August Trip to Glasgow

Sheff · July 28, 2016

On somewhat short notice, I get to take a solo work trip to Glasgow in late August with a few days of personal time to play. I've spent the last few nights reading threads on the topic and have learned a lot. Looking for advice and even potential playing partners.

Will likely have full days to play Monday-Tuesday August 22-23. Hotel in Glasgow nominally but will have a rental car and have no issues staying elsewhere. Don't want to venture out too far with such limited time - need to be at work in Glasgow on Wednesday! Would love to get in 36 holes each day if geography and tee times can work.

Considering one of the following:

- head up to St. Andrews for New, Kingsbarns, Leven, etc (assuming low-to-no odds on Old)

- head east to Edinburgh for N. Berwick, Luffness, Gullane

- head west to coast for Prestwick, Western Gailes, Kilmarnock

Tips, suggestions, etc are much appreciated. I'm used to flying my clubs around in the US, is that wise here for a short stint vs. renting? If option to fly in a day earlier is there to make a 3 day golf adventure, is it worth further pissing off the fiancee?

Alexblakk · July 28, 2016

When are you landing ? Because if it is on the monday morning it will be difficult to drive and play 36 holes that day !

If you are flying in on Sunday, I'll recommend to go to Fife county, wake up early monday and get in line at the starter hut for the Old Course.

If you feel that you won't get a tee time, go straight to the New, the Jubilee or drive to the Castle and play one of these in the morning. Then go to play your scheduled round @ kingsbarns

Next day the same in the morning, then go play Carnoustie a bit up north !

We went there 2 years ago to play, and we stayed at the Apex hotel in Dundee, good hotel and very easy to get in/out of town quickly

For the clubs if you are flying in Edinburg there is this company:

https://www.clubstohire.com/

Never tried but heard some good comments about it.

jay65 · July 28, 2016

No brainer, head down to South Ayrshire, it's only 40 mins by car, and the wealth of great Courses in such a relatively small area is second to none. Royal Troon, Prestwick, Prestwick St Nicholas, Dundonald, Barassie Links, Gailes Links, Western Gailes, and the 3 Troon Muni Course are all within 4 miles. so it's awash with top quality Links Golf. And of course Turnberry is only another 20 miles down the road too.

I'm probably a little bias as I have a house in Prestwick, and the area has a place in my very soul.

Sheff · July 28, 2016

Thanks for the excellent feedback. I'll be flying in Sunday to GLA, then can drive to 'golf area of choice' for hotel and be ready to roll early Monday, jet lag or not.

For Old on a Monday morning in August, how early is 'early' and what kind of odds are we talking for a single? 20%? 80%?

Stall · August 3, 2016

Thanks for the excellent feedback. I'll be flying in Sunday to GLA, then can drive to 'golf area of choice' for hotel and be ready to roll early Monday, jet lag or not.

For Old on a Monday morning in August, how early is 'early' and what kind of odds are we talking for a single? 20%? 80%?

I live in Glasgow. Was up in St Andrews last week, not for golf just a family day out. I asked the starter about queuing up to get on, he told me he generally gets 75% of people who turn up on day of play, onto the course.

Chigolfer2 · August 5, 2016

No brainer, head down to South Ayrshire, it's only 40 mins by car, and the wealth of great Courses in such a relatively small area is second to none. Royal Troon, Prestwick, Prestwick St Nicholas, Dundonald, Barassie Links, Gailes Links, Western Gailes, and the 3 Troon Muni Course are all within 4 miles. so it's awash with top quality Links Golf. And of course Turnberry is only another 20 miles down the road too.

I'm probably a little bias as I have a house in Prestwick, and the area has a place in my very soul.

Next year we will be staying in Troon and playing Troon, Western Gailles and Prestwick. We are not planning on having a car. We can walk to Troon, maybe take the train to Preswick but no way to get to Western Gailles. Can we assume Taxi or Uber around Troon to get to Prestwick and W Gailles?

jay65 · August 5, 2016

No brainer, head down to South Ayrshire, it's only 40 mins by car, and the wealth of great Courses in such a relatively small area is second to none. Royal Troon, Prestwick, Prestwick St Nicholas, Dundonald, Barassie Links, Gailes Links, Western Gailes, and the 3 Troon Muni Course are all within 4 miles. so it's awash with top quality Links Golf. And of course Turnberry is only another 20 miles down the road too.

I'm probably a little bias as I have a house in Prestwick, and the area has a place in my very soul.

Next year we will be staying in Troon and playing Troon, Western Gailles and Prestwick. We are not planning on having a car. We can walk to Troon, maybe take the train to Preswick but no way to get to Western Gailles. Can we assume Taxi or Uber around Troon to get to Prestwick and W Gailles?

The local taxi service is superb. The only time that they get busy is at school drop off times (8am-9am), but if you're coming in the Summer then even that won't be an issue for you. Either way, just call them the night before to book a taxi, and trust me, they are brilliantly reliable. The best there is Station Cabs, but there is also 8'ees Taxis and In-com Taxis, all of them are excellent. If you want to PM me, I will happily give you their telephone numbers. Generally you can get a Taxi within 15 mins from your door to the Golf Course of your choice. But I always book the night before to be absolutely sure. It's easy peasey. As I said, PM me if you like and I'll happily pass on their telephone numbers to you.

Just for your info, the train stops right next to the 1st tee at Prestwick!

Chigolfer2 · August 5, 2016

No brainer, head down to South Ayrshire, it's only 40 mins by car, and the wealth of great Courses in such a relatively small area is second to none. Royal Troon, Prestwick, Prestwick St Nicholas, Dundonald, Barassie Links, Gailes Links, Western Gailes, and the 3 Troon Muni Course are all within 4 miles. so it's awash with top quality Links Golf. And of course Turnberry is only another 20 miles down the road too.

I'm probably a little bias as I have a house in Prestwick, and the area has a place in my very soul.

Next year we will be staying in Troon and playing Troon, Western Gailles and Prestwick. We are not planning on having a car. We can walk to Troon, maybe take the train to Preswick but no way to get to Western Gailles. Can we assume Taxi or Uber around Troon to get to Prestwick and W Gailles?

The local taxi service is superb. The only time that they get busy is at school drop off times (8am-9am), but if you're coming in the Summer then even that won't be an issue for you. Either way, just call them the night before to book a taxi, and trust me, they are brilliantly reliable. The best there is Station Cabs, but there is also 8'ees Taxis and In-com Taxis, all of them are excellent. If you want to PM me, I will happily give you their telephone numbers. Generally you can get a Taxi within 15 mins from your door to the Golf Course of your choice. But I always book the night before to be absolutely sure. It's easy peasey. As I said, PM me if you like and I'll happily pass on their telephone numbers to you.

Just for your info, the train stops right next to the 1st tee at Prestwick!

Thanks...We may use the train for Prestwick. Definitely for when we do a night in AYR.

jay65 · August 5, 2016

No brainer, head down to South Ayrshire, it's only 40 mins by car, and the wealth of great Courses in such a relatively small area is second to none. Royal Troon, Prestwick, Prestwick St Nicholas, Dundonald, Barassie Links, Gailes Links, Western Gailes, and the 3 Troon Muni Course are all within 4 miles. so it's awash with top quality Links Golf. And of course Turnberry is only another 20 miles down the road too.

I'm probably a little bias as I have a house in Prestwick, and the area has a place in my very soul.

Next year we will be staying in Troon and playing Troon, Western Gailles and Prestwick. We are not planning on having a car. We can walk to Troon, maybe take the train to Preswick but no way to get to Western Gailles. Can we assume Taxi or Uber around Troon to get to Prestwick and W Gailles?

The local taxi service is superb. The only time that they get busy is at school drop off times (8am-9am), but if you're coming in the Summer then even that won't be an issue for you. Either way, just call them the night before to book a taxi, and trust me, they are brilliantly reliable. The best there is Station Cabs, but there is also 8'ees Taxis and In-com Taxis, all of them are excellent. If you want to PM me, I will happily give you their telephone numbers. Generally you can get a Taxi within 15 mins from your door to the Golf Course of your choice. But I always book the night before to be absolutely sure. It's easy peasey. As I said, PM me if you like and I'll happily pass on their telephone numbers to you.

Just for your info, the train stops right next to the 1st tee at Prestwick!

Thanks...We may use the train for Prestwick. Definitely for when we do a night in AYR.

No problem. The short train journey from Ayr to Prestwick takes only about 6 mins, but in a way it's quite quaint, and to get off at Prestwick onto the platform and look over the small stone wall that borders the 1st Fairway is incredibly enigmatic, to think that's where all the spectators got off at the end of the 19th century to see the first few Open Championships is just about as soul stirring as it gets, and although some would disagree I'm sure, it ranks right up there with walking onto the 1st tee of the Old Course, St Andrews.

If I can give you any more info or advice, I'd be happy to help.

Sheff · August 5, 2016

Interesting on the trains! I have flights booked now to arrive in GLA early (7:30am) Sunday, August 21. With a hotel in 'downtown' Ayr (2 minute walk from train station), is it recommended to forgo the car rental and just use train and cabs? Again, I'll be solo golfing Sun-Tues, then back to GLA for meetings Wednesday. The train ride for GLA-Ayr is like 75 minutes, which is totally fine. Then I'd have the train nearby the hotel for Prestwick, Troon, etc and cabs for the rest.

Is a car rental a significant value-add to the overall Scotland experience? I assume golf clubs on the train is a regular thing there.

jay65 · August 5, 2016

Interesting on the trains! I have flights booked now to arrive in GLA early (7:30am) Sunday, August 21. With a hotel in 'downtown' Ayr (2 minute walk from train station), is it recommended to forgo the car rental and just use train and cabs? Again, I'll be solo golfing Sun-Tues, then back to GLA for meetings Wednesday. The train ride for GLA-Ayr is like 75 minutes, which is totally fine. Then I'd have the train nearby the hotel for Prestwick, Troon, etc and cabs for the rest.

Is a car rental a significant value-add to the overall Scotland experience? I assume golf clubs on the train is a regular thing there.

Absolutely fine not to bother with car rental. The trains are great, regular, reliable, clean and very convenient, there's plenty of room on them and they're very used to Golfers, you can just sit there with your clubs next to you, as I said earlier, organizing a taxi is like falling off a log, just call them, tell them where you are, and where you're going, and they are normally there within 20 mins, and with the close proximity of all the Courses, the real need for a car has negligible benefits in my opinion.

Sheff · August 11, 2016

I changed my hotel to the Prestwick Old Course to cut down on some to/from travel.

Always a dicey subject, but would love opinions on which courses to play (single).

Current straw man game plan:

Day 1: Sunday: arrive GLA 7:30am local, arrive by train in Prestwick before noon. Play 1 course in afternoon (nearby preferred due to likely tiredness, take cab) - maybe Prestwick St. Nich or St. Cuthbert? I consider this a bonus if it happens due to travel mishaps, etc.

Day 2: Monday: walk 2 courses that are reasonably close together, with train access/cabs between as needed.

Option 1: Kilmarnock and Western Gailes

or

Option 2: Royal Troon (Old and Portland/Muni)

Day 3: Tuesday: Prestwick Old and St. Nicholas (if not played Sunday). Then catch train back to Glasgow for work hotel/trip.

Thoughts? Am I forgetting any key courses or overlooking a closure day?

jay65 · August 12, 2016

I changed my hotel to the Prestwick Old Course to cut down on some to/from travel.

Always a dicey subject, but would love opinions on which courses to play (single).
Current straw man game plan:

Day 1: Sunday: arrive GLA 7:30am local, arrive by train in Prestwick before noon. Play 1 course in afternoon (nearby preferred due to likely tiredness, take cab) - maybe Prestwick St. Nich or St. Cuthbert? I consider this a bonus if it happens due to travel mishaps, etc.

Day 2: Monday: walk 2 courses that are reasonably close together, with train access/cabs between as needed.
Option 1: Kilmarnock and Western Gailes
or
Option 2: Royal Troon (Old and Portland/Muni)

Day 3: Tuesday: Prestwick Old and St. Nicholas (if not played Sunday). Then catch train back to Glasgow for work hotel/trip.

Thoughts? Am I forgetting any key courses or overlooking a closure day?

Hi

Obviously the permutations are almost endless. Personally from my knowledge of the area, I would play Prestwick St Nicholas on the first day, it's not an incredibly long Course and relatively easy walk, which would be a perfect 1st day Course.

Second day if you need to keep the 2 courses you're playing close together then I would play Western Gailes and Dundonald. They're right next door to each other, and whilst Kilmarnock Barassie is very close too, with respect to Kilmarnock, I think Dundonald would edge it for me personally.

Getting on the Royal Troon could be very difficult at this late stage, you could shoot them an email I guess to see if they could squeeze you on, but what with The Open being held there this year, being it's year to host The Open, it may be full.

Final day if you're looking to play twice, then a taxi ride up to Glasgow Gailes in the morning. It's only a 15 min taxi ride from Prestwick and shouldn't prove too much hassle, then taxi back to Prestwick Old for your last round in the afternoon.

With that schedule you've really covered pretty much all bases in respect of quality and experience.

As I said, you could shoot Royal Troon an email, and ask them if they can squeeze you on as a single, but trust me, you're not going to feel in any way short changed by playing Dundonald and Western Gailes instead on the second day should Royal Troon not have any spots free.