Business trip to England

[O.D.underpar]

Hey guys,

 

I am in need of some help. I just signed on with a company to do some consulting work. The first order of business is a trip to just outside London. I was able to get them to book the flights over 8 days time so I will have some extra days after the training to get in some golf. I have Thursday afternoon until Monday morning to play. I was thinking of catching a train or a quick flight up to Scotland but I really have no idea if this would work. I plan on some day returning for a week long guys trip but, the idea of this would be just to get a taste. Besides, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity of free airfare across the pond and not playing some golf.

Thanks for the help.

[3_Jack_Par]

Absolutely doable. Train service in the UK is excellent and will get you to pretty much any urban area you want to get to. Probably the two easiest areas to get to would be Edinburgh and Glasgow. You could also fly into either, too. From Edinburgh, you can pretty easily get to St. Andrews, Carnoustie, and Gullane (all by train, also, if you don't have a car). From Glasgow, you can get to Ayrshire, where Royal Troon, Turnberry, Western Gailes, Prestwick, etc are located. The train to Edinburgh is about 3-4 hours -- you might be able to set your flights up so you could fly into Heathrow and fly out of Edinburgh or Glasgow, but I have no idea what that would cost. Either way, the travel should be manageable.

Scotland is awesome. I'm jealous.

[67VIP]

While around London you might can squeeze in a round or two. I played The Grove in Hertfordshire a month ago with some bankers from Citibank and Duetchebank and they recommended Stoke Park and Wentworth. Stoke Park you could do on your own, but you'll need an invite for Wentworth. I loved The Grove, and was told I would enjoy Stoke Park as well. Wentworth is out of range for me as I don't move around in those circles. Sunningvale is somewhere around London, but I haven't made it that far yet. A few coworkers and I may try and play The Belfry in the next month or so, but they also played Celtic Manor and Royal St Georges and said both were great. Food for thought anyway.

[O.D.underpar]

[quote name='67VIP' timestamp='1305149641' post='3225815']
While around London you might can squeeze in a round or two. I played The Grove in Hertfordshire a month ago with some bankers from Citibank and Duetchebank and they recommended Stoke Park and Wentworth. Stoke Park you could do on your own, but you'll need an invite for Wentworth. I loved The Grove, and was told I would enjoy Stoke Park as well. Wentworth is out of range for me as I don't move around in those circles. Sunningvale is somewhere around London, but I haven't made it that far yet. A few coworkers and I may try and play The Belfry in the next month or so, but they also played Celtic Manor and Royal St Georges and said both were great. Food for thought anyway.
[/quote]

Thanks for the tips VIP. The owner of the company that I will be visiting is supposedly really into golf maybe he has some connections. As for Royal St George, I would love to play there but figured it being so close to the Open I would have no shot, hence the trip north.

[sabram]

[quote name='O.D.underpar' timestamp='1305140944' post='3225588']
I have Thursday afternoon until Monday morning to play. I was thinking of catching a train or a quick flight up to Scotland but I really have no idea if this would work. [/quote]

I did this a few years ago flying from Stanstead airport outside London to Prestwick on Ryan Air. They had some very low ppricedfares at the time. There are a dozen excellent links within 30 minutes of Prestwick. Prestwick and Western Gales are "must play" courses. Glasgow Gales and Dundonald are my next two choices. The Ailsa course (of Open Championship fame) at Turnberry is a short drive. Expensive but worth it. You can also play the Kintyre course at Turnberry. Royal Troon is right by the airport. also expensive. Some good value courses in the area are Kilmarnock (a/k/a/ Barasssie), West Kilbride, Bellisle, Shiskine and Irvine. These courses are basically set out one after the other as you move up the Ayrshire coast.

You should stay at the Sand Hill house. The best B&B I have ever stayed at. It is loacted just off the fairway of Royal Troon. Great welcome, great food and views of Royal Troon and the sea.

Howeveer, you might also consider staying near London. There is a lot of great heathland golf in Surrey and Berkshire. Playing the Old and New courses at Sunningdale one day and the Old and New at Walton Heath another day is as good as it gets. My next two choices for 36 hole days would be New Zealand and St George's Hill which are located about 10 minutes from one another or Woking andWorplesdon which are alos about 10 minutes apaart. All of these courses are a short drive from London. The problem you may have is playing on Saturday or Sunday. Most of these courses welcome visitors Monday through Friday. Many are not avialbale on weekends.

[O.D.underpar]

[quote name='sabram' timestamp='1305537839' post='3237577']
[quote name='O.D.underpar' timestamp='1305140944' post='3225588']
I have Thursday afternoon until Monday morning to play. I was thinking of catching a train or a quick flight up to Scotland but I really have no idea if this would work. [/quote]

I did this a few years ago flying from Stanstead airport outside London to Prestwick on Ryan Air. They had some very low ppricedfares at the time. There are a dozen excellent links within 30 minutes of Prestwick. Prestwick and Western Gales are "must play" courses. Glasgow Gales and Dundonald are my next two choices. The Ailsa course (of Open Championship fame) at Turnberry is a short drive. Expensive but worth it. You can also play the Kintyre course at Turnberry. Royal Troon is right by the airport. also expensive. Some good value courses in the area are Kilmarnock (a/k/a/ Barasssie), West Kilbride, Bellisle, Shiskine and Irvine. These courses are basically set out one after the other as you move up the Ayrshire coast.

You should stay at the Sand Hill house. The best B&B I have ever stayed at. It is loacted just off the fairway of Royal Troon. Great welcome, great food and views of Royal Troon and the sea.

Howeveer, you might also consider staying near London. There is a lot of great heathland golf in Surrey and Berkshire. Playing the Old and New courses at Sunningdale one day and the Old and New at Walton Heath another day is as good as it gets. My next two choices for 36 hole days would be New Zealand and St George's Hill which are located about 10 minutes from one another or Woking andWorplesdon which are alos about 10 minutes apaart. All of these courses are a short drive from London. The problem you may have is playing on Saturday or Sunday. Most of these courses welcome visitors Monday through Friday. Many are not avialbale on weekends.
[/quote]

Great info, thanks!

[MDG]

I would start by having a look through this list and see if any of the courses appeal:

[url="http://www.top100golfcourses.co.uk/htmlsite/country5.asp?id=1"]http://www.top100golfcourses.co.uk/htmlsite/country5.asp?id=1[/url]

If you are planning to head up to Scotland then I would personally fly instead of catching the train.

Enjoy your trip.