Help Me Plan My Week-long Golfing Trip To Scotland 2019

[Roadking2003]

I'm a carnoustie member. It's nowhere near as hard as people make out as long as you play the correct tee. For me it's the best course in the county but I accept that's a biased opinion. Not read through the whole thread but happy to answer any questions you may have about playing over here/advice etc.

 

That's a good point. I enjoyed standing on the 18th tee and thanking about the Van de Velde meltdown. Then I hit driver / 8 iron to the middle of the green. It was quite satisfying.

[DavePelz4]

OK, guys, I am seriously considering The Experience St. Andrews. $7000 per head seems reasonable given the necessity for reliable logistics given that I've never been to Scotland let alone UK before, but is food included? I am hoping not because the agreement I had with my buddies is that I pay for everything except food and drink, which they pay for. If food is included, I will have to calculate what they would owe me at the end of the trip.

 

Also, how do you pay for The Experience St. Andrews? Can I pay by credit card, is a deposit required, or do I have to come over with a tall stack of $100 bills?

 

Pretty sure the plate and utensils pic with "your meals" means they are covered as it shows pretty clearly on the website and they will send you their terms and conditions and also make it clear how you can pay on the website as well. If you know the cost you've been to the website and already seen the answers to these questions.

 

Seems to be backtracking on that dropping $40k on his mates a bit isn't it?

Forget the package tour fine print, I hope his travelling companions read theirs and get comprehensive insurance.

 

I'll get out of this one. Typical Emperor. The whole I'm loaded and need to spend $40,000 (I'd gladly plan the trip for them and pocket the healthy difference) was off putting but now the I'm going to spend $7000 apiece on this thing I've researched but still need answers to questions he already knows the answers to suggests this one is more about getting the $ out there. If not, then fair enough. Glad he's "bucks up", hope they all have a great time, but not getting the vibe from the OP that most of the really good trip threads seem to have when legitimately asking for help. He just needs to pick the dates, hire the planner and buy airline tickets and off they go.

 

Hawk, isn't it about time DP4 did this for us!?

 

Can't think of two guys who would be better to share a trip like this with than you two! Quality golfers, even better people.

 

Now...where's that spare $ 40,000.00?

[8thehardway]

Well Dornoch I would really want to play. How about the idea of taking a plane from Edinburgh to nearby Inverness airport?

 

You might also look into helicopter services for part of your golf trip; Heli-Scot is one provider; they could probably advise you on establishing bases as well.

[EmperorPenguin]

Now...where's that spare $ 40,000.00?

 

Ahem.

The Emperor does not fool around when it comes to money!

[EmperorPenguin]

Well Dornoch I would really want to play. How about the idea of taking a plane from Edinburgh to nearby Inverness airport?

 

You might also look into helicopter services for part of your golf trip; Heli-Scot is one provider; they could probably advise you on establishing bases as well.

 

That may be a good option, but I think I might be right at budget. If not, I would love to take a heli to Dornoch and especially Royal County Down.

[Hawkeye77]

Now...where's that spare $ 40,000.00?

 

Ahem.

The Emperor does not fool around when it comes to money!

 

Seen some strange things on here, but that's just unseemly.

[warrio17]

Last July, my father and I took a Scotland golf trip playing most of the top courses and attending the Open Championship. Below is a ranking of them and a link to my post describing the trip. Needless to say you are going to have a absolute blast. I would say you MUST PLAY Muirfield, Trump Turnberry, Carnoustie and Royal Troon while you are there.

 

 

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/1491378-the-open-and-scotland-golf-trip-july-2017/

 

1. Trump Turnberry
   
2. Murifield
   
3. Old Course
   
4. Royal Troon
   
5. Carnoustie
   
6. Royal Lytham and St Annes
   
7. Kingsbarns
   
8. Prestwick
   

Now this list was hard to accurately make. All these course are amazing! Truthfully it would be more accurate to give a 1 a,b,c rather than 1,2,3. Nevertheless I would say Trump Turnberry is the most beautiful course I have ever seen and the course plays amazingly. Muirfield without a doubt is the most difficult course I have ever played, but is a MUST PLAY 1000% Dont forget your Jacket and Tie for lunch. The Old Course is special for what it is, but the course it's self isn't that impressive. Royal Troon is absolutely gorgeous and plays very tough. Numerous tee boxes are level in height as the fairway. The fescue & gorse height actually prevents view of the fairway, making you aim for what only appears to be a cut out in the tall fescue. We had fairly decent weather at Carnoustie- 20mph winds- making the round fairly painless. Course punishes aired tee shots but if you can find the fairway its pretty straight forward. Royal Lytham was simply amazing. Very underrated!! This track is in England so quite the trip down, but if you have the means and could arrange a helicopter to fly you down, that would be a great track to play. Very challenging but fair. Prestwick a Top 100 course does not deserve to be at the end of any list. The course has so much character and has a lot of quirky holes. If you venture over to the West Coast, make sure you play Prestwick and Royal Troon. Most people will play those two in the same day. While you're there head south to Trump Turnberry. It wont disappoint.

 

 

Feel free to ask any questions. I can supply you with lodging info if you like. We opted for B&B and were pleasantly surprised by how nice the people and facilities were.

 

All the best,

 

Wes

[EmperorPenguin]

OK, so for now I have contacted the people at The Experience St. Andrews. I selected them because their packages best cover the courses I want us to play. For now I am interested in their four-day programs at St. Andrews, and for now I want to play The Old Course, The New Course, and Kingsbarns for sure, but the other courses in that region offered in their package are Carnoustie, Castle, Crail, Jubilee, Leven Links,The Duke's, Kittocks and Torrance. None of them seem appealing to me, so maybe play Kingsbarns twice while at St. Andrews?

 

I will select a second hub, the Northeast and Highlands. The ones I want to play are Dornoch, Cruden Bay, Castle Stuart and Nairn. The rest offered in that region in their package are Brora, Aberdeen, Tain and Trump Int'l. I think this hub will be the easy one, because the four I want to play there seem to be my best options. However, I have no clue which ones are the best.

 

I will make my plan simple. Four days in one hub, and four days in the other. What do you guys think?

[okular]

reach out to my uncle, he plans these types of trips for a living, his name is Tom.

 

http://rtggolf.com

[davep043]

OK, so for now I have contacted the people at The Experience St. Andrews. I selected them because their packages best cover the courses I want us to play. For now I am interested in their four-day programs at St. Andrews, and for now I want to play The Old Course, The New Course, and Kingsbarns for sure, but the other courses in that region offered in their package are Carnoustie, Castle, Crail, Jubilee, Leven Links,The Duke's, Kittocks and Torrance. None of them seem appealing to me, so maybe play Kingsbarns twice while at St. Andrews?

 

I will select a second hub, the Northeast and Highlands. The ones I want to play are Dornoch, Cruden Bay, Castle Stuart and Nairn. The rest offered in that region in their package are Brora, Aberdeen, Tain and Trump Int'l. I think this hub will be the easy one, because the four I want to play there seem to be my best options. However, I have no clue which ones are the best.

 

I will make my plan simple. Four days in one hub, and four days in the other. What do you guys think?

While in St Andrews, my personal preferences would be for true links, which would exclude Castle, Dukes, Kittocks and Torrance. Crail (Balcomie) is fun, not too severe, welcoming, it might be a great start to your week. Jubilee is excellent, challenging, and through some pretty tall steep dunes on a few holes, but you'll have played the Old and New already over pretty much the same ground. I really enjoyed Lundin Links (immediately next to Leven). Its an interesting course, about half on the links, and the remainder climbing the hillside to a more parkland setting. Carnoustie speaks for itself, tough, not particularly scenic, but a great challenge. I think there's a page for each at www.golfnook.com, you might see something there that can help you make up your mind.

 

In the north, Cruden Bay is NOT near your other three. You could certainly add Brora or Tain to the three others, Nairn, Royal Dornoch, and Castle Stuart, and stay in a single spot. I played Tain, its a lot of understated fun, and a friend has told me that Brora is great. I'd be inclined to choose Brora, just to be someplace where sheep still graze on the actual course. The other logical combination would be Cruden Bay, Royal Aberdeen, Trump, and Murcar. That area is on MY personal list for future trips.

[Chanceman]

Please dont leave out Carnoustie - it is Scottish golf par excellence.

If it was me, my 8 days would be:

North Berwick, Kingsbarns, Old Course, Carnoustie, Royal Aberdeen, Cruden Bay, Nairn and Royal Dornoch.

These are all in sequence with only an hour or two road time between them.

If you have extra daylight you can include the likes of Crail, Lundin, the New Course, Panmure, Fraserburgh, Boat of Garten.

Dont forget your single malt tour!!

[tiderider]

haven't read the thread ...

 

the open courses in scotland are st andrews, muirfield, turnberry (no longer an open course, imo, but one that was, nonetheless), carnoustie and troon ... that's 5 courses ... st andrews starts booking in sept/oct, muirfield starts this month, and the othe. o.l\=[;0prs probably aren't too tough if you commit and book a year out ... the biggest mistake i think people probably make is playing TOO much golf ... you have to walk all courses ... you may THINK you're ready for that, but you most certainly are not ... even if you're fit and use a caddie (your budget says you can afford a caddie every tie), your feet are an underrated aspect of walking 19 everyday ... and, yes, that 19th hole is one you will 'walk', to some degree, every day ... you have 5 open couses ... your other courses, in no order, are dornoch (easily the best of the remaining and probably the best of all of them), cruden bay, aberdeen, gullane, macrihanish, western gailes, and prestwick ... i would schedule a day for nongolf every 3 courses ... just to relax, get a massage and whatnot (again, according to your budget, taking 12 days or so is the best option) ... if this is your ONLY trip, really plan it to get the most enjoyment out of it instead of trying to fit 7 courses into 6 days or so ... forget anything in ireland ... if you can budget 40000 for a scotland trip, you can go back to ireland next year ...

[EmperorPenguin]

I spoke with Robin Dugmore at The Experience and we had a lengthy talk over the phone as to what I am looking for. First of all, the cost is not so bad after all: $7000 per person with standard rooms and $7500 with luxury rooms. We can take the luxury rooms and easily afford caddies every day.

 

Robin recommends flying into Edinbugh and going straight to the highlands, playing four rounds at Castle Stuart, Nairn, Dornoch and Cruden Bay. The Cruden Bay round will have one night there at a B&B. Afterwards head back to St. Andrews and play The Old Course, New Course, Kingsbarns and one other. Given the options available in the package deal, I don't seem to be interested in any other option other than play Kingsbarns twice. Robin recommends instead for the fourth course Crail or Leven Links. Are either of them worth forsaking a second round at Kingsbarns?

[davep043]

I spoke with Robin Dugmore at The Experience and we had a lengthy talk over the phone as to what I am looking for. First of all, the cost is not so bad after all: $7000 per person with standard rooms and $7500 with luxury rooms. We can take the luxury rooms and easily afford caddies every day.

 

Robin recommends flying into Edinbugh and going straight to the highlands, playing four rounds at Castle Stuart, Nairn, Dornoch and Cruden Bay. The Cruden Bay round will have one night there at a B&B. Afterwards head back to St. Andrews and play The Old Course, New Course, Kingsbarns and one other. Given the options available in the package deal, I don't seem to be interested in any other option other than play Kingsbarns twice. Robin recommends instead for the fourth course Crail or Leven Links. Are either of them worth forsaking a second round at Kingsbarns?

Sounds to me like you're narrowing things down nicely. It seems like a good idea to stay somewhere near Cruden Bay, rather than drive both before AND after that round.

The last question, then, is Kingsbards a second time, or Crail of Leven Links. Crail is lovely, with some good holes along the coast, but compared to the rest it might seem a bit of a let-down. Leven might be the better of those two options, and has the added attraction of being a bit more of a "locals" course. I've played the neighboring Lundin, and really enjoyed it. For a while, Lundin and Leven shared an 18-hole course, they simply started at opposite ends. When demand got high enough, the split the course in the middle, and each club built more inland holes to make 18 on each. At Leven, these "new" holes are all still in linksland. I believe the original holes were laid out by Old Tom Morris, and that James Braid did the additions. I think I'd enjoy playing there, so that would be my choice, if I was going with you

There's also a lot to be said about playing a course twice, knowing where you're going the second time around. I don't remember a lot of "tricks" at Kingsbarns, but you'll definitely enjoy it. I also remember that Kingsbarns offers a significant discount if you play a second time there, so its not as exorbitant the second time around. I think either choice would be a good one.

[EmperorPenguin]

Well I would not want to play Kingsbarns twice on the same day. The idea I have for now is this: when in St. Andrews, play Kingsbarns, Old Course, New Course, then Kingsbarns again, in that order.

[warrio17]

OK, boys, I decided to splurge. Next year I turn 50, and after twenty-three years of saving, investing and planning I have sustained a high net worth. I realize that I can't take it with me when I die, so I decided to host three of my best friends for a week-long trip to Scotland during the US Open week of 2019, where it will be played at Pebble Beach. While the world's best golfers will duke it out at the Links, my buddies and I will duke it out in Scotland for a week of fun.

I invited each of them in private and they were all excited of the opportunity. The terms are simple: I pay for plane tickets, accommodations, greens fees and caddie fees; they just pay for food and drink for everyone in the group, including myself, so I eat for free. They all said yes, but at the beginning of next year when I book the plane tickets I will formally ask each one for final confirmation, given that lives change over time.

Here is where I need your help. I only have a vague idea of what to do. I have never been to Scotland before, so I am a newbie of visiting the home of golf. I heard that you can book the Old Course a year in advance, and most people do. That is why I am starting this thread so far in advance. I rely on your wisdom and knowledge of what to do, and any ideas in this thread will be greatly appreciated and considered.

The first issue is deciding on which courses to play. The plan is to play only one course per day; I don't believe in jamming in as many courses as possible, playing 36 holes each day. This will be about a week-long trip, so the plan for now is to play at least seven courses, maybe eight or nine if I am convinced. Certainly The Old Course at St. Andrews I want to play. The other courses I want to play, given what I've read here so far, will be Kingsbarns, Dornoch, Kingsbarns, Prestwick, Turnberry, Cruden Bay, and maybe take a short flight and play Royal County Down. If you only had a week or so to play in Scotland, and only one course per day, which seven or eight courses would you play?

The major considerations of this magnificent trip are logistics and accommodations. I understand that there are businesses that can arrange all that for a fee, but I wonder if those guys tend to gouge. Is is worthwhile to engage these businesses? I think it will be a good idea to select a central location so we will not travel far to each course. Maybe Edinburgh?

The final and most important consideration is budget. The figure I am willing to spend on this trip is $40,000, which I reckon should be more than enough--will it be? Remember that my hosts will cover food and drink, and I pay for everything else. I have never been to a B&B before, so I would prefer a good hotel for us all. The plan for now is to play golf in the late morning or early afternoon, have a few drinks, and watch the US Open at Pebble Beach either at the local pub or back in our room. I am looking for a three-bedroom suite for us to stay in.

So let's start this thread with some good ideas and recommendations. Thank you in advance for your recommendations and ideas.

 

Muirfield is a MUST.

Turnberry is a MUST

Carnoustie

Royal Troon

 

Venture down to England and play Royal Liverpool and Royal Lytham and St Annes!!

 

This was my trip.

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/1491378-the-open-and-scotland-golf-trip-july-2017/

[davep043]

Well I would not want to play Kingsbarns twice on the same day. The idea I have for now is this: when in St. Andrews, play Kingsbarns, Old Course, New Course, then Kingsbarns again, in that order.

That should work fine. Looking at the Kingsbarns website, a replay round is charged at half price, and has to be played within 7 days of the first. I'd double check with The Experience to be sure that savingsgets passed along if you choose that route.

[EmperorPenguin]

Why Murifield? I hear that The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers is both stuffy and snooty. If that is the case, I certainly don't want to go there because one of us would not fit in, given his extreme hippie-like appearance, though he plays to a solid 4. Furthermore, I understand that eating there requires coat and tie, which the hippie would certainly object to.

[tiderider]

Why Murifield? I hear that The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers is both stuffy and snooty. If that is the case, I certainly don't want to go there because one of us would not fit in, given his extreme hippie-like appearance, though he plays to a solid 4. Furthermore, I understand that eating there requires coat and tie, which the hippie would certainly object to.

 

have you even gone to the website and read any info?

[EmperorPenguin]

OK, guys. Here is the update so far. The itinerary I will select will be the one I mentioned earlier: Nairn, Castle Stuart, Royal Dornoch, then Cruden Bay, then Kingsbarns, Old Course, New Course, then back to Kingsbarns. There is a new development here.

 

One of the fellows has a crazy girlfriend and they have a child together. She wants to come with us to Scotland and bring the baby with her. He honestly doesn't want her to come, but I said that if she comes she must pay her own plane tickets, room and rental car. She can join us for dinner and maybe even breakfast, but we boys will still have our time together. I can't see what she can do to keep herself company while we will be together. I can only speculate that she doesn't want him to visit a strip club or to check out other girls, but I think the easiest thing to do is simply forbid her to go and our buddy can make a deal with his girlfriend. I don't think this will be much of a distraction to our plans and I think he can settle the matter. Any of you guys ever had issues of wives/girlfriends wanting to tag along?

[davep043]

Any of you guys ever had issues of wives/girlfriends wanting to tag along?

Well, when I started planning my first Scotland excursion, my wife asked sweetly "Will this be a boys trip, or a couples trip?" I hadn't stayed married for 25 years or so without learning a thing or two, so I quite logically said "A couples trip, of course." As it worked out, we had 4 couples, all golfers, and had a blast. I had two tee times at the Old Course, 7:00 for four women, 7:10 for four men. We didn't plan golf every day, but were able to fill in some open days with golf for those who wanted to play. My wife only took one day off for sightseeing, she loves to play. When I went back the following year, it was all men, and my wife didn't complain a bit.

[EmperorPenguin]

I think the issue with the crazy girlfriend will be settled, since we have at least a year to go; I'm sure he will work a deal with her.

 

I am starting to think about travel insurance. The Experience does not have a refund policy, so I think travel insurance will be necessary, given that by next year anything can happen. Has anyone here used such travel insurance, and are the terms and conditions generous?

 

I have only used travel insurance a couple times, and once it proved very helpful because an uncle died a week before departure. However, the insurance company wanted a copy of the death certificate, which was very difficult to obtain from my grieving cousins.

[Roadking2003]

Why Murifield? I hear that The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers is both stuffy and snooty. If that is the case, I certainly don't want to go there because one of us would not fit in, given his extreme hippie-like appearance, though he plays to a solid 4. Furthermore, I understand that eating there requires coat and tie, which the hippie would certainly object to.

 

This is true. Without it, you can't eat there.

 

But, it is wonderful dining event.

[Roadking2003]

One of the fellows has a crazy girlfriend and they have a child together. She wants to come with us to Scotland and bring the baby with her. He honestly doesn't want her to come, but I said that if she comes she must pay her own plane tickets, room and rental car. She can join us for dinner and maybe even breakfast, but we boys will still have our time together. I can't see what she can do to keep herself company while we will be together. I can only speculate that she doesn't want him to visit a strip club or to check out other girls, but I think the easiest thing to do is simply forbid her to go and our buddy can make a deal with his girlfriend. I don't think this will be much of a distraction to our plans and I think he can settle the matter. Any of you guys ever had issues of wives/girlfriends wanting to tag along?

 

This, in my humble opinion, would be a disaster. We never include wives/girlfriends on golf trips. And it has nothing to do with strip clubs.

 

But many times they will join some of us for a post golf trip vacation.

 

We also do couples trips where we play some golf. But that's totally different.

[Roadking2003]

I am starting to think about travel insurance. The Experience does not have a refund policy, so I think travel insurance will be necessary, given that by next year anything can happen. Has anyone here used such travel insurance, and are the terms and conditions generous?

 

I have only used travel insurance a couple times, and once it proved very helpful because an uncle died a week before departure. However, the insurance company wanted a copy of the death certificate, which was very difficult to obtain from my grieving cousins.

 

I never buy travel insurance. But lots of people do. The cost is 8 - 10% of the trip so it's not insignificant.

 

Be sure to read about travel insurance coverage you may already have with your CC company. Many credit cards provide pretty good coverage for the expenses paid with their card.

[Stetson]

Thought I would revive this thread rather than start a new thread. What is the opinion of the people on this rough plan?

 

Start on West coast with a stay and play at Troon: Rounds at Prestwick, Royal Troon and Turnberry Alisa

Move to East coast and stay in St Andrews: Rounds at Miurfield, Carnoustie, and St Andrews

 

How feasible is that? Will it be very difficult to schedule the east coast rounds? How easy is the travel from Troon to St Andrews with public transportation or Uber?

[duffer987]

Thought I would revive this thread rather than start a new thread. What is the opinion of the people on this rough plan?

 

Start on West coast with a stay and play at Troon: Rounds at Prestwick, Royal Troon and Turnberry Alisa

Move to East coast and stay in St Andrews: Rounds at Miurfield, Carnoustie, and St Andrews

 

How feasible is that? Will it be very difficult to schedule the east coast rounds? How easy is the travel from Troon to St Andrews with public transportation or Uber?

 

Overall - very feasible, with a couple caveats.

 

First thing, I'd never do a golf trip with that much distance needing to be covered without a rental car. Is it the manual transmission thing? You can specifically book autos. If it's the 'wrong side of the road' thing, it's not bad at all, just be careful in car parks or places that are more free-range and you'd be fine. If you don't really want to drive, then get a car/van service, it'd be a major pain lugging all your gear for a week's trip on the train. Just the clubs fine, but not with the other bags.

 

For teetimes, get Muirfield first and build out the rest of the trip around that. Assuming you are going in season, they only offer up a limited number two days a week, it's easier to fill the others around it. Speaking of filling, go to all the sites and jot down the days each of them allow visitors and you might quickly see how you can build your trip and maybe realise some hard decisions need to be made and some substitutes (loads of worthy options) may need to be made.

 

Speaking of Muirfield, I wouldn't play it while being based in St. Andrews, that's a 4-5hr round trip, with a bridge to cross and a city to get around. Unless you were to take the Earlsferry crossing, but it still makes for a full day. Especially if you are doing the two-round w/lunch. Stay 1 night in East Lothian while transitioning from Ayr to St. Andrews and drive up to St. Andrews after you've played.

 

TBH I've not even played Muirfield yet, but I would be really hard pressed to make a trip to that area and not play North Berwick if you have not already played it. Like Prestwick you are walking and playing on really special ground there.

[Stetson]

Thanks for the tips! I was really trying to focus on Open Venues so I didn’t even consider North Berkwick, although it is tempting to look at many many options once I let go of the Open focus.

[duffer987]

Thanks for the tips! I was really trying to focus on Open Venues so I didn't even consider North Berwick, although it is tempting to look at many many options once I let go of the Open focus.

 

Ah OK - ha I'd not even twigged about Rota courses :)

In that case, if you have trouble with times in either Ayr or the East Coast options, you can thrown an audible, head to Southport and get 3 of them (Lytham & St. Annes, Hoylake, and Birkdale).

 

It's a cliche, but if you've not been and played there before, there are not really any wrong choices, as it'll all be new and cool to see/play.

[Stetson]

I would love to take 2 weeks and play them all but not sure oops has that kind of stamina haha