Can an older single person do a Scotland trip? Advice welcomed!

[tatertot]

I hear the Scottish hate old people ... could be just a rumor though.

[AltC]

12 hours ago, tatertot said:

I hear the Scottish hate old people ... could be just a rumor though.

If you watch a few episodes of “Still Game” you would realise what we are up against!! Hehe

[jkumpire]

23 hours ago, tatertot said:

I hear the Scottish hate old people ... could be just a rumor though.

 

I've been a sports official for over 40 years, I've been hated for a long time. But it's funny,  I get paid to show up at the game and get yelled at. 💲 💲

Edited August 19, 2023 by jkumpire

[tatertot]

2 hours ago, jkumpire said:

 

I've been a sports official for over 40 years, I've been hated for a long time. But it's funny,  I get paid to show up at the game and get yelled at. 💲 💲

If you ain't gettin yelled at, you ain't doin yer job right.

[jkumpire]

Thank you for your assistance! I have a lot of work to do on this trip. 

[jkumpire]

Hello again everyone,

 

I am resurrecting this thread because I am actually going to Scotland May 12-24!!!!!!

 

A question or two tonight:

 

1. From what I read, I am going to have about a zero chance to get on the Old Course, since I cannot jump through all the hoops to get on the ballot (as I understand the process now), and I have non-golfers with me. Are there brokers I can purchase a tee time from if I am not on a tour with them?

2. Can I walk up most days, or get a tee time now or a couple weeks from now at another course, like the New? Or should I look for someone that sells tee times to those other courses too?

3. I wanted to get a gift for the pro that has done wonders for my game recently, and the club where I play a lot. My pro says he would like a course flagstick flag (and this PGA pro has flags from multiple majors in his shop). Is there some place I can can buy flagstick flags in town, or do I have to try and steal a couple? ( 😇😇, Joke there) .

 

A few more questions coming. Thanks!  

Edited February 18 by jkumpire
I do not know what is worse, my typing, or my short game these days.

[hammergolf]

1 hour ago, jkumpire said:

Hello again everyone,

 

I am resurrecting this thread because I am actually going to Scotland May 12-24!!!!!!

 

A question or two tonight:

 

1. From what I read, I am going to have about a zero chance to get on the Old Course, since I cannot jump through all the hoops to get on the ballot (as I understand the process now), and I have non-golfers with me. Are there brokers I can purchase a tee time from if I am not on a tour with them?

2. Can I walk up most days, or get a tee time now or a couple weeks from now at another course, like the New? Or should I look for someone that sells tee times to those other courses too?

3. I wanted to get a gift for the pro that has done wonders for my game recently, and the club where I play a lot. My pro says he would like a course flagstick flag (and this PGA pro has flags from multiple majors in his shop). Is there some place I can can buy flagstick flags in town, or do I have to try and steal a couple? ( 😇😇, Joke there) .

 

A few more questions coming. Thanks!  

 

1. From what I read, I am going to have about a zero chance to get on the Old Course, since I cannot jump through all the hoops to get on the ballot (as I understand the process now), and I have non-golfers with me. Are there brokers I can purchase a tee time from if I am not on a tour with them? Yes, there are several authorized providers that may have times available. Just google Authorized St. Andrews Providers and take your pick. However, the new process for the 24hr ballot isn’t that complicated. All you need to do is go to the pro shop the day before and sign in at the kiosk and take your picture. Probably a 20% chance of getting selected, but if you are flexible it can definitely happen. 

2. Can I walk up most days, or get a tee time now or a couple weeks from now at another course, like the New? Or should I look for someone that sells tee times to those other courses too? As a single, you won’t be able to get a tee time. However, if you go to The New Course, The Jubilee Course, The Castle Course, or Eden Course the day before you want to play and ask them if there are any spots available for a single next day,  you’ll be able to get on somewhere every day no problem.

3. I wanted to get a gift for the pro that has done wonders for my game recently, and the club where I play a lot. My pro says he would like a course flagstick flag (and this PGA pro has flags from multiple majors in his shop). Is there some place I can can buy flagstick flags in town, or do I have to try and steal a couple? ( 😇😇, Joke there) . Yes the are dozens of stores where you can buy a flag.

[jkumpire]

10 hours ago, hammergolf said:

 

1. From what I read, I am going to have about a zero chance to get on the Old Course, since I cannot jump through all the hoops to get on the ballot (as I understand the process now), and I have non-golfers with me. Are there brokers I can purchase a tee time from if I am not on a tour with them? Yes, there are several authorized providers that may have times available. Just google Authorized St. Andrews Providers and take your pick. However, the new process for the 24hr ballot isn’t that complicated. All you need to do is go to the pro shop the day before and sign in at the kiosk and take your picture. Probably a 20% chance of getting selected, but if you are flexible it can definitely happen. 

2. Can I walk up most days, or get a tee time now or a couple weeks from now at another course, like the New? Or should I look for someone that sells tee times to those other courses too? As a single, you won’t be able to get a tee time. However, if you go to The New Course, The Jubilee Course, The Castle Course, or Eden Course the day before you want to play and ask them if there are any spots available for a single next day,  you’ll be able to get on somewhere every day no problem.

3. I wanted to get a gift for the pro that has done wonders for my game recently, and the club where I play a lot. My pro says he would like a course flagstick flag (and this PGA pro has flags from multiple majors in his shop). Is there some place I can can buy flagstick flags in town, or do I have to try and steal a couple? ( 😇😇, Joke there) . Yes the are dozens of stores where you can buy a flag.

Good morning Hammer!

 

Thank for taking the time to reply. 

 

I appreciate the information about a flag, I wasn't sure if they were hard to get or not. Getting to the pro shop the day before is a problem. I am going with my 90 yr. old dad and others who are not golfers, and we are stay in Edinburgh, meaning its a 2 hour round trip to St. Andrews and time at the clubhouse to do the job. I'll have to figure it out with the others in my party. 

 

BTW, since several courses are close to the place we are staying, which of the three Gullane courses should I try to get on?   

Edited February 18 by jkumpire
bad fingers hit wrong keys

[hammergolf]

7 minutes ago, jkumpire said:

Good morning Hammer!

 

Thank for taking the time to reply. 

 

I appreciate the information about a flag, I wasn't sure if they were hard to get or not. Getting to the pro shop the day before is a problem. I am going with my 90 yr. old dad and others who are not golfers, and we are stay in Edinburgh, meaning its a 2 hour round trip to St. Andrews and time at the clubhouse to do the job. I'll have to figure it out with the others in my party. 

 

BTW, since several courses are close to the place we are staying, which of the three Gullane courses should I try to get on?   

#1 and #2 are the best ones at Gullane. Another option for you to possibly play The Old Course is the ballot buddy app. It pairs singles together which lets you apply for the 48hr ballot. 
 

https://gingerbeergolftravel.com/st-andrews-old-course-single-golfer-ballot/

[El Gringo]

As always, I will pipe up for Gullane 3. I don’t know if it’s better than 1 or 2, not sure that really carries any weight given the subjective nature of “better”. I prefer Gullane 3. It has the advantage of being cheaper, quicker to play and I think more interesting greens. I also think Luffness New and Kilspindie are well worth looking into. 

[spud3]

I liked Gullane #2 better, but not by much.  They're all pretty awesome.

 

If you're going to be in the East Lothian neighborhood, it's worth a call to North Berwick to see if they happen to have a slot available.  It was my favorite course during my trip.

[SairFecht]

I don't think many Scots are unfriendly to older folk,it's just that they don't see them very often. As the diet consists almost exclusively of Deep fried Mars Bars, Irn Bru and whisky very few Scots live beyond the age of 40.

If you avoid eating these you will probably survive , though you may be an object of curiosity as an older person.

[flognut]

On 7/28/2022 at 10:48 PM, Quebec Club Ho said:

100000% Yes!!!!

 

In 2011, as a single (but not married and at 40) I did my 'once in a lifetime' trip to Scotland. Rented a car - 1500KM and 28 rounds in 28 days later - the dream finished. Carnoustie, Royal Dornoch, Troon, Prestwick, Turnberry, North Berwick, Gullane, Crail, Castle course, Kingsbarn, St Andrews (Jubilee, and New) and finished at the Old. 

 

Can't wait to go back. I'd there in a second from this Mid sept to Mid oct. if I didn't have some family issues, the current state of travel and viruses. It will be a last minute decision.

 

Good Luck and maybe we can meet up and have a round if the stars align!!!!

this is my dream trip to do when i go back after i retire. myself and plenty of others would love if you detailed your trip a bit

[Quebec Club Ho]

9 hours ago, flognut said:

this is my dream trip to do when i go back after i retire. myself and plenty of others would love if you detailed your trip a bit

Hello Flognut

 

If you wish, you can DM me any time if you have something specific you want to ask. Also, there are many here that are much more 'knowledgable' than I (hammer golf, Scott Donald just off the top of my head). The travel landscape has changed immensely since my trip as well. I did this trip without internet on my phone - a flip Samsung phone! And to connect to the internet was complicated. I used the 'Internet cafe' to do all my emails home!  I'll do my best to detail from what I remember. Sorry everyone if this is too long.

 

In 2011 after years of waiting for friends to be able to come with me to St. Andrews, (I realized they'd never be able or really wanted to accompany me) I decided to go make this happen. First, I had to secure my time at the old course! I believe the end of Sept was the deadline for the following summer. I sent my application for a single the second I was allowed to. I think by next month my application was approved and then I started the rest of the planning. I made a list of courses I wanted to visit. The thinking back then was it would be my 'once in a lifetime' trip so I wanted to see the 'Open' rota courses and some of the other 'historic' ones. I picked: Old Course, Carnoustie, Royal Dornoch, Royal Troon, Turnberry, Prestwick, Gullane, North Berwick and Crail. I wanted to book Muirfield but they only took reservations for 2 and 4somes.  I was welcomed to show up and see if there was a cancellation.

 

Next was to map out how I wanted to travel and then make some sort of time frame. I would start at Carnoustie. Then drive up to Royal Dornoch. Head down to Royal Troon (and the others). East to North Berwick and end in St Andrews.

 

Note this was before the tee times were crazy unavailable and super expensive, the only course at that time that was booked more than one year ahead of time was Muirfield - they took reservation one and one half years ahead of time. I emailed all the courses I wanted to play to reserve my times - no issues. Tee times booked!

 

The most difficult part for me was to find B&B's somewhere close to the courses I was playing. I decided not to make a 'home base' seeing that I was traveling large distances. I don't believe airbnb's existed then??? This took some time but got that done too! 

 

The flight and rental car was next - that was easy as well.

 

Let the trip begin!

 

The golf bag and luggage arrived without issue!! Off we go!

 

It did take all the courage in my body to get out of that parking lot - driving on the right side and with maps printed ON PAPER! Again, not sure if GPS existed on cars?? I ended up with a VW golf with no GPS. As a life long Honda civic guy - I was pleasantly surprised by the golf. I ended up loving it after 1500KM on it! :)) The driving was no issue after a couple of days. I did get lost at every stop except for the last stop at St Andrews. Thank goodness for the people who very so friendly and helpful in pointing me the right way. 

 

I arrived in Dundee and the First stop Carnoustie - 4 rounds in 4 days on the championship course and 1 on the Burnside. I found the championship course brutally difficult, not very scenic but I was there for the golf. I would call it beautifully brutal. I found the burnside course very underrated and it could be a stand alone course and not the 'other' course anywhere else.

 

Drive up to Tain and Royal Doronch. 4 rounds in 2 days. RD was absolutely beautiful!!! Difficult, fair, scenic, strategic. It had it all. I did not get to play the Struie (I had no energy left).

 

Drive southwest to Ayrshire. My B&B was across the street from Prestwick! 2 rounds at Prestwick. 1 round at Turnberry. 1 round at Troon ( 1 on the Portland). Prestwick was oozing with history. Some of the original holes are magic. You will never see anything like them anymore. The rest of the course was nothing spectacular (no insult intended), Turnberry was fun with some of the most beautiful holes I've very played! This is before the renovations, so I believe holes 8-10 around the lighthouse were magic for me! The holes coming in were also spectacular but I found the 18th underwhelming. Troon was very difficult especially on the back nine into the wind.

 

Next off to Gullane and North Berwick. Gullane 1 was excellent but truth be told there was nothing spectacular except when I was on the hill at the turn. But Gullane 3 was so much fun!!! North Berwick was super fun and weird at the same time. I decided against showing up at Murfield and waiting for an opening. 

 

The finale! St. Andrews. The only part of the trip that I didn't get lost! 6 rounds on the OC. 1 on the jubilee. 1 on the New. 1 at Crail. Besides the original tee time at the OC, I waited in line for the other 5 rounds. The first night I lined up at 5 am thinking I'd be fine but to my surprise there were 20 'groups' already in line! 3am the rest of my rounds and I was amongst the first 10 in line.  Some extras that I did not plan because I met another single and he wanted to play: Kingsbarn, and The Castle course. I spent 8 days in St Andrews. I did not walk the town and only the only tourist thing I did was go to the golf museum and visit Old Tom Morris' grave. I spend hours sitting behind the 18th green/first tee soaking in all the energy, I can't explain it but you can feel it, and watching people hit their first tee shots off the first and live their dream. Unlike the feeling at home when someone messes up their tee ball, I felt heartbroken when I saw 'topped' 'chunked' 'whiffed' and 'OB right' on the first! 😞 The rest of the time was;  waiting in line overnight, napping, eating, and sleeping. Thinking back I should have bought a ticket to the other courses instead of focusing on the OC.

 

Notes: This trip was 100% golf. There was no sightseeing. I didn't even visit the Glenmorangie distillery in Tain. It was golf all day in the morning and afternoon. Recovery in the early evening. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. 

I carried my bag for all 28 rounds. I just made it out alive. 

I train regularly but I upped my training to get through it. I treated this as a marathon. Thank goodness I did. I was barely upright when I played the last round.

I am @10ish handicap. Many times, I picked up and the scorecard didn't matter. Some of the courses were a bit too much for my skill level. But that was the beauty of it. Just enjoy the course without any mental thoughts about putting in a score. I played my round at Troon with a group from Nashville, 3 very good golfers. One guy blew up on 2 holes and got stuck in the left bunker on the postage stamp. Finally got out and snapped his wedge on his knee, ripped his pants and cut his leg. I didn't need that. 

I met so many great singles and groups as well because I was paired up every round. I still keep in touch with the guy I was paired up with at the OC! 

The people are so incredibly nice and welcoming. I know I am a tourist and they make money from my visit but it never seemed like it.

In 2023 and 2024 I picked up an international membership at Murcar and I plan to go back every year as of 2026 onward as I near retirement. I don't have the motivation to play the well known courses anymore. The cost alone is prohibitive but it seems like every course is packed with visitors (I know this sounds hypocritical ). I am super happy to spend my time at the club. I've been super welcomed and I feel like 'one of the members' and not 'that guy from Canada' 

I hope this helps and sorry if it was a little on the ramble and long side.

🙂

 

[tad950]

I believe I saw these at the St. Andrews shop. They make a ton of £ off of swag. https://shop.standrews.com/catalog/products/pin_flag_new__000007/0000065952658@@pin_flag_new__000007
 

And you can walk up to the starter shacks at New, Jubilee for sure, the day of, and I assume you can do the same at Eden. The New seems to be closed more often for competitions, especially on the weekends. If you want to do the Himalayas putting course(s), reservations recommended. It has become very popular. 

[Chanceman]

2 hours ago, Quebec Club Ho said:

Hello Flognut

 

If you wish, you can DM me any time if you have something specific you want to ask. Also, there are many here that are much more 'knowledgable' than I (hammer golf, Scott Donald just off the top of my head). The travel landscape has changed immensely since my trip as well. I did this trip without internet on my phone - a flip Samsung phone! And to connect to the internet was complicated. I used the 'Internet cafe' to do all my emails home!  I'll do my best to detail from what I remember. Sorry everyone if this is too long.

 

In 2011 after years of waiting for friends to be able to come with me to St. Andrews, (I realized they'd never be able or really wanted to accompany me) I decided to go make this happen. First, I had to secure my time at the old course! I believe the end of Sept was the deadline for the following summer. I sent my application for a single the second I was allowed to. I think by next month my application was approved and then I started the rest of the planning. I made a list of courses I wanted to visit. The thinking back then was it would be my 'once in a lifetime' trip so I wanted to see the 'Open' rota courses and some of the other 'historic' ones. I picked: Old Course, Carnoustie, Royal Dornoch, Royal Troon, Turnberry, Prestwick, Gullane, North Berwick and Crail. I wanted to book Muirfield but they only took reservations for 2 and 4somes.  I was welcomed to show up and see if there was a cancellation.

 

Next was to map out how I wanted to travel and then make some sort of time frame. I would start at Carnoustie. Then drive up to Royal Dornoch. Head down to Royal Troon (and the others). East to North Berwick and end in St Andrews.

 

Note this was before the tee times were crazy unavailable and super expensive, the only course at that time that was booked more than one year ahead of time was Muirfield - they took reservation one and one half years ahead of time. I emailed all the courses I wanted to play to reserve my times - no issues. Tee times booked!

 

The most difficult part for me was to find B&B's somewhere close to the courses I was playing. I decided not to make a 'home base' seeing that I was traveling large distances. I don't believe airbnb's existed then??? This took some time but got that done too! 

 

The flight and rental car was next - that was easy as well.

 

Let the trip begin!

 

The golf bag and luggage arrived without issue!! Off we go!

 

It did take all the courage in my body to get out of that parking lot - driving on the right side and with maps printed ON PAPER! Again, not sure if GPS existed on cars?? I ended up with a VW golf with no GPS. As a life long Honda civic guy - I was pleasantly surprised by the golf. I ended up loving it after 1500KM on it! :)) The driving was no issue after a couple of days. I did get lost at every stop except for the last stop at St Andrews. Thank goodness for the people who very so friendly and helpful in pointing me the right way. 

 

I arrived in Dundee and the First stop Carnoustie - 4 rounds in 4 days on the championship course and 1 on the Burnside. I found the championship course brutally difficult, not very scenic but I was there for the golf. I would call it beautifully brutal. I found the burnside course very underrated and it could be a stand alone course and not the 'other' course anywhere else.

 

Drive up to Tain and Royal Doronch. 4 rounds in 2 days. RD was absolutely beautiful!!! Difficult, fair, scenic, strategic. It had it all. I did not get to play the Struie (I had no energy left).

 

Drive southwest to Ayrshire. My B&B was across the street from Prestwick! 2 rounds at Prestwick. 1 round at Turnberry. 1 round at Troon ( 1 on the Portland). Prestwick was oozing with history. Some of the original holes are magic. You will never see anything like them anymore. The rest of the course was nothing spectacular (no insult intended), Turnberry was fun with some of the most beautiful holes I've very played! This is before the renovations, so I believe holes 8-10 around the lighthouse were magic for me! The holes coming in were also spectacular but I found the 18th underwhelming. Troon was very difficult especially on the back nine into the wind.

 

Next off to Gullane and North Berwick. Gullane 1 was excellent but truth be told there was nothing spectacular except when I was on the hill at the turn. But Gullane 3 was so much fun!!! North Berwick was super fun and weird at the same time. I decided against showing up at Murfield and waiting for an opening. 

 

The finale! St. Andrews. The only part of the trip that I didn't get lost! 6 rounds on the OC. 1 on the jubilee. 1 on the New. 1 at Crail. Besides the original tee time at the OC, I waited in line for the other 5 rounds. The first night I lined up at 5 am thinking I'd be fine but to my surprise there were 20 'groups' already in line! 3am the rest of my rounds and I was amongst the first 10 in line.  Some extras that I did not plan because I met another single and he wanted to play: Kingsbarn, and The Castle course. I spent 8 days in St Andrews. I did not walk the town and only the only tourist thing I did was go to the golf museum and visit Old Tom Morris' grave. I spend hours sitting behind the 18th green/first tee soaking in all the energy, I can't explain it but you can feel it, and watching people hit their first tee shots off the first and live their dream. Unlike the feeling at home when someone messes up their tee ball, I felt heartbroken when I saw 'topped' 'chunked' 'whiffed' and 'OB right' on the first! 😞 The rest of the time was;  waiting in line overnight, napping, eating, and sleeping. Thinking back I should have bought a ticket to the other courses instead of focusing on the OC.

 

Notes: This trip was 100% golf. There was no sightseeing. I didn't even visit the Glenmorangie distillery in Tain. It was golf all day in the morning and afternoon. Recovery in the early evening. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. 

I carried my bag for all 28 rounds. I just made it out alive. 

I train regularly but I upped my training to get through it. I treated this as a marathon. Thank goodness I did. I was barely upright when I played the last round.

I am @10ish handicap. Many times, I picked up and the scorecard didn't matter. Some of the courses were a bit too much for my skill level. But that was the beauty of it. Just enjoy the course without any mental thoughts about putting in a score. I played my round at Troon with a group from Nashville, 3 very good golfers. One guy blew up on 2 holes and got stuck in the left bunker on the postage stamp. Finally got out and snapped his wedge on his knee, ripped his pants and cut his leg. I didn't need that. 

I met so many great singles and groups as well because I was paired up every round. I still keep in touch with the guy I was paired up with at the OC! 

The people are so incredibly nice and welcoming. I know I am a tourist and they make money from my visit but it never seemed like it.

In 2023 and 2024 I picked up an international membership at Murcar and I plan to go back every year as of 2026 onward as I near retirement. I don't have the motivation to play the well known courses anymore. The cost alone is prohibitive but it seems like every course is packed with visitors (I know this sounds hypocritical ). I am super happy to spend my time at the club. I've been super welcomed and I feel like 'one of the members' and not 'that guy from Canada' 

I hope this helps and sorry if it was a little on the ramble and long side.

🙂

 

Marvellous! 
I would love to do what you have done. 
Closest I got was a 3 week odyssey around Ireland doing much the same but with a mate. 

[flognut]

14 hours ago, Quebec Club Ho said:

Hello Flognut

 

If you wish, you can DM me any time if you have something specific you want to ask. Also, there are many here that are much more 'knowledgable' than I (hammer golf, Scott Donald just off the top of my head). The travel landscape has changed immensely since my trip as well. I did this trip without internet on my phone - a flip Samsung phone! And to connect to the internet was complicated. I used the 'Internet cafe' to do all my emails home!  I'll do my best to detail from what I remember. Sorry everyone if this is too long.

 

In 2011 after years of waiting for friends to be able to come with me to St. Andrews, (I realized they'd never be able or really wanted to accompany me) I decided to go make this happen. First, I had to secure my time at the old course! I believe the end of Sept was the deadline for the following summer. I sent my application for a single the second I was allowed to. I think by next month my application was approved and then I started the rest of the planning. I made a list of courses I wanted to visit. The thinking back then was it would be my 'once in a lifetime' trip so I wanted to see the 'Open' rota courses and some of the other 'historic' ones. I picked: Old Course, Carnoustie, Royal Dornoch, Royal Troon, Turnberry, Prestwick, Gullane, North Berwick and Crail. I wanted to book Muirfield but they only took reservations for 2 and 4somes.  I was welcomed to show up and see if there was a cancellation.

 

Next was to map out how I wanted to travel and then make some sort of time frame. I would start at Carnoustie. Then drive up to Royal Dornoch. Head down to Royal Troon (and the others). East to North Berwick and end in St Andrews.

 

Note this was before the tee times were crazy unavailable and super expensive, the only course at that time that was booked more than one year ahead of time was Muirfield - they took reservation one and one half years ahead of time. I emailed all the courses I wanted to play to reserve my times - no issues. Tee times booked!

 

The most difficult part for me was to find B&B's somewhere close to the courses I was playing. I decided not to make a 'home base' seeing that I was traveling large distances. I don't believe airbnb's existed then??? This took some time but got that done too! 

 

The flight and rental car was next - that was easy as well.

 

Let the trip begin!

 

The golf bag and luggage arrived without issue!! Off we go!

 

It did take all the courage in my body to get out of that parking lot - driving on the right side and with maps printed ON PAPER! Again, not sure if GPS existed on cars?? I ended up with a VW golf with no GPS. As a life long Honda civic guy - I was pleasantly surprised by the golf. I ended up loving it after 1500KM on it! :)) The driving was no issue after a couple of days. I did get lost at every stop except for the last stop at St Andrews. Thank goodness for the people who very so friendly and helpful in pointing me the right way. 

 

I arrived in Dundee and the First stop Carnoustie - 4 rounds in 4 days on the championship course and 1 on the Burnside. I found the championship course brutally difficult, not very scenic but I was there for the golf. I would call it beautifully brutal. I found the burnside course very underrated and it could be a stand alone course and not the 'other' course anywhere else.

 

Drive up to Tain and Royal Doronch. 4 rounds in 2 days. RD was absolutely beautiful!!! Difficult, fair, scenic, strategic. It had it all. I did not get to play the Struie (I had no energy left).

 

Drive southwest to Ayrshire. My B&B was across the street from Prestwick! 2 rounds at Prestwick. 1 round at Turnberry. 1 round at Troon ( 1 on the Portland). Prestwick was oozing with history. Some of the original holes are magic. You will never see anything like them anymore. The rest of the course was nothing spectacular (no insult intended), Turnberry was fun with some of the most beautiful holes I've very played! This is before the renovations, so I believe holes 8-10 around the lighthouse were magic for me! The holes coming in were also spectacular but I found the 18th underwhelming. Troon was very difficult especially on the back nine into the wind.

 

Next off to Gullane and North Berwick. Gullane 1 was excellent but truth be told there was nothing spectacular except when I was on the hill at the turn. But Gullane 3 was so much fun!!! North Berwick was super fun and weird at the same time. I decided against showing up at Murfield and waiting for an opening. 

 

The finale! St. Andrews. The only part of the trip that I didn't get lost! 6 rounds on the OC. 1 on the jubilee. 1 on the New. 1 at Crail. Besides the original tee time at the OC, I waited in line for the other 5 rounds. The first night I lined up at 5 am thinking I'd be fine but to my surprise there were 20 'groups' already in line! 3am the rest of my rounds and I was amongst the first 10 in line.  Some extras that I did not plan because I met another single and he wanted to play: Kingsbarn, and The Castle course. I spent 8 days in St Andrews. I did not walk the town and only the only tourist thing I did was go to the golf museum and visit Old Tom Morris' grave. I spend hours sitting behind the 18th green/first tee soaking in all the energy, I can't explain it but you can feel it, and watching people hit their first tee shots off the first and live their dream. Unlike the feeling at home when someone messes up their tee ball, I felt heartbroken when I saw 'topped' 'chunked' 'whiffed' and 'OB right' on the first! 😞 The rest of the time was;  waiting in line overnight, napping, eating, and sleeping. Thinking back I should have bought a ticket to the other courses instead of focusing on the OC.

 

Notes: This trip was 100% golf. There was no sightseeing. I didn't even visit the Glenmorangie distillery in Tain. It was golf all day in the morning and afternoon. Recovery in the early evening. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. 

I carried my bag for all 28 rounds. I just made it out alive. 

I train regularly but I upped my training to get through it. I treated this as a marathon. Thank goodness I did. I was barely upright when I played the last round.

I am @10ish handicap. Many times, I picked up and the scorecard didn't matter. Some of the courses were a bit too much for my skill level. But that was the beauty of it. Just enjoy the course without any mental thoughts about putting in a score. I played my round at Troon with a group from Nashville, 3 very good golfers. One guy blew up on 2 holes and got stuck in the left bunker on the postage stamp. Finally got out and snapped his wedge on his knee, ripped his pants and cut his leg. I didn't need that. 

I met so many great singles and groups as well because I was paired up every round. I still keep in touch with the guy I was paired up with at the OC! 

The people are so incredibly nice and welcoming. I know I am a tourist and they make money from my visit but it never seemed like it.

In 2023 and 2024 I picked up an international membership at Murcar and I plan to go back every year as of 2026 onward as I near retirement. I don't have the motivation to play the well known courses anymore. The cost alone is prohibitive but it seems like every course is packed with visitors (I know this sounds hypocritical ). I am super happy to spend my time at the club. I've been super welcomed and I feel like 'one of the members' and not 'that guy from Canada' 

I hope this helps and sorry if it was a little on the ramble and long side.

🙂

 

awesome, thanks so much

[Poor Mans Ty Webb]

On 2/17/2025 at 9:55 PM, jkumpire said:

3. I wanted to get a gift for the pro that has done wonders for my game recently, and the club where I play a lot. My pro says he would like a course flagstick flag (and this PGA pro has flags from multiple majors in his shop). Is there some place I can can buy flagstick flags in town, or do I have to try and steal a couple? ( 😇😇, Joke there) .

 

Hah! You can buy these online without ever even needing to leave the house.

 

On 2/17/2025 at 9:55 PM, jkumpire said:

From what I read, I am going to have about a zero chance to get on the Old Course, since I cannot jump through all the hoops to get on the ballot (as I understand the process now), and I have non-golfers with me. Are there brokers I can purchase a tee time from if I am not on a tour with them?

 

I wouldn't say "zero chance" especially in mid May.  Temper your expectations for the 48 hour and singles ballots, but definitely give them both a shot.

 

On 2/17/2025 at 9:55 PM, jkumpire said:

Can I walk up most days, or get a tee time now or a couple weeks from now at another course, like the New? Or should I look for someone that sells tee times to those other courses too?

 

Would recommend getting there relatively early (definitely before 9am) to walk on as a single.  Carpe the diem!

[Schley]

45 is not on the older side. Even to travel on your own dime, you are just getting into your prime. Look forward to hearing about your adventures.

[jkumpire]

Just a quick note:

 

I just got home from a fabulous trip to Scotland. Thanks to all who helped with advice and answered questions. The only bad thing on the trip was I couldn't get on any of the courses at St. Andrews. Oh well.

Edited May 29 by jkumpire

[hammergolf]

13 minutes ago, jkumpire said:

Just a quick note:

 

I just got home from a fabulous trip to Scotland. Thanks to all who helped with advice and answered questions. The only bad thing on the trip was I couldn't get on any of the courses at St. Andrews. Oh well.

Great trip! Look forward to your recap.

[scott_Donald]

8 hours ago, jkumpire said:

Just a quick note:

 

I just got home from a fabulous trip to Scotland. Thanks to all who helped with advice and answered questions. The only bad thing on the trip was I couldn't get on any of the courses at St. Andrews. Oh well.

 

why not?!

[flognut]

5 hours ago, scott_Donald said:

 

why not?!

i know quite a few have gotten shutout for TOC their whole time there, but you couldnt get on any of the others?  and the NEW is mostly walkup. sorry to hear this. 

[jkumpire]

Scott,

 

Frankly, I think it is my fault more than anything. I should have worked harder to get a slot in August and September last year, and didn't work hard enough to get in. I tried the ballot, and failed, and when I tried to see about getting on the other courses, I saw they were all filled. Yes it was frustrating, but if I had dug deeper I would have gotten something.

 

However, the other issue was more important. My 90 year old dad and his wife went with us so he could see his parents' homes. We actually found family of his (and mine) still alive and had a great time seeing places where his family grew up. There is also a bar in Edinburgh that was started in the 18th century as a distributor of spirits that lasted until 1976. Then someone took over the building and turned it into a nice little bar filled with about 96 different bottles of whisky, with our name on the front. 

 

I hope I can return to St. Andrews before I get too old to play, we shall see. I did get to walk through the town and see the Old Course, that will have to do for now.    

Edited June 2 by jkumpire

[jkumpire]

But I did play a links course on the North Sea (sort of) and it only took a one mile walk after the bus stop to get there. Enjoyed it. 

[flognut]

10 hours ago, jkumpire said:

Scott,

 

Frankly, I think it is my fault more than anything. I should have worked harder to get a slot in August and September last year, and didn't work hard enough to get in. I tried the ballot, and failed, and when I tried to see about getting on the other courses, I saw they were all filled. Yes it was frustrating, but if I had dug deeper I would have gotten something.

 

However, the other issue was more important. My 90 year old dad and his wife went with us so he could see his parents' homes. We actually found family of his (and mine) still alive and had a great time seeing places where his family grew up. There is also a bar in Edinburgh that was started in the 18th century as a distributor of spirits that lasted until 1976. Then someone took over the building and turned it into a nice little bar filled with about 96 different bottles of whisky, with our name on the front. 

 

I hope I can return to St. Andrews before I get too old to play, we shall see. I did get to walk through the town and see the Old Course, that will have to do for now.    

very nice

[scott_Donald]

11 hours ago, jkumpire said:

Scott,

 

Frankly, I think it is my fault more than anything. I should have worked harder to get a slot in August and September last year, and didn't work hard enough to get in. I tried the ballot, and failed, and when I tried to see about getting on the other courses, I saw they were all filled. Yes it was frustrating, but if I had dug deeper I would have gotten something.

 

However, the other issue was more important. My 90 year old dad and his wife went with us so he could see his parents' homes. We actually found family of his (and mine) still alive and had a great time seeing places where his family grew up. There is also a bar in Edinburgh that was started in the 18th century as a distributor of spirits that lasted until 1976. Then someone took over the building and turned it into a nice little bar filled with about 96 different bottles of whisky, with our name on the front. 

 

I hope I can return to St. Andrews before I get too old to play, we shall see. I did get to walk through the town and see the Old Course, that will have to do for now.    

 

 

wow, I am down in St Andrews for the day right now and it doesn't feel stupid busy, range was fine but mainly folk having a warm up, take away lunch was fast. graduation season about to start so it will get busier. 

 

glad you found all the Scottish stuff; that great history to find out about. 

 

Certainly come back; I was just looking at the guest book for one of my places and in the last month there has been 3 returning guests. I love St Andrews everyone is just happy here.