SCOTLAND!!!

[Niall C]

Kyle,

I hope you are in serious training because your schedule looks pretty brutal. One suggestion to make it slightly easier would be to drop Fortrose and Rosemarkie to avoid some serious doubling back. Instead Old Moray or Lossiemouth might be a better option as they are on the way to Aberdeen area.

If I was you I would book as much as you can in advance, good luck getting Royal Aberdeen on a saturday morning by the way, and you will probably find that most of the courses listed will not ask for green fee in advance if you are playing during the week. The obvious exception would be the Old Course but presumably you are going to try and queue up for a slot.

Most of the courses listed are private members courses and as such access will be restricted at weekends, particularly Saturday which is competition day. That goes for Royal Aberdeen, Murcar, Gullane, Crail and North Berwick. That said Gullane has the 3 courses so you will probably get on 2 and 3 without any trouble. The differnce between 1 and 2 isn't anywhere as much as the difference in green fee tends to suggest, and indeed many people rate no. 2 higher.

Accommodation - St Andrews books up fast but generally there are plenty of good B&B's if you try early enough. Alternatively you could contact the University as I believe they could offer you something during the summer.

Best of luck

Niall

[Kyle Henderson]

Kyle,

I hope you are in serious training because your schedule looks pretty brutal.

Niall

The second courses are all optional and my be omitted. That aside, I do work in the fitness industry.

[SPDB]

Kyle - I made this trip (a good bit of it solo). The Official Guide put out by the Scottish tourist bureau was a great resource to have handy to call golf courses, etc. In that vein, you might want to buy a cell phone that you can buy minutes for at any market.

The link to the guide ordering form is below. IM me if you want some more tips.

Scotland Golf Guide

[Tom Huckaby]

Kyle - I'll chime in with others in that your itinerary there is AMBITIOUS to say the least!  But what the hell, you do only live once.  You'll have a blast.

I guess the only thing I'd caution against though is that you have a few quite long drives, necessarily at night... just be careful with those.

I am also stoked beyond reason that you included Fortrose and Rosemarkie.  I need another in the small brethren of those who have played there.

 

Man it all looks really cool to me.  Brent's admonitions are good though, and Niall's are especially wise..take heed for sure.  But getting as much of that in as you can, well you WILL be exhausted, it WILL be a blur, but you also WILL have a blast.

Just make sure and go back again some day and settle in an area or two and linger - that's pretty damn fun also.

TH

[David Stamm]

Kyle, your "path" is exactly what I want to do when I go there for the first time. Start in the Highlands and make my way south and end in the Lothian area.

[Tom Huckaby]

Kyle, your "path" is exactly what I want to do when I go there for the first time. Start in the Highlands and make my way south and end in the Lothian area.

I assume one can get flights into Inverness and out of Edinburgh or Glasgow that don't break the bank?

Such was not the case back in the dark days I made trips like this....

If that can be done, oh yeah, that is optimal.  Reversing direction works great too.

[David Stamm]

 
I forgot who posted this link, but this gets the juices going........



http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=HiddenLinks&view=videos

[Sean_A]

Thank you again for all that provided such useful input. Based on recommendations, my tentative course lineup is as follows. I will, god willing, have the good fortune to meet up with a couple of my GCA brothers in the Highlands and Fife as scheduled, but would dearly love to meet a few more from the treehouse around Aberdeen and/or Edinburgh. I'd love as much company as can be managed on my first international trek.

Date         Priority      Second Round (?)
Sunday 5/24   Arrival            
M    25      Boat of Garten   Tain
T    26      R. Dornoch*
W   27      Golspie        Brora            
Th   28      Nairn      Fortrose & Rosemarkie
F   29      Cruden Bay
Saturday 5/30      Royal Aberdeen   Murcar         
Sunday   5/31      Crail- Balcombie*   Crail-Craigshead*
M   1      Carnoustie (Champ)   Panmure
T   2      St. Andrews (Old)   (New)   
W   3      Kingsbarns (8:00...)   Elie   
Th   4      Castle (#7)
F   5      Gleneagles (Kings)   (Queens)
Saturday 6/6      Gullane (#1)      Gullane #2
Sunday      6/7      N. Berwick (West)   
M      6/8   Departure

* With GCA cyberfriend

Can anybody recommend reasonablly priced accomodations convenient to these courses and appropriate for a  male of modest means travelling alone?

Clean hostels or modest bed & breakfasts in safe neighborhoods are desired.

Muchas gracias, amigos!

Kyle

You are certainly a go getter, but if you are alone this sort of forced march may suit a lot of people.

Trust me.  I have organized more of these damn things than I care to remember.  Pay particular attention to 1, 2, 4 & 5.  The most important things are getting your priority courses banged up and sorting out the weekends - preferably with the priority courses (which are mainly Sunday or afternoon options if at all on weekends).  All other decisions will necessarily follow on from these two main issues.   

1. If there are courses you really want to see, book your holiday around them.  There is no point in going through all the trouble you will to walk away disappointed.  But, be choosy about the must sees or your itinerary may feel like a forced march.

2. Get your weekends sorted.  Try to play the must sees on the weekend even if they charge a premium.  This frees up the much easier weekdays to poke your nose about and see where it takes you.  Plus, you may get lucky and hook up with some members for a game as these clubs are much more used during the weekend.  I have on more than one occasion been approached by members looking to get out when the tee was crowded.  Of course it was too late too save the green fee, but they may invite you back on another day at great savings and you will probably get some good advice about lesser courses to play.

3. If you are looking to walk up a load, get detailed schedules of visitors times and what is available before you leave.

4. If you are looking to walk up a load, do it in areas with lots of good courses.  St Andrews for instance is a great walk up town.  All the courses can be played on the day at any time of the year provided you know the schedule of closures, comps etc.

5. If you walk off a course and think it is great, play it again even if it is the next day.  It doesn't make much sense to go in search of when your car is already in the lot of a great course.  Often times, clubs will allow a second round at the day rate if you decide to go again on the same day even though that wasn't the original intent.  This is another great thing about weekday golf over here.  The secondary courses are generally empty on weekdays so going back out isn't often too hard. 

Ciao

[Mark Pearce]

Kyle,

I agree with most of what Sean says, though I'm not sure about trying the "must sees" at weekends.  I think you'll struggle to get times on most of the must sees at weekends (and particularly Saturdays).

[Scott Warren]

Kyle. I was given a really thorough golf tourism guide to Scotland at Dublin airport a few weeks back. It lists every course in the country, the greenfee and access, as well as a range of accommodation options in each region. Some speccie pics as well.

If you'd like it, send me a PM with your address and I'd be more than happy to post it to you.

[Jim Thornton]

Kyle-

I strongly recommend Western Gailes.  It's nearby Troon and Prestwick and a real sleeper.  One of my favorite courses in Scotland for sure.

Best-


Jim

[Robert Thompson]

And before you go, go here: http://www.fergusongolf.com/

Buy a copy of Allan's book and bring it with you. I've carried my copy for all three of my trips. It is essentially a guide to booking a trip to Scotland without using an ultra-expensive travel service. It lists B&Bs, hotels and tells you when you can and when you can't play all the courses.

Invaluable in my mind.

[TX Golf]

Kyle,

I will second Jim with his recommendation for Western Gailes... I noticed that you weren't ever in the area but it seems like a shame to not see Prestwick, Western Gailes, and Troon.

Robert

[Matt MacIver]

My 2 cents:

If you're going solo then see every single course you want to and can fit in - you can rest on the plane.  Your 2nd or 3rd round of the day can be played with a 7 iron and putter, but you're there for the golf, gca, etc.  HOPEFULLY you will get back again...but who knows? 

If you can squeeze in a second at Dornoch, Cruden Bay and TOC - do so.  You will see more your second time around and remember them better for years to come. 

There are two courses I would suggest but don't see how you can fit them in logisitically and/or reservations: Muirfield and Prestwick, for the classicism and quirk. 

What a great trip - enjoy!

PS - Ferguson book very good for golf and lodging info. 

[Kyle Henderson]

I received the Ferguson book in the mail yesterday. It looks like the perfect guide. Thank you again to all for your input. Things are shaping up nicely so far.

I'll try to reward everyone with some images of my trip over the summer!

[Bill_McBride]

One last thought about being in St Andrews, Kyle.

Nothing else compares to the Old Course.  If I were you, and on my own in St Andrews for a few days, I would not make any firm plans.  I would go out early every morning to stand by as a single and play the Old as many times as possible.  It will take a few rounds to make sense of it.

If you don't get out, you can get on your cell phone and use the Ferguson book to check with Crail or Elie or Lundin Links or the New/Jubilee starter and play elsewhere.  You'll be able to get out as a single.  The days are very long so you play on into the evening for a second round somewhere.

Just my personal thought as I can really never get enough of the Old.  At today's exchange rate, it's the cheapest it's been for a few years.

[Andrew Mitchell]

Kyle

The Scottish Tourist Board produce an annual comprehensive guide to all the golf courses in Scotland.  It also contains accommodation details and maps of each of the regions.

This can be obtained free of charge by clicking on the following link

[Kyle Henderson]

One last thought about being in St Andrews, Kyle.

Nothing else compares to the Old Course.  If I were you, and on my own in St Andrews for a few days, I would not make any firm plans.  I would go out early every morning to stand by as a single and play the Old as many times as possible.  It will take a few rounds to make sense of it.

If you don't get out, you can get on your cell phone and use the Ferguson book to check with Crail or Elie or Lundin Links or the New/Jubilee starter and play elsewhere.  You'll be able to get out as a single.  The days are very long so you play on into the evening for a second round somewhere.

Just my personal thought as I can really never get enough of the Old.  At today's exchange rate, it's the cheapest it's been for a few years.

I had that plan in mind. I think I'll grab an early time at Kingsbarn one day (maybe Elie afterwards) and I'm scheduled for 36 at Crail on Sunday, but I'll leave the other days open.

[Kyle Henderson]

Scott, Andrew, SPBD: I have a copy of the guide. Thank you for the suggestion.

Jim, Robert: Western Gailes will have to wait. I looks spectacular, but I the West Coast simply won't fit into my timeline.

Hopefully, I can see it at a future BUDA CUP!

[Bill_McBride]

One last thought about being in St Andrews, Kyle.

Nothing else compares to the Old Course.  If I were you, and on my own in St Andrews for a few days, I would not make any firm plans.  I would go out early every morning to stand by as a single and play the Old as many times as possible.  It will take a few rounds to make sense of it.

If you don't get out, you can get on your cell phone and use the Ferguson book to check with Crail or Elie or Lundin Links or the New/Jubilee starter and play elsewhere.  You'll be able to get out as a single.  The days are very long so you play on into the evening for a second round somewhere.

Just my personal thought as I can really never get enough of the Old.  At today's exchange rate, it's the cheapest it's been for a few years.

I had that plan in mind. I think I'll grab an early time at Kingsbarn one day (maybe Elie afterwards) and I'm scheduled for 36 at Crail on Sunday, but I'll leave the other days open.

Good plan.  You will be delighted by the contrast between the two courses at Crail and by the historic feeling of Elie with its 16 par 4s.  I haven't played Kingsbarns yet, hopefully next time over.  Martin Bonnar is a big proponent so it must be quite good. 

[Mike Benham]

The plan looks doable ... and remember, sleep is highly over-rated ...

[Mitchell Schneringer]

On my first trip to Scotland (Aug 2008), I designed a very golf intense schedule.  We enjoyed it very much (180 holes in 7 golfing days), but next time I will for sure play less golf and give ourselves more time to rest between rounds.  In addition, I'll try to play some courses more than once.  I'm almost embarrassed to tell you that we played so much golf that I cannot remember every hole at TOC, Royal Aberdeen, and I don't think I remember any holes at St. Andrews New Course.  Some parts of the trip were simply a "blur," due to the over aggressive schedule.  Overall the trip was the BEST golf trip I've ever experienced, but next time I'll take a bit more time to slow down and savor the individual holes a bit more.  Don't let the caddies (especially at St. Andrews) hurry you along too much, they are simply there to get the round over with in hopes of earning a big tip and moving onto another tourist.  My next trip will involve fewer caddies, and I'll use the trolly more.

[Kyle Henderson]

On my first trip to Scotland (Aug 2008), I designed a very golf intense schedule.  We enjoyed it very much (180 holes in 7 golfing days), but next time I will for sure play less golf and give ourselves more time to rest between rounds.  In addition, I'll try to play some courses more than once.  I'm almost embarrassed to tell you that we played so much golf that I cannot remember every hole at TOC, Royal Aberdeen, and I don't think I remember any holes at St. Andrews New Course.  Some parts of the trip were simply a "blur," due to the over aggressive schedule.  Overall the trip was the BEST golf trip I've ever experienced, but next time I'll take a bit more time to slow down and savor the individual holes a bit more.  Don't let the caddies (especially at St. Andrews) hurry you along too much, they are simply there to get the round over with in hopes of earning a big tip and moving onto another tourist.  My next trip will involve fewer caddies, and I'll use the trolly more.

I had the no caddie, all trollie aganda in mind. I plan to play Dornoch, Cruden Bay, and North Berwick twice each. TOC as well, if possible.

Kosher?

[Mitchell Schneringer]

Good job in your planning.

[Bill_McBride]

It would be a good investment to take a caddie the first time at the Old Course.  There are so many ways to play each hole that a good caddie will be a great insight to how.