spaces. An XC90 sounds good if it has the room for 4. 

For a threesome consider an estate car (called a station wagon in the US). They are much more popular and available in the UK than in the U.S. and work great for three golfers. Fold down half of the back seat and  there's enough room for three people , three sets of clubs and at least three suitcases  They are much easier to drive on the narrow roads found in England and Scotland than a van ir most SUVs . I fell in love with the BMW sportwagon we rented for a Fife- East Lothian trip and bought one as soon as I got back to the US.  On my last UK trip I saw estate cars from BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Volvo, VW, Skoda, Acura and others .

Edited December 23, 2024 by sabram
Fix typos

[Chanceman]

9 hours ago, sabram said:

For a threesome consider an estate car (called a station wagon in the US). They are much more popular and available in the UK than in the U.S. and work great for three golfers. Fold down half of the back seat and  there's enough room for three people , three sets of clubs and at least three suitcases  They are much easier to drive on the narrow roads found in England and Scotland than a van ir most SUVs . I fell in love with the BMW sportwagon we rented for a Fife- East Lothian trip and bought one as soon as I got back to the US.  On my last UK trip I saw estate cars from BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Volvo, VW, Skoda, Acura and others .

Totally agree with a station wagon for 3 but in our case we are a 4! 

[clabarre72]

I'm curious best way to rent a car? Did you use a big online site or someone specifically. Thanks for all the help

[Chanceman]

I'm curious best way to rent a car? Did you use a big online site or someone specifically. Thanks 

 

Good question.

Speaking for myself I spend a bit of time looking at the various comparative sites like Rentalcars, Orbitz, Stress Free etc. You first have to decide your airport, what category of car you want for the size of your group eg SUV, Van etc. Auto/Manual. No of seats. Then just search for your dates and see what comes up. I always want something that is no up front, pay at the desk. Quite often the best deals are off airport so you have to get a shuttle. Not ideal  but works mostly ok.

Some companies offer deals on things like extra drivers.

Many people prefer to deal direct with the majors like Avis etc, But that is often more expensive.

[scott_Donald]

Arnold Clark is a Scottish company that hires vehicles, no idea car prices but they were very well prices for 14 seater mini buses.

[jatrain]

I first rented through Costco travel and then found a better deal using Hertz

[Bsarosi]

On 12/23/2024 at 8:25 AM, sabram said:

For a threesome consider an estate car (called a station wagon in the US). They are much more popular and available in the UK than in the U.S. and work great for three golfers. Fold down half of the back seat and  there's enough room for three people , three sets of clubs and at least three suitcases  They are much easier to drive on the narrow roads found in England and Scotland than a van ir most SUVs . I fell in love with the BMW sportwagon we rented for a Fife- East Lothian trip and bought one as soon as I got back to the US.  On my last UK trip I saw estate cars from BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Volvo, VW, Skoda, Acura and others .

Might consider this option. A little nervous on space for luggage as we’d have 3 golf bags, 3 suitcases, and 3 carryon bags (backpack/duffle). But the ability to park the car and drive on the narrower roads is preferred. 

[sabram]

1 hour ago, Bsarosi said:

A little nervous on space for luggage as we’d have 3 golf bags, 3 suitcases, and 3 carryon bags (backpack/duffle).

Three suitcases and three carryons might be too much, unless the carryons are just small back packs. If your trip is less than 10 days, maybe you're planning to bring too much stuff. 😁

 

Also, your golf travel bags can't be hard cases, In order to fit everything in an estate car the travel cases will need to be soft style that can either fold or lie sort of flat under the golf bags. It could also be a problem if you have large golf bags such as staff bags or large cart bags. Not a problem though if you have carry bags or stand bags with retractable legs

[El Gringo]

2 hours ago, sabram said:

Three suitcases and three carryons might be too much, unless the carryons are just small back packs. If your trip is less than 10 days, maybe you're planning to bring too much stuff. 😁

 

Also, your golf travel bags can't be hard cases, In order to fit everything in an estate car the travel cases will need to be soft style that can either fold or lie sort of flat under the golf bags. It could also be a problem if you have large golf bags such as staff bags or large cart bags. Not a problem though if you have carry bags or stand bags with retractable legs

The hard cases is the biggest space issue I see with tourists. That is travel golf cases and luggage. If space is gonna be issue don’t use hard cases. 

[clabarre72]

We were going to stay in old town edinburgh but it's a low emissions zone. What vehicles like a Volvo xc90 are that? Am I screwed with this plan?

[scott_Donald]

5 hours ago, clabarre72 said:

We were going to stay in old town edinburgh but it's a low emissions zone. What vehicles like a Volvo xc90 are that? Am I screwed with this plan?

diesels newer than 2017. My hybrid(over 500bhp)is perfectly fine, any car in last five years seems to pass. Volvos are awesome cars so sure the idea is great.
 

Hardest thing about driving in Edinburgh is the one ways and the price of parking!

[El Gringo]

7 hours ago, clabarre72 said:

We were going to stay in old town edinburgh but it's a low emissions zone. What vehicles like a Volvo xc90 are that? Am I screwed with this plan?

So you are going to fight traffic each day to play golf?

[hammergolf]

1 hour ago, El Gringo said:

So you are going to fight traffic each day to play golf?

Not to mention parking…..

[scott_Donald]

1 hour ago, El Gringo said:

So you are going to fight traffic each day to play golf?

if in the morning you are going against traffic to north Berwick way, just getting a cross princess street would be annoying. 
 

6 minutes ago, hammergolf said:

Not to mention parking…..

 

some accommodations have parking but still the cars are crammed into car parks. 

[El Gringo]

I just left North Berwick after a week of golf.  No chance would I deal with Edinburgh on a golf trip. It’s lovely staying in a small coastal town.

[clabarre72]

Unfortunately can't find anything, all booked up and it's a trip with wives