Best way to schedule trip to Scotland?

[mark m]

[quote name='bryanwmilburn' timestamp='1388970382' post='8405047']
I really want to go to Scotland to play in the next 3 years! What's the best way to go about scheduling a trip and how much will it cost each individual golfer? I just want to play the Old Course, Carnoustie, Royal Liverpool, and any 3 other courses. Any input helps! Thanks!
[/quote]

Bryan: hope you don't mind, but I thought I would use your thread to ask about something that isn't worth starting a new thread, but does fit with your overall theme of a trip to Scotland. The topic:

[b]"The Himalayas"[/b] ...officially known as [i]The Ladies Putting Green (Founded 1867)[/i]

Have any of you wrx'ers played it?
If so, do you recommend this being put on the itinerary?
How long did it take to "play 18"?
It looks like it could be a fun add on at the end/beginning of the day depending on the schedule.
Etc

I see that it is open only for part of the year (Apr - Sept). Alister MacKenzie said some good things about it in a book I own. I have always wanted to go to Scotland on a golf trip and hope to do so in the next few years.

Thanks for any responses

Here are links: [url="http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/2011-01/photos-st-andrews-himalayas-putting-course#slide=12"]http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/2011-01/photos-st-andrews-himalayas-putting-course#slide=12[/url]

[url="http://www.linksmagazine.com/best_of_golf/himalayas-putting-course-st-andrews-golf-tough-par"]http://www.linksmagazine.com/best_of_golf/himalayas-putting-course-st-andrews-golf-tough-par[/url]

[Bingo1976]

[quote name='mark m' timestamp='1389983731' post='8478867']
[quote name='bryanwmilburn' timestamp='1388970382' post='8405047']
I really want to go to Scotland to play in the next 3 years! What's the best way to go about scheduling a trip and how much will it cost each individual golfer? I just want to play the Old Course, Carnoustie, Royal Liverpool, and any 3 other courses. Any input helps! Thanks!
[/quote]

Bryan: hope you don't mind, but I thought I would use your thread to ask about something that isn't worth starting a new thread, but does fit with your overall theme of a trip to Scotland. The topic:

[b]"The Himalayas"[/b] ...officially known as [i]The Ladies Putting Green (Founded 1867)[/i]

Have any of you wrx'ers played it?
If so, do you recommend this being put on the itinerary?
How long did it take to "play 18"?
It looks like it could be a fun add on at the end/beginning of the day depending on the schedule.
Etc

I see that it is open only for part of the year (Apr - Sept). Alister MacKenzie said some good things about it in a book I own. I have always wanted to go to Scotland on a golf trip and hope to do so in the next few years.

Thanks for any responses

Here are links: [url="http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/2011-01/photos-st-andrews-himalayas-putting-course#slide=12"]http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/2011-01/photos-st-andrews-himalayas-putting-course#slide=12[/url]

[url="http://www.linksmagazine.com/best_of_golf/himalayas-putting-course-st-andrews-golf-tough-par"]http://www.linksmagazine.com/best_of_golf/himalayas-putting-course-st-andrews-golf-tough-par[/url]
[/quote]

The Himalayas are just off the second hole on the Old Course. It's just a putting course, so maybe max 30 minutes depending on crowds. Can't recall the cost but you just turn up and play. It's fun and a bit of history, so worth the detour.

[Quebec Club Ho]

[quote name='bryanwmilburn' timestamp='1388970382' post='8405047']
I really want to go to Scotland to play in the next 3 years! What's the best way to go about scheduling a trip and how much will it cost each individual golfer? I just want to play the Old Course, Carnoustie, Royal Liverpool, and any 3 other courses. Any input helps! Thanks!
[/quote]

I did this 'dream trip' in 2011 for 28 days and planned everything myself - although I did go alone. I thought it was rather easy to plan all the details. I booked all the tee times (the fellow members are correct about the many ways to get a time) but I made sure I got my time at the Old Course before I planned the itinerary. After your 'planned' round at the Old Course, you can always play the ballot or line up at 3am if you want to play it again.
I went for a month and drove all over the country - the driving and directions are not difficult - if you are 4 guys, navigation will be even simpler. It only took me a couple of days to get used to driving on the 'other' side, after that It was not a problem. You can get automatics as rentals, it's not as difficult as people make it out to be. However it does cost more.
Booking the B&B's as probably the hardest as you had to really read what they had to offer and what you need for the trip. I found the owners are super friendly to deal with. Most B&B are houses (or mansions, in the day) converted into rooms. Some may have rooms like north american hotels, other may have one single room and a large room with 3 beds! Definitely an experience to live in one of those.
The booking of tee times are very simple - all can be done on the internet.
The car rental was also simple - finding the type of car might be the hardest part since you will be 4. The size of car is not an issue driving around the roads/highways. I found the only problem is the parking around st andrews. there is parking for the hotels but the spots are really tight, so you might have to squeeze out of the car!
Finally, if you book with an agent, forget the above, definitely easier, but I found that I really enjoyed being part of the city.
Please PM me if you have any questions - be glad to help

[edryer3]

I was just dream golfing and used Golf Scotland tours and they made up a package for me in October
Courses:
Trump international
Royal Troon
Gleneagles PGA
Carnoustie
Old Couse
Castle Course
Kingsbarn

Included 3 star hotel w/ breakfast and rental car for 4 and it was $3700 total w/ out airfare per person

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

Yep you'd be paying rack rate at pretty much the most expensive tier of courses in Scotland, plus staying in hotels (which I personally find horribly overpriced compared to B&B's) and then the tour operator is getting paid out of that as well. Easy to spend several thousand dollars like that.

[edryer3]

[quote name='Fourmyle of Ceres' timestamp='1390086187' post='8485521']
Yep you'd be paying rack rate at pretty much the most expensive tier of courses in Scotland, plus staying in hotels (which I personally find horribly overpriced compared to B&B's) and then the tour operator is getting paid out of that as well. Easy to spend several thousand dollars like that.
[/quote]

I have never been there but was planning a trip in the near future if had to not play a course on this list which one would you skip?

Trump international
Royal Troon
Gleneagles PGA
Carnoustie
Old Couse
Castle Course
Kingsbarn

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

Well I can't really say on your behalf what your priorities are. I'd start from the course(s) you most want to play and then see what others your budget will allow.

If it were me I'd start from the Old Course. Everyone ought to play there if they have a chance. I've personally never seen much about either Troon or Carnoustie that seems like a "must see" but some people prefer to see the Open courses. For my part, Kingsbarns would definitely be worth a look but I must say what I've seen of the Castle Course on TV made it look really fun.

Anyway, no way to really prioritize the "quality" of courses before you've seen them! So if you don't have a clear reason to choose one over the other then probably base it on convenience and keeping things easy to travel between.

[edryer3]

[quote name='Fourmyle of Ceres' timestamp='1390093150' post='8486129']
Well I can't really say on your behalf what your priorities are. I'd start from the course(s) you most want to play and then see what others your budget will allow.

If it were me I'd start from the Old Course. Everyone ought to play there if they have a chance. I've personally never seen much about either Troon or Carnoustie that seems like a "must see" but some people prefer to see the Open courses. For my part, Kingsbarns would definitely be worth a look but I must say what I've seen of the Castle Course on TV made it look really fun.

Anyway, no way to really prioritize the "quality" of courses before you've seen them! So if you don't have a clear reason to choose one over the other then probably base it on convenience and keeping things easy to travel between.
[/quote]

Ok cool thanks mainly its to play the old course atleast once, hopefully twice. Its going to be kinda of a once in a lifetime trip. My plan is to fly to glasglow and drive up and play Gleneagles (flight arrives at 6:45am) and then head to St. Andrews the rest of the trip and travel from there. Probably rent a house for 10 days. And I would probably skip Royal Troon (Its out of the way). Thanks for the help

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

Honestly, if I wanted to watch my budget I'd play the Old Course whenever I could and get one of those multi-day Links Trust passes to cover several rounds at New, Jubliee, etc.

But generally speaking, if I get to play a decent real links course I have a blast. So courses in St. Andrews like the New or whatever still meet most of my golf needs without costing $200+ a round.

I also whenever possible try to do a day ticket (2 rounds, same day) at the high-$$$ courses. For instance you might be able to go twice around one expensive course for not much more than one round, rather than playing there then hauling butt to another expensive course for the afternoon round.

[edryer3]

[quote name='Fourmyle of Ceres' timestamp='1390097358' post='8486531']
Honestly, if I wanted to watch my budget I'd play the Old Course whenever I could and get one of those multi-day Links Trust passes to cover several rounds at New, Jubliee, etc.

But generally speaking, if I get to play a decent real links course I have a blast. So courses in St. Andrews like the New or whatever still meet most of my golf needs without costing $200+ a round.

I also whenever possible try to do a day ticket (2 rounds, same day) at the high-$$$ courses. For instance you might be able to go twice around one expensive course for not much more than one round, rather than playing there then hauling butt to another expensive course for the afternoon round.
[/quote]

Ok copy that. I think we were just gonna plan to play 18 holes a day and work around the old course tee time. Really like to see the castles and other tourist type spots hopefully after our round in the afternoon if we are able to grab Morning tee times as well. Is October a good month to go down as far as a busy time?? I know weather is a crap shoot just like when I go to Bandon Dunes every year, really not worried about that. Its part of the expierence!!

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

I've never been in the UK later than mid-late September. I've been told that October can be quite nice. Around the part of Scotland where St. Andrews is should be your best odds of anywhere. I would not go west coast or Highlands that late in the year but even into November they tell me Fife can have some cool but nice weather. There's a micro-climate there from Edinburgh up past Dundee along the coast that's drier with less temperature extremes than most of Scotland.

[phsgolfguy]

as someone mentioned earlier, would highly recommend Dunbar Golf Tours (www.dunbargolftours.com). we did an 8 day trip in June and Marc was incredibly helpful throughout the entire process, i'll be using him again next year for our return trip

[JNewsted]

[url="http://www.amazon.com/Golf-Scotland-Travel-Planning-Profiles-Courses/dp/0971032645"]http://www.amazon.com/Golf-Scotland-Travel-Planning-Profiles-Courses/dp/0971032645[/url]

This was a great help for me. A few tips would be to pick the off season. I went last October and I had the whole town to myself it seemed. Make St. Andrews a home base. Find some of the lesser known places here and there instead of dropping huge cheddar on ALL the big names.

[thecraw]

[quote name='Bingo1976' timestamp='1389232357' post='8425493']
Kingsbarns is a far better golf course than the Old Course, and only a few minutes drive up the road. Carnoustie is worth the trip (1 hour from St Andrews). Don't discount cheaper courses as fillers for some days, and don't think you can drive to Liverpool and back in a day.

Royal Aberdeen and Trump are a bit further away, but worth the trip from what I have heard.

Staying in St Andrews is highly recommended though - hand out at the Dunvegan in the evening and you will make many new friends!
[/quote]


Sorry mate but I really can not agree with that at all. Kingsbarns is not even on the same page as the Old Course, possibly not even in the same book! Kingsbarns has far too many bland uninteresting holes. Yes it has a handful of stunning holes but overall its a bit of a let down overall. Hyped up.

[thecraw]

[quote name='edryer3' timestamp='1390090986' post='8485907']
[quote name='Fourmyle of Ceres' timestamp='1390086187' post='8485521']
Yep you'd be paying rack rate at pretty much the most expensive tier of courses in Scotland, plus staying in hotels (which I personally find horribly overpriced compared to B&B's) and then the tour operator is getting paid out of that as well. Easy to spend several thousand dollars like that.
[/quote]

I have never been there but was planning a trip in the near future if had to not play a course on this list which one would you skip?

Trump international
Royal Troon
Gleneagles PGA
Carnoustie
Old Couse
Castle Course
Kingsbarn
[/quote]

I've not played [b]Trump[/b] but hear that the greens are still not quite there yet, hopefully it gets sorted this year as it looks simply stunning. Mr Trump has certainly created a stir over here but I'm 100% behind the big man. If he pops on at all any chance of a complimentary round???

[b]Royal Troon[/b], in my opinion is the most underrated of the Open rota tracks, a real tough test of golf, especially when the wind gets up. That back nine is the equal of Carnoustie and some. I would make the effort to play her.

[b]Gleneagles PGA[/b], I would sack that and play the Kings as its far nicer, a lovely round of golf in stunning scenery and wonderful location, very very good track. The PGA is a bit of a slog and really doesn't flow very well.

[b]Carnoustie [/b]is another nice enough track, very testing and obviously another Open venue. What lets Carnoustie down is the lack of visual appeal. Its not got the wow factor of St Andrews or Turnberry etc. Quite bland on the eye but tough as old boots and the finish is a dream.

[b]Old Course [/b]is a history lesson, you'll stand on the first tee with goosebumps. Simply a must play course for EVERY golfer.

[b]Castle Course [/b]I'm not a fan of, very nice views over the "auld toon" but the course itself is a bit like marmite, some love it, I just didn't really get it. The greens were so severe it took the fun out of the game. I understand that they have since "softened" a few greens but for me I'd be dropping this off my list.

[b]Kingsbarns [/b]is nice, always good condition but another that is over rated in my opinion. Some stunning holes but also a lot of holes that are meh! You'll remember the great holes at KB but struggle to remember a good number of the other holes at KB which speaks volumes for me.


Now these are only my views and many will differ.

Scotland like Ireland is blessed with so many stunning options. I would consider Royal Aberdeen, Dornoch Castle Stuart, Machrihanish, Machrihanish Dunes, Dunbar, Dundonald, Western Gailes, Glasgow Gailes, Berwick, Southerness, Cruden Bay, Machrie, Blairgowrie etc etc.

[buckI]

Just went the beginning of October last year. It was cool but actually did not get rained on during 4 rounds. I know it is a crap shoot on the weather there. The Highlands is a beautiful area and great golf…Royal Dornoch, Castle Stuart, Nairn. Good area for non-golfers also. For just golf, I'd go and try and play Muirfield again but I'd stay in Berwick. You have North Berwick, Gullane and others very close. St. Andrews Old is awesome. The history is amazing and it was a good brisk wind the day I played. I got to the starter shack at 4:20 and was 5th in line. Ended up teeing off at 12:20. It was a long cold wait but well worth it. It for sure is the most debated course there. People love it or are very much in the camp that the New and others are better. You gotta play it once and you'll want to go back.

[edryer3]

Awesome, thanks for all the info!!!

[Handfull]

20 minutes from St Andrews is Balcomie Links at the Crail golfing Society. That would be a good filler course if your in St Andrews and find you have some time on your hands. Was in Scotland last summer and ended up having a free afternoon so I booked that morning and had a great time. Not too expensive either (compared to the St Andrew's courses.)

[lwildernorva]

If you're going to spend a week in St. Andrews during the summer, want good value accommodations, and don't mind decent dorm rooms, the University of St. Andrews offers both individual rooms and a five-bedroom apartment complex that I'll use this summer: [url="http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/alumni/relations/services/unibenefits/holidayaccom/"]http://www.st-andrew...s/holidayaccom/[/url]. I stayed in the dorms in 2011, and so long as you understand that it's a dorm, you won't be disappointed. A full breakfast was included in the package, which ran around 45 pounds per night, and the Old Course is an easy walk from the dorms. The apartments appear to be about another half-mile out but for roughly 800 pounds total for four people for a week, with each golfer getting his own bedroom and bath, almost can't be beat.

I'm fully behind making arrangements on your own. My trip this summer will be my fifth since 1998, I've made all my own bookings, and the only course I haven't been able to play that I wanted to was Muirfield, and that's partially because three of those trips were solo trips and Muirfield doesn't take singles. On my first trip in 1998, I walked on to the Old Course during the middle of the summer, although admittedly had to wait for several hours to find a slot. A trip with four almost certainly requires an advance tee time, but if a group is willing to split up, getting on the Old Course is not impossible.

In regards to a choice among Trump international, [url="http://viglink.pgpartner.com/rd.php?r=610&m=973842231&q=n&rdgt=1390667221&it=1390840021&et=1391272021&priceret=139.95&pg=~~3&k=db05941059c57584e14a2e129decccbe&source=feed&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwalmart%2Erdr%2Echannelintelligence%2Ecom%2Fgo%2Easp%3FfVhzOC8fBggESSNjXlJTQRFoHD92Z1EABEwHbWBWURdDXSJXNzAjFx0fR0AofBgCBx5ALEsKXEsuazpdHWJfQT4%2AQjcZHE4wCQQrP0sfc1xMPX8pEQoeRDoSEyU9QkBRXFk8fz8LBAdOOU1FT0xsdWIcCgIAA2dtHBEIEE46QX4nOkRtBQcOa2peVU0QUTBcLCA2EA5TXF48OQYHRE0HKVJITFQiNidDV0INSC07DAYMAUA8RiY2fU5dXRZYOzsLXggARC5Yc3RjHQIAAQBvYl9TW0MRbg8UDxRzdGMdAgAABW9jX1JNBUQ2GSA3Ng%3D%3D%26nAID%3D5784816&st=feed&mt=~~~~~~~~n~~~"][color=#353535]Royal Troon[/color][/url], Gleneagles PGA, Carnoustie, Old Course, Castle Course, and Kingsbarn, there are several ways to make that decision. Proximity is one, and on a trip lasting no longer than a week, becomes a concern. That makes Royal Troon, Trump, and Gleneagles, sort of in that order, the first courses to drop. But Troon obviously is an Open rota course, the Ryder is going to Gleneagles PGA this fall, and I've heard that the Trump course is stunning (I've played the two neighboring courses, Murcar and Royal Aberdeen--if you get up that way, at least try to play Royal Aberdeen, a site previously used for the Walker Cup and the Senior British Open and this year's course for the Scottish Open, as well as Trump). If you're solely looking at links courses, Gleneagles drops out. If you don't mind driving a decent distance from St. Andrews, maybe you could play Troon, Trump, and Gleneagles, but I'd be inclined to drop the Castle Course and then make one choice for a long drive, maybe favoring Troon because of the Open so that you can say you played three of the Open courses. Keep in mind that Troon limits visitors to Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, so if you decide to play there, get your tee time reserved and build the rest of your trip around that.

[Cfd74]

My wife and I go over every year to Scotland and/or Ireland. I am fortunate to be a member of the St Andrews Golf Club there in St Andrews so we always try to make it back each year. Such a special place. I have included a link to the website that houses all of my photography from the courses I've played as well as an entertaining and very informative blog. You'll find lots of great pics and lots of insights as to what to do off the course. Hope you check it out. Any and all feedback is appreciated.

[url="http://www.fairwaysndreamsgolf.com"]http://www.fairwaysndreamsgolf.com[/url]