March Golf

[Matt J]

Made the mistake of checking the 15 day weather report. Looks like my timing is impeccable par usual, a cold wet storm rolls in about the same time as my flight. I always say I feel a bit cheated to play links golf in sunshine with little wind. I'll be getting the real experience it seems. I put very little stock in a forecast longer than a week or so, but we're right at 5 days from arrival, so I'm guessing it's pretty likely. Early season risk of course.

[Shrinkwr4p]

Made the mistake of checking the 15 day weather report. Looks like my timing is impeccable par usual, a cold wet storm rolls in about the same time as my flight. I always say I feel a bit cheated to play links golf in sunshine with little wind. I'll be getting the real experience it seems. I put very little stock in a forecast longer than a week or so, but we're right at 5 days from arrival, so I'm guessing it's pretty likely. Early season risk of course.

 

Played the Old Course today - 15*C and a flat calm. Unbelievably, there were guys playing in shirt sleeves. Sorry you missed out.

 

It does look as if it's going to be a little cooler into the first couple of weeks in March but they're still forecasting pretty reasonable golfing weather. If you have a decent set of waterproofs you'll be fine. Hope you enjoy it.

[Chanceman]

If it's nae wet and windy, it's nae golf!!

[duffer987]

Made the mistake of checking the 15 day weather report. Looks like my timing is impeccable par usual, a cold wet storm rolls in about the same time as my flight. I always say I feel a bit cheated to play links golf in sunshine with little wind. I'll be getting the real experience it seems. I put very little stock in a forecast longer than a week or so, but we're right at 5 days from arrival, so I'm guessing it's pretty likely. Early season risk of course.

 

Played the Old Course today - 15*C and a flat calm. Unbelievably, there were guys playing in shirt sleeves. Sorry you missed out.

 

It does look as if it's going to be a little cooler into the first couple of weeks in March but they're still forecasting pretty reasonable golfing weather. If you have a decent set of waterproofs you'll be fine. Hope you enjoy it.

I quickly read that as -15! Yikes, how was it open

I then tried reading it again :15! :)

[Matt J]

Does Cadbury still make "Crunchie" bars? If so, I predict that I will in fact survive any and all foul weather. :)

[Shrinkwr4p]

If it's nae wet and windy, it's nae golf!!

 

It's all very well for an Australian to proclaim the joys of wet and windy golf.We get that 9 months of the year then winter sets in.

 

"O wert thou in the cauld blast, On yonder lea, on yonder lea"? (Robert Burns)

[Hawkeye77]

Will be awaiting anxiously reports of any aspects of the trip!

[duffer987]

If it's nae wet and windy, it's nae golf!!

 

It's all very well for an Australian to proclaim the joys of wet and windy golf.We get that 9 months of the year then winter sets in.

 

"O wert thou in the cauld blast, On yonder lea, on yonder lea"? (Robert Burns)

TBH, they are more the little lies we tell ourselves, after crossing an ocean and spending some amount of monies, when we're faced with a bad run of weather :)

[Matt J]

If it's nae wet and windy, it's nae golf!!

 

It's all very well for an Australian to proclaim the joys of wet and windy golf.We get that 9 months of the year then winter sets in.

 

"O wert thou in the cauld blast, On yonder lea, on yonder lea"? (Robert Burns)

TBH, they are more the little lies we tell ourselves, after crossing an ocean and spending some amount of monies, when we're faced with a bad run of weather :)

 

I'll be fine in the wind and the rain, just guessed there would be more locals about if the weather was clear. I'm guessing I'll be mostly alone if it's howling. We only play locally in storms if we've been cooped inside for the better part of a week. If we've had a spat of clear skies the golf courses are a ghost town for the first day or two of a storm.

[Matt J]

Packing day has finally arrived. Booked my last round at Musselburgh Links. Going to play with hickories and take some of the history in on my last day in Scotland. Actually just wrote myself a little note to pack a sleeve of Duo Softs so I don't have to buy a sleeve of balls in addition to the hickory rental fee. 39 quid for a set of rental clubs seems steep, but hickories are becoming tougher to come by.

 

Also, went ahead and booked a caddie at Muirfield. It's an early morning round and if the weather's a bit wet and cold I'd guess I could be the only one out there, so I figured I'd appreciate a companion. The rest of the rounds I feel will be fine without one. I'll probably splurge on the Old Course mostly to have someone take my picture :)

 

Don't imagine I'll get a the most restful night of sleep tonight, but I've got a whole day trapped inside the cigar tube of a triple seven to catch up. Next stop, SFO, Heathrow, Windsor and Eton.

[Hawkeye77]

Having had caddies on both the New and the Old, we recommend them highly, but there's something to be said for discovering things on your own as well. Very personal choice.

 

Our experiences were great. Below is a pic of Jim, who caddied two days for my oldest daughter - that's the bunker that caused Bobby Jones to walk off the course, Jim knows which way to play the next shot! Great guy, played some mini tour golf. My bud was Dennis, who has caddied there for 50 years. Pigeon racer extraordinaire, lover of whisky, lots of history to share if you draw it out of him, but a pretty serious fellow whose sense of humor was more conspiratorial. He was so into my round he dropped a semi-quiet F bomb when I missed a birdie putt late in the round, lol.

 

Loads of caddies there, all ours were great, maybe we got lucky. I just enjoyed getting some good advice on where to go, especially approach shots and where to try and land the ball to have it end up where it needed to, and a few good stories and some good historical info. Didn't know if I'd ever play there again and wanted the full benefit of the course knowledge and it was invaluable (to me).

[Matt J]

Ended up dragging my feet on ordering books, but I got lucky that the local had both Coyne's Scotland book and The Match. Actually burned through the first 100 pages of The Match last night. I guess I can restock reading material once I get to Edinburgh.

 

Started the Coyne book and actually have been pleasantly surprised. As a Literature guy, I wasn't impressed with Paper Tiger. I immediately noticed an improvement in the prose and was a bit struck. Wading through the first chapter or two the author confesses to having committed himself to sobriety. Therein lies the answer. I think his professorship is serving him well and it really shows in this book. I'm glad I have it for the 10 hour crossing of the Atlantic.

 

Feeling a bit burned by making the truly Amateur mistake of trying the water with a tad bit of criticism in the I & A I was actually considering another hiatus from golf's online world. I decided to journal the trip and take a lot of photos as I'm leaving the gadgets stateside. I'll swallow my pride and come back here in a couple of weeks with a full write up. I really have appreciated the insight from those of you that participated in my little planning thread and feel it only fair to try and post up some impressions. Safe travels, Fairways, and Greens!

[Matt J]

All's well, some amazing golf so far... I promise pics and a 'full' write up at home in front of a real keyboard. Just a journal and cell phone pics while I'm on the road.

 

 

[Hawkeye77]

Hey, you can post about your elbows you can give us a little something from across the pond!

[Matt J]

Haha. Waiting around in airports today.

[Matt J]

I guess if you want the TL:DR version just close the thread. Great trip.

 

I'm going to try and work through it little by little, so it may come off as installments of sorts, but I'd rather do it justice than glance over all of it just to post some photos.

 

Grueling flight from the West Coast of the USA as many of you would guess. We had a 1 hour jump to San Fran, layover, 10 or so hours to London Heathrow, layover, then a flight to Edinburgh where we picked up our rental car and had a room for the night in old town Edinburgh. One of the funniest on-going jokes between my mother and I was about the rental car. We used Enterprise and when we got there the two "lads" who were manning the booth looked exhausted. As we walked over to the counter we noticed a load of Mercedes, Audis, Land Rovers, lined up in front of Enterprise. One of the fellows offers "if you want an upgrade we have a ton of nice cars." I decline not wanting to renegotiate the contract and we take our little Vauxhall Astra which was a great little car for us. We get lost getting out of the parking lot and are a little concerned, but I get it together and find the highway, all goes reasonably well other than the fact that Edinburgh is a total mouse trap of little roads and roundabouts. About 10 minutes into the trip I keep smelling this horrible body odor smell. My mom can't smell it all and acts as if it's either me or I'm making it up. It persists for days and I took to rolling my window down a bit even though it was cold out. Finally I figured out it was on the seat belt just under my chin and I cursed this disgusting oaf who must have been driving with his shirt off or had bad enough body odor to seep through his clothing and onto the seat belt. If I had a bit more time I actually would have exchanged the car, it was that bad. So, we guessed that the boys had insinuated we should opt for the upgrade because they had smelled the rotten bum's smell when they jumped in to check the mileage.

 

Probably the first mistake of the trip planning became evident in the first couple of days as we were driving over to East Lothian and my mom was just as keen to walk around North Berwick as Edinburgh. It was fine, but if I did it again I would have probably buckled in and booked the Macdonald Marine hotel for the first two nights.

 

Day 1: 12:36 PM tee time at North Berwick West Links. We get over there nice and early having driven a beautiful scenic drive opting for as much time on the Links Road out by the sea instead of a quicker more in-land route. We are both already smitten with the landscape. We pull up and park in the diagonal parking along the right side of the 18th fairway and the whole scene is a fairy tale of me. All the work and all the planning and we are finally here!

 

 

 

Photo is looking back up 18 from the clubhouse.

 

I found the local people extremely friendly and charming. They were quick with a helpful tip and seemed genuinely appreciative that we were there to see their little corner of the world. The greeter at the club, Chris, was great with me and my mother. They are not kidding that you are a "member for the day." I actually watched the food and bev manager let some visiting Scots in to the club room unaccompanied. It was Sunday evening and there weren't any members around, so I think he figured there would be a few more pounds in the till.

 

The practice area is a couple of miles away out by the 7th hole and so I drove over and hit a few balls. It was a good idea as I appreciated seeing a bit of the middle of the course before I was playing and I got to shake some nerves off in the bunker hitting flops out onto their practice green. Here's a photo of the furthest inland of the burn bridges out on the 7th "Eil Burn."

 

 

 

Quick course review: I loved this one! It's quirky like the Old Course at St. Andrews, but there are probably more "famous" future template holes on the West Links than any course not called The Old Course. The wind was fierce and straight into the tee boxes going out. It was a good chance to get into the mode of links golf and I actually hit driver on the first hole despite the fact that it was probably only playing 330 yards. The beginning was actually my least favorite part of the course as 2 shares a fairway with 17. I didn't realize going out that you have the "right of way" and was a little perturbed. I had been snubbed by a couple of groups as a single, so I was sandwiched between two bigger groups and the course was an absolute zoo with the locals enjoying the sunshine, the beach, and the company of their canine friends. It felt like you needed eyes in the back of your head just not to risk killing somebody. It was only really the first two or three and the last two of three, but it was distracting as hell at first. On about 6 the group in front asked me to play through which I declined but it made me feel better and I settled in a lot more.

 

So, I'll actually wait for some feedback.... as I gotta run to work.

 

Do you guys like the more detailed hole-by-hole or would you rather just read the highlights on each course?

 

I didn't take a lot of photos as I really wanted to "experience" the rounds. I could search for some stock photos of certain holes or simply write up the golf. Ring in and let me judge the audience a little. I'm probably going to cut and paste all of this onto a file on my drive at home just to have a record of the trip, but I can supplement that if I wish.

 

Thanks again to each of you that contributed to helping me plan this trip!

[scott_Donald]

great right up so far!

 

I know at my club if you are a visitor then you are allowed in most places int he clubhouse except the members changing area. Also jacket and tie must be worn at certain times in the main lounge but I never go in there at all.

 

As I mentioned in the other Scottish thread my course seems to be a month ahead of schedule due to the warm weather! so you have timed it well.

 

looking forward to reading more.

[Matt J]

Stole a few more minutes away, so 3 named "Trap" is the first hole you see the magical West Links wall as an actual obstacle. As I mentioned we were playing dead into about a sustained 20 or 25 mph wind, so even though the course was designed for this kind of prevailing wind, a lot of the risk reward was moot going out. I think you typically lay back from the wall on 3 as it would effect your approach if you got too close, but I pumped driver and it was well enough back to play a normal shot. Looking at the yardage book, only the longest players would need to hit 3 wood to stay safe unless the wind was at your back. Lost my first ball of the trip at 4, "Carlekemp" as the junk short left was in play with the wind. Hole was only playing 165 yards but I had to hit a low 23 degree hybrid to even get it to the green complex. On the 9th hole you turn and play one hole in the direction of the beach before turning and playing parallel to the sea. It was a huge relief to start getting some helping wind and my scores dropped a ton. You simply couldn't reach a lot of the par 4's even up on the winter boxes with that kind of wind. Hole 10 is "Eastward Ho!" and you can see why it is much duplicated as it's simply one of the most beautiful one shot holes you'll see. Guarded by 5 extremely deep pot bunkers a special shot is need to find the middle of the green from 155 yards or so. 11 became a reachable par 5 with some good risk and reward, the green has a ton of slope and a deep, narrow, and long bunker guards the right side. "Pit" is an oft imitated hole with a very long and narrow green reminiscent of the 4th at Spyglass. That's actually a green type you see quite a bit on the links. I recall another at Muirfield, I'll check the book later when I get to there.

 

14 "Perfection" is a blind approach, but anything short funnels right onto the surface, super cool hole. It has the bell to signal the group behind when you walk off. The Redan number 15 is super special to me and I'll stop here for the time being as it was really my first "a ha" moment on the trip as far as architecture and the imitation of these holes by other designers.

 

A few more photos:

 

 

 

 

 

[Edaw68]

I've got a non golf question. For rental cars you had a Vauxhall Astra? How many people and how much luggage did you have? I'm looking at rental cars and have no frame of reference for what size I'd need. Just me and my wife, 2 suitcases and one set of clubs. Is the Astra needed or could I drop down to a Corsa?

[Shrinkwr4p]

I've got a non golf question. For rental cars you had a Vauxhall Astra? How many people and how much luggage did you have? I'm looking at rental cars and have no frame of reference for what size I'd need. Just me and my wife, 2 suitcases and one set of clubs. Is the Astra needed or could I drop down to a Corsa?

 

You could get 2 people, 2 suitcases and a golf bag into a Corsa quite easily by dropping the back seats. If you were going to do that though, I'd suggest you get the 5 door rather than the 3 door. It would make loading and access to your luggage much easier.

[Matt J]

We had the 5 door Astra and it was perfect for us. A driver, passenger, one big hard suitcase, one small hard suitcase, and a golf bag. I don't like to stack too high so I can use the rear view mirror through the back window. Seemed cheap as chips to me. $192 for the week.

[milesgiles]

Glad you enjoyed Scotland is strange in the winter, seems to be frequently as warm or warmer than england in those months..its the summers that suck! Although I’ve always been lucky east coast, you’d be darned unlucky to get really poor conditions for a solid few days outside of the winter.

Fun fact, had a great view of that mountain/hill/tor from south fife last summer. That estuary is spectacular

[Edaw68]

I've got a non golf question. For rental cars you had a Vauxhall Astra? How many people and how much luggage did you have? I'm looking at rental cars and have no frame of reference for what size I'd need. Just me and my wife, 2 suitcases and one set of clubs. Is the Astra needed or could I drop down to a Corsa?

 

You could get 2 people, 2 suitcases and a golf bag into a Corsa quite easily by dropping the back seats. If you were going to do that though, I'd suggest you get the 5 door rather than the 3 door. It would make loading and access to your luggage much easier.

Thank you!

[Matt J]

One very cool part of the West Links experience, was that as I was playing golf my mom made a new friend. She walked into town and met a local woman who had moved to the town of North Berwick in 1945 spending her whole life as a primary school teacher. Her deceased husband was an avid player and she invited my mom into her home for tea while I was on the course insisting that we come back around afterwards as she had some golfing memorabilia she wanted to give me. We did in fact come back, which was so neat to see the home as it sat on the coast with 4 floors all with windows out to the sea. I made reservations for three and we all walked into town and had dinner together. She had a ton of great stories and gave me an envelope of scorecards, postcards, and a funny little local book about where's best to sneak a pee on the courses of East Lothian. That was a really charming experience.

 

As I mentioned previously, we drove to and from Edinburgh the first two days playing out in East Lothian. Not the best logistical plan, but I was hoping it would allow my mom to stay in the city and tour around maybe visit a museum.

 

The tee time on the second day, Monday, was early and we sped out of town, bags packed to head up to Fife, early in order to beat some of the rush hour. We got to Gullane early enough to warm up and hit some putts although the winds were so strong there weren't many players afoot. At the starter shed a couple of members walked up and complained about the wind. It was the beginning of my theory that Scots love playing in bad weather is a myth. Anyways, Gullane #2 is an exceptional golf course. Not one I would miss, and one I could play everyday. A beautiful collection of holes that played perfectly in sync with the strong prevailing winds. I hit the ball pretty well, although once again I played it a bit like a practice round as I was alone. I took some time on the 7 tee box and looked over to Muirfield. One of the maintenance guys had a pair of binoculars and we had a chat about the history of the two clubs. I had noticed that every time the name "Muirfield" came up it drew attention as the scandal over the Open and lady members was fresh on the minds of the Scots. Tons of elevation change on this track and tons of great views of the sea. I remember more holes on this one and the West Links than say the New Course or Muirfield. Scored my first birdie of the trip reaching a par 5 in two with the wind at my back, just missed the eagle putt. The 2nd hole and the 17th cross over the big hill which gives them as much of a "mountain golf" feel as links. The 2nd green is another a bit like the "pit" on the West Links or the 5th at Spyglass. The finishing holes on both tracks are just spectacular with the wind at your backs and the sun lighting up the views of the sea.

 

On to Fife....

 

After driving over the bridge in just the nick of time we drove in pretty dense traffic straight past the R&A clubhouse to our AirBnB location on Murray Park. Actually parked out on the Scores and took in the setting sun, all the students were soaking up the sun walking about town, even sharing a joint out in front of the Aquarium. We were just stunned to be in the home of the game, but we had business to attend to and promptly got settled into the flat. The place was pretty stellar, two bedroom, one bath, with a courtyard and a great storage room for my clubs. If anyone is interested PM me and I'll give you the guy's contact information. He'll give you a better rate direct. The location CAN NOT BE BEAT. A half a block from the park at the Scores and the R&A clubhouse. Okay, the Old Course hotel or one of the B&B's in the neighborhood would be as good, but dare I say, no better.

 

We settled on The Seafood Ristorante for dinner, my mother's choice. It was quite nice. The bream is their signature dish, which they bake in a special super salty dough to impregnate the fish with the salt then scrap the dough and serve the fish. Oysters were some of the finest I've had. Funny enough, there was couple sitting directly behind me, and a gentleman, directly in front dining by himself. Those two fellas were my threesome the next morning at The Old Course.

 

After dinner we walked to the Links Clubhouse quite by accident simply following the lighted sidewalk. I talked my mother into cutting across the golf course to take a drink at the Jigger Inn. Lots of charm and excitement sitting in the venerable barroom. The maitre'd suggested that there would be no one in the queue the next morning, so no rush. I did not set an alarm but rather woke and dressed around 6 AM and headed over to the starter's facility. One of the starters was just opening up, and he simply said, go grab your clubs and I'll give you the first time. I jogged over and grabbed my club and me and the other two fellas were given the 7 AM time with a slight delay for frost.

 

The atmosphere was surreal. Beautiful morning, not breeze, and TOC. Was hitting the ball fairly well and racked up 3 pars on the first 3 with some good looks at birdie, although unfortunately the greens had just been aerated they seemed to roll true. I hit the approach on 3 a hair short and spun it back into the bunker, but saved it with a 12 footer or so. I was feeling confident and the nerves were settling in when I hit it short on 4. We had a delicate little pitch over the left bunker. I was a bit unnerved as the maintenance crew was in the bunker and I didn't yell "fore" as I half expected the caddie to yell. Neither of us did and it was bit awkward walking up, the 4 or 5 guys cleared the bunker for me to hit after I apologized. Well, I had the first links bunker disaster right there in front of the gallery carding a 12. It kind of freed me up to not worry about the score and enjoy the walk from then on in. If I took an ESC of 6 and I only made one other bogey on the front shooting a 39, but in reality it was a 45. Wow.

 

I really enjoyed the walk, we got a bit of showers from about 12 to 15, but the weather cleared for the obligatory picture on the Swilken Bridge. We shook hands hastily and I asked the caddie and he accepted to continue over to the New Course. We had a quick lunch in the Links Clubhouse and went out as a single on the New around 1 PM. Once again we were enamored with the incredible sunny warm weather with very little wind. TNC has a strong collection of par 3's and I genuinely enjoyed the holes. Certainly a course you could play everyday and I'm sure a local's favorite as I like the absence of tee times. If I owned the world every course would be the same, show up and wait in the queue until you're called. Okay, better run to work... installment 3 on it's way this evening or tomorrow.

[duffer987]

I've got a non golf question. For rental cars you had a Vauxhall Astra? How many people and how much luggage did you have? I'm looking at rental cars and have no frame of reference for what size I'd need. Just me and my wife, 2 suitcases and one set of clubs. Is the Astra needed or could I drop down to a Corsa?

 

You could get 2 people, 2 suitcases and a golf bag into a Corsa quite easily by dropping the back seats. If you were going to do that though, I'd suggest you get the 5 door rather than the 3 door. It would make loading and access to your luggage much easier.

Thank you!

Basically an Astra = Ford Focus and a Corsa = Ford Fiesta, if you are looking for North American equivalents.

There's not much in it typically price wise between a compact and an economy class car, so personally I'd pick the larger one - as it's still not going to be that large, but might give you a bit more elbow room and a bit larger wheelbase should give a bit better ride.

[Edaw68]

I've got a non golf question. For rental cars you had a Vauxhall Astra? How many people and how much luggage did you have? I'm looking at rental cars and have no frame of reference for what size I'd need. Just me and my wife, 2 suitcases and one set of clubs. Is the Astra needed or could I drop down to a Corsa?

 

You could get 2 people, 2 suitcases and a golf bag into a Corsa quite easily by dropping the back seats. If you were going to do that though, I'd suggest you get the 5 door rather than the 3 door. It would make loading and access to your luggage much easier.

Thank you!

Basically an Astra = Ford Focus and a Corsa = Ford Fiesta, if you are looking for North American equivalents.

There's not much in it typically price wise between a compact and an economy class car, so personally I'd pick the larger one - as it's still not going to be that large, but might give you a bit more elbow room and a bit larger wheelbase should give a bit better ride.

 

Copy, thanks, good comparison. I’ll probably do the Astra, as my wife and I are both 6 feet or more.

[duffer987]

Basically an Astra = Ford Focus and a Corsa = Ford Fiesta, if you are looking for North American equivalents.

There's not much in it typically price wise between a compact and an economy class car, so personally I'd pick the larger one - as it's still not going to be that large, but might give you a bit more elbow room and a bit larger wheelbase should give a bit better ride.

 

Copy, thanks, good comparison. I’ll probably do the Astra, as my wife and I are both 6 feet or more.

Ya I'm a city-living small car guy, so I'm not a North American SUVer, but for 7-10 days with a fair bit of driving for two 6 footers with gear it's safe way to go.

Never know you might get something else anyways. Last year my compact turned out to be a brand new (8 miles on the clock) Audi A3 sedan.

[Matt J]

That's exactly how I ended up in the Astra.... the price difference was too little to drop down to the sub-compact. The biggest thing they ding you on is the automatic transmission, I prefer a manual but we debated it a bit because my mother considered driving to see some sights. We elected to go with the manual, she can drive one, but after riding around in the car with me she didn't want to drive anyways. I loved the Astra because it got good gas mileage and I felt like if I scraped it up a bit they weren't going to kill me on the repairs. I think a Mercedes or Audi would have made me more nervous as I elected to use American Expresses insurance coverage and declined Enterprise's. We drove quite a bit, filled the car up once at a petrol station, and took it back a few gallons less than full. They were pretty reasonable with the fuel surcharge as well.

 

Installment 3:

 

The day was so grand playing 36 on TOC and TNC that we had to celebrate. Some rare whiskies and cocktails were drank watching the sunset from the Old Course hotel's bar. Another rich dinner this time at the Playfair's Restaurant with some French wine, and a quick jog over to the Dunvegan for a pint to cap the evening off. We had some great times at the Dunvegan. The first time we sat down there we ended up in a fun conversation with a kid from London playing on one of the uni golf teams. The second time, the entirety of the Penn golf team came and joined us at our table as we had taken the last seats in the house and it was a rather big table. I think it gave my mother faith in the younger generation to chat with these kids. They were all so well-mannered and polite. We had an ongoing joke with the Penn kids for the rest of the trip as we seemed to be on the same itinerary. I saw them again at Muirfield as they played just behind my group and then again at Heathrow flying out.

 

So, that quick mac n' cheese lunch at the Links Clubhouse, something hadn't seemed quite right about it, but I was so hungry and intent on making the turn onto TNC that I ate most of it anyways. About 1 AM I woke up with the most painful sensation of both my legs having these full quad cramps. I was in agony and could barely roll out of the bed to try and find something to help with the cramping. That was when the stomach flu hit me. I spent the night and most of the day on the brink of going to the ER. I haven't been to an ER ever in my life other than to work, but I was so dehydrated, the leg cramping was absolutely debilitating, I ran a real high fever, my skin was super clammy, and I was having these weird nerve tingling sensations all over the backs of my arms and down my back.

 

Thankfully, my mother was able to run down to the market and get me bottles and bottles of electrolyte drink and Tylenol for the fever. I basically spent the whole day in bed, which was rainy and windy and definitely the worst weather of the week. The darkest hour was when I sent a late email to cancel my tee time at Muirfield. I had planned to drive over and crash at this inexpensive B&B so I would be fresh. So, when I cancelled my bed and the tee time, I was resolved to just feel better and make the best of the rest of the trip. That was about 4:30 or 5 in the evening, and then around 6:30 my fever broke. I woke up soaking wet with sweat, showered and changed the sheets, woke up again soaked in sweat, took another bath, and went to sleep in the other twin bed with clean dry sheets. I woke about 3:00 AM and felt great. Exhausted but my stomach felt okay and my legs were just sore feeling like they normally would be after walking 36 holes. I jumped up and packed my bags, dressed, and fired up the Astra headed to East Lothian.

 

I got to Gullane about two hours before my 8:30 AM tee time, so I buzzed into the MacDonald Marine Hotel in North Berwick for a quick breakfast. The staff was kind enough to let me use the spa changing room to get into my golf clothes as it was quite chilly and a bit drizzly. Pulling into Muirfield as surreal. The parking is all a 150 yards or so from the main gates and there are covered car parks. I grabbed my suit of clothes and my duffel bag and headed towards the gates. I wasn't sure if I was in the right place or had parked properly as there is no club drop, but I saw the head chef as I was walking and he assured me I had done everything correctly.

 

Due to the brush up about the lady members the whole place is ripped to shreds right now. The lane is marked for heavy bulldozer traffic, there are temporary bathrooms, and the main locker room is a full blown construction site. Not at all what I was expecting, but it makes sense considering they have to add a ladies locker room, and the place looks as if it needs a bit of a freshening up. The staff was actually quite pleased to be making the traditional Muirfield lunch again as they were on cold sandwiches for the better part of a year.

 

Our foursome was myself, a club pro out of New England, an Aussie, and a Canadian, all guests. Everyone could golf their ball and two of us had caddies. The place is pretty spectacular, most of the trouble is straight ahead of you, but the bunkers and the rough are extremely punitive. Most guests are not aware of the fact that the club has traditionally played 36 holes of alternate shot when it's "member's only" which is Friday through Monday and Wednesday. Only on Tuesdays and Thursdays do the members and guests get the choice to play their own ball in the morning. With the full rough grown in and the penal bunkers it is certainly a match play golf course and the rumor from the caddies is that the fellas really just like a good chat and to whisk around the course quite quickly to get back to the lunch. 2.5 hours of golf, 2.5 hours of lunch, and 2.5 hours of golf is the schedule.

 

I approached the round a bit like match play and didn't worry too much if I was "out of the hole." Considering the fatigue from my bug, and a slow start, I put up pretty big numbers on the first couple of holes and then settled in on the front nine. I think I linked 5 pars together and figured that would have held my own in a 4 Ball match. The fella, Tim, who is the club pro and I had some good chats and we joked in the locker room that we both were thinking it would have been fun to just have a quarter game or something to keep us into it. We were both too shy to offer it up not wanting the other players to think we were running some kind of hustle or make them too nervous to enjoy the round.

 

Call me a bit of snob, but something about the history of the Open Championship, and the austere membership I really felt quite honored to get to enjoy the walk around Muirfield. I thought all the golf I played was spectacular but I really was intrigued with these member's meetings setting up these alternate shot matches and pairs standing out in the fairway waiting for the ball to arrive. Just sounds like an interesting experience. As I might have mentioned earlier in this thread, my partners and I are going to try it this year. The caddie said most of the American members had never played that format and immensely enjoyed it after a time or two. As we cannot control all the tee times at our club, we're going to try it first thing in the morning, have lunch and then go out and play our own balls. Should be fun....

[Matt J]

All right, I'm going to put this one to bed with the last installment....

 

I really enjoyed the lunch at Muirfield, it was worth taking a coat and tie across the pond. No one else in my group stayed as they couldn't be bothered to travel with a jacket. The Penn team was just behind us and having met some of the guys I could have probably joined them for lunch, but I figured it was a special part of their trip and I didn't want to impose. So, I sat at the end of the same table leaving room for them and their coaches. By the time I grabbed a beer and started my salad course, one of the employees of the club, the manager of the finances, asked if he and a friend could join me. We had a wonderful conversation with him kindly answering my questions about the region and the customs of the club. The food as is always mentioned was delightful. Very nice warm and cold app's, salad, soup, a full carving buffet with three types of meat, and a bevy of dessert choices.

 

On to Carnoustie...

 

We chose to stay in the hotel on property. There is an interesting public / private dynamic at Carnoustie as the council owns the links, a private company owns the hotel, and now the council has also built an amazing modern clubhouse just adjacent to the hotel. Seems they interact fine other than both having restaurants. The hotel was keen on selling a package with treatments at their spa and dinner vouchers with your room, which was just fine for us. My mother used both of our vouchers at the spa for an hour long massage which she enjoyed immensely meanwhile I met up with a WRX forum member for a walk around the links. My host was quite gracious and a fine player. As a former caddie he was kind enough to walk me through each hole although most of the trouble is right in front of you. The creek / burn weaving through the property is the only thing I think I would have consulted the yardage book to confirm the layups.

 

It was green which was lovely and although we hit off of fairway mats and used some temporary winter greens the experience was surreal considering the Open was just there last summer.

 

Quite an act of kindness, one of the greeters actually went in the back and found the leftovers of the official yardage books from the Open and gifted a copy to me. Yardage books were one of the only souvenirs I took from each course so I was very grateful.

 

We had a golf view room which was neat as we got to watch the daylight wax and wane over the 18th green in the evening and the next morning. The food was quite nice at the hotel and we had a nice time in the pub watching a local football match between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Needless to say all the locals were quite transfixed by the coverage.

 

 

at one time the world's biggest Rolex... just a white orb at night :)

 

 

enjoying the footie

 

 

golf view of the 18th green from the room

 

Last day, we drove back into Edinburgh attempting to miss the rugby traffic as Wales was in town. Got out to Musselburgh Old Course just as a front boundary starting dropping hail. I threw on my waterproofs and grabbed a bag of their lefties and nearly ran around the course. It was my first go with hickories and I quite enjoyed it. I've been in talks with a friend that does some hickory club work to obtain a set for myself. I already have an old vintage pencil bag so I'll probably display them in my office and play them on an occasional warm summer evening.

 

I'm happy to answer any questions, so either PM me or respond in here if I can be of help.

[milesgiles]

Nice write up cheers for the effort.

Curious about this fairway mat thing, it hasn’t been a bad winter at all and the Open was LAST year did they explain why? That would properly nark me off.

 

And the footy.. Hibernian vs Rangers?? Cos there’s more than one team in those towns lol

 

Very jelly of the trip, exchange rate is working great for you right now