Couples Trip Fife/St Andrews June 2024 Locked & Loaded

[Serenity Now]

Finally going to live the life long dream of visiting Scotland with my wife and our close friends. I have done 2 trips to Ireland but this will be my first time to Caledonia. Retired in 2021, kids are all educated & stable w good jobs and families of their own so mom and dad are going to spend some of their inheritance. 

 

My buddies grandparents immigrated from County Fife in the 1920’s. While my great grandmother came from Kirkintilloch 30 years earlier.  It is time to make the ancestral pilgrimage. 
 

Our friends got into golf after he retired a few years ago &  both are addicted. My wife is a high teens HDCP so I have tried to create a trip that they could enjoy w/out getting completely destroyed by big Course like Kingsbarn or Carnoustie. (My wife did not enjoy Chambers Bay like she did The Home Course & Wine Valley on our trip thru PAC N West last summer). We spend 3 weeks in Kauai every year w the same couple and play golf 8-10 times ea trip so all are game. 

 

We did a lot of driving on our Ireland trips and I played the big boy courses by myself Lahinch, Royal Portrush etc). I felt it was important to stay in one place & set it up so if the weather gets tough (we are talking about Scotland😎) the girls can take a day off. My goal of this trip is to have all 3 of them ready to go to western side of island in 2025.  worse case, I can always come back on a buddies trip and play the more famous courses.

 

The great news is we piggybacked this trip at conclusion of Rheine River cruise so we only have a short 50 min flight from Amsterdam to Edinburgh and avoid jet lag. 2 years ago we got stuck in Philadelphia and missed 2 days in Northern Ireland so I played Portrush & Portstewart on no sleep. 
 

Day 1 get off boat early in Amsterdam and head to airport. Land in Edinburgh at 11, go thru customs, pick up car, grab lunch, play Lundin Links that evening then check into Fife Cottages

Day 2 Play Crail Craighead in the morning play pickleball that night at University as guests of the local club

Day 3 play Elie, spend afternoon/eve in St Andrews 

Day 4 visit Stirling/Falkirk (my ancestral home on my great grandma Crawford) visit Auchtertool, where my buddies grandparents came from, he has cousins still there. Walk around the TOC, take pics at Swilcan bridge. Boys play New that eve then get in line for TOC that night*   Girls take well deserved day off from golf

Day 5 Hopefully the boys play TOC after a nap otherwise we play Eden w the girls

Day 6 Jubilee in morning w girls, boys play New Course in the afternoon/eve

Day 7 Castle in morning, pickleball that night

Day 8 Girls take day off and shop/explore, boys play 36  (New, Jubilee) w another friend who gets into St Andrews the night before (after playing Dornoch & Castle Stewart💪 w / out me😹)

Day 9 check out, play Elie or Crail Balcomie before heading to airport to fly back to Amsterdam where we return to California the next morn

 

2 trips in Ireland, 2 trips to Sand Valley, a dozen or so trips to Bandon (played in shorts 2 Febs ago, got snowed out last April) I have experienced every type of weather imaginable so everyone has high end rain gear in hopes that we don’t get drilled but hey, it’s Scotland so come what may and love it! is it June yet?

 

 

[hammergolf]

53 minutes ago, Serenity Now said:

Finally going to live the life long dream of visiting Scotland with my wife and our close friends. I have done 2 trips to Ireland but this will be my first time to Caledonia. Retired in 2021, kids are all educated & stable w good jobs and families of their own so mom and dad are going to spend some of their inheritance. 

 

My buddies grandparents immigrated from County Fife in the 1920’s. While my great grandmother came from Kirkintilloch 30 years earlier.  It is time to make the ancestral pilgrimage. 
 

Our friends got into golf after he retired a few years ago &  both are addicted. My wife is a high teens HDCP so I have tried to create a trip that they could enjoy w/out getting completely destroyed by big Course like Kingsbarn or Carnoustie. (My wife did not enjoy Chambers Bay like she did The Home Course & Wine Valley on our trip thru PAC N West last summer). We spend 3 weeks in Kauai every year w the same couple and play golf 8-10 times ea trip so all are game. 

 

We did a lot of driving on our Ireland trips and I played the big boy courses by myself Lahinch, Royal Portrush etc). I felt it was important to stay in one place & set it up so if the weather gets tough (we are talking about Scotland😎) the girls can take a day off. My goal of this trip is to have all 3 of them ready to go to western side of island in 2025.  worse case, I can always come back on a buddies trip and play the more famous courses.

 

The great news is we piggybacked this trip at conclusion of Rheine River cruise so we only have a short 50 min flight from Amsterdam to Edinburgh and avoid jet lag. 2 years ago we got stuck in Philadelphia and missed 2 days in Northern Ireland so I played Portrush & Portstewart on no sleep. 
 

Day 1 get off boat early in Amsterdam and head to airport. Land in Edinburgh at 11, go thru customs, pick up car, grab lunch, play Lundin Links that evening then check into Fife Cottages

Day 2 Play Crail Craighead in the morning play pickleball that night at University as guests of the local club

Day 3 play Elie, spend afternoon/eve in St Andrews 

Day 4 visit Stirling/Falkirk (my ancestral home on my great grandma Crawford) visit Auchtertool, where my buddies grandparents came from, he has cousins still there. Walk around the TOC, take pics at Swilcan bridge. Boys play New that eve then get in line for TOC that night*   Girls take well deserved day off from golf

Day 5 Hopefully the boys play TOC after a nap otherwise we play Eden w the girls

Day 6 Jubilee in morning w girls, boys play New Course in the afternoon/eve

Day 7 Castle in morning, pickleball that night

Day 8 Girls take day off and shop/explore, boys play 36  (New, Jubilee) w another friend who gets into St Andrews the night before (after playing Dornoch & Castle Stewart💪 w / out me😹)

Day 9 check out, play Elie or Crail Balcomie before heading to airport to fly back to Amsterdam where we return to California the next morn

 

2 trips in Ireland, 2 trips to Sand Valley, a dozen or so trips to Bandon (played in shorts 2 Febs ago, got snowed out last April) I have experienced every type of weather imaginable so everyone has high end rain gear in hopes that we don’t get drilled but hey, it’s Scotland so come what may and love it! is it June yet?

 

 

Great itinerary! Enjoy your trip.

[El Gringo]

If yer looking for a short course on the way to Edinburgh on the last day, consider Kinghorn. Some very cool holes and a quick play. Very modest place, proper Scotland.

[Serenity Now]

8 hours ago, El Gringo said:

If yer looking for a short course on the way to Edinburgh on the last day, consider Kinghorn. Some very cool holes and a quick play. Very modest place, proper Scotland.

Great recommendation!!  I keep having friends say “I can’t believe you are going to Scotland and not playing Carnoustie or Kingsbarn or…”

 

I get it. There are world class golf courses in Scotland. My wife doesn’t care. She just wants to spend a week in Scotland w her best friend since they met at age 2, 58 years ago!  Oh and me too (I hope). If I am honest, the 2 girls will enjoy pickleball night with the locals as much as any of the golf courses we play. Same thing happens twice a year in Kauai when we play pickleball w the locals down in Kaleheo.  The golf is fun but it’s not that important (unless one of them makes a birdie)
 

When I saw your. Comment, I looked up Kinghorn in Coyne’s book and I remembered it from the first time I  read his book on Scotland (currently reading it for the 4th time)

 

It sounds like the perfect course to end our trip on. My wife loves Goat Hill Park and tells me to go to Torrey Pines by myself (fortunate enough to have a resident card and play down there a few times a month).  I love them all!

[El Gringo]

Yes, Kinghorn is good. Nothing brilliant mind, but there are some cracking holes. 
 

Another option I like to mention is Musselburgh Old. Highly historic 9 hole links. Cheap as chips, good walk and quick. I think we paid £11.50 senior price last year. It’s a little bit out of the way for the airport, but a very cool place. Anyway, I think places like Kinghorn and Musselburgh Old (council courses…similar to munis in the US) need the support far more than big guns.
 

If you have time to kill in Fife and are looking for a 9 holer in a lovely spot on nice afternoon, try Anstruther. Again, some cool holes, one outrageous par 3, but again, not great. Nice little town, can have fish and chips before or after the game. 
 

Absolutely make time for the Himalayas with the ladies. It’s always a good time.

 

Have fun and smell the flowers.

[Hawkeye77]

Why not Crail Balcomie instead of Craighead? I wouldn’t have it be a maybe. 

[Serenity Now]

15 hours ago, Hawkeye77 said:

Why not Crail Balcomie instead of Craighead? I wouldn’t have it be a maybe. 

Great call. When I originally booked it, there wasn’t a time on Balcomie that worked so I went ahead and took the Craighead time. I have played several Gil Hanse designs in the states (Rustic Canyon & Soule Park are 2 of my favorite gems)

 

2 nights ago I watched Rick Shiels YouTube video of playing all 18 on Balcomie and it got the wheels turning. Will be sending an email to Crail seeing if they will work with us to make that switch. It looks incredible 

[hammergolf]

35 minutes ago, Serenity Now said:

Great call. When I originally booked it, there wasn’t a time on Balcomie that worked so I went ahead and took the Craighead time. I have played several Gil Hanse designs in the states (Rustic Canyon & Soule Park are 2 of my favorite gems)

 

2 nights ago I watched Rick Shiels YouTube video of playing all 18 on Balcomie and it got the wheels turning. Will be sending an email to Crail seeing if they will work with us to make that switch. It looks incredible 

I’ve played both courses at Crail. Craighead is more like a modern links, while Balcomie is the older style links basically built as the land laid. While neither course will blow you away the history is there and it’s a fun test. 

[Hawkeye77]

20 hours ago, Serenity Now said:

Great call. When I originally booked it, there wasn’t a time on Balcomie that worked so I went ahead and took the Craighead time. I have played several Gil Hanse designs in the states (Rustic Canyon & Soule Park are 2 of my favorite gems)

 

2 nights ago I watched Rick Shiels YouTube video of playing all 18 on Balcomie and it got the wheels turning. Will be sending an email to Crail seeing if they will work with us to make that switch. It looks incredible 

 

Aha!  The Balcomie is a wonderful course, influences of Old Tom can still be found - we absolutely loved it!  Did you watch the vid with Iona Stephen and Shiels?  It really is a fun watch and you get a really good feel for the course.  

[Serenity Now]

On 2/28/2024 at 2:38 AM, Hawkeye77 said:

 

Aha!  The Balcomie is a wonderful course, influences of Old Tom can still be found - we absolutely loved it!  Did you watch the vid with Iona Stephen and Shiels?  It really is a fun watch and you get a really good feel for the course.  

Who couldn’t watch Iona all day long😎. That was a great video. Is it June yet?

[Hawkeye77]

7 hours ago, Serenity Now said:

Who couldn’t watch Iona all day long😎. That was a great video. Is it June yet?

Fortunately of the YT's I watch for golf while my wife is usually doing something else in the same room, Iona is the one she'll watch and enjoy as well!  She lives in St. Andrews - you may all run into her somewhere.