Scotland May '13

67VIP · May 14, 2013

Hope you guys have a better experience than I did. Our group prepaid for the 3 day St Andrews ticket, Gleneagles Centenary, and Carnoustie Championship course. I also got p/u for the Old Course ballot last Friday...was not able to play it, had to walk off Gleneagles on the 9th hole and Carnoustie on the 2nd. Couldn't swing the club because of a pulled rib muscle from our second round at the Jubilee course. I'm disappointed about not being able to play, but truly pissed off about the waste of money. I told the pro at Carnoustie what happened and his first reply when I walked in the door was..."oh, had enough already?" No rain check or refund offered, they must be real impressed with their tuff track rep. I did play the New, Jubilee, Eden, & Castle courses which were all included in the 3 day ticket. Not sure I'd want to go back, especially if I had to pre-pay again.

4Par · May 14, 2013

F CARNOUSTIE!!! Lol..... My son shot 79.... Putting was lights out.... I had several stretches of good pars followed by stretches of blow ups... As you all know, the slightest miss is punished... Windy as heck, rain for 3 holes (9, 10, 11) but overall a great time!

We have New Course tomorrow at 2 ish and were granted The Old Course time of 1:10 on Thursday through today's ballot!!!

In St Andrews now... Awesome... I almost cried... Dunvegans for dinner and some beers....

4Par · May 15, 2013

Today was the New Course... Fun play... It's amazing how relaxed the place feels. It's a feeling like "just a nice way to spend an afternoon"... Take a walk and play some golf... No pressures, no drama, just fairways and greens.... The Boy shot 74 with a triple as the rain poured on us at the turn... I was a few higher. My highlight was a par from the green side bunker of 17... No way I should have played that line into 17 but I thought the draw would get me close to the pin...

For you 50+ guys.... 6 days of touring the country and playing golf takes a toll on the back.... Prepare yourself ...

4Par · May 15, 2013

And one more thing... Donvegans again this evening... Met Jack and Sheena... Good people that enjoy meeting folks and chatting....!

67VIP · May 16, 2013

Had dinner at Donvegans twice myself, had the lamb both times...excellent meal. Food at SA Links clubhouse was very good, as was breakfast at the Castle course.

4Par · May 16, 2013

Jubilee and The Old Course today... Jubilee was a very enjoyable course! We really enjoyed that course much more than New.... Very good golf was played by both my son and I .....

Then a walk over to the Old..... WoW was that a great afternoon!!! Solid play by both of us... Made the turn just a few over par due to a few missteps off the tee and a couple tricky putts that were misjudged... As we headed home the wind was into and freshening which made for demanding tee balls and approaches.... Not as many were executed well but scores beginning with the number 7 were carded for both of us... My only misgiving was a bladed 7 on 18 that made its way halfway up the back hill... Boo.... What an experience though ....!!!!

4Par · May 20, 2013

Made it back to the States.... grudgingly.... lol

Great time with the family !! Had so much fun enjoying the courses with my son and my wife and daughter had a wonderful time exploring Scotland's castles and sights. St Andrews was the highlight for us..... we just loved the community and the courses.

My son went back for one more round on the Old.... walked up early Friday morn and had no trouble getting on about 7 am. I had played enough golf on Thursday, was a bit sore, and was still proud of my play the day before on the Old.... I didn't want to chance having a lesser round!

He was 1 under after 9 and then got on a bit of a bogey train but finished 16, 17, and 18 strong.... I was the proud dad as a few of the caddies and his playing partners commented to me about him being a pleasure to play with that morning.

One thing I'll remember most about this trip is that we ran into so many fine people along the way.... whether they were from Toronto, Stockholm, Japan, Scotland, Mississippi, Texas, California, etc... they were all very nice, warm people that added to our vacation.

The Old Course was certainly our favorite play of the trip..... Starting with Royal Dornach, then Royal Aberdeen, on to Carnoustie, then New,Jubilee, and finally The Old..... I know we missed a lot of good golf courses but I feel pretty complete with what we enjoyed and expreienced in a week.

As we prepare for the return trip we discussed spending much more time in St Andrews itself and using that as a base to travel from..... the guest house, we stayed at Anondale, and the atmosphere there was just so special that we'd have enjoyed a few more days there....