Niall -
The green fee rate Ferguson quoted is 205 pounds, which is the rate as shown on the Royal Troon website for golf only. . . .
DT
David
I beg to differ. . . .
Now I don't know of this guy, but his website certainly bums him up as being as a guide. You'd have thought therefore he would have been more transparent and informative with his comments, and indeed the fact that he doesn't mention the Portland course suggests he's fairly ignorant of it which doesn't give me much confidence in his qualities as a guide.
Niall
Niall, I beg to differ.
Ferguson does a number of things. His book, which has been revised a number of times, encourages golf visitors to Scotland to do it on their own, and tells them how. I think it's an excellent guide
for the novice. If I'd fault him at all, it's for going a little too much on the cheap side sometimes, but it's your choice. Like all other information provided on golf travel, including from the "experts" on this site, you still have to check things out on your own, ask the right questions, factor in your personal preferences (sometimes reasonable golfers do have different opinions about which are the "best" courses to play, I have learned
). In general he advocates staying in one place and playing courses in that area (rather than jumping around and wasting time and effort traveling all over the place), playing lesser know courses, getting to know the locals, using small inns and b & b's, avoiding high prices, etc. In the past he's recommended Arnold Clark for car rentals, which while less expensive than the major brands, we've found also delivers a lesser product.
Ferguson also operates as sort of a travel agent, or he used to. About 15 years ago, as novices, my friends and I had him put together a trip for us. He charged $100 per person, and
said he took no commissions from vendors. He did not book air travel, but suggested an itinerary, made tee times, got us places to stay and a driver, and put together a booklet for each of us with lots of supplemental information. All in the costs were very low. Subsequently, his per person rate went up, but in our subsequent trips we've done it all on our own, so I don't know how his "agent" business stands today. However, based on our later experiences and getting to know the lay of the golf tourism land in Scotland, we remain quite satisfied with what Alan did for us back at our beginning.
I'm still on the e-mail list for his periodic newsletter that started this tread going, and which I find quite useful -- again, as a starting point.