Trip Advice - Scotland

[Bill_McBride]

The Dublin-Inverness flight makes a lot of sense.  I flew Gatwick - Inverness.  It's a very nice little airport and very close to Nairn and Castle Stuart.  And not fat from Tain and Dornoch.  Tain is the home of Glenmorangie as well as Tain Golf Club, a well preserved Old Tom Morris. 

[David_Tepper]

"The Dublin-Inverness flight makes a lot of sense."

Bill -

I am 99% sure there is no current air service between Dublin & Inverness. Aer Arran used to fly that route, but they no longer do so.

DT

[Bill_McBride]

"The Dublin-Inverness flight makes a lot of sense."

Bill -

I am 99% sure there is no current air service between Dublin & Inverness. Aer Arran used to fly that route, but they no longer do so.

DT

Somebody mentioned it above.  

Thomas Dai in post #9 says Flybe has that route.  

----  checked Flybe, no Dublin-Inverness listed.  Too bad!

[David_Tepper]

Bill McBride -

As a matter of fact, FLYBE is no longer flying the Gatwick-Inverness route. EASYJET is the only carrier currently on that route.

DT

[Thomas Dai]

"The Dublin-Inverness flight makes a lot of sense."

Bill -

I am 99% sure there is no current air service between Dublin & Inverness. Aer Arran used to fly that route, but they no longer do so.

DT

Somebody mentioned it above.  

Thomas Dai in post #9 says Flybe has that route.  

----  checked Flybe, no Dublin-Inverness listed.  Too bad!

I did indeed mention a Dub-Inv route, but no longer valid.

There is though a Belfast City-Inverness flight with Flybe. Suggest you check the exact flight details carefully however, midweek some flights are direct and some are non-direct/change, not sure about at weekends. Also, don't just assume you have to pay to take your clubs on the 'plane - you may be able to take your clubs as 'hold' baggage (instead of a large suitcase) and thus save some £$ if you then take your cloths etc as 'hand baggage'. Check the details.

atb

[jeffwarne]

"The Dublin-Inverness flight makes a lot of sense."

Bill -

I am 99% sure there is no current air service between Dublin & Inverness. Aer Arran used to fly that route, but they no longer do so.

DT

Somebody mentioned it above.  

Thomas Dai in post #9 says Flybe has that route.  

----  checked Flybe, no Dublin-Inverness listed.  Too bad!

I did indeed mention a Dub-Inv route, but no longer valid.

There is though a Belfast City-Inverness flight with Flybe. Suggest you check the exact flight details carefully however, midweek some flights are direct and some are non-direct/change, not sure about at weekends. Also, don't just assume you have to pay to take your clubs on the 'plane - you may be able to take your clubs as 'hold' baggage (instead of a large suitcase) and thus save some £$ if you then take your cloths etc as 'hand baggage'. Check the details.

atb

all a bit of a moot point given he's flying out of Shannon.
The drive from EDI to Dornoch is the easiest , surest route as opposed to hoping flight changes and luggage transfers work

[Chris Haspell]

There is a Belfast Inverness if that helps at all, there are also a flights from Birmingham-Inverness, Bristol-Inverness, Gatwick -Inverness Manchester-Inverness  so its pretty easy to get here . no matter what you decide you are going to play some great courses

Chris    

[Ally Mcintosh]

Patrick,

Edinburgh to Inverness is 2.5 hours by road which is less journey than any other extra commute you need to make to get to an airport that flies to Inverness.

Shannon-Edinburgh then head north. St Andrews will add 2.5 hours to your journey time if you decide to add that in (over 1 hour each way to your journey north). Aberdeen will add about the same. Both together will add an extra 3.5 hours

[Jon Wiggett]

Ally is right if all goes perfectly but it usually take me around the 3 hour mark from Inverness and they are installing average speed cameras from Perth to Inverness on all single carriageway sections of the A9 so care sticking to the speed limit will be advisable.

Jon

[Patrick Glynn]

Gents - appreciate all the comments and suggestions. Flights are booked into Edinburgh at 12:30 on Monday and out of Edinburgh at 17:10 on the Friday.

On a separate but related note - does anyone have links to good photo tours of Royal Dornoch?

Thanks,

Patrick

[Tim_Weiman]

My advice is to maximize Dornoch and minimize travel.  Play one round at Golspie and Brora and 1-2 at Castle Stuart--both for the unique experiences that they offer but more importantly, to compare and contrast.  Spend the rest of the time at Dornoch and play as much golf as you can (in late May the sun rises ~5am and sets ~10pm).  All 4 of the courses on this itinerary are interesting, but Dornoch is very special, and a fount of practical knowledge for anybody interested in golf course architecture.

Yes, I am biased, having visited Dornoch annually for over 36 years and being a member there since 1981, but that bias is very much experience-based, and I would not suggest such an itinerary if I did not think it was the best one for you and your Dad, given your parameters.  Regardless, Enjoy!

Rich

Rich,

Nothing wrong with your "experienced based bias". Though it is somewhat understandable - the desire to see lots of famous courses - I have always felt Americans run around too much rather than settling in at one location.

[Stan Dodd]

Patrick,
Photos form RDGC website.
http://www.royaldornoch.com/Gallery

[Thomas Dai]

Gents - appreciate all the comments and suggestions. Flights are booked into Edinburgh at 12:30 on Monday and out of Edinburgh at 17:10 on the Friday.
On a separate but related note - does anyone have links to good photo tours of Royal Dornoch?
Thanks,
Patrick

Patrick - extremely comprehensive RDGC photographs on Frank Pont's specialist course photo website -

http://golfarchitecturepictures.com/Web%20Galleries/Scotland/Royal%20Dornoch%201/index.html

Lots of courses worth 'photo-exploring' on the website, not just RDGC.

atb

[Brent Hutto]

My advice is to maximize Dornoch and minimize travel.  Play one round at Golspie and Brora and 1-2 at Castle Stuart--both for the unique experiences that they offer but more importantly, to compare and contrast.  Spend the rest of the time at Dornoch and play as much golf as you can (in late May the sun rises ~5am and sets ~10pm).  All 4 of the courses on this itinerary are interesting, but Dornoch is very special, and a fount of practical knowledge for anybody interested in golf course architecture.

Yes, I am biased, having visited Dornoch annually for over 36 years and being a member there since 1981, but that bias is very much experience-based, and I would not suggest such an itinerary if I did not think it was the best one for you and your Dad, given your parameters.  Regardless, Enjoy!

Rich

Rich,

Nothing wrong with your "experienced based bias". Though it is somewhat understandable - the desire to see lots of famous courses - I have always felt Americans run around too much rather than settling in at one location.

Since my first trip in 2006 my plans have gradually evolved into having one course that I'll play for several rounds over multiple days, iwth a couple rounds at other courses coming and going to the "main" destination course. A month after I return home, my memories of a course I've played 3+ times are much richer than my already-fading recollection of a place where I was only on the property for four hours.

[John Crowley]

Gents - appreciate all the comments and suggestions. Flights are booked into Edinburgh at 12:30 on Monday and out of Edinburgh at 17:10 on the Friday.
On a separate but related note - does anyone have links to good photo tours of Royal Dornoch?
Thanks,
Patrick

Patrick - extremely comprehensive RDGC photographs on Frank Pont's specialist course photo website -

http://golfarchitecturepictures.com/Web%20Galleries/Scotland/Royal%20Dornoch%201/index.html

Lots of courses worth 'photo-exploring' on the website, not just RDGC.

atb

Comprehensive , yes!
Just a brief review causes me to wonder why I am not there right now.

[Bill_McBride]

My advice is to maximize Dornoch and minimize travel.  Play one round at Golspie and Brora and 1-2 at Castle Stuart--both for the unique experiences that they offer but more importantly, to compare and contrast.  Spend the rest of the time at Dornoch and play as much golf as you can (in late May the sun rises ~5am and sets ~10pm).  All 4 of the courses on this itinerary are interesting, but Dornoch is very special, and a fount of practical knowledge for anybody interested in golf course architecture.

Yes, I am biased, having visited Dornoch annually for over 36 years and being a member there since 1981, but that bias is very much experience-based, and I would not suggest such an itinerary if I did not think it was the best one for you and your Dad, given your parameters.  Regardless, Enjoy!

Rich

Rich,

Nothing wrong with your "experienced based bias". Though it is somewhat understandable - the desire to see lots of famous courses - I have always felt Americans run around too much rather than settling in at one location.

Since my first trip in 2006 my plans have gradually evolved into having one course that I'll play for several rounds over multiple days, iwth a couple rounds at other courses coming and going to the "main" destination course. A month after I return home, my memories of a course I've played 3+ times are much richer than my already-fading recollection of a place where I was only on the property for four hours.

Brent, it's really good if there's a nice dormy house to stay in.  Total immersion!

[cary lichtenstein]

My wife and I started in Dornock one year, stayed for 3 days, played 36 holes per day and had a wonderful time. Dornock got better each time and taught us the importance of playing great courses multiple times.

[Mark Chaplin]

Brent you are one of the few guys "who get it".

I know it's horses for courses but when I see the ten day itineraries with 14 links courses I wonder what people remember when they get home? A few nice ticks in the boxes but no real understanding of the courses.

[Sean_A]

I'm with Chappers 100% on this. Nothing more stressful than racing into the car straight after the round to make an hour long journey to the next course to beat the light. It's just knackering.

My ideal trip would be one or two bases, 18 holes a day, plenty of relax time in the clubhouse before and after and plenty of time to get ready for a nice dinner in the evening.

Brian

That is how I look at a "holiday" as well (and one reason I don't go for the BUDA very much), but different folks go for different things.  Even so, if I were looking for 36 a day, I would pick courses which are interesting enough to stick around for the day.  I usually find it odd when folks leave the parking lot of a great course in search of the next course for the afternoon  , but hey, some folks gotta roll that way.

Ciao

[Brent Hutto]

My advice is to maximize Dornoch and minimize travel.  Play one round at Golspie and Brora and 1-2 at Castle Stuart--both for the unique experiences that they offer but more importantly, to compare and contrast.  Spend the rest of the time at Dornoch and play as much golf as you can (in late May the sun rises ~5am and sets ~10pm).  All 4 of the courses on this itinerary are interesting, but Dornoch is very special, and a fount of practical knowledge for anybody interested in golf course architecture.

Yes, I am biased, having visited Dornoch annually for over 36 years and being a member there since 1981, but that bias is very much experience-based, and I would not suggest such an itinerary if I did not think it was the best one for you and your Dad, given your parameters.  Regardless, Enjoy!

Rich

Rich,

Nothing wrong with your "experienced based bias". Though it is somewhat understandable - the desire to see lots of famous courses - I have always felt Americans run around too much rather than settling in at one location.

Since my first trip in 2006 my plans have gradually evolved into having one course that I'll play for several rounds over multiple days, iwth a couple rounds at other courses coming and going to the "main" destination course. A month after I return home, my memories of a course I've played 3+ times are much richer than my already-fading recollection of a place where I was only on the property for four hours.

Brent, it's really good if there's a nice dormy house to stay in.  Total immersion!

I think so, too. That's the plan for this year. Pitch up at Royal St. Davids on a Friday morning, stay in their dormie house for three nights and play five rounds of golf. Then catch the first train Monday morning to Aberdovey for a morning round then from there to Manchester and back home. Maximum golf in what's basically a long-weekend trip.

P.S. And a bargain, too. The train ticket from Manchester and return, five rounds at Harlech, one at Aberdovey and three night accomodation with breakfast is going to be less then 300 pounds all in.

[Carl Johnson]

Fly into Glascow, stay in Troon, and play Ayershire courses.

[Patrick Glynn]

Just to follow up on this one - we ended up having a great trip.

Itinerary


Monday - flew to Edinburgh, drove to Cruden Bay & played a lovely afternoon round.

Tuesday - first out at Trump, lunch at Royal Aberdeen & an afternoon round at Royal Aberdeen (only rain of the trip)

Wednesday - 36 holes at Castle Stuart (the surprise package of the trip).

Thursday - morning round at Royal Dornoch with David Tepper (a wonderful host - thank you), followed up with a twilight round (we enjoyed it that much!).

Friday - first out at Dornoch - shot 75 and was done by 09:35. Depression Central driving to Edinburgh & flying home.

More to follow on the courses - all were incredibly enjoyable experiences - would probably rate as follows :

1. Royal Dornoch
2. Castle Stuart
3. Royal Aberdeen
4. Trump
5. Cruden Bay

[Jim Nugent]

You're not getting away with it that easily, Patrick! Talk to us about Trump! Best course in the world? 

Brian, apparently it's not the best course in Aberdeen. 

[Niall C]

Brian

For Balmedie to crack the top 3 in Aberdeen then presumably you are putting it on top of Murcar which seems a bit harsh on Murcar to me but each to their own.

Patrick

You refer to CS as being a surprise package, how so ?

Niall