golf in scotland
ath...@ciaccess.com
I am planning a golfing trip to Scotland I would be interested in any
advice on courses to play, Guest Houses to stay in, things to see,
and places to eat. Please give details.
Richard Naylor
ath...@ciaccess.com wrote in article <32aef...@eclipse.wincom.net>...
> I am planning a golfing trip to Scotland I would be interested in any
> advice on courses to play, Guest Houses to stay in, things to see,
> and places to eat. Please give details.
>
My Dad, who's staying with me at the moment, has played Cullen Golf Club,
Nairn, Strathpeffer and some others that he can't remember. They were all
excellent, but are quite far in the north of Scotland. If I were you, I'd
get hold of a handbook of the Golf Courses of the British Isles...it'll
probably have most of the info in it that you'll want, including green fees
and local accommodation, club pro, etc. If you want to ask him anything
specific about the above clubs, feel free to send us an e...tomorrow or
Saturday at the latest.
Regards
Richard Naylor
FredEoff
If you can get a tee-time, the Old Course is a must if for no other reason
than history. My personal favorites are Carnoustie (tough, especially the
closing holes if the wind is up), and Turnberry. If budget is not a
difficulty, a stay in the Turnberry Hotel and a putting contest on the
green in front of the Hotel in the evening when the bagpiper does his
evening performance as the sun is setting is one of life's truly great
memories. Royal Dornoch in the north is pretty interesting, particularly
since it explains much about the golf course design tendencies of Donald
Ross. The drive north through the Highlands is stunning. I was impressed
also with Western Gailes. Old Prestwick is a pretty funky course, but
interesting from a historical perspective. Same general comment re Royal
Troon.
Good advice re a place to have a drink after the round: make friends with
your caddy and go where they go. If they think you are a decent sort, it
will result in a very memorable evening.
I have made three trips to Scotland, cannot wait to do it again.
Larry Clark
Acouple places that we really enjoyed were the Turnberry Hotel [a
little pricy], but worth it. Then at Troon there is a bed and breakfast
called the Half Penny Inn, I think. It was fabulous. Then there is a
castle called the Dalhause [Spelling is probably wrong] but it's like
dollhouse or Dallhousey. It has a dungeon for a restraunt and is a
really neat place to stay. I believe it's just out side of Glasgow.
Sorry for the Vagueness but it's been 8 years since my last trip.
Larry Clark
Dave Collard
In article <19961215211...@ladder01.news.aol.com> fred...@aol.com (FredEoff) writes:
> If you can get a tee-time, the Old Course is a must if for no other reason
> than history. My personal favorites are Carnoustie (tough, especially the
> closing holes if the wind is up), and Turnberry. If budget is not a
> difficulty, a stay in the Turnberry Hotel and a putting contest on the
> green in front of the Hotel in the evening when the bagpiper does his
> evening performance as the sun is setting is one of life's truly great
> memories.
FINALLY! Somebody who didn't skip Turnberry! I have read many accounts
in this newsgroup about trips to Scotland, including Dan King's
accounts on GolfWeb, and everybody seems to skip it. Yet reading
about Turnberry in Finegan's 'Blasted Heaths and Blessed Greens' just
about brought me to tears. FredE - does reality match the written word?
If I could play one and only one course it Scotland, it would be...
Turnberry
How about you?
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Mark Koenig
Dave Collard (th...@eru.alta-oh.com) wrote:
: FINALLY! Somebody who didn't skip Turnberry! I have read many accounts
: accounts on GolfWeb, and everybody seems to skip it. Yet reading
: about Turnberry in Finegan's 'Blasted Heaths and Blessed Greens' just
: about brought me to tears. FredE - does reality match the written word?
Dave,
Turnberry is a great course. I played it in '91 when I was there with
a group of 4. We even stayed one night at the Hotel. Truly a magical
experience. However, this summer, the quoted price (walk-on, not in hotel)
was 95 pounds. Dan and I did not see that as good value for the money.
We hit at least 3 other Finnegan courses for the same 95 pounds! *smile*
There are several courses that are a "must play" if you get to Scotland,
Turnberry is probably one, but I wouldn't list it as one of the Top 5,
certainly in the Top 10 though.
Good Putting!
Mark
--
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Hewlett Packard Company, Convex Division ||
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Chris Craig
In article <THOR.96De...@eru.alta-oh.com>,
Dave Collard <th...@alta-oh.com> wrote:
>FINALLY! Somebody who didn't skip Turnberry! I have read many accounts
>in this newsgroup about trips to Scotland, including Dan King's
>accounts on GolfWeb, and everybody seems to skip it. Yet reading
>about Turnberry in Finegan's 'Blasted Heaths and Blessed Greens' just
>about brought me to tears. FredE - does reality match the written word?
>
> Turnberry
>
>How about you?
Right now, it would probably be Muirfield, but that's only because I
played the Old Course and Royal Dornoch last summer, but couldn't get
on at Muirfield. Of the ones I have played, definitely Royal Dornoch.
I am another who skipped Turnberry because of the cost. It is
outrageously expensive to stay at the hotel, and very chancy if you
try to walk on (especially if you are golfing with others). If I had
been alone, I would have tried to walk on (heck, the L95 would have
been a much better value than the L90 we paid to play Royal Troon).
I think the only way I will stay there is if I get my employer to pay
for it (a scam that I actually worked in 1995 at the Old Course
Hotel in St. Andrews).
For anyone interested, here's the itinerary we followed. It seemed
spectacular at the time, but then I saw Dan King's :-)
(http://www.golfweb.com/library/dking/index.html)
06/16 Machrihanish
06/17 Machrihanish (36 holes)
06/18 off
06/19 Prestwick, Western Gailes
06/20 St. Andrews (Old)
06/21 St. Andrews (Old)
06/22 St. Andrews (Old), St. Andrews (Jubilee)
06/23 Carnoustie
06/24 Cruden Bay
06/25 Royal Aberdeen
06/26 Nairn, Royal Dornoch
06/27 Royal Dornoch (36 holes)
06/28 Royal Dornoch (36 holes)
06/29 off
06/30 off
07/01 Royal Troon (Old), Royal Troon (Portland)
When I go back (and I *will* go back) my priorities will be the East
Lothian courses (North Berwick, Gullane, Muirfield if possible),
Turnberry, and Royal Dornoch. I probably will try to get back down to
Machrihanish as well.
Chris
Doug Siebert
ath...@ciaccess.com writes:
>I am planning a golfing trip to Scotland I would be interested in any
>advice on courses to play, Guest Houses to stay in, things to see,
>and places to eat. Please give details.
In Troon, I'd recommend the Marine Highland Hotel. A really nice sort of
Victorianesque hotel that overlooks the 18th fairway of Royal Troon. A bit
pricey, but it is great to wake up and be a wedge shot from the clubhouse of
one of the great courses in the world. In general though, you will probably
be happier just picking a B&B that looks good from the road or a guidebook
recommends, that's the real Scottish travel experience, not luxury hotels
like the one at Turnberry (which, while nice, is too much like New England
resort hotels -- it feels like it belongs in Vermont :)
I enjoyed all the courses I played there (both Troon, both Turnberry, Old
and New at St. Andrews, Prestwick, Carnoustie, plus a few others I can't
recall at the moment) except for Royal Dornoch. I liked the drive up there
and the visit to Loch Ness along the way better than the course itself. It
seemed rather plain to me, and lacked the subtle extras you notice in the
other great courses, IMHO. And no, it wasn't a case of my playing badly
there, I did pretty well, almost broke 80, which is pretty good for me on my
first visit to a championship course.
I missed out on Muirfield, I hope you are going there -- though you have to
reserve a long time in advance so unless you are planning this trip for '98
you'd better already have reservations there or know someone.
And make sure you play Prestwick. Its less popular since it isn't as "up to
date" as the others and hasn't been a real championship test for many years
due to its short length. But the first dozen or so Opens were played there,
and unlikely all the other courses it hasn't changed since those days. You
have to see it to believe it. Get a caddie, otherwise you'll get lost trying
to find the next tee (I'm not kidding) And the fact you're playing a 260
yard par 4 from the tips (this is #15 if I recall) is somewhat migigated by
the fact you have a completely blind tee shot to a 14 yard wide fairway with
foot deep rough on either side. I split the fairway with a one iron on that
hole (thanks to my caddie telling me exactly where to aim) but I still got a
six. That huge yawning bunker in the front right is deceiving :)
--
Douglas Siebert Director of Computing Facilities
douglas...@uiowa.edu Division of Mathematical Sciences, U of Iowa
Ack! My reality check just bounced!!
James
>>If I could play one and only one course it Scotland, it would be...
>> Turnberry
>>
>>How about you?
>
>Right now, it would probably be Muirfield, but that's only because I
>played the Old Course and Royal Dornoch last summer, but couldn't get
>on at Muirfield. Of the ones I have played, definitely Royal Dornoch.
What's the deal with Muirfield? I understand it's very difficult to get
on there although the book that just came out entitled something like
"Golf in the British Isles" says its open to some outside play on
Tuesdays and Thursdays and that the fee is L77 for the day.
Can anyone verify this or explain how to get on there - if there is
a way? Is it easier getting on there as a single golfer?
>For anyone interested, here's the itinerary we followed. It seemed
>spectacular at the time, but then I saw Dan King's :-)
>(http://www.golfweb.com/library/dking/index.html)
>
Actually, both itineraries lood pretty good to me. I'm hoping to spend a
week in Scotland this summer, playing the links along the east coast in
what would be my first time around. Reading these posts about the
various experiences there makes me quite envious.
James
Norman Unsworth
Chris Craig wrote:
>
> In article <THOR.96De...@eru.alta-oh.com>,
> Dave Collard <th...@alta-oh.com> wrote:
> >FINALLY! Somebody who didn't skip Turnberry! I have read many accounts
> >in this newsgroup about trips to Scotland, including Dan King's
> >accounts on GolfWeb, and everybody seems to skip it. Yet reading
> >about Turnberry in Finegan's 'Blasted Heaths and Blessed Greens' just
> >about brought me to tears. FredE - does reality match the written word?
> >
> > Turnberry
> >
> >How about you?
>
> Right now, it would probably be Muirfield, but that's only because I
> played the Old Course and Royal Dornoch last summer, but couldn't get
> on at Muirfield. Of the ones I have played, definitely Royal Dornoch.
>
> outrageously expensive to stay at the hotel, and very chancy if you
> try to walk on (especially if you are golfing with others). If I had
> been alone, I would have tried to walk on (heck, the L95 would have
> been a much better value than the L90 we paid to play Royal Troon).
> I think the only way I will stay there is if I get my employer to pay
> for it (a scam that I actually worked in 1995 at the Old Course
> Hotel in St. Andrews).
>
> spectacular at the time, but then I saw Dan King's :-)
> (http://www.golfweb.com/library/dking/index.html)
>
> 06/17 Machrihanish (36 holes)
> 06/18 off
> 06/19 Prestwick, Western Gailes
> 06/20 St. Andrews (Old)
> 06/21 St. Andrews (Old)
> 06/22 St. Andrews (Old), St. Andrews (Jubilee)
> 06/23 Carnoustie
> 06/24 Cruden Bay
> 06/25 Royal Aberdeen
> 06/26 Nairn, Royal Dornoch
> 06/27 Royal Dornoch (36 holes)
> 06/28 Royal Dornoch (36 holes)
> 06/29 off
> 06/30 off
> 07/01 Royal Troon (Old), Royal Troon (Portland)
>
> When I go back (and I *will* go back) my priorities will be the East
> Lothian courses (North Berwick, Gullane, Muirfield if possible),
> Turnberry, and Royal Dornoch. I probably will try to get back down to
> Machrihanish as well.
>
> Chris
What a wonderful itinerary. I've only dreamed of playing Scotland but
Macrihanish, Aberdeen, Cruden Bay, the Old Course and Dornach would all
be on my itinerary, except tha Machrihanish is so far out of the way. I
heard of it through 'To The Linksland' and would be interested in
hearing yoru account of the course and your trip there. How long and
difficult was it to get to? Since you started there, how did you get
into the country - did you fly in then travel there directly?
--
Norman Unsworth, Owner
Clark Systems Custom Golf
http://home.earthlink.net/~clarksystems/
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Chris Craig
In article <32BFE6...@earthlink.net>,
Norman Unsworth <clarks...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>What a wonderful itinerary. I've only dreamed of playing Scotland but
>Macrihanish, Aberdeen, Cruden Bay, the Old Course and Dornach would all
>be on my itinerary, except tha Machrihanish is so far out of the way. I
>heard of it through 'To The Linksland' and would be interested in
>hearing yoru account of the course and your trip there. How long and
>difficult was it to get to? Since you started there, how did you get
>into the country - did you fly in then travel there directly?
We flew into Glasgow from Boston (via JFK) on British Airways,
arriving early Sunday morning. It's about a 3.5 hour drive to
Machrihanish. The road gets progressively narrower as you travel
further and further down the Mull of Kintyre. For someone who has
never driven on the left hand side of the road, it would probably be
stressful, but I had some experience from a trip the year before.
Macrihanish is a tiny little village -- the course is definitely the
sole tourist attraction We stayed at the wonderful Ardell House, so
close to the course that you can easily walk to the first tee. We
spent some time talking with the owner -- he said that he owed a huge
debt to Michael Bamberger. Since 'To The Linksland' was published,
his business has tripled. Over 80% of his customers are golfers.
Despite its newfound "fame", Macrihanish is still very uncrowded
as compared to the other courses we played. We had no problem making
tee times for that afternoon, and the next day as well. The play is
very quick. I consider myself a fast golfer in the US, but I'm no
better than average in Scotland. None of our rounds took more than
three hours, but we were played through several times by locals :-)
Part of this was undoubtedly because they knew the course much better
than we did. There are numerous blind tee shots that cause a first
time player to take a little extra time.
The course itself is an incredible amount of fun. Bamberger does a
better job of describing the holes than I can do, but I'll just
mention a couple that stick out. As everyone who goes there remarks,
the opening tee shot is probably the best in the game. It's a good
thing there's room to bail out to the right, although you are left
with a blind second from a bad angle to a wildly undulating green.
All the holes from #1 through #8 are nothing short of spectacular.
The dunesland is so dramatic, and the holes are routed brilliantly
through, over and around them. The inward half is less visually
exciting, but probably more difficult, since they generally play into
the wind. The back to back par 3s (15 and 16) are very good holes.
In fact, the only two holes I didn't think much of were #11
(half-blind uphill par 3 to an uninteresting green) and #18 (a truly
uninspired finishing hole built on flat land).
It is definitely worth the trip. Macrihanish is currently my third
favorite course in Scotland, behind only Royal Dornoch and The Old
Course.
Chris