OT: Golf in Scotland

[DAWGS1.sixpack]

It’s getting close to football time but it’s still summer and about this time every year I get that golf trip bug to Scotland. The Open and the Sr Open especially when it’s at two iconic Scottish courses such as this year makes me want to go even more.
Came real close to going about 8 years ago but now I’m REALLY thinking about doing a trip in like 2020 or ‘21 in mid August after the Open and Sr and other trnm’s are complete.
Have to plan at least one year in advance for most of the courses I have on my bucket list.
Courses I think are a must are — in no particular order except for the first one:::
St Andrews Old
Carnoustie
Royal Aberdeen
KingsBarns
Muirfield
Prestwick
Turnberry
Troon
Gullane and or N Berwick.
Anyone ever crossed the pond to play?
Not too interested in Ireland even tho there are some great old historic courses and maybe better than Scotland, but... Scotland is the home of golf after all.
I think it can be done for around $10,000, probably less but that’s my max amount thinking and that’s 11 nights with about 11 rounds of golf.
36 holes at Muirfield and Turnberry maybe?
Only problem is I know Muirfield and Troon only allow visitors on like Tues and Thursday’s and St Andrews Old isn’t guaranteed unless you book thru an expensive tour company.
They have a daily ballot for singles but even thats the luck of the draw and would be going with a 4some, maybe only 2 golfers.
Anyone ever been and what is the best way to travel from course to course?
Never driven on the left side of the road nor with a steering wheel on the right of the car.
Maybe they have Uber?!?

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

Get it big boy... I am saving my money for one of those private flights that orbit the moon in a few years.** I am not sure which one is more awesome. (To be clear, I am not talking ****. I am jealous.)

 

[JungRebel]

I dont play golf but was recently in St. Andrew's and walked the Old Course. The course itself isnt that spectacular as there is very little greenery and it's essentially four courses crammed right next to one another, but its location on the coast in that sleepy town is beautiful. They do tours daily as well for those interested in the history. I saw a lot of amatuers playing who looked like they weren't having nearly as good a time as I was just walking. Reminded me of that Mark Twain saying...

I drove 1200 miles in Scotland in 7 days. You get used to the left side orientation quickly but have to be careful until you get the hang of the roundabouts. More concerning is how narrow the roads are in Scotland. Centerline chicken appears to be the national pastime, and what is a 'poorly developed mississippi two lane backroad' here passes for a major highway there. And in rural areas prepare yourself for a plethora of one lane roads with pulloffs.

I'm sure the golf is great but I would detour to the Orkney Islands if at all possible. Theres so much history there. Book your hotel rooms and or Airbnb months and months in advance unless you want to overpay.

 

[LilSebastian]

The No Laying Up podcast just released two episodes on this topic. It’s a bit bro-y, but they come at it as tourists not experts.

 

[PineGroveBully]

A pool and going golfing in the motherland. Someone is knocking down some jack.

 

[Hugh's Burner Phone]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pcnFbCCgTo4

 

[Dawg1976]

If I could snap my fingers and I'm there I would love to play those courses. But hate the travel involved. Go before you get too old and set in your ways like me.

 

[coachnorm]

I am not a golfer but can tell you first hand that daylight is unbelievable around June 21st the Summer Solstice. If the sky is cloudless there is playable light from about 3:45AM to about 10:45PM. During that time slot on cloudless days, daybreak can happen a few minutes before 3AM and dusk 11:55PM. I found this perplexing as a teenager in the Navy assigned to Holy Loch about 40 miles west of Glasgow. The daytime dynamics are totally different if it gets cloudy out there.

 

[L4Dawg]

A visit to Scotland is incredible. Are you seriously going to waste it on GOLF?

 

[PineGroveBully]

That's surreal, guess I just never really thought about it be it being that far north.

 

[Uncle Ruckus]

You know what the trouble with Scotland is?
It’s full of Scotts!

 

[Junction John]

I'm not downing your trip, because I love it, but in the meantime... you can fly to Bend, Oregon and play pretty much the same golf for half the price (or less) of the Scotland trip. It's a lot easier to plan, too, so maybe you can do this trip as a warmup for Scotland. Bandon Dunes is an incredible links golf experience on the cliffs of the Pacific. They only had 4 courses when I went, so we played each twice over 4 days. No carts of course, it's all caddied, so it is a workout and I was ready to lay the hell down by the last day, but it was something I'd go do again every year if I didn't have all these kids and a wife who wants to go to Florida twice a year.

Not to hijack the Scotland talk, but I highly recommend a trip out there to any golfers: https://www.bandondunesgolf.com/

 

[DAWGS1.sixpack]

Thanks Junction John.
The Oregon coast has been on my bucket list as well.
Wish I had done it when we played at Oregon but chose to play at another course between Eugene and Portland on Sunday bc of time, which was great but really should’ve planned better to get out to Bandon Dunes

 

[Maroon Eagle]

...I drove 1200 miles in Scotland in 7 days. You get used to the left side orientation quickly but have to be careful until you get the hang of the roundabouts. More concerning is how narrow the roads are in Scotland. Centerline chicken appears to be the national pastime, and what is a 'poorly developed mississippi two lane backroad' here passes for a major highway there. And in rural areas prepare yourself for a plethora of one lane roads with pulloffs...

The exact same thing can be said about driving in Ireland.

If you want to drive (and it’s definitely doable):
1. Drive an automatic. It costs more but better than driving manual transmission with your off hand.
2. Rent a GPS. That was the MVP of my weekend rental going from Dublin Airport to Buncrana (north of Letterkenny in County Donegal) to Portmagee in County Kerry back to Dublin Airport (one lane bridges in the Ring of Kerry - joy) a couple years ago.

 

[Bobby Ricigliano]

Muirfield may be the toughest to get on. If you do, be sure to check the dress code (coat & tie for dining, or something like that).

 

[DAWGS1.sixpack]

Believe it is for their lunch.
Visitors accepted on like Tuesday and Thursday and you can play 36 holes there. Have a 4ball match in the afternoon I think. But lunch, there is a coat and tie required. So I guess you go out and play golf, change into your lunch clothes, eat and change again and go play.

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

I'm not downing your trip, because I love it, but in the meantime... you can fly to Bend, Oregon and play pretty much the same golf for half the price (or less) of the Scotland trip. It's a lot easier to plan, too, so maybe you can do this trip as a warmup for Scotland. Bandon Dunes is an incredible links golf experience on the cliffs of the Pacific. They only had 4 courses when I went, so we played each twice over 4 days. No carts of course, it's all caddied, so it is a workout and I was ready to lay the hell down by the last day, but it was something I'd go do again every year if I didn't have all these kids and a wife who wants to go to Florida twice a year.

Not to hijack the Scotland talk, but I highly recommend a trip out there to any golfers: https://www.bandondunesgolf.com/

Just curious why you would fly to the middle of Oregon to play at Bandon Dunes on the SW coast? Bend is smack in the middle of the state, on the other side of the Mountains... It's actually closer to fly into Portland and Eugene is best. I am guessing to get to Bend you have to connect through Portland anyhow.

Unless you are going to do some fly fishing too, skip Bend. Never played Dunes, but used to fly in for work in Eugene and Portland. Went to Bend one time to fish and it's a long way from the coast, probably closer to Boise than Bandon.

 

[Junction John]

Sorry, I should have said North Bend. I don't know how far Bend is.

One of my buddies booked the trip, and we flew through Denver to San Fran, then to some small airport in North Bend, where a limo van was waiting for us. It was a nice ride, maybe an hour or something, through Coos Bay. But we were excited about the trip (and pretty lit from the plane ride), so it wasn't bad at all. That was a few years ago, and now they have a direct flight to North Bend from Denver. No idea why we didn't go to Eugene or Portland.

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

One of my buddies booked the trip, and we flew through Denver to San Fran, then to some small airport in North Bend, where a limo van was waiting for us. It was a nice ride, maybe an hour or something, through Coos Bay. But we were excited about the trip (and pretty lit from the plane ride), so it wasn't bad at all. That was a few years ago, and now they have a direct flight to North Bend from Denver. No idea why we didn't go to Eugene or Portland.

Cool. I never heard of North Bend, would have assumed it was... North of Bend. Anywho, it sounds awesome. You didn't miss anything in Eugene or Portland... I prefer actual Bend over both.

 

[JungRebel]

Most definitely rent an automatic and go for the Prius if you get the chance. 70 MPG (where fuel is more expensive) and the lack of get up and go is of little consequence in Scotland. Most people drive above the limit and there are very few big trucks or big vehicles in general so there is little reason, in addition to there being little opportunity, to pass people.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

I drove a Citroen C4 Cactus - it's an odd-looking diesel that got great mileage-- averaging around 60 mpg. Jeremy Clarkson wrote a great and humorous review about it here.

 

[coachnorm]

Talking about driving in Scotland, I have a story for fellow sixpackers. As I said, I was stationed in the FBM submarine repair facility at Holy Loch. Many shipmates would buy sports cars like MGBs and Triumphs out there. Those cars were left hand drive like ours here in the States driving British. The plan would be to ship the car to the States when the sailor or marine would get his orders back to the Continental United States. The issue would be the driver on the sidewalk side away from the center of the road. I remember being a passenger in this scenario in which the driver would have me look for a break ahead in traffic and give the less sighted driver the ok to pass a slower vehicle in front of us. Most Americans would find this habit strange to say the least?