Scotland Trip - Itinerary Help

[FlashinLeather]

Planning a trip to Scotland next year and wanted to get any feedback that I could. It will be my first time, along with my dad and brother. Dad is in 70s so we will likely only do 1 round a day to keep i fun and so that he is not exhausted by day 5/6. I am open to any ideas. The must for me is getting on North Berwick and attempting to get onto the Old Course. 

 

Day 1  Fly into Edinburgh Travel to North Berwick to play Kilspindie

Day 2  Play North Berwick 

Day 3 Play Dunbar and drive to Edinburgh

Day 4 Day off in Edinburgh and Drive to St. Andrews

Day 5 Play The Old Course (ballot) or Elie 

Day 6  Play The Old Course (ballot and only if did not get on day 5) or Elie. If didn't get on Old and played Elie then play at ___________ . 

Day 7 Drive to Edinburgh and Fly Home

 

Thanks for the help. Plan on staying at Airbnb's to keep some of the costs down. 

[hammergolf]

4 hours ago, FlashinLeather said:

Planning a trip to Scotland next year and wanted to get any feedback that I could. It will be my first time, along with my dad and brother. Dad is in 70s so we will likely only do 1 round a day to keep i fun and so that he is not exhausted by day 5/6. I am open to any ideas. The must for me is getting on North Berwick and attempting to get onto the Old Course. 

 

Day 1  Fly into Edinburgh Travel to North Berwick to play Kilspindie

Day 2  Play North Berwick 

Day 3 Play Dunbar and drive to Edinburgh

Day 4 Day off in Edinburgh and Drive to St. Andrews

Day 5 Play The Old Course (ballot) or Elie 

Day 6  Play The Old Course (ballot and only if did not get on day 5) or Elie. If didn't get on Old and played Elie then play at ___________ . 

Day 7 Drive to Edinburgh and Fly Home

 

Thanks for the help. Plan on staying at Airbnb's to keep some of the costs down. 

Definitely a doable trip. I have a group of clients going on Friday and their itinerary is very similar but starting in St. Andrews and finishing in North Berwick. The advanced ballot for next year will be opening in August. So you can apply then. Honestly if you’re only planning on playing 1 round I would recommend going in October. It will save you some money, the weather is still ok, and it’s less crowded. Golf course wise you have many great options around St. Andrews. Lundin, New, and Jubilee are all good options. 

[Chanceman]

If you can’t get on TOC then Elie certainly. Next choice maybe play the New course. Crail or Lundin are other good options. 

[TBD203]

Kingsbarns too if you don't mind the price tag.

[FlashinLeather]

49 minutes ago, TBD203 said:

Kingsbarns too if you don't mind the price tag.

The greens fee for next year is $660 - for me there is way too many great courses in that area for half the price or less. 

[TBD203]

Or you can do what I did - not calculate the conversion rate before submitting payment. 🤣

[scott_Donald]

5 hours ago, FlashinLeather said:

The greens fee for next year is $660 - for me there is way too many great courses in that area for half the price or less. 

 

ouch.

 

I played it the calendar year after it opened for £200 for a four ball in April. I was not a massive fan. long greens, decent views but a modern easier links.

 

Having said that I am playing Dumbarnie as a Scottish resident on Wednesday for £150 and that is my treat round for the year.

 

I will have a good year of golf -

 

Royal Aberdeen(member)

Hopeman(cheap outing)

Cruden Bay(dad is a member)

Montrose(cheap outing)

The Old Course(match for free)

Deeside(match for free)

Nairn(match for free)

Dumbarnie(treat)

Ballater(cheap outing)

Aboyne(cheap outing)

Gullane(Guest)

The Glen(Guest)

North Berwick(guest)

Muirfield(Guest)

 

Except my membership I think I am much cheaper than 1 round at Kinsbarns!

Edited June 12 by scott_Donald

[buckI]

45 minutes ago, scott_Donald said:

 

ouch.

 

I played it the calendar year after it opened for £200 for a four ball in April. I was not a massive fan. long greens, decent views but a modern easier links.

 

Having said that I am playing Dumbarnie as a Scottish resident on Wednesday for £150 and that is my treat round for the year.

 

I will have a good year of golf -

 

Royal Aberdeen(member)

Hopeman(cheap outing)

Cruden Bay(dad is a member)

Montrose(cheap outing)

The Old Course(match for free)

Deeside(match for free)

Nairn(match for free)

Dumbarnie(treat)

Ballater(cheap outing)

Aboyne(cheap outing)

Gullane(Guest)

The Glen(Guest)

North Berwick(guest)

Muirfield(Guest)

 

Except my membership I think I am much cheaper than 1 round at Kinsbarns!

You are a man I am very envious of!    I love the club I belong to in the US but you have a great year of golf planned .

[Poor Mans Ty Webb]

My vote is for the New of Jubilee on day 6. You should play a round in St. Andrews, even if not the Old. I really enjoyed the New. It’s a great course. 

[flognut]

22 hours ago, FlashinLeather said:

The greens fee for next year is $660 - for me there is way too many great courses in that area for half the price or less. 

its getting insane

[flognut]

16 hours ago, scott_Donald said:

 

ouch.

 

I played it the calendar year after it opened for £200 for a four ball in April. I was not a massive fan. long greens, decent views but a modern easier links.

 

Having said that I am playing Dumbarnie as a Scottish resident on Wednesday for £150 and that is my treat round for the year.

 

I will have a good year of golf -

 

Royal Aberdeen(member)

Hopeman(cheap outing)

Cruden Bay(dad is a member)

Montrose(cheap outing)

The Old Course(match for free)

Deeside(match for free)

Nairn(match for free)

Dumbarnie(treat)

Ballater(cheap outing)

Aboyne(cheap outing)

Gullane(Guest)

The Glen(Guest)

North Berwick(guest)

Muirfield(Guest)

 

Except my membership I think I am much cheaper than 1 round at Kinsbarns!

wow, awesome

[FlashinLeather]

14 hours ago, Poor Mans Ty Webb said:

My vote is for the New of Jubilee on day 6. You should play a round in St. Andrews, even if not the Old. I really enjoyed the New. It’s a great course. 

We have two days in St. Andrews - If we can't get on the Old, the goal is to play the New and Elie.

[jatrain]

I did a very similar trip last year playing NB, Kilspindie, Gullane, Elie, Crail, and Jubilee.  I think you’re planning a great trip.  North Berwick is all that it’s hyped to be and Kilspindie was absolute fun, maybe the most enjoyable round I had on the whole trip.  Elie is great and I rate Crail Balcomie right there with it.  I’d do those two over Jubilee but, as someone else said, there’s something about playing in St. A even if it’s not the Old.  Im going to play the New this year if I can’t get on the Old.  
 

Only thing I will say is that it appears that Elie is selling out pretty early and I don’t know that you’ll have to flexibility to wait to book to see if you don’t get out on the Old.  Last year I tried to move my tee time a couple of days prior and it was very limited.  I’m returning in August and it looks like they only have a few times available each day.  Plan accordingly.  
 

 

[Fifemulligans]

On 6/13/2025 at 4:28 AM, Poor Mans Ty Webb said:

My vote is for the New of Jubilee on day 6. You should play a round in St. Andrews, even if not the Old. I really enjoyed the New. It’s a great course. 

Can only +1 this! I played Old, New, Jubilee and Eden a month ago over four days and enjoyed them all. They’re all on the same turf!

[Chanceman]

1 hour ago, Fifemulligans said:

Can only +1 this! I played Old, New, Jubilee and Eden a month ago over four days and enjoyed them all. They’re all on the same turf!

I agree. Golf travel for me has become more about the experience of playing a variety of good courses rather than scrambling to get a tee time at all the famous courses.

[Serenity Now]

I just got back last night from a similar trip. I was w novice golfers for the second year in a row so here is our itinerary. We stayed in St Andrews for a week then 4 days in Edinburgh. We played all of our rounds in the afternoon/evening so we were never rushed and spent days checking out the cities

 

Day 1  afternoon round at Eden. I strongly suggest playing this if you are w your dad. To me it’s the funnest course at St Andrews and it’s under $100

Day 2 afternoon round at Elie. Our only day of rain on entire trip and it was not even that bad. Only wore rain gear on front 9. Course was really crowded for some reason so it played slow but it’s my favorite course in Scotland so I didn’t mind

Day 3 afternoon at Eden again. My novice partners (my wife and another couple) like it because they don’t get beat up like they do at some of the other courses we have played and it’s the kind of course where if you told me I could only play there every day the rest of my life, I would die happy. 
Day 4. Back at Elie in gorgeous sunshine and no crowds. This course is so much fun and the more you play it the more you learn the bumps & curves. Remember that par is irrelevant 

Day 5. Crail Balcomie. I loved it!  My playing partners said they preferred the Craighead course there that we played last year which I liked but not as much as Balcomie

Day 6. Played 36 since the weather was so goood. Played Strathtyrum in morning & St Andrews New Course in afternoon. Strath is so much fun and yes it’s not very old and not very long and we travelled 5,000 miles to play a lesser course but we had a blast. Your dad will love it and it’s 70 buck. New Course is Top 100 course in world and so underrated. If it was anywhere else it would be a must play but because it’s next door to the most famous course on earth it gets overlooked. Don’t make that mistake

Day 7. Checked out of house and drove to Edinburgh where we met up w some friends who flew over from Ireland. No golf and good idea as it was a deluge of rain

Day 8. Gullane #2. Oh my, how I loved this course! As tough a hilly walk as I have ever seen on a golf course but I cannot wait to go back. My partners all loved it as well

Day 9. Kilspindie. My novice partners all said this was their favorite course of the week

Day 10 Dunbar. The course I most looked forward to playing for first time and it was incredible!  
 

10 course, 4 we had never played before and loved them all
 

Driving in Scotland is no fun & can be stressful so don’t be in a hurry & stay in one location if you can. It’s 90 min from SA to Edinburgh and all the courses we played in East Lothian were 30 min plus. Explore Edinburgh. One of the coolest cities we have ever been to. We did castle tour, bike tour & a wonderful food tour. 

 

 

Don’t worry if you don’t get on the Old Course. We didn’t even bother to do the daily ballot this year. I tried to get on North Berwick & couldn’t make it happen but in no way was my trip any less spectacular because I didn’t get on there.  I have played many top 50 courses including all 5 Bandon, Lahinch, LACC, Royal Portrush just to name a few and have never had more fun on them than I did on any of the courses I played on this trip. You get to go with your dad which will make wherever you play an experience to cherish for the rest of your life. It took me 10 years to talk my son into going to Bandon with me and we finally did it in March and he said he couldn’t believe he waited 10 years. Next  March his little brother is joining us and it will be the golf highlight of my life. 
 

it’s not where but w who. Me and my novices are already planning Scotland 2026. It’s the most amazing place. Feel free to pm me and I can answer any questions. 
 

Edited June 20 by Serenity Now
Forgot a course

[scott_Donald]

5 hours ago, Serenity Now said:

I just got back last night from a similar trip. I was w novice golfers for the second year in a row so here is our itinerary. We stayed in St Andrews for a week then 4 days in Edinburgh. We played all of our rounds in the afternoon/evening so we were never rushed and spent days checking out the cities

 

Day 1  afternoon round at Eden. I strongly suggest playing this if you are w your dad. To me it’s the funnest course at St Andrews and it’s under $100

Day 2 afternoon round at Elie. Our only day of rain on entire trip and it was not even that bad. Only wore rain gear on front 9. Course was really crowded for some reason so it played slow but it’s my favorite course in Scotland so I didn’t mind

Day 3 afternoon at Eden again. My novice partners (my wife and another couple) like it because they don’t get beat up like they do at some of the other courses we have played and it’s the kind of course where if you told me I could only play there every day the rest of my life, I would die happy. 
Day 4. Back at Elie in gorgeous sunshine and no crowds. This course is so much fun and the more you play it the more you learn the bumps & curves. Remember that par is irrelevant 

Day 5. Crail Balcomie. I loved it!  My playing partners said they preferred the Craighead course there that we played last year which I liked but not as much as Balcomie

Day 6. Played 36 since the weather was so goood. Played Strathtyrum in morning & St Andrews New Course in afternoon. Strath is so much fun and yes it’s not very old and not very long and we travelled 5,000 miles to play a lesser course but we had a blast. Your dad will love it and it’s 70 buck. New Course is Top 100 course in world and so underrated. If it was anywhere else it would be a must play but because it’s next door to the most famous course on earth it gets overlooked. Don’t make that mistake

Day 7. Checked out of house and drove to Edinburgh where we met up w some friends who flew over from Ireland. No golf and good idea as it was a deluge of rain

Day 8. Gullane #2. Oh my, how I loved this course! As tough a hilly walk as I have ever seen on a golf course but I cannot wait to go back. My partners all loved it as well

Day 9. Kilspindie. My novice partners all said this was their favorite course of the week

Day 10 Dunbar. The course I most looked forward to playing for first time and it was incredible!  
 

10 course, 4 we had never played before and loved them all
 

Driving in Scotland is no fun & can be stressful so don’t be in a hurry & stay in one location if you can. It’s 90 min from SA to Edinburgh and all the courses we played in East Lothian were 30 min plus. Explore Edinburgh. One of the coolest cities we have ever been to. We did castle tour, bike tour & a wonderful food tour. 

 

 

Don’t worry if you don’t get on the Old Course. We didn’t even bother to do the daily ballot this year. I tried to get on North Berwick & couldn’t make it happen but in no way was my trip any less spectacular because I didn’t get on there.  I have played many top 50 courses including all 5 Bandon, Lahinch, LACC, Royal Portrush just to name a few and have never had more fun on them than I did on any of the courses I played on this trip. You get to go with your dad which will make wherever you play an experience to cherish for the rest of your life. It took me 10 years to talk my son into going to Bandon with me and we finally did it in March and he said he couldn’t believe he waited 10 years. Next  March his little brother is joining us and it will be the golf highlight of my life. 
 

it’s not where but w who. Me and my novices are already planning Scotland 2026. It’s the most amazing place. Feel free to pm me and I can answer any questions. 
 

 

wants wrong with driving in Scotland???

[st1800e]

5 hours ago, Serenity Now said:

Day 1  afternoon round at Eden. I strongly suggest playing this if you are w your dad. To me it’s the funnest course at St Andrews and it’s under $100

Yes, we thoroughly enjoyed it as well, we all thought it was far better than the jubilee.  

[TBD203]

6 hours ago, scott_Donald said:

 

wants wrong with driving in Scotland???

I've offered to my travel partner that I could drive, but I sincerely hope he doesn't take me up on it!

[McMunch]

6 hours ago, scott_Donald said:

 

wants wrong with driving in Scotland???

 

Absolutely nothing.

Its easy just take some getting used to for the Yanks. Helps if you are cool with a manual transmission (shifting with the left hand but brake and clutch are in the usual spots) If you're not make sure you stress automatic when renting. Roundabouts everywhere but everything was well marked. On the highways I remember radar speed detectors that you have to keep an eye on. 

 

Trips 2022 and 2023 and coming back 2026 in June. Agree with everyone here that there are so many smaller golf courses that are great.

 

 

[hammergolf]

7 hours ago, scott_Donald said:

 

wants wrong with driving in Scotland???

Exactly! I mean beside sitting in a different seat to drive, driving in the other lane, and narrow roads what’s the issue??? Lol

[scott_Donald]

6 hours ago, TBD203 said:

I've offered to my travel partner that I could drive, but I sincerely hope he doesn't take me up on it!

 

haha I have a big car for here but guess only a mid size SUV and its easy most of the time but I don't squeeze in due to the stupid expensive wheels!

 

6 hours ago, McMunch said:

 

Absolutely nothing.

Its easy just take some getting used to for the Yanks. Helps if you are cool with a manual transmission (shifting with the left hand but brake and clutch are in the usual spots) If you're not make sure you stress automatic when renting. Roundabouts everywhere but everything was well marked. On the highways I remember radar speed detectors that you have to keep an eye on. 

 

Trips 2022 and 2023 and coming back 2026 in June. Agree with everyone here that there are so many smaller golf courses that are great.

 

 

 

roundabouts are better than traffic lights. funny go to Spain where different areas have different rules for roundabout yielding!

 

average speed is now very annoying to say the least stuck at 73, 79 on roads without cameras etc...

 

its the single track narrow ones that can be very frustrating!

 

6 hours ago, hammergolf said:

Exactly! I mean beside sitting in a different seat to drive, driving in the other lane, and narrow roads what’s the issue??? Lol

 

I learnt living in Texas that you don't do any road rage or you get shot, 11 lanes are interesting on the i10, don't drive a small car, roads are straight and boring, long drives in Scotland are just short drives to see friends. there is no fast lane(all are).

[Hawkeye77]

Too much packed into too little time and a bit frantic, IMO, but maybe your Dad is a 70s is the new 50s kind of guy. Slow down and it’s not just about golf. 

[m_w]

57 minutes ago, Hawkeye77 said:

Too much packed into too little time and a bit frantic, IMO, but maybe your Dad is a 70s is the new 50s kind of guy. Slow down and it’s not just about golf. 

Came here to say this. I’ve done multiple golf trips in the past few years with a few guys all in their mid to late 40’s. Biggest takeaways: play less but better. Last two trips we ended up canceling tee times because it ended up just being a rush. Now we play two days, one rest day, perhaps some range time, the play two days again. 
 

especially with jet lag the spacing seems incredibly tight to actually enjoy it

[NDSwim]

On 6/10/2025 at 2:39 PM, FlashinLeather said:

Planning a trip to Scotland next year and wanted to get any feedback that I could. It will be my first time, along with my dad and brother. Dad is in 70s so we will likely only do 1 round a day to keep i fun and so that he is not exhausted by day 5/6. I am open to any ideas. The must for me is getting on North Berwick and attempting to get onto the Old Course. 

 

Day 1  Fly into Edinburgh Travel to North Berwick to play Kilspindie

Day 2  Play North Berwick 

Day 3 Play Dunbar and drive to Edinburgh

Day 4 Day off in Edinburgh and Drive to St. Andrews

Day 5 Play The Old Course (ballot) or Elie 

Day 6  Play The Old Course (ballot and only if did not get on day 5) or Elie. If didn't get on Old and played Elie then play at ___________ . 

Day 7 Drive to Edinburgh and Fly Home

 

Thanks for the help. Plan on staying at Airbnb's to keep some of the costs down. 

If everyone is coming from the east coast, jet lag may not be that bad.  
 

I did a trip last year with more golf and everyone did just fine.  First day, I would consider not playing in case of delays etc etc.  Add one day to the trip.  On your off day, do you want to sightsee in Edinburgh?  If not, I’d go directly to St Andrews and enjoy the town and relax there.

[Serenity Now]

On 6/20/2025 at 12:03 AM, scott_Donald said:

 

wants wrong with driving in Scotland???

Absolutely nothing.
 

It was all us😎.

All 4 of us learned to drive In LA County so we were on wrong side of the road. I had the honor of being chief navigator sitting shotgun so I was completely overwhelmed sitting in left front seat w no steering wheel and more importantly no brakes🤡

 

I love Scotland!

[McMunch]

On 6/20/2025 at 3:03 AM, scott_Donald said:

 

wants wrong with driving in Scotland???

 

On 6/21/2025 at 9:01 PM, Serenity Now said:

 

 

I love Scotland!

 

I do too. I have never had such an affinity for another country. I tell my friends that although I am an American- I now identify as Scottish...

 

[ahelix]

Recently went on my first trip to Scotland. I'd say this
 

Top tier:

- ToC (of course)

- North Berwick

- Elie

Super fun but not necessarily a must-play

- Carnoustie

- Dumbarnie

 

Had fun but won't go back:

- Castle course

 

Wish we had been able to get on at Muirfield! Looked at Crail but no times available. Had to cancel Kingsbarns (seems overpriced). 

 

I agree with playing at least one of the St Andrews courses if you can't get on at ToC: people seem to like the New Course. Jubilee looks fun, too. Castle was super hard for me and my friend.

Edited July 2 by ahelix

[JKreborn]

2 hours ago, ahelix said:

 

 

I agree with playing at least one of the St Andrews courses if you can't get on at ToC: people seem to like the New Course. Jubilee looks fun, too. Castle was super hard for me and my friend.

One that should not be overlooked IMO. The Eden. The holes on the pond are not great. However, the rest are quite fun.

[nmadde02]

I’ve heard Elie is very very good. Have that on the list for my first Scotland trip in 2026! Managed to get 36 at Muirfield too I am pumped.