Scotland

[Colby]

I've been unusually absent from the forum. My current contract is quite demanding on my time and my evenings and weekends seem to go by all to quickly.

That being said, I want to give a quick trip report on my October Scotland trip. We flew out of Toronto, and our course selection was as follows:

• Pre-trip golf in Toronto:
  • Glen Abbey
  • North Course at Bond Head
• Scotland
  • The Irvine Club (125 years old) - http://www.theirvinegolfclub.co.uk/
  • Turnberry Ailsa (Open Championship course) - http://www.turnberry.co.uk/ailsa-golf-course-scotland
  • Kilmarnock Barrasie (125 years old) - http://www.kbgc.co.uk/
  • Prestwick Golf Club (Birthplace of the Open Championship) - http://www.prestwickgc.co.uk/
  • Royal Troon (Open Championship course) - http://www.royaltroon.co.uk/
  • Kingsbarns Golf Links (Dunhill Cup course) - http://www.kingsbarns.com/
  • Muirfield Golf Course (Open Championship course for 2013) - http://www.muirfield.org.uk/
  • St. Andrews - The Eden Course (98 years old) - http://www.standrews.org.uk/The-Cour...en-Course.aspx
  • St. Andrews - The New Course (Built in 1895 by Old Tom Morris) - http://www.standrews.org.uk/The-Cour...ew-Course.aspx

We played nine straight days in Scotland, getting rained out at Carnoustie (when we got to the course, it was closed as it was flooded out). We drove back to St. Andrews where we were staying and our B&B host arranged for us to get out on the Eden Course which was very nice.

In planning the trip we tied twice in the advance reservations for the Old Course, both which were denied. We also had two days for ballots, also denied. It appears that going the week after the Dunhill Cup is played is not the best of timing. A reason to go back though (and to play Carnoustie).

It was a fantastic trip. The heather, gorse and fescue made errant shots an adventure (you don't even bother looking for a ball in the gorse) The first half of the trip was in the West, just south of Glasgow where we flew into, and we stayed in a B&B in Ayr. The second half, we stayed in a B&B right in St. Andrews, a two minute walk to the Old Course. Both accommodations were fantastic. Driving the big Mercedes van on the wrong side of the road was quite an adventure to start, however I got used to it.

My ranking of the courses we played there:

1. Kingsbarns - Fantastic track right on the ocean, course was in fantastic shape right after the Dunhill Links with amazing greens. The weather was perfect!
2. Turnberry Ailsa - Another course set on the ocean with fantastic views and amazing conditions. Again, great weather (we were in shorts).
3. Prestwick - There was just something about this course, maybe the history, that I really liked the course. I didn't play very well, yet still thoroughly enjoyed it.
4. Royal Troon - Another course right on the water. Very early morning round, felt very privileged to play there.
5. The New Course - Best round of the trip for me, (even having to hit a ball back from the Old Course on an errant shot), the course was in great shape, and with it running beside the Old Course, you could swap them with the exception of a few famous holes
6. Muirfield - This is only above Irvine Club because of the history. There is only one Locker room, and we wore jacket and tie in the dining room. The lockers were old and had the names of Generals and Judges on them. However it is a great championship course, but not so much for amateurs. The fescue was ridiculously difficult, and I was never able to get a good groove going
7. The Irvine Club - Fantastic track for a mid-tier. The staff was accommodating and the membership happy to see us there. We played form the whites (about 6200 yards) however with only 2 par 5s, there were several Par 4s well over 400 yards. I lost about 8 golf balls in the heather and gorse, and was worried with this being our opening round. It did get better
8. The Eden Course - Not every course can be near the top, and there was nothing wrong with the Eden course. We had to play an alternate hole due to a little flooding from the overnight rain, however for 25 pounds, it was a great round. This course also runs beside the Old Course, so we got a chance to have a good look at it.
9. Kilmarnock - This course was OK. A few good holes. The staff was very good, however the membership was very snooty, especially compared with the Irvine Club which is a similar type course. There was a group of members that were upset that we were going out in front of them. We played the round in just over 3.5 hours for our foursome, and they were at least two holes behind. We went back to the Irvine Club for lunch.

I'm going to post some pictures from the courses as replies to this, so hopefully you enjoy them.
IMG_0234.jpg

[Colby]

Some pictures from the Irvine Club.

[Colby]

Some pictures form the Turnberry Ailsa course

[Colby]

Some pictures from Kilmarnock Barrasie

[Colby]

Pictures from Prestwick

[Colby]

Pictures from Royal Troon

[Colby]

Pictures from Kingsbarns

[Colby]

Even though we never got to play, we took a couple of shots of the soaked course with a phone camera...

I also threw in a picture of coming back from Carnoustie where I had to drive the van through this underpass.

[Colby]

Pictures from Muirfield

[Colby]

Pictures from the Eden Course at St. Andrews

[Colby]

Pictures from the New Course at St. Andrews

[Kilroy]

Sooooo jealous.

[Wilster]

Nice pics , sounded like a great trip

[justsomeguy]

Great pics Dave - the one on the Swilken bridge brings back some memories.

[scottishgolf]

Colby you've just made me feel so homesick now