Open Days in Scotland - Where Would You Play?

[Sean Ogle]

Hi everyone, I'm looking for a little bit of your expert feedback.


I'll be in Scotland for a few days early next month and am trying to figure out where else to play.


Criteria are that I want to play some place new, and that I don't mind driving. I'll be a single, and in a perfect world would like to play the Old Course - just not sure about securing a tee time. Also thinking Prestwick could be interesting, as I'll be flying in and out of Glasgow.

• Friday: Machrihanish
• Saturday Open
• Sunday: Open
• Monday: Castle Stuart
• Tuesday: Open
• Wednesday: Loch Lomond

I've already played:

• Turnberry
• Royal Troon
• North Berwick
• Cruden Bay
• Royal Dornoch
• Trump International
• Carnoustie,
• New Course
• Kingsbarns

If it were you, where would you play? I've been toying with the idea of driving down south to play Royal Birkdale and Royal Lytham & St. Annes but that would make for a very long Sunday driving all the way back north to Castle Stuart for a morning tee time.


Any opinions are appreciated. Thanks!

[Bill_McBride]

There are two more courses near Macrihanish worth staying on to play, Macrihanish Dunes and Machrie.  Staying in one place for several days is a great way to get better acquainted with Scotland. 

[Mark Pritchett]

Gleneagles

[Sean Ogle]

There are two more courses near Macrihanish worth staying on to play, Macrihanish Dunes and Machrie.  Staying in one place for several days is a great way to get better acquainted with Scotland.

That would definitely be my preference, but will need to drive back up to Glasgow to take my friend to the airport for a Saturday morning flight.


We're spending a few days on Islay beforehand, as that was actually the original purpose of the trip. But naturally had to say a little longer for some golf!


And Mark, I'd totally forgotten about Gleneagles. That could be a good option.

[Drew Groeger]

Sean,
Not sure what days next month you will be in Scotland but the Old Course will be closed Oct 3-10 for the Dunhill Championships.
Drew

[Sean Ogle]

Sean,
Not sure what days next month you will be in Scotland but the Old Course will be closed Oct 3-10 for the Dunhill Championships.
Drew

Of course it will be! Last time I was in Scotland it was closed for the annual R&A meeting.


That Tuesday I have free would be the 11th. But I'm guessing being right after the tournament, getting a tee time will be even more difficult. Thanks for the heads up.

[Andy Shulman]

The Saturday airport drop and having Castle Stuart on the books for Monday will force you to do a lot of driving, which you probably already knew.  Any chance you can move CS to Sunday, playing Gleneagles or Prestwick en route on Saturday?  That would open up Mon to get to Fife Tues to try and get on the Old Course, which - closure aside - should be pretty doable in early October.  If not, consider Brora - 1 1/2 hours past Castle Stuart - on Sunday.

And, if time permits, try Dunaverty on Friday after playing Machrihanish.  You'll be glad you did, it's only a 15-20 minute drive from one to the other and the 4,800 yard course can comfortably walked in a little over two hours.

[David_Tepper]

Sean O. -

If you are making the effort to drive all the way north to Castle Stuart, you might want to think about playing Nairn.

While my preference is certainly Royal Dornoch over Nairn, the latter is a very good course and is very close (within 15 miles) to Castle Stuart.

DT

[Sean Ogle]

The Saturday airport drop and having Castle Stuart on the books for Monday will force you to do a lot of driving, which you probably already knew.  Any chance you can move CS to Sunday, playing Gleneagles or Prestwick en route on Saturday?  That would open up Mon to get to Fife Tues to try and get on the Old Course, which - closure aside - should be pretty doable in early October.  If not, consider Brora - 1 1/2 hours past Castle Stuart - on Sunday.

And, if time permits, try Dunaverty on Friday after playing Machrihanish.  You'll be glad you did, it's only a 15-20 minute drive from one to the other and the 4,800 yard course can comfortably walked in a little over two hours.

Yeah gonna have to high tail it back north immediately after the round at Machrihanish, but Brora could definitely be interesting. And won't be able to change CS due to their availability.

Sean O. -

If you are making the effort to drive all the way north to Castle Stuart, you might want to think about playing Nairn.

While my preference is certainly Royal Dornoch over Nairn, the latter is a very good course and is very close (within 15 miles) to Castle Stuart.

DT

Dornoch is one of my 3 favorite courses all time, so that is the one I definitely have considered playing again. Didn't realize Nairn is so close though, so will look into doing that!

[Bill_McBride]

The Saturday airport drop and having Castle Stuart on the books for Monday will force you to do a lot of driving, which you probably already knew.  Any chance you can move CS to Sunday, playing Gleneagles or Prestwick en route on Saturday?  That would open up Mon to get to Fife Tues to try and get on the Old Course, which - closure aside - should be pretty doable in early October.  If not, consider Brora - 1 1/2 hours past Castle Stuart - on Sunday.

And, if time permits, try Dunaverty on Friday after playing Machrihanish.  You'll be glad you did, it's only a 15-20 minute drive from one to the other and the 4,800 yard course can comfortably walked in a little over two hours.

Yeah gonna have to high tail it back north immediately after the round at Machrihanish, but Brora could definitely be interesting. And won't be able to change CS due to their availability.

Sean O. -

If you are making the effort to drive all the way north to Castle Stuart, you might want to think about playing Nairn.

While my preference is certainly Royal Dornoch over Nairn, the latter is a very good course and is very close (within 15 miles) to Castle Stuart.

DT

Dornoch is one of my 3 favorite courses all time, so that is the one I definitely have considered playing again. Didn't realize Nairn is so close though, so will look into doing that!

Nairn has some of the best greens I've ever played.

Lots of driving, beware speed cameras!

[Phil Lipper]

I would certainly not miss Dornoch, I would also play Nairn when you are in that area

[C. Sturges]

Sean,
If you have not played Prestwick, it would be my first to visit.  Are you playing Machrihanish Dunes?  It is really worth seeing, and you are right next door.   On the way to Castle Stuart I would recommend playing Boat of Garten.  It is a lot of fun.  Nairn is great for its proximity to Castle Stuart, but is not going to wow you or excite you in my opinion as Boat of Garten or Brora.  Both are very special places, and make a trip to Scotland so enjoyable.  I was there about the same time of year and played both Castle Stuart and Brora on the same day.  A great day!
chris

[Adrian_Stiff]

When you plan your travel in Scotland it is hard to average much more than 40mph when you are North of Glasgow and Edinburgh. Scotland is a wee country but some of the great courses are a day's drive apart. Machrihanish is a long way from the others.

[Charles Lund]

When I went to Scotland on my first trip, I was up in Dornoch and left to travel to Fort William.   I drove about four hours, stopping at Urghardt Castle and stayed overnight in Fort William.  The next morning I drove to Machrihanish and think it took just under four hours.  It is a long haul from there to Prestwick or Glasgow.

I think the point someone else made about spending more time in one area is well taken.  The Castle Stuart Machrihanish combination sets up a lot of driving time.

I'd suggest a) Machrihanish with Prestwick or b) Castle Stusrt with Nairn to Dornoch or Cruden Bay and back toward Glasgow.

Daylight hours will be shorter by October.

There is no reason you can't come back again another time.

Charles Lund

[Tom_Doak]

There are three courses reviewed in The Confidential Guide that are pretty much on the direct route from Loch Lomond to Inverness/Castle Stuart:


Killin
Pitlochry [slightly out of the way; but on the direct route north from Glasgow]
Boat of Garten


I'd recommend any of the three as a fun stop and a way to experience a different version of Scottish golf.  Brora is better than all of these, but a detour.  Nairn is okay, if you just want to stick to links courses.

[Sean Ogle]

Thanks for all of the suggestions everyone!


Yeah it's a weird trip in terms of timing and routing. After we take the ferry over from Islay it's only a little over an hour to get down to Machrihanish, and then I've gotta be back up to Glasgow that night so my friend can catch his flight. I've always wanted to play there for some reason, so making the effort.


I wish I could stick around longer and play M. Dunes and Dunaverty.


Thinking I will probably drive north from Glasgow early Saturday morning and possibly even go all the way north to play Brora and Dornoch again, considering the weather was pretty bad last time I was there.


You all brought up some courses I never would have known about, so thanks for the recommendations!


Anyone have any thoughts on the likelihood of getting on The Old Course that Tuesday if I were to drive back from Castle Stuart that afternoon?


Really want to play, but also very much agree that it's best to stay and experience one area as much as possible. Never been very good at that part when planning my Scotland trips ha.

[Andy Shulman]

You're not the first to drive hither and yon when visiting Scotland.


Your best bet for playing the Old Course is to get somewhere Monday night that will enable you to line up at the starter's shack well before the first tee time, which will be around 8 AM.  Back in October 2003, I showed up in the dark at around 6:30 AM, wearing warm clothes, and was paying as a single before 8:30 AM.  Given all the other driving you're doing on this trip, you should go for it.  Worst case, you can play the Eden or head down to Crail or Elie, none of which are on your "already played" list.


By the way, +1 for Boat of Garten and Pitlochry looks like a fun option as well.  You'll pass by both towns en route to Castle Stuart.

[Ryan Coles]

I wonder if Boat of Garton might have put up their greenfee. They ought to, it's great fun and in surrey minus the Cairngorms would be x 3 the fee.

My approach to golf in Scotland is exhaust the highlands first.

[Ian Mackenzie]

Make the drive to Brora as it is worth it and your schedule appears to allow the time.
It's only 90 minutes from Inverness and the drive is beuatiful.


For that matter, play Dornoch again!!

[Stephen Northrup]

If you have the time to play 36 holes on the day before or after Castle Stuart, it's worth the trip to Dornoch and Brora versus Nairn.

[Niall C]

Sean

There are a ton of lovely old fashioned courses with quirk that I could suggest but looking at your itinerary you seem intent in driving all over the country to play the big courses. Given your schedule I'd suggest you might want to have a look at playing some of the nine holers for a complete change of pace to the big courses you are playing and there are a number I'd be happy to recommend, and indeed did suggest a couple on the Boat of Garten thread.

There was a pocket sized book that came out several years ago on Scotlands nine holers that while not great (the pictures often didn't match up to the photos) would give you some ideas where to play. The advantages are they can be played quickly, including a second go round if you wish, and relatively cheap.

As Tom D says, it would give you a different view of Scottish golf.

Niall

[Thomas Dai]

I've already played:

• Turnberry
• Royal Troon
• North Berwick
• Cruden Bay
• Royal Dornoch
• Trump International
• Carnoustie,
• New Course
• Kingsbarns

You played CB and TI but missed the best course in that area......Royal Aberdeen.


Atb

[Eric_Terhorst]

Brora is a must if you're anywhere near it, which you are with Castle Stuart.

 I hate to contradict my friend David Tepper, but I would skip Nairn to play Brora or Golspie any time.

[Sean_A]

Sean


Being in Glasgow Sat AM you are very close to Prestwick.  I would look to play a PM game there.  If not, try Turnberry, the course has been totally revamped adn won't be the same one you played. 


Heading north for Sunday, try Gleneagles or the Boat...though Pitlochry would be the one I would try to play. If all of those fail, I would shoot for Moray.  There is little point in adding 3 more hours of windshield time for Brora on an already crowded schedule....save it for another trip. 


I wouldn't try for St Andrews either coming back south.  Stick to the courses on the way to Loch Lomond. 


Of course...you could blow out the entire deal of driving around after the airport run and just get on a plane for a 1 nighter at Askernish....that is what I would research first and foremost.


Ciao

[Sean Ogle]

Thomas, Yes it was closed for a tournament last time I was there - and was one I've definitely considered on this trip.


After listening to so many people rave about Boat of Garten both here and in the other thread, I think I'm going to try and play there on Saturday.


Then head up north and try and do Brora and Royal Dornoch again.


Castle Stuart on Monday. Then drive to St. Andrews that night and hope I get lucky with the lottery.


A ton of driving, but that's part of the adventure right.


Thank you all SO much for the thoughts, recommendations, and suggestions. I'm also planning to do a video blog of the trip, so if anyone is interested in that I can share a link when I post the first video.