[mike_malone]

 My friend wants to absolutely play TOC next year. A trip company suggested all of the Open rota courses in one trip. I said I wouldn't be interested in such a trip but would be in one that stayed on the east coast.

    He shares my value of trying to travel little----maximum of two places--- and a mixture of lesser and significant courses.


     MY QUESTION TO YOU GENIUSES IS SHOULD I DO ONLY ONE AREA --- ST.ANDREWS DOWN TO LUNDIN--OR EAST LOTHIAN

     OR A MIXTURE OF BOTH ?


   I have played TOC and N.Berwick and would welcome a repeat, but I want some expert opinions.

    The trip won't exceed one week.

[Ross Tuddenham]

3 days fife and 3 days Edinburgh/east Lothian might make it a more interesting trip outside the golf.

[Jason Topp]

Stay in St. Andrews and do not move around.  You can easily drive to everything from Gleneagles to the North down to Muirfield.  I would include the following but it is a matter of priorities:

Old Course
Carnoustie
Muirfield
N Berwick
New Course
Eden
Castle
Kingsbarns
Gullane
Crail
Lundin
Elie
Gleneagles
Panmure (or whatever that other course in Carnoustie is)

There are probably 10 others worth visiting depending on your budget and appetite for driving.  My father and I once drove from St. Andrews to Turnberry, played 36 and drove back in the same day.

[Jud_T]

You could do Prestwick, Troon, Western Gailes and/or Turnberry, then head down to St. Andrews and do TOC, Carnoustie & Kingsbarns.  We did this trip and it was fantastic....

[mike_malone]

 Jason,

    Many of those second tier courses are on my list. I thought that some of the more avid golfers could play a second round on some days while the normal people do something else. For instance, if Muirfield were in the morning and N.Berwick was scheduled on another day some could try  Gullane. I wonder if the same idea works  for Fife.

[Ally Mcintosh]

That's a hard question Mike...

Even as a non-move-around-guy myself, I see the attraction of spending time in the two places.

It certainly beats driving to places on a daily basis. If I were to stay in one place, it would be to play courses (very) near to that one place.

[Marty Bonnar]

Mayday,
check your PMs.
cheers,
FBD.

[mike_malone]

 I think two places like St.Andrews and Edinburgh would be the preference.

[Kevin Pallier]

Mayday

I would recommend the St. Andrews and East Lothian split. No much distane between the two and a lot of quality golf courses. Some time in Edinburgh city would be a nice way for mine to break up the trip as well.

[Anthony Gray]

  5 days of golf with little travel is ideal to just stay In St Andrews.

  TOC
  Kingsbarns
  Crail
  Carnoustie
  North Berwick then afterwards stay beside the airport.

  Anthony

[Mike Policano]

Mayday, I recommend choosing either staying in St. Andrews and not driving more than 30 minutes for golf except Carnoustie or split time between St. A and North Berwick. Edinburgh is worth a day and night before you fly out.

Cheers

[Jeff Fortson]

Wherever you choose to stay... make sure to stop in Anstruther and go to Anstruther's Fish and Chips.  I would make the flight for that meal alone.

JF

[mike_malone]

 So, which courses other than TOC, Carnoustie, Muirfield, and N.Berwick would you play in these two areas ?

[Keith Phillips]

I endorse the idea of a 'two-stay' trip - 3+/- nights in St. Andrews followed by 3+/- nights in another center (Gullane, Troon...) - around St. Andrews I would actually opt for Kingsbarns over Carnoustie, other than the novelty value of playing a strong/tough Open venue (I just find Kingsbarns to be outstanding AND to be more fun...along with spectacular scenery...plus Kingsbarns saves 45+ minutes driving...each way)...I would play a day at Crail (Balcomie and Craighead)...very affordable and nice mix of classic old and modern links.  Many others in the area including Elie and Lundin, plus of course the other St. Andrews courses (none of which I have played!)

From St. Andrews, Troon and East Lothian are easily driveable within ~ 2 hours, but not ideal for day trips - you need to MOVE to one of the towns...Troon/Prestwick or Gullane/North Berwick...both are fabulous...whichever one you miss this trip you must cover next time...in Ayrshire you play Troon, Prestwick, Western Gailes, Turnberry etc (all classics)....in East Lothian you work everything around the Muirfiield calendar, and add North Berwick first, then Gullane, then some combination of Renaissance, Luffnes etc

[Andrew Mitchell]

So, which courses other than TOC, Carnoustie, Muirfield, and N.Berwick would you play in these two areas ?

In Fife you should look to play Kingsbarns, Elie, Crail & Lundin Links

In East Lothian you should consider Dunbar, Gullane, Kilspindie & Renaissance plus 9 holes with hickories at Musselburgh.  If you are playing Muirfield don't look for an afternoon round elsewhere, play 36 there. Have the lunch and then play foursomes in the afternoon. 

[Mark Chaplin]

The nice thing with staying in North Berwick for a few nights is the ease with which you can take a train into Edinburgh for the evening. It is a great city especially during the Fringe which lasts all of August, this year there are over 20000 performances of 2543 shows at 250 venues.

I leave for Edinburgh on Thursday for a 17 night trip around Scotland and I'm not even bothering to take my clubs...heresy!!

Scott & Andrew - no golf just Fringe, lots of hill walking, seafood and sightseeing

[Scott Warren]

Mayday,

Crail's Balcomie course may well have been the most pleasant golf course I have played in the UK. It's challenging enough, it has decent quirk, a bunch of very good holes, all-world scenery and a great clubhouse with views all the way to Carnoustie.

Then after lunch you can play Hanse's Craighead links.

I leave for Edinburgh on Thursday for a 17 night trip around Scotland and I'm not even bothering to take my clubs...heresy!!

What's that noise?

Sounds like Mrs C cracking the whip...

[Andrew Mitchell]

Mayday,

Crail's Balcomie course may well have been the most pleasant golf course I have played in the UK. It's challenging enough, it has decent quirk, a bunch of very good holes, all-world scenery and a great clubhouse with views all the way to Carnoustie.

Then after lunch you can play Hanse's Craighead links.

I leave for Edinburgh on Thursday for a 17 night trip around Scotland and I'm not even bothering to take my clubs...heresy!!

What's that noise?

Sounds like Mrs C cracking the whip...

Scott
Maybe he's just hiring clubs as & when required 

[Emil Weber]

Having just retourned from an unbelievably fantastic trip to Scotland, I would recommend travelling around as much as you can and play the courses you want to play for whatever reason!

And an advice for the Old Course in the main season... if you want to get out at a half-decent time, turn up by 4 am, not later....

[Scott Warren]

I have been wondering how your trip with your brother went, Emil. Please fill us in...

[Britt Rife]

I took my mother on a trip to Scotland last month and we stayed in just two places: Crail (beautiful town and a great B&B--The Hazelton) and Cruden Bay. 

From these locations, it was easy for us to play
Crail (Balcomie and Craighead)
St. Andrews
Elie
Lundin
Leven (totally underrated here on GCA, in my opinion)
 
Then we drove up the coast and played
Montrose
Scotscraig (I would have replaced that with Royal Aberdeen if I could have)
Cruden Bay

That had to be one of these easiest and most rewarding trips ever.  And you get a lot of Old Tom courses under your belt.

[mike_malone]

 Great ideas, thanks

[Tim Pitner]

Is Renaissance amenable to visitor play?  (I'm not looking for any secret passwords here). 

[Jason Topp]

The thing I liked about spending the entire week in St. Andrews was that you really start to get a feel for the town.  It is such a special place but most American visitors rush through.  By staying a week, you get to linger in the pubs, spend time at the University and the Ruins, speculate as to why that one path is called "Butts Wynd," linger around the 18th to watch excited visitors tee off and R&A club matches move through, look at spots where people got burned at the stake, get to know the baker around the corner and watch the sea move in and out.

Because the days are so long in the summer you can do all that while still playing 36 holes per day.  We often played 18 early in the morning, took a nap, ate lunch, lingered around the town and then played another 18 at 6 or 7 in the evening.   At least in 1992, you could play any of the courses other than the old course by just walking to the starters shack.

  

[mike_malone]

 Jason,

     I think it is good to have some flex in a golf trip. Is there a better place than St. Andrews for that?

[Tags:]

Tags:

[Tags:]

Tags:

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()