Planning an April 2024 Scotland Trip

[harbor17]

Looking for some advice please.  I am planning to bring my father over to St Andrews this spring for his 75th birthday (surprise gift and he will be thrilled).  I spoke to a tour company but was wondering if anyone would suggest planning the trip myself instead of going through a travel advisor.  I would like to stay and play 4-5 days, looking to play Old Course, Jubilee, New Course, Kingsbarns and either Dumbarnie or Carnoustie.  I have been to St Andrews before and have played the Old Course a few times,  my thought is to enter the ballot each day to try to get on instead of paying for a guaranteed tee time.  Also would like to stay at the Old Course Hotel or the Rusacks,  leaning towards Old Course Hotel as they have a spa to help ease any pain from walking and playing for my dad, any suggestions?  It is a pretty straightforward trip so was wondering if it was worth planning myself to save a few dollars or is it worth just going through a tour company.  I spoke with Pioneer and they seem really good but wondering if it is worth the hassle of planning myself to save some money.

 

Any suggestions would be really appreciated.

 

Thanks.

[El Gringo]

You already know what you want. May as well spend a few hours booking the trip yourself since you are happy to go through the ballot for TOC.
 

Check the calendar for TOC and TNC to ensure you are in town when the courses aren’t busy.

 

You may also want to explore a links ticket.

 

Finally, consider playing Elie. Your father might enjoy and appreciate the smaller footprint golf and better walk.

[Pleasedwith3putts]

Sure you've already thought about it but April is still rolling the dice with snow closing courses which would be a shame for your big trip. If you could push back to May that would notably improve your chances of avoiding weather issues impacting your schedule.

[Roody]

My buddy and I are going at the end of June, and we booked everything ourselves. I saw other threads on here quoting what it would cost if done through a service, and our do-it-yourself cost is about half that. That includes cost of the flights, 8 tee times, and two AirBnb's. Short answer, yes you can definitely do it cheaper especially if you're good with lining up at the Old Course each morning and trying to get in that way. 

[McMunch]

Plus one on its worth planning your trip yourself. Its super easy and allows the most flexibility. Tour Operators may get preferred times but I was told (in Scotland) that they don't get discounts on greens fees. They probably do get hotel discounts.

We've done VRBO and car rental twice and are again for May 2025. 

 

For April 2024 the clock is ticking for you. If getting on the famous courses is what you want for your Dad' special trip the tour would be worth the extra $$ imo just to lock down the cherry courses. If not there are great places to play everywhere and its easy to do.

 

 

[El Gringo]

4 hours ago, Pleasedwith3putts said:

Sure you've already thought about it but April is still rolling the dice with snow closing courses which would be a shame for your big trip. If you could push back to May that would notably improve your chances of avoiding weather issues impacting your schedule.

It would be extremely unlucky to have snow close a links for the entire day in April.  I went up to Scotland in early March last year and it was the first time in 30 plus years snow caused problems that late in the winter. We had to play an hour or so later after the snow melted, but it was cold…like 5c or about 40f. It would be the chance of the triple threat which worries me….cold, wind and rain…that sucks.

Edited December 13, 2023 by El Gringo

[srs06d]

Given that you are not looking to book a guaranteed TOC time it should be pretty straightforward to book on your own. Of the courses you listed, Carnoustie would most likely have the least availability and they are not easy to work with if a booking needs to be moved. Kingsbarns and the other links trust courses should be pretty receptive to making alterations to accommodate you if you luck into a TOC tee time. 

 

To give you an idea of the weather, here is a link to a post I made about my trip this past April: 

 

[harbor17]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.  My thought is to book at the Old Course Hotel, purchase the 3 day pass, then book Kingsbarns and Dumbarnie while entering the ballot every day.  If we enter 5 days in a row in mid April do we have a decent chance of playing?

 

The last time I went to St Andrews was back in June 2016, it was just myself and a friend.  We payed for a guaranteed tee time on TOC but a day later after we played the New Course the starter sent us up to the first tee of TOC to play with a twosome, we lucked out that day.

[cardia10]

For sure book the 3 day pass. Check Carnoustie's website as you can book it there and try the daily ballot for the old daily. If that doesn't work, suck it up and camp out one night if he can stand it. Also, save the money of the Old Course Hotel unless you just have it to burn. Plenty of cheaper B&Bs with wonderful service.

[McMunch]

If you get skunked at TOC, Kingsbarns is half price the second time you play if it's in the same week.

[hammergolf]

8 hours ago, harbor17 said:

Thanks for the feedback everyone.  My thought is to book at the Old Course Hotel, purchase the 3 day pass, then book Kingsbarns and Dumbarnie while entering the ballot every day.  If we enter 5 days in a row in mid April do we have a decent chance of playing?

 

The last time I went to St Andrews was back in June 2016, it was just myself and a friend.  We payed for a guaranteed tee time on TOC but a day later after we played the New Course the starter sent us up to the first tee of TOC to play with a twosome, we lucked out that day.

Great plan!

[harbor17]

I have decided to book at the Old Course Hotel, it is expensive but has a spa and will be really nice for my dad to experience as it is located right on the 17th hole.  If it was just me I would stay somewhere else at half the expense but I think this upcharge will be worth it.

 

I am planning to play at New, Jubilee, Kingsbarns, Dumbarnie and hopefully TOC or Crail if we cannot get on through the 48hr ballot or singles line.  Are there any other courses in the area to consider?  I do like the St Andrews Links courses and I think they are good for my dad to walk as they are relatively flat.

 

Thanks for all the help, I appreciate it.

[McMunch]

Also close is Lundin Links, Elie and Leven Links. I loved Lundin and Elie is quirky and really fun.

You can also play the Castle Course which is in the Links Trust but I'm not sure if its part of the Links Trust Pass.

 

If you're in that general area you'll probably be  passing the Kingsbarns Distillery a few times. Just saying...fun side trip.

[scott_Donald]

On 12/13/2023 at 11:56 AM, Pleasedwith3putts said:

Sure you've already thought about it but April is still rolling the dice with snow closing courses which would be a shame for your big trip. If you could push back to May that would notably improve your chances of avoiding weather issues impacting your schedule.

 

Very rare nowadays but possible. 2023 no snow, 2022 lots of snow first 2 weeks of April. 2021 no snow. 

 

On 12/14/2023 at 5:15 PM, harbor17 said:

I have decided to book at the Old Course Hotel, it is expensive but has a spa and will be really nice for my dad to experience as it is located right on the 17th hole.  If it was just me I would stay somewhere else at half the expense but I think this upcharge will be worth it.

 

I am planning to play at New, Jubilee, Kingsbarns, Dumbarnie and hopefully TOC or Crail if we cannot get on through the 48hr ballot or singles line.  Are there any other courses in the area to consider?  I do like the St Andrews Links courses and I think they are good for my dad to walk as they are relatively flat.

 

Thanks for all the help, I appreciate it.

 

Courses you have sound great, Old Course is the main draw but sounds like you have got your chances of getting on as high as possible. 

 

Golf really starts here April 1 onwards so courses will be ramping up by then. 2022 golfing in March was much better than April. 2023 golfing in April was far better than March. 

 

[harbor17]

hey guys, I figured I would share a quick update on my trip.  We returned from Scotland last Saturday evening, we played Jubilee, Kingsbarns, Elie, TOC and Dumbarnie.  Overall our trip was outstanding, we had really good weather each day with temps around 50 +/- 5 and mostly sunny.  We got picked for TOC through the 48hr ballot on our 3rd try so we were happy about that.  Typical of Scotland weather there was a small hail storm that came through when we reached the 17th green, cost me a 3 putt lol but was pretty much gone by the 18th tee shot.  Scotland is such a charming country,  it was really nice to get over there to play.  One callout is the Rooftop 18 restaurant in the Rusacks hotel, it is excellent.

[scott_Donald]

18 minutes ago, harbor17 said:

hey guys, I figured I would share a quick update on my trip.  We returned from Scotland last Saturday evening, we played Jubilee, Kingsbarns, Elie, TOC and Dumbarnie.  Overall our trip was outstanding, we had really good weather each day with temps around 50 +/- 5 and mostly sunny.  We got picked for TOC through the 48hr ballot on our 3rd try so we were happy about that.  Typical of Scotland weather there was a small hail storm that came through when we reached the 17th green, cost me a 3 putt lol but was pretty much gone by the 18th tee shot.  Scotland is such a charming country,  it was really nice to get over there to play.  One callout is the Rooftop 18 restaurant in the Rusacks hotel, it is excellent.

 

What did you eat there? my friend supplies the beef. I always go chataubriand by myself; worth it for a treat!

[harbor17]

we had dinner at Little Italy, Rooftop 18, both excellent.  Also ate at the Jigger Inn, that was decent but the beer was really good.  Also at one night at the Old Course Hotel and it was good but I think the best meals for the week was the morning breakfast, the eggs in Scotland are very good.

[NDSwim]

4 hours ago, harbor17 said:

we had dinner at Little Italy, Rooftop 18, both excellent.  Also ate at the Jigger Inn, that was decent but the beer was really good.  Also at one night at the Old Course Hotel and it was good but I think the best meals for the week was the morning breakfast, the eggs in Scotland are very good.

Great to hear the review.  I’ll be there in July and have reservations at both.  
 

Anything you wish you did or didn’t know about beforehand and would change for the better or worse?

[harbor17]

19 hours ago, NDSwim said:

Great to hear the review.  I’ll be there in July and have reservations at both.  
 

Anything you wish you did or didn’t know about beforehand and would change for the better or worse?

  

TBH, we had such a good week I don't think I would change much.  We set tee times each day around 11:30am so were were able to leisurely enjoy breakfast at the hotel each morning which was really good, hit the range to warm up, play the round then have time to enjoy a few drinks post round, head to the spa for hot tub and then out to dinner each night.  This routine worked out really well for us, the only day we deviated was on Thursday when we played TOC at 7:50am but we had time to hit the shops in town after the round.  The Dunvegan is a good spot for a drink and is a must visit for the golf enthusiast.

 

The weather and courses were all so good, I would recommend playing Dumbarnie, it is a new course but is really great, as the fairways get harder it will only get better.  Also they greet you on the first tee with a shot of whiskey, it was a nice touch. 

 

I hope you enjoy your trip, what courses are you playing.

[NDSwim]

3 hours ago, harbor17 said:

  

TBH, we had such a good week I don't think I would change much.  We set tee times each day around 11:30am so were were able to leisurely enjoy breakfast at the hotel each morning which was really good, hit the range to warm up, play the round then have time to enjoy a few drinks post round, head to the spa for hot tub and then out to dinner each night.  This routine worked out really well for us, the only day we deviated was on Thursday when we played TOC at 7:50am but we had time to hit the shops in town after the round.  The Dunvegan is a good spot for a drink and is a must visit for the golf enthusiast.

 

The weather and courses were all so good, I would recommend playing Dumbarnie, it is a new course but is really great, as the fairways get harder it will only get better.  Also they greet you on the first tee with a shot of whiskey, it was a nice touch. 

 

I hope you enjoy your trip, what courses are you playing.

Great thoughts, thank you!

 

I’m excited for sure. TOC, Carnoustie, Kingsbarns, Jubilee, Crail, Dumbarnie then north for Dornoch, Brora and Castle Stuart.  Also going in a few days earlier and added Prestwick and Turnberry.