Mike's View of Golf in Scotland

I’ve had a great golf trip to Scotland. We stayed 6 days and played golf 6 days. A trip to Scotland for most avid golfers is like a pilgrimage to Mecca. It’s the closest thing to having a religious experience a golfer can have (except a hole-in-one).
We flew into Glasgow (GLA) directly from Newark (EWR) on Continental. From there it’s about a 2 hour drive to St. Andrews, where we set up camp for the week. We stayed at the Argyle House hotel, which is a 3-star guest house type accommodation. The Argyle House is located about a driver and 3-wood (downwind) from the 1st tee of the Old Course. They have 14 rooms there, a restaurant, a small pub, and a nightclub located on property. The accommodations are somewhat minimal but the staff is very attentive and go above and beyond. It’s a pretty good fit for golfers who are not terribly concerned with top shelf accommodations. The rate for a standard room is 45UK (pounds) for a single room or 70UK for a double room, which includes a full-Scottish breakfast. A couple of downsides to the hotel, the rooms do not have telephones, although there is a pay-phone in the hall, and there is no lift (elevator) which would prohibit most handicapped travelers from staying there.

A couple of things to know about golf in Scotland---Scotland is recognized as the home of golf. There are courses everywhere. Most of the courses are public and are typically owned and managed by organizations called Link Trusts, these organizations are owned by the town or region in which they are located. Most courses do not have motorized carts (The Dukes Course in St. Andrews is the exception) so golfers should be prepared to walk. The courses do have caddies (which you need to reserve in advance) and trolleys (pull-carts). The trolleys rent for 3UK or ~$5 per round. The going fee for a caddie is 25UK plus tip (the normal tip is 5-10UK).

One thing I did learn on this trip---some of the better golf courses are lesser known. Our first day we played Scotscraig, a beautiful 6303 yard, par 71 inland course which is about 15 miles north of St. Andrews. Scotscraig, established in 1817, boasts being the 13th oldest course in the world and in year 2000 the British Open Qualifiers will be held there. This course is a good warm-up course for Americans, the fairways are of fair width and the rough is not too penal. You will still be lucky if you shoot 5 over your handicap. The staff there makes you feel at home, and some of the member’s act as caddies. One tip: if you want to go into the clubhouse after your round--you are required to wear long pants. The toughest hole on the course is the 351 yard par 4, 4th. Don’t let the distance fool you, the ideal tee shot is a fairway wood to mid-iron short of huge gully in the fairway. There is trouble left (gorse) and trouble right (heather), the approach shot is mid to low iron to a severally elevated, crowned green. I stayed in trouble on this hole but saved triple bogey by sinking an 8 footer. The green fees are very reasonable ~$50 US and tee-times at this lesser known course are fairly easy to come by.

Day 2 we played Crail (Balcomie Links) which is 9 miles south of St. Andrews. More than half of the holes are on the firth of fourth. This is a very short course, par 67 only 5453 yards, but is a must play. It is the 7th oldest course in the world and one of the most scenic of any I have played. Luckily it was a calm day when we played, but be prepared for gale-like wind. This course is what I envisioned golf in Scotland to be. The signature hole is properly deemed “Hell’s Hole”. This 449 par four has a 90 degree dogleg right. The tee-box is aligned so your 1st shot is a carry over the firth of fourth. The second shot is headed straight into the wind off the North Sea. The third shot, which for all practical purposes is your approach shot has to be low and straight OB stakes decorate the right side of the fairway and green. There are a couple of driveable 4 pars if you have the right conditions. Probably the most interesting hole is the par 3 14th. Only 140 yards straight downhill with the firth on your right side. After playing we spent some time talking with the head pro, Graeme Lennie. He asked what I hit on the 14th and I told him pitching wedge, and he said there are days he can’t get a 1 iron to the green. That is how challenging the conditions can be. Again this is a course you probably have never heard of, but it’s the most spectacular of any of the courses I‘ve played in Scotland. Tee-times are easy to come by and the green-fees are ~$42.

Day 3 we played the New Course in St. Andrews. The New Course borders sits between the Old and Jubilee Course. In 1995 the Links Trust built a very nice clubhouse where the 1st tees are for the New and Jubilee. There they have full locker facilities, a restaurant, a bar, and a well-stocked pro shop. This 6604 par 71 isn’t for the faint of heart. The fairways are narrow, the greens are hard, the intermediate cut of rough will eat your ball and your ego in one gulp. Only the Jubilee course is more severe. The real rough is waist-high grass and gorse. Gorse as I have referred to throughout this report is a golfers nightmare. It’s a wild juniper type shrub with point needle like leaves. When you hit it into the gorse, and you will, if you can identify your ball without taking a bloodbath you will be lucky enough to take an unplayable. You need a caddie on this course, if for nothing else, just to have someone help when you hunt for balls. The wind was howling the day we played and we were playing from the medal tee’s, which can only be done if you are playing in an organized tournament, so maybe my opinion is a bit cloudy. A very humbling experience to say the least. There are other expletives that would better describe this course, but since this may become a public document, I will withhold. For some masochistic reason, tee times are harder to come by on this course, the green fees are about $75 USD.

Day 4 we played the Old Course -- a must for every avid golfer. The Old, as locals call her, is one of the easier courses. Wide fairways, huge double greens and reasonable length (6566 yards) makes this one of the most enjoyable courses to play. The Old is a hooker’s delight (golfer’s who hit the ball on a right to left flight pattern) because the nine going out have the fairways on the nine coming in bordering the left side. The same is true, of course, for the nine coming in. My advice for slicer’s, is to aim left, way left. I strongly suggest taking a caddie on the Old for other reasons. There are a few blind tee shots and several fairways that criss-cross, which also requires that you stay alert for incoming or wayward shots. No doubt, you will hear and probably scream FORE a few times. The most famous hole is the 461yard par 4 17th Road Hole. To have any chance of getting there in two you have to hit a blind tee-shot over building, which is about 100 yards directly in front of the tee-box. The slightest fade will send your ball on a collision course with the “Old Course Hotel”, which happens to be OB. If you hit a 290 yard rope it will leave you with a mere 170 yard approach shot over the cavernous 8 foot green-side bunker. If you fly it too long you are “oscar bravo” if you hit a cut you are “obe-one-kinobe”. Bottom-line don’t go to the 17th with high expectations. I was one over on the back going into the 17th and took the dreaded snowman. Getting on the Old Course is a problem. There are guaranteed tee-times which are “scalped” as a result with, in my opinion, a bad deal St. Andrews Link Trust cut with a British Golf company. To get one of these expect to pay a $500 premium on top of the ~$110 US green fee. Although there are a couple of other ways to get one, you can enter yourself in a daily ballot, the day before. Depending upon the time of year and the weather you have about a 25% chance using this method. One strategy using this method is to schedule tee times at other course for each day, when your name is drawn, which always takes place the night before, cancel your existing tee-time in favor of getting on the Old. If you are over there for a week, your chances are pretty good that you will get on at least once. The other way to get on is to show up at the starters box 15 minutes prior to the first tee-time and ask the starter if he will work you in. This works very well if you don’t mind playing with strangers and exceptionally well if you take care of the starter. The Old Course is closed on Sundays.

Day 5 The Duke’s Course. The Duke’s is about 2 miles out of central St. Andrews and is the best maintained. This par 72, 7271 yard Peter Thomson design is a championship course, with both Scottish and American design characteristics. The fairways are hilly and very lush. I would suggest here you take a motorized carts which are available for ~$45 per cart. Green fees range from ~$75-$135 US. The clubhouse is much like a private clubhouse in the US, with a full bar, restaurant and clubhouse. From the clubhouse there are great panoramic views of St. Andrews and the Old Course. And for our customers I can obtain some of the most wanted tee-times at this private course.

Day 6 The Eden Course. The Eden is part of the St. Andrews Link Trust and the easiest of the courses. It measures 6112 yards and a par of 70. By this time we all needed our confidence re-built before coming home. The fairways are wide for Scotland but not as wide as the Old. This course is easy to get on, we called at 9:00am the day we wanted to play and got a 10:50 tee-time. This course is flat which makes it a great course to walk. Many of the greens have big swells, making a good approach shot vital. The green fees are ~$35.

Golfing tips: Take tons of balls, the gorse and heather have healthy surlyn and balata diets, plus balls are expensive there (Titleist Professional sleeve $18). Don’t take soft, 3 piece balls because the wind accentuates any off-line shot, anyway you won’t hit many high soft shots. Practice bump and run shots before you go 5 iron through wedge. If you want to stay on the putting surface, most of your approach shots will be run up shots. If you get in the rough (where I spent most of the week) take your medicine. Fast play is expected. Our rounds were played (on average) in 3 hours and 45 minutes, this actually makes it easy to play 36 holes in a day if your feet can handle it. In early July the sun rises at about 4:15am and sets about 11:30 pm. Distances off the tee box are measured to the center of the greens. Distances in the fairways are measured to the front of the greens.