Putting together Scotland trip

[critchtc21]

Trying to put together a Scotland trip for August 2017. Have received quotes from a couple packagers. I have done some research and trying to see what I can price for myself. I think I can come up with something similar based on trip itineraries I have seen. Would like for some input.

 

Planning to do 10 days and 8 rounds.

 

Right now looking to fly into Glasgow and play a couple rounds in the Southwest (Turnberry, Prestwick, Royal Troon are some options). I think drive from there and hit Gleneagles on way to St. Andrews? Is this good idea? Stay in St. Andrews 7-8 nights and play 5-6 rounds of golf. Fly home from Edinburgh.

 

Courses possible (please add to list): St. Andrews Old, St. Andrews New, St. Andrews Jubilee, St. Andrews Castle, Carnoustie, Kingsbarns, Gleaneagles, Crail. Another others? I am open to lesser known courses that are worth a play.

 

Would plan on staying at hotel in Prestwick area for 2-3 nights. Then planning on hotel or Townhouse from VRBO for 7-8 nights in St. Andrews area.

 

For transportation I am trying to get a quote from a company for an 8 person shuttle with driver for the duration.

 

Most quotes I have received tend to be $8,000-9,000 based on what I am looking at. Seems I can do it for $4,000-4,500. This is assuming I book tee times myself, and hotels or townhouse (townhouse is relatively cheap to hotels). I am uncertain on the 8 person shuttle cost but I through in $1,000 a person which would be very conservative. I am not including flights in these prices.

 

So I am looking for suggestions. Am I setting this up correct logistically? Is it easy enough to book my own tee times (of course there is application for Old Course)? Has anyone booked a transportation company themselves for the 8 person shuttle? Would you consider a 4 BR townhouse or just stay in a hotel? And please add some courses to my list that I should look at. And any other advice for a trip to Scotland, since this would be my first.

[Gem]

Glasgow Gailes, Dundonald, Kilmarnock Barrasie and Western Gailes are all very good down Ayrshire way.

I enjoy the PGA course at Gleneagles but it will be too much like a US course so doesn't make sense to play. The Kings is liked by most and I am very much in the minority in that I like it but not love it.

 

Elie is something you won't have seen before with some quirky holes and gas 16 par fours and 2 par threes . I think that is a record. Not really worth £75 but is a lot of fun and was in good condition when I played it in their open on Saturday.

 

Leven and Lundin Links are good also. My friends played Crail a fortnight ago and said it was in very poor condition and to be honest, I don't really like it all that much.

 

 

The jubilee is good but very tough as is the New, especially if the wind blows. I hate the greens on the Castle and would not go back unless they flatten them a bit.

 

If you were going to play on route I would rather play Rosemont (Blairgowrie) or Lady bank in place of Gleneagles.

 

You could book the times yourself, most are easy to do either online or by phoning.

[C_belske]

My father and I are going in July and we used morton golf vacations to plan our trip. Peter was great and I would highly recommend him. There's endless choices as far as courses go as you already know, and everyone has different reasons they choose them - historical purposes, views, Open Rota etc. etc. I included gleneagles on my trip because it will give my old man a rest from walking, but just about everyone said it was a mistake. The only other unanimous down vote was the castle course at St. Andrews, everyone seemed to think it sucked .. Food for thought.... I planned our trip 7 months in advance and still was unable to get a tee time at Muirfield so be sure to get a good head start.

[critchtc21]

My father and I are going in July and we used morton golf vacations to plan our trip. Peter was great and I would highly recommend him. There's endless choices as far as courses go as you already know, and everyone has different reasons they choose them - historical purposes, views, Open Rota etc. etc. I included gleneagles on my trip because it will give my old man a rest from walking, but just about everyone said it was a mistake. The only other unanimous down vote was the castle course at St. Andrews, everyone seemed to think it sucked .. Food for thought.... I planned our trip 7 months in advance and still was unable to get a tee time at Muirfield so be sure to get a good head start.

 

This will be for August 2017 probably. Going through a golf vacation operator so far I have received a quote for $7,000 and $8,000. I was able to price every course and accomodations and shuttle w/ driver for 8 people. I was able to get to $3,380.00 assuming I book everything myself.

 

Golf: Royal Troon, Prestwick, Gleneagles Kings, St. Andrews New, Carnoustie, Crail, St. Andrews Old, Kingbarns.

Accomodation: 3 nights hotel in Prestwick area, 7 night townhouse in St. Andrews.

Transportation: 8 person shuttle with driver.

 

This seems worth it to do the leg work assuming it works out with me booking and getting everything lined up. That is why I am on here asking for as much info and warnings as possible.

[C_belske]

Im not 100% sure you can book the old on your own. You may need to use a planner for that. Again I'm not positive on that. If you can and the difference is 3-4K and you don't mind making the calls I would say do it yourself absolutely. I would say the only warning I could give is start the process as early as possible.

[critchtc21]

Booking the Old Course is the part I am worried about. From what I understand, for 2017 you fill out an application and find out in late October to early November 2016. So if you get rejected, my question is, can you go through a golf tour operator and pay the huge premium to have it gauranteed? For the Old Course only?

[duffer987]

 

This will be for August 2017 probably. Going through a golf vacation operator so far I have received a quote for $7,000 and $8,000. I was able to price every course and accomodations and shuttle w/ driver for 8 people. I was able to get to $3,380.00 assuming I book everything myself.

 

Golf: Royal Troon, Prestwick, Gleneagles Kings, St. Andrews New, Carnoustie, Crail, St. Andrews Old, Kingbarns.

Accomodation: 3 nights hotel in Prestwick area, 7 night townhouse in St. Andrews.

Transportation: 8 person shuttle with driver.

 

This seems worth it to do the leg work assuming it works out with me booking and getting everything lined up. That is why I am on here asking for as much info and warnings as possible.

 

The St. Andrews website does a really good job of laying everything out for you. It really is as simple as you see on there. Apply at the end of this summer for 2017 and if you don't get it, do the 48 hr ballots each day you are there and/or get up really eff off early and queue. We were a group of 6 last June and did the ballot 4 times (2 foursomes and 2 twosomes) and got it 3/4 times. We (me and my mate as the the twosome the day we didn't get it) actually got a tee time one morning simply by when we went in to put our two groups in for ballot, they had an opening for a twosome going off in 20mins and we took it. The face of our other friends in their foursome when we crossed paths on 4/15 :)

 

It looks like you've got a good selection of courses there. I saw in your earlier post that you would fly into Glasgow and out of Edi? If you can get it for a good price fair enough, otherwise I'd assume flying in/out of the same airport is cheaper and Scotland is so compact, it's not a huge deal to drive to Paisley instead of Edi on get-away day.

 

Are you doing 36 at Kingsbarns and 36 at Carnoustie?

 

I also wholly concur with the DIY approach. I could win the lottery tomorrow and I'd still organize everything myself, it's just in my nature, and really I actually enjoy the planning :blush2:

6 guys was no problem and 8 is really no different than that.

 

I wrote up a thread here from our trip, which might give you some ideas: http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/1110875-wonderful-scotland-golf-trip-reviewinfo/

[critchtc21]

I would imagine the plan is to only do 18 per course due to some of the guys not wanting to walk that much. I'd be up for it on a few courses. When you guys did the ballot, did you have plan if you did not get selected? Would you have been able to get on another course? And do they let you know 48 hours in advance?

[duffer987]

I would imagine the plan is to only do 18 per course due to some of the guys not wanting to walk that much. I'd be up for it on a few courses. When you guys did the ballot, did you have plan if you did not get selected? Would you have been able to get on another course? And do they let you know 48 hours in advance?

 

Yes. Yes. Yes :)

They have a digital board beside the first tee for the following days play that lets you know if you got a tee time, it's actually pretty cool to go look at it and we used that for poops and giggles; however, there is also this: https://www.standrews.com/ballot/results

 

The day we didn't play the old course, when the others did, we just walked down to the clubhouse to see about getting out on the New or Jubilee and we were out within 30 mins of getting down there. With New, Jubilee, and Eden right there at the end of the lane it gives you a ready made backup.

 

Some of us played 36/day some 18, but we all played 36 at Kingsbarns and Carnoustie. Kingsbarns is so frickin expensive compared to the other options, we figured we might as well play it twice with that 'reduced' replay rate. And if we were going to drive around to Carnoustie we wanted to make a 36 holes day of it as well. But I can understand that in a group of golfers not everyone may want - or be phyically able - to keep up 36/day for a week.

[Gem]

A great 36 hole option is the £95 to play Blairgowrie with a round on each course, Rosemount and Landsdowne. Both very good.

[jay65]

Glasgow Gailes, Dundonald, Kilmarnock Barrasie and Western Gailes are all very good down Ayrshire way.

I enjoy the PGA course at Gleneagles but it will be too much like a US course so doesn't make sense to play. The Kings is liked by most and I am very much in the minority in that I like it but not love it.

 

Elie is something you won't have seen before with some quirky holes and gas 16 par fours and 2 par threes . I think that is a record. Not really worth £75 but is a lot of fun and was in good condition when I played it in their open on Saturday.

 

Leven and Lundin Links are good also. My friends played Crail a fortnight ago and said it was in very poor condition and to be honest, I don't really like it all that much.

 

 

The jubilee is good but very tough as is the New, especially if the wind blows. I hate the greens on the Castle and would not go back unless they flatten them a bit.

 

If you were going to play on route I would rather play Rosemont (Blairgowrie) or Lady bank in place of Gleneagles.

 

You could book the times yourself, most are easy to do either online or by phoning.

 

I totally agree with nearly everything you've said there. Only, I would never ever go to Ayrshire without playing Prestwick, what a terrible waste. The rest in Ayrshire I would agree with, it's so easy to spoil oneself in Ayrshire alone, for 2 weeks and never feel short changed. It's the best area in Scotland for Golf for me.

 

As for the East coast, I would also look at Panmure and Monifieth. Personally, I'm not a fan of Fife, as, for me, apart from St Andrews and it's history, for some reason I don't feel at home on any of the Courses in Fife. Not sure why, but there ya go, none so strange as folk I suppose. I just don't find it as welcoming, down to earth or friendly as the West Coast, and I feel most of the Courses over there are doing nothing more than living off the back of the history of St Andrews.

[Gem]

Glasgow Gailes, Dundonald, Kilmarnock Barrasie and Western Gailes are all very good down Ayrshire way.

I enjoy the PGA course at Gleneagles but it will be too much like a US course so doesn't make sense to play. The Kings is liked by most and I am very much in the minority in that I like it but not love it.

 

Elie is something you won't have seen before with some quirky holes and gas 16 par fours and 2 par threes . I think that is a record. Not really worth £75 but is a lot of fun and was in good condition when I played it in their open on Saturday.

 

Leven and Lundin Links are good also. My friends played Crail a fortnight ago and said it was in very poor condition and to be honest, I don't really like it all that much.

 

 

The jubilee is good but very tough as is the New, especially if the wind blows. I hate the greens on the Castle and would not go back unless they flatten them a bit.

 

If you were going to play on route I would rather play Rosemont (Blairgowrie) or Lady bank in place of Gleneagles.

 

You could book the times yourself, most are easy to do either online or by phoning.

 

I totally agree with nearly everything you've said there. Only, I would never ever go to Ayrshire without playing Prestwick, what a terrible waste. The rest in Ayrshire I would agree with, it's so easy to spoil oneself in Ayrshire alone, for 2 weeks and never feel short changed. It's the best area in Scotland for Golf for me.

 

As for the East coast, I would also look at Panmure and Monifieth. Personally, I'm not a fan of Fife, as, for me, apart from St Andrews and it's history, for some reason I don't feel at home on any of the Courses in Fife. Not sure why, but there ya go, none so strange as folk I suppose. I just don't find it as welcoming, down to earth or friendly as the West Coast, and I feel most of the Courses over there are doing nothing more than living off the back of the history of St Andrews.

 

I have never played Prestwick but friends say it is great with many weird and wonderful holes.

I will say that the weather can be slightly drier on the East coast but you are right, so many fantastic tracks down in Ayrshire.

I like Panmure and Monifieth as well and Montrose is also great too.

 

I don't really get the attraction many have for Crail but I do enjoy Elie, Lundin and Leven. Kingsbarns is one of my favorite courses but it is way too expensive for foreign visitors.

[sheldonjhacker]

Play Gullane 1. Amazing course

[Gem]

Play Gullane 1. Amazing course

 

I really like the Gullane courses and #2 is about half the price and is very good also. You can do a round on 1&2 for around £120 so that would be a good day out.

[duffer987]

Play Gullane 1. Amazing course

 

I really like the Gullane courses and #2 is about half the price and is very good also. You can do a round on 1&2 for around £120 so that would be a good day out.

 

Gullane would be a great club to be a member at with the 2 full length courses and the smaller 3rd one.

That said, Gullane isn't in Fife or Ayr, where the OP's trip is going ;) Personally if I'm coming out to East Lothian, North Berwick is absolutely going to be on the schedule :)

[Gem]

Play Gullane 1. Amazing course

 

I really like the Gullane courses and #2 is about half the price and is very good also. You can do a round on 1&2 for around £120 so that would be a good day out.

 

Gullane would be a great club to be a member at with the 2 full length courses and the smaller 3rd one.

That said, Gullane isn't in Fife or Ayr, where the OP's trip is going ;) Personally if I'm coming out to East Lothian, North Berwick is absolutely going to be on the schedule :)

 

I agree fully. You could add Dunbar as well to that in the area.

Gullane 3 has a couple of poor holes but on the whole it is a good fun fourball course with sloping greens as it's protection.

 

These are a bit out of the way for the OP but if he could fit in a day or so well worth considering.

 

A townhouse would be a good idea if doing some cooking to save a bit money but on trips like this you usually end up eating out and most clubs will have good food at reasonable prices as well.

[critchtc21]

So, back to the ballot question. If we had 8 guys, there is a possibility only 5-6 get selected? That would make things tough. Hopefully it does not come to this, and we get selected through application. Also, using the application process or the ballot, how much are you paying at Old Course to play?

 

I am not dead set on playing just Ayr and Fife, since North Berwick and Gullane look good. But Royal Troon and Prestwick look like must plays. Also, I have looked up prices on these courses websites so hopefully they are accurate for the budget. I will post those rates I got off websites later

 

 

As for the 4 BR Townhouse. I imagine we would eat out alot, but this place is right in town and nice and cheaper than hotel option.

[jay65]

So, back to the ballot question. If we had 8 guys, there is a possibility only 5-6 get selected? That would make things tough. Hopefully it does not come to this, and we get selected through application. Also, using the application process or the ballot, how much are you paying at Old Course to play?

 

I am not dead set on playing just Ayr and Fife, since North Berwick and Gullane look good. But Royal Troon and Prestwick look like must plays. Also, I have looked up prices on these courses websites so hopefully they are accurate for the budget. I will post those rates I got off websites later

 

 

As for the 4 BR Townhouse. I imagine we would eat out alot, but this place is right in town and nice and cheaper than hotel option.

 

Current prices for the Old Course in the Summer are around £175 for 2016 with possibly a £10 rise to £185 for 2017 I would guess. You could also buy a 3 day ticket for £200 which entitles you to play the all the other Courses (not the Old Course) for that price. As for the standard application procedure and Ballot for the Old Course, I'm afraid that with 8 of you possibly going, it's all just going to be 'pot luck' who gets in. I know that's tough, and is a common question. Tee times will likely be pretty scarce at that time of year I'm afraid, so you may well find that some will get picked out of the normal application procedure and some may have to go through the ballot system, but that would mean you could all be split up obviously. Then there is the issue of just turning up at the starter 4am for a tee time. This is possible too, but once again, that some of you may well be split up from each other. Nothing you can do about that I'm afraid, it's just how it is. The other option would be to go through a travel agent I suppose for guaranteed tee times, but that can a bit hit and miss too sometimes.

 

As for Ayrshire, don't miss Prestwick, it's a rollercoaster fun round, and only St Andrews ranks with it for history. It's a fantastic test.

 

The Self catering route is definitely the way to go, with 8 of you, you can save a stack of $$$$. Good move. But book early to avoid disappointment at that time of year though.

 

By the way, if you can squeeze a round in at North Berwick before you leave from Edinburgh, it would be a great 'send off' to the trip, because it's a truly great Golf Course, and some of the views from the holes that run along the shore will stay with you for the rest of your days!

[critchtc21]

Jay, is it possible to just pay the premium and book St. Andrews Old Course only through an agent? Rest of trip done myself? And I thought you would be gauranteed going through agent, you say maybe not?

[duffer987]

Jay, is it possible to just pay the premium and book St. Andrews Old Course only through an agent? Rest of trip done myself? And I thought you would be gauranteed going through agent, you say maybe not?

 

That wouldn't do the Old Course Experience or any of the other travel companies any good though would it? ;)

They know they have golfers who absolutely want a guaranteed tee-time by the short ones and they'd never give up a tee time on its own in August, when they can attached a multiple night's stay to it. Absolutely nothing wrong with that and testimonials say good things about them, but with a DIY trip, things like this you just have to workaround.

 

It may be an incremental thing for you, you get 1/2 the guys a teetime in Sept and 1/2 will need the ballot or the queue. And just because say 1/2 the guys have a time already, doesn't mean you cannot still all go in the ballot. And you don't need to put in two foursomes, you could put in four twosomes or a foursome and two twosomes. And if one player gets picked again, while another hasn't gotten selected, I don't see why you couldn't just send them in his place.

 

I can appreciate it's easy enough for me to say - since things worked out great for us - but all you can do is work within the construct the St. Andrews trust provides and take it from there :)

[critchtc21]

I like your idea of increasing odds for the Old Course. I wonder what happens if you had 4 guaranteed from the application process. Then you go into ballot process and submit 8 and actually get 8. And end up with 4 extra tee times. Hopefully they wouldn't be too upset.

 

But if you had 4 guys with tee times already would they actually be able to enter those same names into ballot for that day?

[jay65]

Jay, is it possible to just pay the premium and book St. Andrews Old Course only through an agent? Rest of trip done myself? And I thought you would be gauranteed going through agent, you say maybe not?

 

Some maybe able to offer that service. They have a finite amount of rounds allocated to them, so it maybe worth shopping around a few of them. What I meant by it being hit and miss would be being able to keep the 8 of you together. Sure, you'll all be assured a tee off time, but as numbers are taken up, the group may get split up somewhat. For example, instead of getting two fourball groups, you may get split into 2's and 3's here and there, but the agents will try their best to keep you to 2 fourball groups if you mention it to them, and can get in early enough. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

[jay65]

I like your idea of increasing odds for the Old Course. I wonder what happens if you had 4 guaranteed from the application process. Then you go into ballot process and submit 8 and actually get 8. And end up with 4 extra tee times. Hopefully they wouldn't be too upset.

 

But if you had 4 guys with tee times already would they actually be able to enter those same names into ballot for that day?

 

You would still be expected to pay the green fee for the ballot cancellation so I understand.

[duffer987]

I like your idea of increasing odds for the Old Course. I wonder what happens if you had 4 guaranteed from the application process. Then you go into ballot process and submit 8 and actually get 8. And end up with 4 extra tee times. Hopefully they wouldn't be too upset.

 

But if you had 4 guys with tee times already would they actually be able to enter those same names into ballot for that day?

 

You would still be expected to pay the green fee for the ballot cancellation so I understand.

 

TBH, I'm not sure. At a minimum I would peddle that story to your group, if they are antsy about getting on the Old Course ;)

We had a couple guys in our group who were sooooo worried they wouldn't get a game and then ended up with two. They were fairly annoying about it TBH, until they saw that first ballot result.

 

I'd actually ring up St. Andrews towards the end of their day - start of ours - when they may have more time for a chat and ask them about the scenario of some confirmed times and some not and how best that can play out :)

[jay65]

I like your idea of increasing odds for the Old Course. I wonder what happens if you had 4 guaranteed from the application process. Then you go into ballot process and submit 8 and actually get 8. And end up with 4 extra tee times. Hopefully they wouldn't be too upset.

 

But if you had 4 guys with tee times already would they actually be able to enter those same names into ballot for that day?

 

You would still be expected to pay the green fee for the ballot cancellation so I understand.

 

TBH, I'm not sure. At a minimum I would peddle that story to your group, if they are antsy about getting on the Old Course ;)

We had a couple guys in our group who were sooooo worried they wouldn't get a game and then ended up with two. They were fairly annoying about it TBH, until they saw that first ballot result.

 

I'd actually ring up St. Andrews towards the end of their day - start of ours - when they may have more time for a chat and ask them about the scenario of some confirmed times and some not and how best that can play out :)

 

The trouble is, at that time of year, tee times for the Old Course are like gold dust, so any cancellation especially for a ballot, which by it's very definition is a 48hr notification process, I'm sure may incur the full payment of the Green fee if cancellation occurs. You can understand it when they could have filled that slot 50 times over. However, it may well be worth the OP sending them an email to get clarification either way.

[duffer987]

The trouble is, at that time of year, tee times for the Old Course are like gold dust, so any cancellation especially for a ballot, which by it's very definition is a 48hr notification process, I'm sure may incur the full payment of the Green fee if cancellation occurs. You can understand it when they could have filled that slot 50 times over. However, it may well be worth the OP sending them an email to get clarification either way.

 

Oh jayzus yes! I'm a far too rule-abiding Canadian to even think of doing anything dodgy :) And we're talking about a scenario that has yet to come to pass. I would wholly expect to get charged and pay, for me the one question is, if Group A gets the ballot, Group B does not, but Group A have played already, can you let Group B take Group A's winning ballot time?

 

I checked for an FAQ on the trust site but didn't see anything.

[jay65]

The trouble is, at that time of year, tee times for the Old Course are like gold dust, so any cancellation especially for a ballot, which by it's very definition is a 48hr notification process, I'm sure may incur the full payment of the Green fee if cancellation occurs. You can understand it when they could have filled that slot 50 times over. However, it may well be worth the OP sending them an email to get clarification either way.

 

Oh jayzus yes! I'm a far too rule-abiding Canadian to even think of doing anything dodgy :) And we're talking about a scenario that has yet to come to pass. I would wholly expect to get charged and pay, for me the one question is, if Group A gets the ballot, Group B does not, but Group A have played already, can you let Group B take Group A's winning ballot time?

 

I checked for an FAQ on the trust site but didn't see anything.

 

Ahhhhh I see, so sorry, it's been a long day and too much time in the sun for me today. I see what you're saying now.

 

And errrrrr....no, names aren't transferable. 'For Old Course bookings, only the named golfers from the original application will be allowed to play.'