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

[davep043]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned, its something like a 90 minute drive from St Andrews to Muirfield, in good traffic. If you're going to try to do the classic 36 hole day there, sandwiched around lunch, you're getting into the realm of 12 or 13 hours. It might be better overall to just pick one area and find another course or two. There are loads of other excellent courses much closer to St Andrews (think Kingsbarns if you really want famous, and have a ton of cash), and there are a number of excellent links near Muirfield and North Berwick if you chose to spend 3 or 4 nights there. I know a lot of people want to "collect" Open venues, but you can honestly have just as much challenge and just as much fun playing less famous courses. I'll be spending a week in June, playing Dundonald, Prestwick, Western Gailes and Glasgow Gailes in Ayrshire, and North Berwick, Dunbar, Gullane, and the Glen in East Lothian. We'll have a great time without playing a single current Open-rota course.

[Stetson]

Oh yea I forgot to mention that the manual transmission and driving on the wrong side of the road are both none factors, just thought a car rental may be unnecessary and cars over there are a tad smaller so worried about room for 4 sets of clubs with four ppl in the vehicle

[duffer987]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned, its something like a 90 minute drive from St Andrews to Muirfield, in good traffic. If you're going to try to do the classic 36 hole day there, sandwiched around lunch, you're getting into the realm of 12 or 13 hours...

 

:wave:

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.

 

@Stenson - Regarding driving in that case, I'd definitely get a car hire, it's so much easier. Here's a recent thread where we knocked that topic around:

http://www.golfwrx.c...icle-for-group/

[EmperorPenguin]

OK, guys, this is an update. I just paid the 40% deposit to The Experience at St. Andrews so we are locked in! Here is our itinerary, copied from the email. The starting times have been removed to protect the innocent from penguinnappers and assassins.

 

 

=====

 

Kingsmills Hotel

 

10th June 2019 – 4 Nights

 

2 x Classic Twin Rooms

 

 

11th June – Castle Stuart

 

12th June – Royal Dornoch

 

13th June – Nairn

 

 

Cruden Bay B & B

 

14th June 2019 – 1 Night

 

2 x Twin Rooms

 

14th June – Cruden Bay

 

 

Old Course Hotel

 

15th June 2019 – 4 Nights

 

2 x Eden Twin Rooms

 

 

15th June – Kingsbarns

 

16th June – Jubilee Course

 

17th June – Old Course

 

18th June – Kingsbarns

 

 

Scottish Breakfast Daily

 

Clubhouse lunches included when golfing at Kingsbarns & St Andrews

 

Dinner in the Old Course Hotel on one evening

 

Private Minibus for 5 days whilst in the north of Scotland.

 

Daily Transfers to and from the golf courses while staying in St Andrews

 

St Andrews to Edinburgh Airport Transfer

 

Souvenir Photobook (mailed after your visit)

 

Dedicated Experience St Andrews’ representative throughout your stay

 

Access to Leisure facilities at the Old Course Hotel

 

=====

 

I requested The New Course, but for some reason we were allotted Jubilee, and we do not have the option to change that, so I guess now we are stuck on Jubilee. Hopefully Jubilee may prove itself to be better than the New Course.

What is a "Scottish breakfast" anyway? I am assuming it is not the typical American breakfast.

[az2au]

Scottish Breakfast is an egg, a tattlie (potato scone), sausage, back bacon (more like Canadian bacon for those from the US), baked beans, roasted tomato, mushrooms and black pudding. Every single place I’ve ever stayed in Scotland serves it. Often you can get smoked salmon and eggs instead. That’s my go to when available. You’ll also get plenty of toast and muesli if you want.

 

Also, New and Jubilee on the same day is an easy walk. Just did it 4 weeks ago. You should be able to play at New that afternoon. I like both of the them but slightly prefer New.

[hodograph]

I was at St Andrews in mid-June 2018 (same week the OP is there in '19). Our group played the New and the Jubilee, and we loved them both.

 

These two courses are right next to one another, and since there's plenty of daylight in mid-June (sunset is around 10 pm) we had no problem getting in a second round in the afternoon at the other course.

[EmperorPenguin]

Scottish Breakfast is an egg, a tattlie (potato scone), sausage, back bacon (more like Canadian bacon for those from the US), baked beans, roasted tomato, mushrooms and black pudding. Every single place I’ve ever stayed in Scotland serves it. Often you can get smoked salmon and eggs instead. That’s my go to when available. You’ll also get plenty of toast and muesli if you want.

 

Also, New and Jubilee on the same day is an easy walk. Just did it 4 weeks ago. You should be able to play at New that afternoon. I like both of the them but slightly prefer New.

 

Sounds good, but the plan is to play only one round per day. Given so many rounds of golf, playing 36 on any day would be too much for any of us.

 

Scottish breakfast seems more like a dinner meal than breakfast. I am used to pancakes/waffles (with maple syrup, of course!), eggs, bacon/sausage, cereal and orange juice.

[EmperorPenguin]

I was at St Andrews in mid-June 2018 (same week the OP is there in '19). Our group played the New and the Jubilee, and we loved them both.

 

These two courses are right next to one another, and since there's plenty of daylight in mid-June (sunset is around 10 pm) we had no problem getting in a second round in the afternoon at the other course.

 

How was the weather then? I hear we can have rain coming in sideways.

[warrio17]

OK, guys, this is an update. I just paid the 40% deposit to The Experience at St. Andrews so we are locked in! Here is our itinerary, copied from the email. The starting times have been removed to protect the innocent from penguinnappers and assassins.

 

 

=====

 

Kingsmills Hotel

 

10th June 2019 – 4 Nights

 

2 x Classic Twin Rooms

 

 

11th June – Castle Stuart

 

12th June – Royal Dornoch

 

13th June – Nairn

 

 

Cruden Bay B & B

 

14th June 2019 – 1 Night

 

2 x Twin Rooms

 

14th June – Cruden Bay

 

 

Old Course Hotel

 

15th June 2019 – 4 Nights

 

2 x Eden Twin Rooms

 

 

15th June – Kingsbarns

 

16th June – Jubilee Course

 

17th June – Old Course

 

18th June – Kingsbarns

 

 

Scottish Breakfast Daily

 

Clubhouse lunches included when golfing at Kingsbarns & St Andrews

 

Dinner in the Old Course Hotel on one evening

 

Private Minibus for 5 days whilst in the north of Scotland.

 

Daily Transfers to and from the golf courses while staying in St Andrews

 

St Andrews to Edinburgh Airport Transfer

 

Souvenir Photobook (mailed after your visit)

 

Dedicated Experience St Andrews’ representative throughout your stay

 

Access to Leisure facilities at the Old Course Hotel

 

=====

 

I requested The New Course, but for some reason we were allotted Jubilee, and we do not have the option to change that, so I guess now we are stuck on Jubilee. Hopefully Jubilee may prove itself to be better than the New Course.

What is a "Scottish breakfast" anyway? I am assuming it is not the typical American breakfast.

 

You should try to sub out the 15th Kingsbarns (considering your playing it on the 18th) to play Carnoustie, its only a 35-40 minute drive. Kingsbarns is nice, but there are other courses I would choose to play twice or once for that matter. JAT

[duffer987]

$40,000 doesn't get you much these days does it?

I'd sure not want to be sharing rooms and sleeping in single-sized beds like a college dorm for that much coin.

The Experience at St. Andrews sure made out like gangbusters in this deal!

Hope your friends have a great time though and the weather is decent.

[davep043]

 

 

Sounds good, but the plan is to play only one round per day. Given so many rounds of golf, playing 36 on any day would be too much for any of us.

 

Scottish breakfast seems more like a dinner meal than breakfast. I am used to pancakes/waffles (with maple syrup, of course!), eggs, bacon/sausage, cereal and orange juice.

You'll almost certainly have an option to have waffles or pancakes, with maple syrup, at most places. The Old Course Hotel is American owned, I'd guarantee it there. I rather liked having the mushrooms for breakfast. You might also get baked beans. But you won't get huge servings of any one thing, enough to have a good taste. I agree, smoked salmon ins scrambled eggs is great. If you're offered kippers, (smoked herring, I think) I'd recommend giving that a try. Be sure to try the black pudding, it can be really good (or not so good).

You won't find a halfway house on most courses, so be prepared with a bottle of water, and a snack. I liked a little place called Munch in St Andrews, on South Street just inside the old city gate. Get a bacon roll to eat on the course.

[EmperorPenguin]

$40,000 doesn't get you much these days does it?

I'd sure not want to be sharing rooms and sleeping in single-sized beds like a college dorm for that much coin.

The Experience at St. Andrews sure made out like gangbusters in this deal!

Hope your friends have a great time though and the weather is decent.

 

I heard that booking companies like The Experience or Perry Golf basically mark up about 25% so they can earn their keep. For me, it is simply a matter of convenience because I do not want to handle the logistical nightmare, and besides I want that guaranteed starting time at the Home of Golf anyway. It will be our first trip to UK for all four of us, so I want to make sure that there will be no mistakes.

 

Has anyone ever been to Kingsmills Hotel in Inverness? I hope it is a nice hotel.

 

So far, it appears that we are going under budget. The 40% deposit is 8414 GBP, which amounts to a little over $11k, so the remainder would be about $16k, thus maybe $27-28k for The Experience package? Plane tickets I will look six months in advance and I should be able to catch the low price point if I check daily. My buddies are all willing to contribute in any way I will ask them to, but I will only ask them if I will be over budget. The $40,000 budget should be just right.

 

As far as two guys sleeping in the same room, you should know that we are all very close friends, so it should not be much of an issue.

 

I hear June is very unpredictable, that rain gear is a must.

[hodograph]

I was at St Andrews in mid-June 2018 (same week the OP is there in '19). Our group played the New and the Jubilee, and we loved them both.

 

These two courses are right next to one another, and since there's plenty of daylight in mid-June (sunset is around 10 pm) we had no problem getting in a second round in the afternoon at the other course.

 

How was the weather then? I hear we can have rain coming in sideways.

 

Weather was fine. Usually around 60 degrees with about 10-15 mph of wind; none of that sideways rain stuff...for us anyway.

 

Heavy rain (but no wind) the day we arrived, but otherwise dry. Strongest winds (30 mph, gusts to 45) were on the Old Course day for us, but with bright sun.

[davep043]

I was at St Andrews in mid-June 2018 (same week the OP is there in '19). Our group played the New and the Jubilee, and we loved them both.

 

These two courses are right next to one another, and since there's plenty of daylight in mid-June (sunset is around 10 pm) we had no problem getting in a second round in the afternoon at the other course.

 

How was the weather then? I hear we can have rain coming in sideways.

 

Weather was fine. Usually around 60 degrees with about 10-15 mph of wind; none of that sideways rain stuff...for us anyway.

 

Heavy rain (but no wind) the day we arrived, but otherwise dry. Strongest winds (30 mph, gusts to 45) were on the Old Course day for us, but with bright sun.

I was in Scotland this past June, and the weather was really pretty good. We did have some light to moderate rain one afternoon, but I'd say it was no more than 10 or 12 holes of the 189 holes we played. Highs in the low 60s are common, with lows not much below 50.

[Clambake]

I heard that booking companies like The Experience or Perry Golf basically mark up about 25% so they can earn their keep.

 

Has anyone ever been to Kingsmills Hotel in Inverness? I hope it is a nice hotel.

 

I hear June is very unpredictable, that rain gear is a must.

 

For my Scotland trip last year I analyzed Perry's offer and found their pricing was basically taking rack rate for each hotel and golf course, a fairly high equivalent rate for rental car, and tack on $1000 for the Old Course. By using sites like Booking.com and some direct bookings, plus winning a time in the annual Old Course lottery, we saved about $5000 per person for a 3 week trip but stayed in hotels that were generally nicer than the Perry offerings. While Perry does make it handy by booking everything for you, it really wasn't that much effort to do it myself. I probably "earned" about $1000 per hour wage for the time I put in and the savings.

 

The one hotel I stayed at that Perry also uses was the Kingsmill and it was OK but not great. There is the old part of the hotel and the new part, and we had rooms in the new section. They were spacious but lacked character; basically just normal hotel rooms. We tried to eat at the hotel a couple nights but that turned out to be a problem as the restaurant was always fully booked with outside events; one evening we gave up and went into town, and another evening we tried dinner in the bar but the service was overwhelmed and slow. Parking was also a problem, as they have a lot of banquets for outside groups and they fill the parking lot and then some. If I went back to Inverness I'd look for someplace else to stay.

 

Weather is unpredictable any time of year. I was there in late May and had rain two days in the three weeks, once when playing Carnoustie and one day while exploring the Glencoe area. In 7 rounds of golf I was in shirtsleeves for most rounds, needing a pullover on only 2 rounds and the rain gear only once.

[EmperorPenguin]

OK, so now it is time to consider plane tickets. A potential issue is that one of my guests does not want to sit on a plane for nine or so hours continuously, so I am considering taking two or three stops getting there to Edinburgh. For me and one other guest, we would rather sit nine hours on one leg and get most of the flight out of the way early, then connect somewhere in UK to Edinburgh.

 

I have not booked tickets yet, but does anyone here have a good idea of the route to take from San Francisco to Edinburgh?

[az2au]

OK, so now it is time to consider plane tickets. A potential issue is that one of my guests does not want to sit on a plane for nine or so hours continuously, so I am considering taking two or three stops getting there to Edinburgh. For me and one other guest, we would rather sit nine hours on one leg and get most of the flight out of the way early, then connect somewhere in UK to Edinburgh.

 

I have not booked tickets yet, but does anyone here have a good idea of the route to take from San Francisco to Edinburgh?

It is insane not to get as much out of one leg as possible. The SFO-LHR flight is the only way to go. I’d hire a hit on someone that made me stop at JFK.

 

Note: I’ve gone to Europe, on average, 7-8 times/year for the last 20 years so I might have a strong opinion on this. I truly hate what I refer to as the “original 747” that BA flies from PHX-LHR but I still take it more often than not because it gets the majority of the transit over with as quickly as possible. The plane from SFO is much nicer. I’ve taken that a couple of times as well.

[EmperorPenguin]

I only connected in JFK one time over ten years ago, and I don't particularly remember it as a positive experience. I remember having to go outdoors on the street to take an air train to the next connecting terminal. I suppose that as long as there are two or three hours of connecting time there should be no problem.

 

Is there a direct flight from JFK to Edinburgh? I will only give a slight consideration to JFK if there will be one.

 

I spoke to the culprit guest on the matter and he said that he would hate sitting economy class for nine hours. He stated that he would rather buy the plane ticket himself if he can avoid a long-haul flight. If he will be that adamant, I will tell him to go that route, but he must arrive in Edinburgh before the rest of us do and he must wait for us there. I also told him that a major problem of JFK is that on the return flight, if there is a direct flight from Edinburgh to JFK, when first connecting to JFK he must first pass through immigration, which may be an extremely long line, unless he has Global Entry like I do, and he must also pick up his bags and check them in again before he takes the next flight back home. I would suggest booking a flight with at least four hours of connection time if he will connect to JFK. Flying directly from anywhere in Europe to SFO, albeit a long duration, is so simple and would eliminate the headaches of connecting in JFK.

 

I have flown to Europe many times on economy class and for me and one other (who often travels to Brazil on economy) the duration will be no problem. So far my preferred gateways to Europe will be SFO-LHR, which I suppose will be the most common route for most of the GolfWRX guys traveling to St. Andrews from San Francisco. Another route to consider will be SFO-AMS because KLM is a great airline and Schipol Airport is, in my opinion, the most easy and organized airport to pass through; furthermore, I think that from Amsterdam there is a direct flight to Edinburgh, so it is worth considering. Paris (CDG) is a definite nightmare.

[hodograph]

OK, so now it is time to consider plane tickets. A potential issue is that one of my guests does not want to sit on a plane for nine or so hours continuously, so I am considering taking two or three stops getting there to Edinburgh. For me and one other guest, we would rather sit nine hours on one leg and get most of the flight out of the way early, then connect somewhere in UK to Edinburgh.

 

I have not booked tickets yet, but does anyone here have a good idea of the route to take from San Francisco to Edinburgh?

 

A couple of things to consider...

 

1. Alan Ferguson strongly discourages changing planes in London (LHR/LGW), since golf equipment seems to miss connecting flights pretty easily there. I have no experience with this, but since it's a fairly big deal in his book, I'm guessing it's happened a few times.

 

2. JFK had a non-stop to EDI on American/British Airways earlier this year. No idea how easy it is to get from the domestic to the international terminal at JFK however.

 

3. AMS is a very nice airport, with multiple flights to EDI daily. SFO-AMS seems to be about 10 hrs.

 

4. My golf group flew through Toronto (YYZ) to EDI earlier this year, which was very nice. YYZ-EDI was only about a 7 hr flight, and the SFO-YYZ leg should be about 5 hrs. Worst thing I can say about this is that Air Canada Rouge (carrier for the EDI leg) isn't the most comfortable airline. You'll also need to leave plenty of time between connections in YYZ.

[az2au]

 

 

1. Alan Ferguson strongly discourages changing planes in London (LHR/LGW), since golf equipment seems to miss connecting flights pretty easily there. I have no experience with this, but since it's a fairly big deal in his book, I'm guessing it's happened a few times.

 

I've taken clubs on connections through LHR at least 40 times (probably far more) and have never had any issue whatsoever with them getting lost there. I've also never had one of the many people I've been on trips with get them lost there either. I'm sure it happens but I seriously doubt it is at any higher rate than any other airport.

 

I think the JFK-EDI flight is seasonal but there's no effort in transferring between domestic and international on AA other than, depending on where you land, walking a bit underneath a taxi way. If you need to transfer to BA it is a separate terminal but still not too bad. Just take the air train.

[EmperorPenguin]

A Wikipedia search on the Inverness Airport (INV) shows that KLM flies there from Amsterdam. Since the first golf course is in Inverness and the last in St. Andrews, is it easy to book a ticket first arriving to Inverness and departing UK from Edinburgh? Can I purchase a round-trip ticket that way, or does this mean buying two separate one-way tickets, which means a fortune in airfare?

[Hawkeye77]

A Wikipedia search on the Inverness Airport (INV) shows that KLM flies there from Amsterdam. Since the first golf course is in Inverness and the last in St. Andrews, is it easy to book a ticket first arriving to Inverness and departing UK from Edinburgh? Can I purchase a round-trip ticket that way, or does this mean buying two separate one-way tickets, which means a fortune in airfare?

 

A couple minutes on KLM's website instead of Wiki and that's an easy one to figure out. Will also give you the cost if it flies to Inverness, otherwise another airline will have that info at the ready.

[chrisisoutrunning]

If you're booking on the airline's website, it shouldn't be an issue at all. (On the Delta website for example, just use the Multi-City option when searching for flights.)

 

When I went to Ireland and Scotland last fall we flew into Shannon, then started our journey home in EDI. Travel between Ireland and Scotland was booked separately.

[duffer987]

A Wikipedia search on the Inverness Airport (INV) shows that KLM flies there from Amsterdam. Since the first golf course is in Inverness and the last in St. Andrews, is it easy to book a ticket first arriving to Inverness and departing UK from Edinburgh? Can I purchase a round-trip ticket that way, or does this mean buying two separate one-way tickets, which means a fortune in airfare?

 

A couple minutes on KLM's website instead of Wiki and that's an easy one to figure out. Will also give you the cost if it flies to Inverness, otherwise another airline will have that info at the ready.

Delta codeshare will even save you a few bucks over the KLM site.

You want to share our cut of the tour operator's service fee for this ;)

[EmperorPenguin]

I am presently in the process of booking plane tickets. So far, I selected a multi-city-ticket option and the ticket prices are not so bad compared to standard round trip. I would like to fly into Inverness first, then depart from Edinburgh at the end of the trip. I gave up on connecting in Amsterdam because the KLM flight to Inverness arrives at about 1030P, and I want us to arrive much earlier than that. Here are my two viable options for now.

 

SFO -> LHR -> INV then EDI -> HEL (Helsinki) -> SFO I have never used Helsinki Vantaa before. This one seems to be the simplest option.

 

Here is another option I just discovered. It seems appealing because on the way back we won't be sitting in a plane for 11 hours.

SFO -> YVR (Vancouver) -> LHR -> INV then EDI -> TOR -> SFO The flight from Edinburgh to Toronto is seven hours, so it may be more tolerable. Would connecting into Toronto would be very easy? My final destination is not in Canada, so I suppose I would not have to pass through US Immigration. I did a quick Google search and read that in Toronto I would have to pass through a connecting corridor to bypass Immigration, but I would still have to pass through US Customs. Has anyone connected in Toronto back to America?

[jvincent]

 

Here is another option I just discovered. It seems appealing because on the way back we won't be sitting in a plane for 11 hours.

SFO -> YVR (Vancouver) -> LHR -> INV then EDI -> TOR -> SFO The flight from Edinburgh to Toronto is seven hours, so it may be more tolerable. Would connecting into Toronto would be very easy? My final destination is not in Canada, so I suppose I would not have to pass through US Immigration. I did a quick Google search and read that in Toronto I would have to pass through a connecting corridor to bypass Immigration, but I would still have to pass through US Customs. Has anyone connected in Toronto back to America?

 

I haven't connected from international to the US through Toronto since I'm from Canada but what you describe is correct.

 

Since you aren't staying in Canada you won't have to clear Canadian customs. From your arrival gate you'll just follow the signs for US connections and will clear US customs in Toronto so you won't have to clear when you arrive in SFO. It should be pretty painless.

[hodograph]

Here is another option I just discovered. It seems appealing because on the way back we won't be sitting in a plane for 11 hours.

SFO -> YVR (Vancouver) -> LHR -> INV then EDI -> TOR -> SFO The flight from Edinburgh to Toronto is seven hours, so it may be more tolerable. Would connecting into Toronto would be very easy? My final destination is not in Canada, so I suppose I would not have to pass through US Immigration. I did a quick Google search and read that in Toronto I would have to pass through a connecting corridor to bypass Immigration, but I would still have to pass through US Customs. Has anyone connected in Toronto back to America?

 

My group connected in YYZ back to the US. Pretty easy actually. You won't pass through Canadian immigration, but you will go through US immigration in Toronto.

 

Upon landing in YYZ, you'll be directed to the "US Departures" area. You'll pass through the TSA security line, then you'll head to a waiting area while you wait for your checked luggage (I'll assume you're checking golf clubs) to clear US customs; you'll never actually touch your checked luggage, they do it all for you. Once that is complete, you'll pass through the final US immigration check (there are Global Entry kiosks if you're enrolled) and head to your gate. Once you arrive in the States, you'll hop off the plane just as if it were a domestic flight.

 

All of this does take a bit of time, so I'd leave more rather than less connection time. We had a 4 hour layover, which was more than sufficient.

[EmperorPenguin]

My group connected in YYZ back to the US. Pretty easy actually. You won't pass through Canadian immigration, but you will go through US immigration in Toronto.

 

Upon landing in YYZ, you'll be directed to the "US Departures" area. You'll pass through the TSA security line, then you'll head to a waiting area while you wait for your checked luggage (I'll assume you're checking golf clubs) to clear US customs; you'll never actually touch your checked luggage, they do it all for you. Once that is complete, you'll pass through the final US immigration check (there are Global Entry kiosks if you're enrolled) and head to your gate. Once you arrive in the States, you'll hop off the plane just as if it were a domestic flight.

 

All of this does take a bit of time, so I'd leave more rather than less connection time. We had a 4 hour layover, which was more than sufficient.

 

Thank you so much for that information. The flight connecting in Toronto has only about a two-hour connection time, so I doubt that will be sufficient time given how long the line may be at immigration. I have Global Entry, but my guests do not.

 

The flight from Toronto to San Francisco, as specified on the travel website, appears much like a domestic American flight, given that the five-hour flight offers "Food for purchase," as do other American domestic flights.

 

It seems to me that flying direct from Helsinki to San Francisco would be the simplest approach. There would not be any worries about missing a connecting flight, and we will eat the usual two meals and three snacks on the flight, as offered in other long-haul flights.

 

I haven't bought the tickets yet, but right now I am leaning toward the Helskinki-San Francisco route.

[hodograph]

 

Thank you so much for that information. The flight connecting in Toronto has only about a two-hour connection time, so I doubt that will be sufficient time given how long the line may be at immigration. I have Global Entry, but my guests do not.

 

 

We certainly could have made two hours, so that seems within the realm of the possible. We did have time for a sit-down meal in the "US Terminal" and (now that I recall) time to watch the first half of a World Cup match during our 4 hour layover.

 

My checked bag was the last one of my group released by Customs, but I made up that time in the Global Entry "line"--like you, I was the only one in my group with GE, and there was no waiting in the GE line. I was waiting for the remainder of my group for about 15 minutes, so I'd estimate 20-30 mins for the regular passport control line.

[EmperorPenguin]

I recently purchased tickets for the four of us. I decided to take a chance at losing our golf clubs because of when the flight arrives to Inverness, at about 600P, so connecting in London makes much more sense. The flight from Amsterdam to Inverness arrives at 1030P, and the next morning we play; I want us to settle down for at least a couple hours so we can get some more sleep before the first round at Castle Stuart. We fly SFO to LHR to INV, then for return flight we go EDI to LHR to SFO. I just hope that we don't lose our clubs, so I may considering buying those GPS luggage tracking devices in case they get lost.

 

For those of you who may know, I want some ideas on what to do outside of golf. We will spend four nights in Inverness, one night in Cruden Bay, and four nights in St. Andrews. Any ideas on what to do in those towns (or "toons," as they say in Scotland) when we're not golfing?