Rules for Americans playing links golf for the first time.

[Bill Brightly]

My buddies from the club asked me to set up a trip to Scotland. I chose the courses south of Glasgow so there will be very little windshield time. We'll stay in Prestwick and play Dundonald, 36 at Prestwick, both courses at Royal Troon, Western Gailes and Turnberry. Seven rounds in five days is enough before 12 guys start to get on each other's nerves. We belong to a very good, superbly maintained parkland course in the northeast US. Most have very little experience with links golf. I'm expecting a few whiners, so help me write Bill's Rules for The Trip.


All edits and additions welcomed!



1. Bring your sense of humor.
2. If you whine one time about the turf being brown or too firm, you buy the first round of drinks.
3. The worst wind you ever played in on our parkland course will be the calmest day we have in Scotland.
4. Don't tee off with a score in mind. Play your match and be prepared to pick up more than you are used to.
5. Be prepared to hit some of the longest drives of your life, and occasionally walk away with bogey or double.
6. If you think every shot from 90 yards or less to the green is a sand wedge, good luck. You better be REALLY good at picking the ball cleanly off of very firm turf.
7. You are NOT entitled to an even stance in the fairway.
8. Complain that the greens are too slow, you buy a round of drinks.
9. There are no sand traps, but many hazards to be avoided. Appropriately, you will pay a price for hitting into a hazard.
10. No whining about bad breaks/bounces. Unless you agree to take yourself out of the hole when you get a GOOD bounce.


Thanks!

[Pete_Pittock]

play stableford
play ready golf
first person to spot a tree on a course gets a bonus handicap stroke
buy cartons of cigarettes for caddy tipping

[Carl Johnson]

My buddies from the club asked me to set up a trip to Scotland. I chose the courses south of Glasgow so there will be very little windshield time. We'll stay in Prestwick and play Dundonald, 36 at Prestwick, both courses at Royal Troon, Western Gailes and Turnberry. Seven rounds in five days is enough before 12 guys start to get on each other's nerves. We belong to a very good, superbly maintained parkland course in the northeast US. Most have very little experience with links golf. I'm expecting a few whiners, so help me write Bill's Rules for The Trip.


All edits and additions welcomed!

11. All the crap you hit into off the fairway is not gorse.  Gorse is like water -- hit into it and your ball is flat gone.  Actually, it's worse than water because, in theory, you could go into the water and retrieve your ball.  (Related: Neither heather nor broom are gorse.)

12.  You are never entitled to see your target, though sometimes you will.  Hitting blind over dunes, gorse, etc. is part of the game.  Good luck!

13.  If your caddie advises you to come out of the bunker 10 yds. sideways, he means it.  Not 9, not 11.

[jim_lewis]

Don't even think about playing without a caddy.

[Stan Dodd]

As Pete said,  play Stableford!!

[Paul Gray]

The fact that you hit the ball cleanly does not mean your ball should have stopped upon landing. Golf is a game about the interaction between ball and ground, not ball and sky. Read the ground on every shot.

[Mark Bourgeois]

Fourballs taking more than 3h30 have to buy rounds for a period of time = 2 * (round time - 3h30).

[Bill Brightly]

These are GREAT guys, keep 'em coming!


Love the stableford idea, gorse vs. heather, not all "well struck" shots should stay on green, etc. Excellent!

[Pete_Pittock]

take some time and lessons to hit the ball high or low, and a long pitch.

By the way, we had both courses at Troon and only played about six or seven holes on the Portland course until it was time for our lunch

[jeffwarne]

Don't even think about playing without a caddy.

seriously?
I doubt our UK contingent would concur.

[Brian Bowman]

1. Bring your sense of humor.

This is probably the best piece of advice, aside from those who complain buying drinks. Some of those bounces, and shots effected by the wind are downright comical, and if you take it too seriously, or your score too seriously, you can forget to appreciate the moment

[David_Tepper]

Two things I tell people -


1) Don't take your eye off the ball till it stops rolling.


2) When playing out of the rough, take a more lofted club than you think you can hit. If you think you can play a 5-iron, play a 7-iron. Get the ball back on the short grass!


DT

[cary lichtenstein]

buy rain gloves, a sturdy umbrella, 2 pairs of shoes, extra socks and don't complain if they forgot something

[mike_beene]

It is still golf and with the advent of watering systems not that different.Take a bunker lesson for heavier sand and expect a no warm up tee experience in places and keep up.

[Alan Ritchie]

there is no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing..

multiple kümmels are mandatory for all at prestwick 

[Daryl David]

Don't take practice swings on the tee box.

[Jud_T]

Anyone who pulls an umbrella out of his bag buys a round of drinks.

Anyone who only packs 1 pair of shoes deserves what he gets.

Anyone who doesn't throw an extra pair of socks in his bag deserves what he gets.

[Thomas Dai]

Leave your high lofted hybrids/fairway metals, wide soled cavity backs and high bounce wedges at home. Get your old set of blades or narrow soled cavity backs out of the cupboard. Practice chipping with 3-4-5 irons.
Don't spend too much time behind the wheel or in the passenger seat of a car.
Bring along (or buy locally) numerous pairs of socks.
An umbrella is useless (and heavy), leave it at home.
The purple stuff is heather and the yellow taller stuff is gorse. Gorse is yellow in the spring and then turns green -



Most importantly.......have fun!


atb


PS - please bring plenty of lovely new ProV1's with you and leave copious amounts of them in the rough for us Brits to find

[Brent Hutto]

To play on links turf and in the wind, one thing is more important than it is back home. You have to deliver the club squarely and solidly into the ball. Full swings, wedge shots, even little pitch shots must be struck solidly.


So don't attempt to learn or use special shots that are unfamiliar. Don't bring different clubs. Stick to the bread and butter shots that you can perform crisply even under difficult conditions.


And as others have pointed out, forget your usual expectation that golf requires a driving range in addition to a course. You will not (and most places can not) spend an hour before and after each round banging range balls.

[Mark Saltzman]

Don't even think about playing without a caddy.

Hmmm I'd say don't even think about playing with a caddy.

[Sean_A]

Bill

You have high aspirations!  I felt like 4 rounds in four days was plenty with 12 guys

Not rules...only suggestions.
4. Don't tee off with a score in mind. Play your match and be prepared to pick up more than you are used to.

Even if out of the hole let guys drop in a spot which doesn't slow the game down so they can play a few more discrete shots.

Don't bring an umbrella, but buy one if needed...assuming its not too windy...an umbrella can be the best tool for staying dry and out of the wind.
Rain gloves are a good call. 

Bring shorts...its often better to play golf in the rain wearing shorts than with rain gear on.  Its easy to pull on the rain gear over shorts if it gets cold. 

Don't spend the holiday looking for balls.  Institute a 2 shot penalty rule for lost balls and allow a drop in the fairway near to where the ball was lost.  If you don't, the chances are as 4balls the game could last forever...especially if you are allowing groups through.

Take the golf lightly.  Chances are most will not sniff hitting to their handicap, but the one good round will be savoured. 

Ciao

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Don't expect the fairways to be brown. We've had tons of rain throughout Britain this year.

[Bill Gayne]

For the most part you have to play the game you brought (it's impossible to reinvent your game when you arrive). However, I would try the hybrid putt/chip from 10-40 yards off the green.

[Bill_McBride]

I agree about Stableford in individual games, but it might be more fun playing match play four balls and some foursomes.   Four ball matches move along quickly if anyone out of the hole picks up, and foursomes is just a fast game.

[Chris DeNigris]

I know it's a polarizing issue for the locals- but if you have the budget for it, why not take a caddy? For some it (UK trip)might be a once in a lifetime experience, isn't it more enjoyable to stroll totally unencumbered?

I would definitely take an umbrella- along with all the other rain gear- just don't whip it out when the wind's really nasty.  If it's not blowing sideways it can work as intended.

As others have said- just play for fun and don't worry too much about score. It's too fantastic of an experience to ruin any moments fretting about a shot or a swing.