Scotland trip - review

[gyippie]

could be long but in point form

Hi All
Just completed my dream trip to Scotland. Thanks to the members who helped me with info before I left :)
So here it is (in point form - easier to read)

Logistics
28 days, rented a car, BB's and hotels, some pre booked time, lots of walk up to starter, one man trip.

Courses
Carnoustie, Royal Dornoch, Royal Troon, Prestwick, Turnberry, N. Berwick, Gullane, Crail, Old Course, New Course, Jubilee, Kingsbarn, Castle.

First stop - Carnoustie (4 rounds)
-Found the best BB - Duntrune House - PM me if you are interested. Great owners, felt like you were at home
-Hardest course I've ever played! I'm a 13 and played from the forward tees. Just an awesome test of golf. Didn't help that it was cold and rained everyday!
-Played 4 rounds on the Champ course. The burnside course is also a great course!
-AWESOME service. I would say, overall (starter, pro, marshalls) best of the courses.
-****I played 4 rounds on the Champ course with only the 2nd being 'prebooked' the other times I just showed up and asked if they had a time. Long story short, on the last round, the pro didn't charge me!!!!! That's a 135 GBP gift!!!! That's why I say, they make it hard not to go back!!!
-Best caddies of the trip. Unlike the other places, these caddies are members of the club! the play in the am and caddie or caddie and play after! They really care about the player - no lies!
-Not the best course for beauty and scenery but the beauty lies in the golf course.

2nd stop - Royal Dornoch (4 rounds)
-One of the most beautiful courses. All the holes are by the sea. the first nine is higher and you can see the sea on all the holes. the back nine is lower and right beside the water.
-not as difficult as Carnoustie, but a good challenge, surely not 'easy'
-the atmosphere was much more laid back. less visitors.
-caddies were also members (same deal as Carnoustie) so they were great.
-I could play this course everyday and not get bored!

3rd stop - Troon (1 round)
-2nd hardest course on trip. 1st nine by the water 'easier' the back nine was just 'terrifying!'
-good combination of scenery and difficulty.
-staff not as 'nice' as Carnoustie, since it is a private club. visitors on mon, tues and thurs only. very professional and to the point, not rude, but business.
-wish I had 2 more rounds so I can remember all the holes. I would have liked to have another 'crack ' at it

4th - Prestwick (2 rounds)
-So much history and charm! the original 12 holes were a blast to play. blind shots, short difficult holes (no architect in their right minds would build some of those holes!) with the 'new' 6 holes being nothing special.
-very nice staff. although the membership is old and very 'proper' the staff was great and much more 'laid back'
-caddies were great too. but they were employees and not members.

5th - Turnberry (1 round)
-2nd most beautiful course. 1st nine along the water - gorgeous! Not 'difficult' per se, but a good test too. Now I know why Tom Watson said "I could compete on this course against the young guys on this course"
-also wished I had played this more. So memorable. but at 195 GBP /round!! (after 3pm it was 95GBP)

6th-North Berwick (1 round)
-so quirky, the 'original' redan hole! Just takes you back on this course. you have a stone wall that is part of course. in some places it protects a green, splits a fairway, and even protects an approach shot. Not very difficult, fun to play.
-great staff, very laid back and accomodating.

7th - Gullane (1 and 3)
-don't get me wrong and with all due respect to this course. not in the same level as the others. a local put it this was 'gullane is an open qualifier course' as opposed the championship courses I've been playing.
-very scenic with a great view from the top of the 'mound' at 9th.
-course #3 was actually better than #1. Only @5000 yards, par 68, it had some of the best holes, layouts on my trip. just so much fun to play.

8th - Old course! (6 rounds)
- fortunate or unfortunate what they say about the old course is true. there's not much to it, lots of blind tee shots/landing areas, hidden bunkers, etc,... I had the chance to walk the course many times (it's public land!) and played it 6 times. But only after the 4th round did I start to differentiate the holes. If you've taped the last open there, watching the holes on TV is NOT the same, once you get on the course it is TOTALLY different. You have to play it many times to 'figure' it out. so in terms of beauty like Dornoch - not there. in terms of difficulty - once you know your placement areas not hard either (with all due respect) played my best round there 83 (for a 13 capper), unlike carnoustie or troon. but it does have the mystic (i.e. the history) which made it just an honor to play. I can't describe the nerves of hitting every shot, knowing that this is where golf started, let alone the tee shot on #1 and the approach to #18. The sense that the whole town is watching (yes, ALOT of them are actually watching!) It does also have the beauty of seeing the town in the background as you look back from the front nine or coming in from the back nine.
-I was VERY LUCKY to have played it 6 times!!
-if you want to know how to do this (but only as a single is this possible - forget 6 rounds with your 4some or group) let me know...

9th - Jubilee (1 round)
-after playing the old course, not very motivated to play it. Much more difficult that the Old, but lacking in the history

10th -New Course ( 1 round)
-More character than the Jubilee. Holes were more scenic and 'flowed' better than Jubilee and Old. I enjoyed it!

11th - Kingsbarn (1 round)
- now the purpose of my trip was historical. I didn't want to play anything 'new' but I met another single traveler and he wanted to check it out. So I decided to play.
-beautiful, well manicured, fast greens - everything that was good about, I hated! I did come to make a pilgrimage to the origins of golf. so with that in mind, Kingsbarn didn't have a chance of being one of my favs.
-but awesome views, terrain, you name it, it had it. But remember it was manufactured. Fast greens, soft fairways (it just doesn't fit in! Probably kept in shape for the Dunhill cup - so the EPGA would enjoy it)
-If I came to visit beauty, I would play this in an instant!

12th - Castle (1 round)
-I had the same feeling as Kingsbarn. but the castle has a more rugged unfinished look to it. unkept wild fescue grass, more brown (less watering). but the greens!!??? All these slopes, humps, elevations!! Lots of people hated it, but I liked it. I had a good attitude about it and just played on and didn't complain. I found this less hurtful when I got caught on the wrong side of the greens ;)

13th - Crail - Balcomie (1 round)
-so much charm and fun. a good break from the other championship calibre courses. now it is the 7th oldest course in the world.
-just like Prestwick some things you'll never seen in modern architecture.

Summary - Advice
-Please I am not rich and being a snob, I'm a teacher, so I saved a LONG time for this trip.
-Originally I thought about playing the other courses in the area I was visiting. But then I decided that if I never get back to these courses I want to play them as often as possible and have them in my memory forever. Eg. 4 rounds Carnoustie, I still see every hole (which was cool when I was watching the ladies open, I knew where they were going!) in my head, I can still see the layout, etc,...If I only had 1 round on it, I could do that. So Troon and Turnberry are just a blur. I 'see' some of the holes in my memory, but not many :(...kind of a 'waste' So the 140 GBP /round at the Old Course - worth every cent!
-Another reason (besides) $$$$ that I didn't go with a tour operator. I saw so many groups play 7 rounds in 5 days, or 9 in 7 days, it makes me wonder if those guys remember anything about the courses they played? (of course I'm not knocking them, but I preferred this way while they liked their way)
-Bring a gore-tex top and bottom. After listening to the many fans of Galvin Green, it doesn't matter what make as long as it is Gore-tex, you'll be fine.
-Bring lots of rain gloves! Umbrellas and bag covers are unless!!!
-bring 2 pairs of shoes
-golf towel is USELESS
-divot tool for green is USELESS. you can't make a balll mark!
-You don't lose as many golf balls as you think. I brought WAY too many, turns out I didn't lose that many at all. courses are more forgiving than you think (for lost balls anyway- and if you take a caddie, they'll always find your ball)
-take a caddie if you can. if you get a good one, you'll have a great time
-driving on the other side in not that bad. drive slowly at first until you get the hang of it
-it's the road signs that are awful! too much or too little info! Bring the GPS!!!
-All the scots I met were awesome. from locals to the people working at the golf course. If you can afford it, give a good tip.

That's all! Hope that I've helped some of you. and if you want please ask me anything (I'm by far no expert but I can give you my take on things I've experienced!)

Ciao

[oregongolf]

That is an amazing trip. Someday I hope to do something similar...

Did you take any pictures?

[KMeloney]

Good read! Glad you had a good time. Wow, 28 days?! Holy cow. That's a long time.

I agree with your thoughts on Carnoustie and the Old, New, and Jubilee, almost point-for-point. I can't agree with you on your negative about Kingsbarns. Sure, it is a new course in the home of golf, but I don't think that hurts its appeal at all. The caddies were SO good there, the views the most spectacular, the course challenging and flowing... Man, I just couldn't knock it at all.

Of all the different people we talked with over there who were doing a golf trip (including Europeans), Kingsbarns was most folks' favorite. I was giddy on the first couple of holes on the Old Course because I was on the Old Course... But I thought Kingsbarns provided an awesome golf experience that had everything but the history.

Thanks for sharing.

[scotchblade]

Great write up! Thanks for taking the time to share. Good for you that you could spend a nice chunk of time there too.

[orlen]

Great read. I hated the new course and loved Kingsbarn..... ... How was the weather when you went?

We played 9 rounds and got rained on only 5 holes. Felt like I missed out a little...still windy as all hell.

[chrisday83]

Wow, 26 rounds of golf in 28 days! Im just hoping to play the Old Course at some point in the next year! Bit easier for me being from England though...

[jas904]

That was a good read. I'm going back for my second trip next May. I tend to agree with a lot of your points, I loved the quirkyness of the old courses as opposed to the tractor made new style of courses. I, however, thought that the Castle Course's green were absurd. Can't wait to go back again, I could only imagine what almost a month would be like, I wasn't ready to leave after two weeks.

[Tmiller72]

If you don't mind, about how much did this trip cost??

[gyippie]

Hi All,
Thanks for the counter-views and comments.
Of course I've left some stuff out so....
1. kmeloney - totally respect your views and I didn't mean to come across as a kingsbarn hater...I did love the views, conditions, caddies, staff, etc,...it just felt 'not right' And if I were to go on a non-pilgrimage/historical trip - it would be near the top of the list
2.weather - first two weeks, rain on-off, cold, wind, cloudy. Not good luck. One round in Carnoustie was all in the rain (as if the course wasn't tough enough ...week 3 less rain, just as cold. only the last part of week 4 did it get 'warm' and by warm I mean that I didn't need to wear my underarmour thermal top and bottom!!!!
3.As for the price...a little too private to share...but let's just say that I'm in some SERIOUS debt ...but you can figure out some of the costs yourself - no secret, just total the costs for 28 days/28 rounds (car, BB, flight, green fees, souvenirs, etc,..)
Points I forgot:
1. Bringing microfibre clothing I thought was a great idea, being easy to dry right? And with Laundry service available right? NOT..only at the first BB where it was the owners house, did they do the wash and hang the clothing to dry. All the other places with laundry service was only - washer and dryer. Not even an option for just washing it and sending it back wet. Even if they did send it back wet, single room did not have enough place to hang or lay flat to dry!!!!! Ended up doing wash in the sink!!!!!! Ugh!!!!!!! Gotta be a better solution!!!
2. I rented an automatic car, since I can't drive stick even at home, but it'll cost you at least 35% more!! But my life was more important
3. Most cars are diesel, so you use less gas than over here.
4. To play the old course many times without a reservation as a single you have to line up. Hint - 3am is a must. this guarantees you being top five on the 'list' and pretty much a tee time early morning. if you are more than 1, you can use the ballot, but it is really hard. even the locals have to put in a ballot to play (although they are balloting for their own local tee times. i was lucky to play with a member and he invited my to play with him the next day, but he couldn't just call and reserve, he had to ballot. and he didn't 'win' so I had to line up again!

[The Grifter]

Great trip review..... Good read.

[KMeloney]

That's a shame about the weather! We went the last week of April and had sunny skies, low (for the most part) wind, and 53°-62° everyday. The only time we saw any rain was on the drive back to Edinburgh from St. Andrews on the way to the airport. We couldn't believe the weather. Every caddie each day made a comment about how lucky we had gotten that day with the weather. We were UA long tops/normal pants/shirt/vest each day. One or two of the days I started out with a zip-up over everything, but a couple of the other days I was able to ditch the vest.

...But we were also "owed" some good weather. We had this trip planned for LAST year, but that darn volcano blew 4 DAYS before our trip and wiped the whole trip out. So, I think we were due for a change of luck in the weather.

What I didn't touch on that you did is just how tough Carnoustie is. I got off to a good start there, and played pretty well for the most part. But some of the par 4's into the wind were IMPOSSIBLE to get near in regulation, and the bunkers there are abundant and brutal. But the last three holes have to be the toughest finishing holes in golf. Once you're there you can see exactly how The Open could be won or lost on 17 and/or 18. The water running through there is absurd. You have to land the ball is just the right places. I would expect the pros to handle it better than they sometimes do, but it's nasty. Awesome member-caddies there. We had a couple older guys on our bags, and they were great. Man, I don't know how many times I heard, "Aye, Kairk. It's in the trap." haha

[gyippie]

[quote name='KMeloney' timestamp='1312377020' post='3447289']
That's a shame about the weather! We went the last week of April and had sunny skies, low (for the most part) wind, and 53°-62° everyday. The only time we saw any rain was on the drive back to Edinburgh from St. Andrews on the way to the airport. We couldn't believe the weather. Every caddie each day made a comment about how lucky we had gotten that day with the weather. We were UA long tops/normal pants/shirt/vest each day. One or two of the days I started out with a zip-up over everything, but a couple of the other days I was able to ditch the vest.

...But we were also "owed" some good weather. We had this trip planned for LAST year, but that darn volcano blew 4 DAYS before our trip and wiped the whole trip out. So, I think we were due for a change of luck in the weather.

What I didn't touch on that you did is just how tough Carnoustie is. I got off to a good start there, and played pretty well for the most part. But some of the par 4's into the wind were IMPOSSIBLE to get near in regulation, and the bunkers there are abundant and brutal. But the last three holes have to be the toughest finishing holes in golf. Once you're there you can see exactly how The Open could be won or lost on 17 and/or 18. The water running through there is absurd. You have to land the ball is just the right places. I would expect the pros to handle it better than they sometimes do, but it's nasty. Awesome member-caddies there. We had a couple older guys on our bags, and they were great. Man, I don't know how many times I heard, "Aye, Kairk. It's in the trap." haha
[/quote]
Bang on with your comments on Carnoustie
Good that you were able to 'make-up' for the original trip (that volcano was an awful event - for everyone)

[Loodle]

I had a trip over there this summer as well. We went north and played Royal Dornoch(both courses), Golspie, Brora, and Tain. We spent a week in Dornoch, and had an amazing time. Very relaxed atmosphere in the Highlands, golf was spectacular and relatively affordable. The weather was great, the only day it was typical Scotland was when we played the Royal Dornoch Championship course, and I didn't need the extra challenge. I would go down and walk the course at night, just in awe. I wish I could have stayed longer, and I am already thinking about when I can go back, or even retire there.

[cabtn]

Thank you for taking the time to share. It sounds wonderful.