Kyle,
You will have a great time. It is not possible to avoid it. I did do my first trip solo after leaving the gang that assembled at Painswick for a couple of days. Primarily I wanted my first trip to Scotland to be on my terms and didn't want to have to factor in anyone else's desires. I still had the opportunity to golf a few rounds with Rich Goodale, Richard Le Sueur, met up with David Tepper and Philip Gawith, and generally had a great time.
I would advise looking into hostels as you travel about. It is WAY cheaper than anything else you will find and since your focus is golf, eating, and sleeping what more do you need.
If you are interested I ended up staying at 3 hostels that were all part of the same group (approx.10-12 pounds/night at the time). Nice refurbished facilities with clean spaces and flat screen TV's.
My itinerary: flew up from London to Aberdeen, golf at Murcar, spent night in Inverness at hostel, up in AM and 36 holes at Dornoch, stayed with David and Lauren Tepper (David has a great place about 400 yards from the 1st tee), up early and 36 holes at Cruden Bay, back to Aberdeen and dropped off rental car. Train down to St Andrews, walked over to Road Hole at 11pm to soak up the magic, stayed at hostel, played 36 holes (walk up)
the next day. Don't forget to check out the Himalayas putting green which I forgot to do. The next part gets fuzzy. I must have taken a train down to Edinburgh (maybe a bus?) and stayed at another hostel. My next round was with Rich Goodale at Elie, but now I can't remember if I went there from Edinburgh or St Andrews?
. I did take a bus over to Elie which was no problem. I took the train from Edinburgh to North Berwick for a round with Richard L, I highly recommend the train as it is a short walk across town from the station. North Berwick is the soul of golf to me, I recommend it most highly. Don't expect every hole to knock your socks off, but you will love the funk there.
My only regret was not getting to Prestwick on my first trip, but they had a tournament going on.
If you want any advice please don't hesitate to ask. You have tons of options and driving across Scotland from east to west is no big deal for someone used to California driving. I heard plenty of driving horror stories, but had absolutely no problems whatsoever, roundabouts are brilliant. Don't expect to cover ground at Calif. highway speed, but you can expect to easily cover 35-40 miles an hour in most cases.
edgetka@gmail.com
919 537-8413
Have a great time planning and dreaming.
