Scotland 2020 Itinerary Help

[ChunkAndRun2]

Hey Guys,

 

Looking to start setting a Scotland trip for late April/early May 2020. This will just be me and two other guys, and I have been designated the planner for this trip and am looking for some feedback. If we are being honest because of young families, etc. this might be the only time we all get over there for quite some time and we only have a week. I tried to keep things to two/three regions but the allure of Cruden Bay is throwing off some planning. Overall, not looking to break the bank and frankly would rather play some lower budget/quirky courses than start adding other Open Rota venues into the schedule. I have two days slotted for golf in St. Andrews to give us a couple of cracks at the lottery/singles queue for the Old Course. What do you all think of this itinerary.

 

Day One: Flight into Edinburgh. Play Elie before jet lag sets in. Overnight in St. Andrews.

 

Day Two: Old Course. Overnight in St. Andrews.

 

Day Three: Jubilee and/or New Course. Overnight in St. Andrews

 

Day Four: Drive north early. Play Cruden Bay in the morning. Play Cullen in afternoon. Overnight in Inverness. Drink plentiful amounts of scotch.

 

Day Five: Play Brora in the morning. Drive to Aberlady. (I realize this is a long drive but I was trying to limit the amount of overnight accommodation changes by playing the East Lothian Courses on the back end instead of before Fife)

 

Day Six: Play North Berwick in the morning. Play Killspindie/Glen Golf Club in the afternoon.

 

Day Seven: Play Musselbrough Old in the morning (with hickories?). Fly home.

 

I realize that I have a lot packed in here, but am interested in your feedback and any suggestions you might have.

 

Thanks.

[robleighlefty89]

Wow - sounds like a great trip, don't blame you for trying to pack in as much golf as possible. I'm travelling to Cruden Bay this year to play there twice, Royal Aberdeen and Peterhead Golf Clubs.

 

In terms of money-saving advice, remember it is light until 9pm in May so twilight rounds are a definite option. This is a great way to play 'better' courses for less, another thing to consider are 'Day Tickets' which will allow you 36+ holes at courses. Peterhead for example is £65 for 18 or £90 for a day ticket - no brainer when you have over 15 hours of daylight at your disposal.

 

The driving around will be the killer, leaving early is fine but the night before might cause issue with that! I would plan a trip in a smaller area and then try to get back to Scotland another time. I know given your family dynamics this might not be easy to do, but cramming too much and compromising your enjoyment of the week would be worse surely. Would also say that if when you've enjoyed your trip you'll be wanting to go back anyway!

 

If you were to stay in one place - St. Andrews is an obvious starting point. I haven't yet done it, but I know there are 7 Day Tickets available - that's £440 for 7 days unlimited golf on their six courses (not the Old Course). You can then pay to play there one day (https://www.standrews.com/play/offers-packages/unlimited-golf)

 

Good luck in whatever you decide!

[davep043]

First, criticisms. You need to get a very comfortable car. Day 4 is insane, 2.5 hours driving, then golf, then 1.5 hours driving, more golf, then 1.5 hours more driving. You won't be drinking whisky when you get to Inverness, you'll be sleeping. Day 5 is lots of driving for little reward as well. I'd suggest you simplify, cut back to 2 primary locations, and eliminate what amounts to two full days of driving. That means two more full days of golf, or drinking, or exploring old towns. Also, I'm not sure why you picked Aberlady, but I suggest you reconsider. I stayed there last June, and would choose differently if I had it to do over.

 

St Andrews is a brilliant place to stay, you can play golf for the entire week and play a different and exciting course every day. I suggest you go directly there, don't stop and play Elie, go check in, have some lunch, and then try to walk on to one of the St Andrews courses. At 1 or 2 in the afternoon, you probably won't have a problem. You'll get the full impact of jet lag when you're on the 10th or 12th hole, but you'll be two miles from "civilization" so you'll play your way in. Play New, Jubilee, Crail, Elie, Lundin, Panmure, whatever suits your fancy, and try to get on the Old. If you want another location, East Lothian is lovely. North Berwick is great, the Glen is beautiful, Dunbar, Gullane, Kilspindie, Musselburgh Old was fun, lots of choices. Gullane appeared to have some nice places to stay and eat and drink, North Berwick had more. Aberlady was just a bit too small for my taste. Other "bases" to consider would be the Aberdeen area that Rob talks about above, or Ayrshire south of Glasgow.

But please simplify. You can drive all day when you're home, Scotland is much more fun to see on foot.

[ChunkAndRun2]

First, criticisms. You need to get a very comfortable car. Day 4 is insane, 2.5 hours driving, then golf, then 1.5 hours driving, more golf, then 1.5 hours more driving. You won't be drinking whisky when you get to Inverness, you'll be sleeping. Day 5 is lots of driving for little reward as well. I'd suggest you simplify, cut back to 2 primary locations, and eliminate what amounts to two full days of driving. That means two more full days of golf, or drinking, or exploring old towns. Also, I'm not sure why you picked Aberlady, but I suggest you reconsider. I stayed there last June, and would choose differently if I had it to do over.

 

St Andrews is a brilliant place to stay, you can play golf for the entire week and play a different and exciting course every day. I suggest you go directly there, don't stop and play Elie, go check in, have some lunch, and then try to walk on to one of the St Andrews courses. At 1 or 2 in the afternoon, you probably won't have a problem. You'll get the full impact of jet lag when you're on the 10th or 12th hole, but you'll be two miles from "civilization" so you'll play your way in. Play New, Jubilee, Crail, Elie, Lundin, Panmure, whatever suits your fancy, and try to get on the Old. If you want another location, East Lothian is lovely. North Berwick is great, the Glen is beautiful, Dunbar, Gullane, Kilspindie, Musselburgh Old was fun, lots of choices. Gullane appeared to have some nice places to stay and eat and drink, North Berwick had more. Aberlady was just a bit too small for my taste. Other "bases" to consider would be the Aberdeen area that Rob talks about above, or Ayrshire south of Glasgow.

But please simplify. You can drive all day when you're home, Scotland is much more fun to see on foot.

 

Thanks for the input! Aberlady was a recommendation from a friend who has family there. Not a strong commitment. North Berwick might be better overall for a place to stay anyhow.

 

In terms of Day 4/5 I am just having a hard time going across the pond and not getting to Cruden Bay. I suppose I could try to stay closer to Cullen instead of Inverness if I still want to hit the courses listed. If we decided to skip Brora, do you think making the drive up to Cruden and Back from St. Andrews is feasible for a day journey? Its quite literally top of my list in courses to play on the planet. If I did that it would mean one less move around and potentially another round or two in St. Andrews/Fife.

 

Any experience with Brora/Cullen? I feel like they are two of the "quirky" types of courses I was looking at. Will I kick myself for missing them?

[Pete O'Tube]

Cullen is very quirky and I would recommend it because of that. Brora is miles away. What about playing Nairn instead? It not far away and Tiger liked it! There's also Boat of Garten, an absolute gem designed by Braid. https://www.boatgolf.com/cms/

[davep043]

First, criticisms. You need to get a very comfortable car. Day 4 is insane, 2.5 hours driving, then golf, then 1.5 hours driving, more golf, then 1.5 hours more driving. You won't be drinking whisky when you get to Inverness, you'll be sleeping. Day 5 is lots of driving for little reward as well. I'd suggest you simplify, cut back to 2 primary locations, and eliminate what amounts to two full days of driving. That means two more full days of golf, or drinking, or exploring old towns. Also, I'm not sure why you picked Aberlady, but I suggest you reconsider. I stayed there last June, and would choose differently if I had it to do over.

 

St Andrews is a brilliant place to stay, you can play golf for the entire week and play a different and exciting course every day. I suggest you go directly there, don't stop and play Elie, go check in, have some lunch, and then try to walk on to one of the St Andrews courses. At 1 or 2 in the afternoon, you probably won't have a problem. You'll get the full impact of jet lag when you're on the 10th or 12th hole, but you'll be two miles from "civilization" so you'll play your way in. Play New, Jubilee, Crail, Elie, Lundin, Panmure, whatever suits your fancy, and try to get on the Old. If you want another location, East Lothian is lovely. North Berwick is great, the Glen is beautiful, Dunbar, Gullane, Kilspindie, Musselburgh Old was fun, lots of choices. Gullane appeared to have some nice places to stay and eat and drink, North Berwick had more. Aberlady was just a bit too small for my taste. Other "bases" to consider would be the Aberdeen area that Rob talks about above, or Ayrshire south of Glasgow.

But please simplify. You can drive all day when you're home, Scotland is much more fun to see on foot.

 

Thanks for the input! Aberlady was a recommendation from a friend who has family there. Not a strong commitment. North Berwick might be better overall for a place to stay anyhow.

 

In terms of Day 4/5 I am just having a hard time going across the pond and not getting to Cruden Bay. I suppose I could try to stay closer to Cullen instead of Inverness if I still want to hit the courses listed. If we decided to skip Brora, do you think making the drive up to Cruden and Back from St. Andrews is feasible for a day journey? Its quite literally top of my list in courses to play on the planet. If I did that it would mean one less move around and potentially another round or two in St. Andrews/Fife.

 

Any experience with Brora/Cullen? I feel like they are two of the "quirky" types of courses I was looking at. Will I kick myself for missing them?

You simply can't play all of the worthwhile courses in Scotland, there's no reason to worry about kicking yourself later over any one or two of them. The only reason to kick yourself is if you get to Scotland once, and never go back. It might take a while before you're in a position to make a second pilgrimage, but you almost certainly WILL return if you go there once.

Check out drive times using the Route Planner at https://www.theaa.com/route-planner/index.jsp I've read that this will give you pretty realistic drive times, and that has been accurate for me. As for making a day trip to Cruden Bay, you'd have to balance that against playing 36 holes in or near St Andrews. What's important?

I have friends who loved Brora, none have played Cullen, but that looks like great fun too. But if Cruden Bay is critical, why not make that area your second base of operations. You could play at Montrose, Stonehaven, Aberdeen, Trump, Murcar, Newburgh, Cruden Bay, and Peterhead. I can't say I'm familiar with those courses, but I'm sure you could find a few that would make it worth the drive.

[Pete O'Tube]

You could play at Montrose, Stonehaven, Aberdeen, Trump, Murcar, Newburgh, Cruden Bay, and Peterhead. I can't say I'm familiar with those courses, but I'm sure you could find a few that would make it worth the drive.

 

Montrose is very traditional but suffering from coastal erosion - check if it's all 18 holes before you go.

Stonehaven is fun, not a classic and you'll have to be happy about playing off severe slopes. The par 3 second is a cracker - 150ish yard carry over the sea.

Royal Aberdeen is magnificent, Murcar the same. Cruden Bay is great, watch out for Heart Attack Hill on the way from the 8th green to the 9th tee. Buggies are not allowed!

Haven't played Newburgh or Peterhead.

[Chanceman]

Going to play Brora while driving past the front gate of Royal Dornoch. And yet playing Elie, the Jubilee and Cullen as well. ???

[Mignuz]

I agree with Davep043: try to stay in st. Andrews and avoid big drives.

You can still play great courses within an hour drive.

Remember that Carnoustie is 30 mins from st. andrews, Kingsbarn is 10 mins, gleneagles is less than one hour.

My suggestion is to take in consideration the following courses, besides the famous ones:

- jubilee (better than the new course);

- lundin links,

- elie;

- crail;

- dukes's (NOT a proper link!);

- Montrose;

- Kittocks;

- Castle Course (you could love it or hate it, I LOVED it!)

 

The only course which you could take in consideration far from st. Andrews is North berwich (2 hours) but that could be the first course after you land in Edimbourgh (or the last one!).

 

Enjoy.

[FairwayFred]

Cruden Bay is definitely worth the trip North. I've done that day trip its totally worthwhile. I've even done the day trip from Glasgow. Cruden is my favorite course in Scotland it's just so good. Otherwise I'd skip Brora, great course but not worth the trip up there just to play it. If you were going to Dornoch too then it makes sense but I'd skip it otherwise.

[Chimz]

> @ChunkAndRun2 said:

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> Thanks for the input! Aberlady was a recommendation from a friend who has family there. Not a strong commitment. North Berwick might be better overall for a place to stay anyhow.

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> In terms of Day 4/5 I am just having a hard time going across the pond and not getting to Cruden Bay. I suppose I could try to stay closer to Cullen instead of Inverness if I still want to hit the courses listed. If we decided to skip Brora, do you think making the drive up to Cruden and Back from St. Andrews is feasible for a day journey? Its quite literally top of my list in courses to play on the planet. If I did that it would mean one less move around and potentially another round or two in St. Andrews/Fife.

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> Any experience with Brora/Cullen? I feel like they are two of the "quirky" types of courses I was looking at. Will I kick myself for missing them?

 

Brora is very quirky. Played it 2 months ago and none of my group particularly enjoyed it. Spend the extra and save yourself the drive by playing Dornoch. Unbelievable course

 

[alfriday]

+1 on playing Dornoch. My favorite course anywhere. Worth the drive to Inverness just for it.

[smokeypeat]

We did 10 rounds in 8 days - went up to Dornoch and then worked our way down to Old Course playing Carnoustie, Cruden, Castle Stuart, Castle Course, Crail and a few more. Dornoch was the show stopper, but I personally loved Castle Stuart the most.

[pendodave]

Once you've gone North from Edinburgh, I wouldn't go back to east Lothian.

The advice above is good - limit yourself to a maximum of 2 areas. Either Lothian/fife or fife/North East.

Even that would be a lot of driving, which limits the simple pleasures of post round drinking, eating and generally relaxing in a beautiful part of the world.

When we do a Scotland trip we keep it to a single base and no journey of more than an hour. But then we only start from Southern England...

Regarding the time of year, if you are going to go north, April might be a bit early if spring is late. May is normally pretty good, especially on the east coast, and much lighter.

[Green Valley]

If you were going to give advice to a first timer in Scotland for October of 2020 of what courses. I only can play 3 courses, what should I choose?

Thank you

[davep043]

First timer to Scotland, stay in St Andrews, get the 3-day pass, walk from your lodging to golf every day.

[Green Valley]

What courses can I golf with that pass?