July 2020 trip to scotland questions

[coachkr]

Trip booked and planned for 4 buddies in July from the US. Will arrive in Edinburgh Friday Morning. First round in scheduled @ Turnberry on Monday. Playing Troon Tuesday morning and leaving for St Andrews. Playing New/Old on Wed-Thurs depending upon the ballot. Carnoustie on Friday, Kingsbarns on Sat, then flying home on Sunday. Just have a couple of questions.

Planning on Caddies @ TOC and Carnoustie. Is it imperative or definitely worth paying for a caddy @ any of the other courses? Planning on staying /seeing Edinburgh on Friday, Traveling to Glasgow for same on Sat, and on to Troon on Sunday. Suggestions for travel from Edinburgh to Glasgow with clubs/luggage?(already have travel arranged from Glasgow to Troon and for the rest of the trip) In Troon on Sunday am, would like to play a round in the area to get things started. I know Sunday play can be somewhat spotty. Would love Prestwick if its available. Western Gailes? Any other Suggestions?Any other friendly suggestions or can't misses greatly appreciated! All are around 10 handicappers, good health, and early 50's if that matters!

[mci711]

I would take a caddy every round. A few reasons, the courses play differently there, your range finder or gps isn't going to help you with where you should try to play the ball, the conditions will also affect that. They know all of that. 2nd, it is a lot of walking. 3rd if you go all that way and plan a trip that, for lack of a better word, epic, don't skimp out the pounds for a caddy. They will really help the experience. I can't hit on your other questions.

[davep043]

For me, having been to Scotland a couple of times and understanding a little bit how to play those conditions, a caddie isn't necessary everywhere. A good caddie can definitely add enjoyment, and can be a huge help if you've never played those types of courses before. I definitely suggest NOT carrying your bag, you can hire a trolley (push cart for Americans) for a couple of pounds everywhere you go.

For a "warm-up) round in that area, you could look at Western Gailes, Glasgow Gailes, or Dundonald. All are very solid courses. Glasgow Gailes is the least "impressive" of that group, definitely the least severe, but its great fun, was in good condition the time we played it, and had the most welcoming staff of anyplace we played.

I'd guess that you could take either a train or a bus from Edinburgh to Glasgow, or direct to Troon if you didn't want to have 3 different lodgings for each of your first 3 nights. I've never done it myself, so I don't know how luggage and golf clubs are handled.

[duffer987]

Not necessary, although at KB it's sort of expected, as part of their traveling tourist resort course vibe. So can take them at TOC/Carnoustie/KB... shoulder or trolley the rest, job done. 'Skimping' is a silly characterization, obviously if you're stumping up for all that golf a couple hundred quid more isn't going to hurt, so caddies apart from a couple 'mandatory' spots really are a personal pref thing.Take a minicab from Edi to Glasgow, you can easily find something for 150GBP. You'll likely get booked into an 8-seater, with 4 guys plus luggage plus golf clubs, hence the price. You leave when you leave and it's door to door and being Sat the traffic shouldn't be that bad.Maybe you're not keen on 36/day, but I'd absolutely play Prestwick on the Weds after the morning round at Troon - if you cannot get a round in there Sat/Sun (although they have Sunday openings looking at it now). TOC, for all its TOCiness is special, but give me Prestwick or North Berwick and it doesn't get much better than those, so being able to fit in Prestwick seems a must based on your itinerary. Personally, if the weather is nice Sat I'd hit the links, Glasgow is a cool city to eat/drink in, but after Edi with all its neat historical bits for tourists... well there's golf to be played. Just be flexible on the Sat/Sun. Basically any links course that'll have an opening for you guys should be good enough.

[Roadking2003]

I always take a caddie. Even if all he does is carry your bag and find your wayward balls, it's worth it.

 

I would skip Prestwick. IMHO, there are too many better courses.

[tiderider]

caddies are roughly $110 each ... 40 or 50 pounds plus tip ... just depends on how much extra money you want to spend ... get a yardage booklet and use it, won't need a caddy ...

[duffer987]

Fair enough you're not keen on it, but with Turnberry and Royal Troon already booked, which are all these 'too many better courses' that buries it down the list in Ayr?

[NixLix26]

My advice would be extend your trip longer. Oh man it was the best golf trip I have ever taken with friends. Dunbar, North Berwick, The Castle Course. But TBerry was very memorable. I did not get to play Carnasty. I used a Caddy on TOC, Royaltroon and Kingsbarnes. The caddie i had at Royal Troon became a friend and even took me out to party with some locals that night in Glasgow. He has come to states and visited now. Great kid I believe he is a pros caddie now on the Euro tour. I enjoyed walking myself on a few courses as well. At the Old Course. I think my caddie was Hungover and not really into it. But i shot my best scores at TOC and Royal Troon. so maybe a caddie helps.

enjoy it

[Hawkeye77]

We played Royal Troon and Prestwick with caddies and enjoyed the experience. Can't really say whether that is something you could or couldn't do without. Royal Troon IMO is would be the one of the two if I had to pick not using, and if I played it again I wouldn't hesitate to just go play. Given it is literally next door, you can't go wrong playing Prestwick and taking in the history in the clubhouse and the course - lots of history in the clubhouse at Royal Troon as well. Had the benefit of a member at Royal Troon giving us a little tour when we went back later in the day to look around inside the clubhouse, what a treat. Caddie Master at Prestwick was first class and some of its holes are wonderful, IMO. Played my best at Royal Troon, so I'm biased, and had some walking 2016 Open Championship fantasies, lol, while playing. Loved that course. If you want a wonderful experience by the sea drive a short distance up the coast and play West Kilbride. We loved it and no need for caddies at all - very straightforward course and you can see all the way across the fairways to the sea pretty much the entire way around. Fun course! Just depends on what kind of experience you want and what your ideas of a great course are. Prestwick St. Nicholas is okay, no need for caddies, but except for a very few holes, it didn't do much for me. And for heaven's sake don't experience the New and especially The Old Course without caddies. Sacrilege if it is your first time and maybe your only time. Got a lot of great info about the courses and the area and shots to play and caddies on those courses we had were fabulous. Just noticed the post above, year before I also had my best round at The Old Course!

 

Pics of West Kilbride:

 

[Roadking2003]

Actually, I don't recall saying anything about Ayr.

[hammergolf]

Been to Scotland several times. Most recent trip was October 2018. On this last trip, we played Crail, Kingsbarns, Carnoustie, Muirfield, Castle Course, Old Course, and The Jubilee. Here is my reply to your questions:

1) I would recommend caddies everywhere for the experience, but if you ask what courses to definitely take caddies due to course terrain or difficulty of greens I would say The Old Course, Kingsbarns, and Troon for sure. Carnoustie is pretty much in front of you so a caddie is not really needed. The course guide will give you the info needed.

2) For transportation, I would hire a private van and driver. There are many sites you can search. 8rental and Edinburgh Chauffers. I’m comfortable driving when I go, but it is an adjustment driving on the other side of the road. You can rent a van and drive yourself for half the price if you are ok driving.

3) Hands down I would recommend Dundonald Links. It’s much better than Glasgow Gailes or Western Gailes. I’m not sure if Prestwick allows guest play on Sunday, but it would be my second choice after Dundonald.

As far as the ballot goes for The Old Course, remember in July it will be daylight until 9:00pm so even if the ballot doesn’t work you can always try walking up later in the day to get on. Have a GREAT trip!

[Malvern]

For the OP, we have a market.

We did a trip to Ayrshire last year, Prestwick was my favourite, great fun.

[Argonne69]

Private transportation between Edinburgh and Glasgow would be nice, but I wouldn't hesitate to take the bus. They use the large motor coaches, and luggage and clubs are easily stowed below at ground level. I took a bus and train on my trip, and the bus was much easier.

I enjoyed having a caddie at Kingsbarns, but the course is fairly straightforward. My playing partner carried his own clubs, and managed just fine.

[tiderider]

agree about kb ... doesn't detract from the course to say you don't need a caddie ...

 

nice piece of info about the buses ... it would be extremely neat to avoid using a car for a trip ...

 

i would also play prestwick ... not great, but very good & part of the whole "scotland" feel ... people who travel there tend to ignore how important a 'golf club' is to a community, and prestwick is one of those types ... they do their share of marketing to foreign players, but it's a neat little course that hasn't changed much the past 100 years or so ...

[Hawkeye77]

An observation I haven't made about caddies --- when we played North Berwick the first day we had caddies (too late asking for the second day and was just fine the second time around without). We got paired with a nice couple, guy had some game and had obviously traveled quite a bit and struggled a little. I played like poo also for quite a bit of the hail-shortened round but had fun. They didn't have caddies. Ours did spend some time helping find the occasional ball of theirs as you would expect, we all did. Mine was a super guy and offered some helpful suggestions from time to time to the other guy who wasn't necessarily expecting them but was happy to get some on occasion on targets, occasional putt, etc. Caddie asked me if I cared and I said heck no. The cool part was after the round the other guy made a point of tipping both caddies as if he had hired them. That to me is the essence of class and how it should be done out there!

[dcmidnight]

From a standpoint of "can I stand on the tee box and tell where the fairway or green is on this hole" - you dont need a caddie at KB. But we were very very happy that we had them. KB is also the course we played with the most elevation changes and the trickiest greens. So - do you need them? Probably not. But I am very happy that we had them.

Definitely get caddies at the New/Old. 1 - the price was reasonable. 2 - they all had great stories. 3 - most importantly, it can be chaos out there. There are spots if you get offline and have a blind shot you will have absolutely no idea where you are going. Or worse, you get offline and you can see a half dozen pins and have no idea where you are going. We found the caddies at the new/old/jubilee to all be fantastic.

Glad you are leaving yourself plenty of time to check out St Andrews. IMO the biggest mistake people make is blowing through there in one night, playing 36 a day and missing out on everything the town has to offer. No matter what you do or how long you stay you will never play all the courses you want to - so enjoy the town as much as you can.

[coachkr]

Thanks so much for all of the advice! Can't wait for July

[TheInfidel]

West Kilbride is such a sleeper here. Top class links just not in your top tier of tournament hosting courses. Not all heroes wear capes.

[driveandputtmachine]

I lucked out when I went to Scotland in the summer of 2018. I took a caddie on Royal Dornoch, it wasn't needed much there, but I would recommend it. The couple from Manchester that I played with there, I played with them again at Castle Stuart. They advised they play the course so often I wouldn't need a caddie if I can read a yardage book. They were correct. Nairn I took one and it was a wise decision. Kignsbarns I didn't again and was playing with the same couple from Manchester, if not I would say take a caddie.

The last two rounds (and our days at The Open at Carnoustie) my buddy joined me. Luckily my wife and I were staying in the AirBnB from a couple that were members at St. Andrews. We played with them on Thursday at the Old Course. Here, they explained that they could tell me exactly where everything was, and had good yardage books and that I could take a caddie, but didn't need it with them. We played the Jubilee the next day as well. I will say YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED A CADDIE AT THE MAJORITY OF THE COURSES IN ST. ANDREWS/SCOTLAND. If I hadn't been playing with two locals I would have been screwed numerous times as far as aiming lines, where to miss, where not to miss. Kingsbarns and Castle Stuart both to me were not a you need a caddie courses, but everyone is different.

I am not a fan of taking a caddie in general, I don't need a caddie to read greens. I need them on flat land courses where you can't shoot your landing area with a rangefinder or the ground is running like crazy(most of the time) I played high school and college golf and you walked and carried your own bag. I took a pull cart on the Jubilee(it was raining), Castle Stuart, and Kingsbarns.

If you are playing 36 a day, I would recommend caddie for most of your rounds, dependent upon the course.

[postfold]

Re: Caddies -- played Turnberry without them and it was no problem at all. Played the Old Course and one of the other players in our group had one, that was super helpful.

If you can get on Western Gailes on Sunday I really enjoyed that one. Extremely difficult course but a good walk. Dundonald was also nice (and right nearby), just not quite in the same league imo.