July 2019 - Scotland Wedding/Golf Trip Report (lots of pics)

ceejay81 · August 14, 2019

**North Berwick**

For the final few days of our trip, we stayed in Edinburgh. It's a very cool city and we enjoyed it very much. On Wednesday 7/24, I had an 11am tee time at North Berwick. We had turned in our rental car when getting to Edinburgh, so I had to take the train to the course. So I walked through the streets of Edinburgh, carrying my golf bag, and wearing my Ecco's. It was about a 40-45 minute ride, so not too bad at all. It's so convenient as the train station is a couple hundred yards away from the golf course.

Once I got checked in, I walked the grounds a bit and hit some putts. The town looks so cool. So many old buildings nearby as well as some big houses. I would be spoiled if I could play here every day. The rocks in the distance of the sea made for excellent scenery. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, too. It was in the mid 70's and breezy.

No idea how others feel about this, but I was the only one in my group to request a caddie. The other 3 guys requested one on the day of play, but they don't have caddies hanging out ready to go. So of course, this makes my caddie the defacto forecaddie of the group with those guys asking questions constantly. My caddie helped them out as much as he could and the other guys did throw him some tip money, but in general, I was disappointed not to have the 100% attention of my own caddie. In fairness, he did an awesome job. His name is Finley and he's one of the top amateur golfers in the UK, from what it sounds like.

I had 5 bogeys on the front for a 41. On the back, it was a bit of a different story. I had three 3 putts, a double on 14, and a triple on 16 for a 45. Aaannnddd again, I tied my career low with an 86. I hit the ball fairly well all day. On the 7th hole, I pulled my tee shot left into some thick rough with a bad lie, so I had to punch out. It left me with a 60-65 yard pitch over the burn. I clicked it perfectly and it fed all the way to the hole just before stopping on the edge. My double on 14 - I got to the tee box and my caddie says "the bunkers down the middle are 250, but we can't get there. Here is your driver." I didn't argue with him, because generally that's a correct statement 100% of the time. Well it figures I piped one as well as I could hit it, and I ended up in the bunker through the fairway.

I made an incredible par on 15, the original Redan. I pulled my tee shot to the left of the green, hole high, but in some long grass just left of the greenside bunker. It was a nasty lie, but I was able to hack it out into the hill in front of me and it popped up onto the green. It settled about 3 inches from the cup for a tap in par. My caddie went nuts.

Redan

View from my stance.

My Target

This course was just so much fun to play. There are so many types of shots you can hit - can run it up, can fly it there, can either putt or chip anything near the greens. So much imagination can go into playing these courses. North Berwick was spectacular. The views combined with some fantastic golf holes makes this a truly special place. It's definitely a must play if you're out this way. Now for a bunch of pics. Enjoy!