Over the years, business has brought me to England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland many times. Whenever I could, I scheduled extra days for golf. While I played a few of the top name courses, I most enjoyed my rounds on the little-known courses. Instead of playing with a lot of other tourists, I played with the locals and was, in many cases, the only American that they had visit in a while. I believe that I got to experience “real” golf, as the local played it and enjoyed that much more than the tourist courses.
Playing with local golfers, rather than tourists, made for the best memories that I have. Dinner with a club captain, being a guest at a member’s restaurant, settling a bet that there really were courses in the US that made one take a buggy….
Like the rest of my travels, avoiding the tourist places has given me the best experiences. Meals in a local restaurant were often a lot better than the tourist spot.
As for the cost of golf, I found the local courses amazingly inexpensive. I had no problem paying high fees for the few big name courses that I visited. St. Andrews was a bucket list experience.