My first trip to Scotland, opinions pls.

[Ted Kramer]

You have to do something during the trip which will let you go back time after time with your wife's blessing, or accompaniment. Put money down on a cottage, get a life membership, strike up new friendships. Too many courses, so little time.

How much would a "cottage" cost?

-Ted

[peter_p]

Ted,
Something short of a divorce. Being single myself, I never have to deal with this.

[Will Hubbard]

Ted

I agree that Cruden Bay is spectacular. During the Sr. British Open they did a little piece on it and it brought back great memories.  Because of the motorway routes, you will have to choose between Cruden Bay and The Boat.

Not to seem too pessimistic but it appears that the Boat's "wow" effect will largely depend upon whether you have a clear day with Cairngorm views.  If you are socked in by clouds these mountains (which I have hiked several times) will not provide the desired backdrop.  While the interior mountains, Boat of Garten and Aviemore are nice, for my money I would try to go to Cruden Bay.  I realize you may be trying to go somewhere the wives will enjoy. Probably more tourist stuff in Aviemore/BofG than Cruden, but the golf will most assuredly be better at Cruden Bay.  The dunes there are spectacular and the links are simply fun.

Regardless of choice you will have a great time. I am jealous.

Will

[Mike Hendren]

Will Hubbard?  Patches?

[jeffwarne]

Stick with your original plan.
Hidden gems are the cornerstone of any golf adventure.
Boat of Garten sounds like it qualifies and I certainly am looking forward to going there someday.
Cruden Bay ain't so hidden anymore(although it's a gem)-Include it on a itinerary that actually has you in the Aberdeen area.
You stated it was your "first" trip to Scotland-give yourself another reason to go back.

[Tom_Doak]

Ted:  You will be fine either way you decide to travel from Dornoch to St. Andrews.

I love Cruden Bay and it is on the cover of one of my books, but Boat of Garten has its own charms.  As long as you are not a 5 handicap or less, you will enjoy the Boat, too ... and the drive is more scenic that way, as well.

My only advice would be to skip the Struie and play Royal Dornoch as much as you can.  That first afternoon, as soon as you get to the third tee and see the rest of the course, you'll have no trouble keeping going.

I don't discourage anyone from going to Carnoustie, but again, only the low-handicaps will really enjoy the challenge.  Kingsbarns or Gleneagles or even a little course like Elie would be just as enjoyable for most people.

[cary lichtenstein]

On our first trip to Scotland, we stayed at Royal Dornock 3 days, played it 5 times, 2hr and 40 min as a 2 some or you get run over. We enjoyed the course more each time we played it.

We played Caroustie twice, in those days we always walked 36 per day, and would never go back, it is just not any fun.

Loved the Old Course, Troon, Muirfield, Gullane and Turnberry.

We kind of concentrated on courses in the British Open rotation, so we could enjoy them each year on tv. Playing them more than once, adds to that enjoyment.

[Darren_Kilfara]

Cruden Bay is indeed fantastic, but it's also far out of your way - given your likely logistics, I'd give it a miss. Boat of Garten is nice enough, but not spectacular; if you're into raw scenery, it's worth seeing, but if you're purely into architecture I'd just as soon play Dornoch again. And whatever you do, don't waste your time on the Struie! It has one or two neat holes but a lot of duds; you're almost certainly better off saving your strength for better courses (these trips have a way of getting very tiring), or better yet, playing the big course at Dornoch one more time!

Cheers,
Darren

[plabatt]

You cannot pass by Royal Aberdeen, skip CB.  If you like four consecutive blind/semi blind shoots into greens (13, 14,15,and 16) then CB is your course.  
Is there a better first nine holes and 3 finishing holes than RAGC?  Maybe Carnoustie has 3 better finishing holes but not a better first nine.  TOC's first nine are bland.
In a later thread Sean Arble poses the CB question of why it is more popular with Yanks than  Brits.

[Darren_Kilfara]

Sean, a couple of years ago I made it to the matchplay portion of the Cruden Bay Challenge Cup - I was one down against my local opponent going into #14. I watched him pull two drives into the gorse to the left and won the hole without having to hit my approach shot, so I know the fairway can indedd be missed!

Anyway, some of the holes you call "flops" truly show that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I'll agree with you that #9, though possessing all-world scenery from the back tee, is a dud; #15 is pretty ordinary, although it's certainly unusual, and as far as I'm concerned originality is normally worthy of bonus points even when it's odd. But #8 is an all-world driveable par 4, with a real risk-reward tee shot and a delightful green complex - out of all the golf holes in the world, it made the cover of Tom Doak's book, for crying out loud! #2 and #14 are more acquired tastes, but I love them both - the plateau green on #2 takes some hitting, while on #14 it's fairly easy to hit the green (although if you miss it left, right or short you'll have real problems making par), but the downslope leading to the front of the green isn't so steep that you aren't tempted to land the ball short and trickle it down to a front pin.

I'll copy this post to your newly-started CB thread - better to move this discussion there, methinks.

Cheers,
Darren

[Geoffrey Childs]

Sean

My playing partner at Cruden Bay one of the rounds hit his tee shot on the beach to the right.  The shot of the week occurred next when he actually hit the green from that position.

I guess that fairway can be missed both left and right.  One round I was in the left side fairway bunker so that's in play too!

[Darren_Kilfara]

Hey, Geoffrey - in the match I just described, where my opponent hit two in the gorse on #14 and I levelled the match, I subsequently hit my tee shot on *#15* onto the beach, which I can assure you took a great degree of negative skill. I salvaged a bogey but lost to his par, and he then went birdie-par to close me out 3&1. (It was a really wacky match - I was 4 down at the turn, and on #10 I was in a greenside bunker in three with my opponent eight feet above the hole in two. I promptly holed my bunker shot for par, and he three-putted to give me the hole - ! - whereafter I birdied 12 and 13 to pull within one, setting the stage for the above-described events. That match is a perfect metaphor for what I love about Cruden Bay in a nutshell...)

Cheers,
Darren

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