philsRHman

Damn if that rotation gets your seal of approval I must be on the right track!

I don’t want to feel like I’m writing an obituary, but this is a great chance to reflect and recognize that golf wouldn’t have been golf for the past 20 years without these forums. Every adventure, crazy idea I’ve had, you guys have have come along virtually. When I lost my job and drove to the Masters on a whim. The support wasn’t just the golf, it was the life advice, the empathy, the amazing member who sent me a spare golf bag a month later after mine broke (and included a few August National goodies in the pockets). When i planned the Scotland trip of a lifetime for April of 2020, only to be canceled by Covid, recanceled due to my wife’s surgery, then rescheduled another year later. And the member who invited me to join him for a round at Royal Aberdeen and another who made a critical introduction elsewhere. And the others who kept my spirits up when all hope looked lost, and eventually told me I wasn’t insane to find a way to turn a week-long trip into 3 weeks. But you know what says most about GolfWRX? When you discover a fellow golf friend is active here and you can just look at each other like you’re on the inside of the greatest cultural community in golf. It’s instant street (fairway?) cred. I can honestly say the game wouldn’t be the same without these forums.

good news … looks like I can do the combo of Royal St George’s, Royal Cinque Ports and then possibly add a third round at Princes. Will be perfectly convenient and fit into the 2-3 days they are visiting Paris.

I know there’s great golf in Paris, it’s just not all that interesting or intriguing to me. But I will at least give it a look.

Thanks for the reality check, everyone. Being from the states, it seems like London to Scotland is a no brainer since I’m already there. But then I really didn’t math and the train from London is slower than the flight from NYC. ideally I’ll hear back from a few of the emails I sent this weekend. So far I’m striking out around London (Sunningdale, Woking, St George’s Hill all unavailable) but will see about the others. I think my best shot is Royal Cinque Ports and Princes (doesn’t look like Royal St George’s, especially because Sandwich/Deal seems to be described very similar to the vibe i loved in North Berwick. Maybe you could chime in on whether the family would even enjoy a day or two there (looks on the map between London and Paris but seems like maybe trains don’t stop nearby?) thanks again, everyone.

I looked into Royal Porthcawl, and it won’t be available. I did Wales about 15 years ago and it was great.

Would it be insane (I feel like too many of my posts here start with this phrase) … The Highlands were the spot that eluded me on my Scotland trip. Royal Dornoch, Brora, etc. actually provide a lot more flexibility/ availability than I’m finding around London or in Sandwich. Proposed trip: Family and I arrive on red eye on Saturday morning. Saturday: sight seeing, matinee show West End Sunday: touristy stuff, maybe Globe show/tour Monday: Universal Tour day; Theater show at night Tuesday: flex day if they have more they want to do in London. Tuesday night I depart on a sleeper to Inverness. They depart for Paris Wednesday: 18 holes afternoon thursday: 36 holes Friday: 18 or 36 holes. Drive to EDI and fly home Saturday morning (direct flights to NYC I can’t get from Inverness). It looks like I could play Royal Dornoch 2x, then some combo of Brora, Nairn, etc (haven’t gotten deep into research yet but those are on my radar). Alternatively, I might have a chance to get on North Berwick, and that was one of the magical places I’ve ever been in my life and might be a little more convenient than the trek to Dornoch.

Thanks everyone, for confirming that there’s more than enough golf in southern England to fill a few days. I’m going to see what’s available. I guess it would be ideal if I could find a little corner where I can spend an overnight since it doesn’t look like any of these are particularly close to London’s West End where we will be staying for the theater scene.

I’m taking a family vacation next month to London, and my wife and son want to add a couple days in Paris. They know I have little interest in that, so they’ve suggested I use that part of the trip for golf. A few years ago (tail end of COVID) I spent 3 weeks on the trip of a lifetime to Scotland (North Berwick and St Andrews). I dream of going back. Kills me to get as close as London and not sneak up there. But for 2-3 days, that seems kind of crazy, especially with only 2-3 weeks to plan it. It looks like a lot of great options for world-class Heathland golf around London, which would be a new experience for me. Of course, coming from the U.S., I yearn for Links, but just seems like I’d be wasting a lot of time getting to Scotland. Can someone chime in with thoughts? Ideally we’d reconnect to fly home, but it’s feasible that they could fly home from Paris and I can fly home from wherever I am (London, Scotland, wherever). One complication is that I’d likely have time for golf on a weekend which probably cuts my chance of many London area courses and reduces chances in Scotland. What about leaving London for a couple days along the coast (where?) maybe near Royal Cinque Ports? Same issue though, pretty sure I’m going to run into problems trying to play on a weekend.

Double post