Bernie,
Ok, then. Be on the lookout for such a post in the next month or so. I have one other topic first.
One of the things friends ask me about a trip like this is how much did it cost? So I thought I would put a price on it. I shared a car with Jason and also a rental apartment, so that savings is reflected below.
Golf
Kilspindie £59
Dunbar £60
Muirfield (2 rounds plus lunch) £380
Alnmouth Village £20
Warkworth £20
Northumberland £60 (This is normal rate – I paid less as member’s guest)
North Berwick (2 rounds) £195
Goswick/Dunstanburgh Buda (5 rounds plus lunches) £150
Bamburgh Castle £25
Total golf £969
Accommodation
Greywalls 3 nights (tiny room but includes breakfast) £420
Airbnb 3 nights (share of total) £216
Hotel by airport 1 night £60
Total accommodation: £696
Travel in UK
Rental car (share of total) £117
Fuel (share of total) £56
Total travel £173
Total works out to £1,838 or $2,254 for 14 rounds of golf, rooms for 7 nights, and a rental car. Of that expense, I could have easily saved £200 splitting an airbnb in Gullane, getting the cost down to $2,000. Of course, this doesn’t include all meals, but spending on that sort of thing is very variable. Yes, we saved some money by playing in the 3 day Buda but that’s also a terrific reason to make the trip over. Joining everyone at Kington in September would be a fine introduction.
For comparison, 7 days of 36 holes would cost you $2,730 at Bandon for just the golf and probably another $1,400 for rooms. Sand Valley would be a little cheaper, but not much. Ok, maybe most of us wouldn’t spend 7 days at one of those resorts, but you also don’t have to spend 7 days playing golf in Scotland/England.
Oh, and if there’s anything at a US resort like standing on the 18th tee at North Berwick, looking at the beautiful town setting and the sea and just praying you don’t hit a parked car on the right with your tee shot, let me know!