Scotland Photos

[Joe_Hatley]

At the risk of showing many of you what you have already seen countless times before, here's a link to a site I created with a bunch of photos from last summer's pilgrimage:

http://homepage.mac.com/wjhatley/Scotland_2004

That being said, there are a few (IMO) damn cool pictures mixed in with some of more mundane entries.  Perhaps this will help dispel the winter gloom for many, and whet the appetites of those of you with journeys planned for the upcoming year.

[Evan Fleisher]

Great stuff Joe...brings back some awesome memories from my own pilgrimage back in 1998, many of the same courses!

[Mike Benham]

Nicely done Joe ... I am particularly fond of the Belhaven Hotel ...

[Marty Bonnar]

Joe,
Damn good stuff, but one minor correction.
David Huish's Pro Shop is NOT the 'Clubhouse' at North Berwick!!

FBD.

[Joe_Hatley]

Martin,

You're absolutely correct.  (I knew that myself, having quaffed several Belhavens from inside the clubhouse proper.)  It's been fixed.

That's really why I posted the link here -- I knew you guys would catch my errors, some of which were due to carelessness, and others due to forgetfulness -- caused in turn by too many Belhavens.

Thanks!

[Marty Bonnar]

Way Cool, Joe.
Can I ask who caddied for you at Kingsbarns? Do I recognise either Brian or Nick amongst those pics?? Oh, and the pic captioned 7 is really a view of 17 from the 7th tee......

FBD.

[Mike_Sweeney]

25 degrees and snowing in New York, thanks Joe.

[tonyt]

Joe, I've just spent the last hour fossicking through these, and adding a few pics to my rotating wallpaper on screen.

Many thanks.

Tony

[Joe_Hatley]

Martin,

As I recall, a gent named Nick was my caddie at Kingsbarns.  I'm a bit hazy on him though, because (compared only to some of the other characters/caddies we encountered) he didn't burn himself into my memory, save for a couple of great shots he envisioned for me around the greens.  He was pretty much all business, and an excellent caddy.

With respect to the mis-captioned photo, I assume you are referring to the first one labelled "7th hole?"  I wasn't sure about that one - I knew it was taken from the back of the 7th tee, but the hole in the background didn't really fit with my recollection of #7.  Thanks for the catch!

[David_Tepper]

Joe-

Great pixs of what looks like a great trip. You covered a lot of ground. How many days were you in Scotland?

I see you rented the Granite Lodge in Golspie. Did you play the Golspie course?

I also liked the presentation and slide show of the photos on your website. Thanks for sharing.

DT



 

[Bob_Huntley]

Joe,

What did Geo. P. shoot?  With all the practice he gets over there he must be down to scratch.

Bob

[Joe_Hatley]

David,

We were there 12 days, 11 of which were spent golfing - the 12th was at the Open.  We did not get to play Golspie, despite staying there.  We couldn't find (affordable) lodging in Dornoch or Tain, and Golspie was the closest town to Dornoch.  I think the Granite Inn was the most accommodating place we stayed -- the hosts were wonderful, and even forgave me for driving off with one of the room keys.  I had to mail it back from St. Andrews.

Bob,

George shot a 72 that day; I believe he said it was the first time he matched par on TOC.  He is one hell of a putter.

[ForkaB]

Thanks for the photos, Joe.  I particularly like the one of the 16th at Dornoch in the gloaming.  It's a hole that gets no respect, but should, if one thinks about architecture and experience rather than eye-candy.

PS--when I played with Geroge P. a year or two ago he both drove and putted his ball like a gorilla.  Obviously allthis time in St. A has improved his short game.......

[Joe_Hatley]

Rich,

Reading your post, and then your "My Home Course" feature reminded me of the most raging debate of our trip -- on #17 at Dornoch, is it better to lay up on the upper level to get a clear view of the green, or to blast it over the hill to get a shorter, but blind, shot in?

I opted for the upper level, and pulled it into a gorse bush.  One of my companions went for the longer shot, didn't turn it over, and drove it through everything into whins, etc.  So much for strategy if you can't execute...seriously though, what is the prevailing view amongst the members?

[ForkaB]

Joe

The "standard" drive is a draw over the marker post, usually with a club you can control (or hope you can!).  Into any decent wind, a driver is necessary--downwind as little a 4-iron will do the trick.

That being said, some of the better younger players opt for the highland route, usually something like a 4-6 iron to the edge of the plateau and then one club less for the next shot. I've experimented with this recently, but with no particular success.  You really need to know your distance to the edge and hit the ball very straight.  Long you are in the bunkers, short or right and you're faced with a long iron over th ewhins.

When Norman 1st played the course he argued with his caddy as to whether to hit a draw or a fade with his driver to in front of the green.  After a bit of kerfuffle he hit both shots, and they ended up within inches of each other, 70-80 yards from the green.

[PThomas]

Rich -- "kerfuffule" -- even though it's not in my dictionary I'm gonna start using it!!

and I never tire of seeing these types of pictures , Joe -- now I just gotta get their and play some of them...the plan is a family trip there in 08.....

[ed_getka]

Rich is always adding to our vocabulary around here. My all time favorite is sprogs (kids).

Joe,
   Thanks for posting the pix. It brings back fond memories from my first trip last May.

[Yancey_Beamer]

Thanks,
Many memories.
Yancey

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