2025 Scotland - first timer father/son trip report

[Yoshifan151]

Hey all, I thought I'd make a report of my Scotland trip this year, as I've always liked seeing the threads other users have done. Going to keep posts mostly detailed on the golf side but will include some other tidbits of sightseeing on non-golf days. I had a previous thread on here with trip planning questions, so thanks to those who helped me on there! Here it is if interested: 

 

 

Also here is the current itinerary:

June 13: arrive

14: sightseeing/hit the range

15: North Berwick, I may hit up Muirfield and see if we can check out the clubhouse while down there

16-20: try for the TOC ballot, if unsuccessful we'll try to get on New/Jubilee/Eden/Lundin/Leven etc, I may book a time or 2 in advance, throw in a day to sightsee/rest

21: drive up north and play Royal Dornoch

22: Brora

23: Golspie

24: drive back to Fife area and do some sightseeing along the way

25: Elie

26: Panmure

27: sightsee/rest, try for TOC

28: Crail Balcomie

29: Carnoustie

30/July 1: TOC ballot, substitute another course as well

July 2: fly back

 

Thanks for checking it out!

 

[Yoshifan151]

First few days went pretty well considering our flights got changed the day before, so my dad called up and got it dealt with. He had to drop down from business to premium economy for our flight from LAX to CDG (originally to AMS). Our new connection through CDG was a tad over an hour but luckily all of our luggage made it without any issues! Took a drive to Crail (quite the experience doing all the driving totally on the opposite) and settled in to our place. Also the roundabouts are great, you very rarely need to stop at an intersection.

 

Today was the first full day in Scotland. So far we went to St. Andrews to check out the town for a bit. It was pissing rain and had some thunder/lightning so that must've been fun for anyone playing today. Put our names down for TOC ballot but didn't get it so we'll likely go play the New course on Monday. Had to get some merch at The Old Course shop and checked out the R&A museum (fairly small but had some really neat historical pieces and equipment used by past Open champs).

[hammergolf]

1 hour ago, Yoshifan151 said:

First few days went pretty well considering our flights got changed the day before, so my dad called up and got it dealt with. He had to drop down from business to premium economy for our flight from LAX to CDG (originally to AMS). Our new connection through CDG was a tad over an hour but luckily all of our luggage made it without any issues! Took a drive to Crail (quite the experience doing all the driving totally on the opposite) and settled in to our place. Also the roundabouts are great, you very rarely need to stop at an intersection.

 

Today was the first full day in Scotland. So far we went to St. Andrews to check out the town for a bit. It was pissing rain and had some thunder/lightning so that must've been fun for anyone playing today. Put our names down for TOC ballot but didn't get it so we'll likely go play the New course on Monday. Had to get some merch at The Old Course shop and checked out the R&A museum (fairly small but had some really neat historical pieces and equipment used by past Open champs).

Awesome! I have a group of clients arriving in St. Andrews tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed it looks like the weather looks good the next week. Looking forward to your updates.

[Yoshifan151]

Day 1 started with a heavy hitter at North Berwick. Holy s*** what an incredible golf course, easily one of my favorites I've ever played (I have a feeling that will be a common theme throughout the trip)! We were welcomed by a great gentleman named Gavin who showed us around the clubhouse and made us feel at home. Had a quick salad and met the other twosome rounding out our group in the lounge. They were really awesome guys and very fun to play with, and we will try to get on the New Course at St. Andrews with them on Tuesday!

Now the golf course was genuinely one of the coolest and craziest I've ever played. Plenty of crazy holes, green complexes, and bunkering spots that made me think how aggressive do I want to be both off the tee and into the green. All of the holes really were awesome but 13-17 was an outstanding stretch of quirky yet fun holes.

We teed off at 3:20pm today and the wind was blowing 20+ the entire time, and pretty much directly into our face for holes 1-8. My game was a bit rough for the first few holes, starting bogey, double, bogey. I parred out the rest of the front, with birdie looks on 5, 6, and 7 but I just burnt the edge of the cups. For the back 9, terrible 3 putts caused bogeys on 10, 13, and 17. These were all approaches towards the back with front pins, and I just couldn't get the speed and some reads down with the wind in our face and had 10-15 footers left for par. Bunker fun on 15 ended up costing me a double. 16 I roasted my drive, muffed the 60 yard pitch, but put my 3rd to 4 feet for a good par. 18, drove the green with 5 wood but bad 3 putt for par lol. All things considered, I played well tee to green but long putts really killed me. 40/40 for an 80 total. After the round, our group enjoyed drinks and great food in the lounge. 

All in this was an awesome day of golf and a great Father's day for my pops. I can't wait to come back here and give the course another run!

 

1 approach

 

4 tee shot

 

6 green/approach

 

7 green/approach

 

9 tee shot

 

10 green/approach

 

13 green/approach

 

14 approach

 

14 green

 

15 green - the Redan!

 

16 green - nasty Biarritz

 

17 tee shot

 

17 approach

 

18 tee shot

Edited June 17 by Yoshifan151

[hammergolf]

1 hour ago, Yoshifan151 said:

Day 1 started with a heavy hitter at North Berwick. Holy s*** what an incredible golf course, easily one of my favorites I've ever played (I have a feeling that will be a common theme throughout the trip)! We were welcomed by a great gentleman named Gavin who showed us around the clubhouse and made us feel at home. Had a quick salad and met the other twosome rounding out our group in the lounge. They were really awesome guys and very fun to play with, and we will try to get on the New Course at St. Andrews with them on Tuesday!

Now the golf course was genuinely one of the coolest and craziest I've ever played. Plenty of crazy holes, green complexes, and bunkering spots that made me think how aggressive do I want to be both off the tee and into the green. All of the holes really were awesome but 13-17 was an outstanding stretch of quirky yet fun holes.

We teed off at 3:20pm today and the wind was blowing 20+ the entire time, and pretty much directly into our face for holes 1-8. My game was a bit rough for the first few holes, starting bogey, double, bogey. I parred out the rest of the front, with birdie looks on 5, 6, and 7 but I just burnt the edge of the cups. For the back 9, terrible 3 putts caused bogeys on 10, 13, and 17. These were all approaches towards the back with front pins, and I just couldn't get the speed and some reads down with the wind in our face and had 10-15 footers left for par. Bunker fun on 15 ended up costing me a double. 16 I roasted my drive, muffed the 60 yard pitch, but put my 3rd to 4 feet for a good par. 18, drove the green with 5 wood but bad 3 putt for par lol. All things considered, I played well tee to green but long putts really killed me. After the round, our group enjoyed drinks and great food in the lounge. 

All in this was an awesome day of golf and a great Father's day for my pops. I can't wait to come back here and give the course another run!

No issues with the wall?? Glad you enjoyed NB. So many don’t appreciate the quirk. It’s the type of course you could play every day for a year and still not have it figured out. My clients played Dumbarnie today and loved it. They are playing NB on Thursday.

[Yoshifan151]

6 hours ago, hammergolf said:

No issues with the wall?? Glad you enjoyed NB. So many don’t appreciate the quirk. It’s the type of course you could play every day for a year and still not have it figured out. My clients played Dumbarnie today and loved it. They are playing NB on Thursday.

No wall troubles! Our group survived 13 but the twosome we paired with ran into the wall on 3 ahd had some troubles there lol.

[scott_Donald]

wow seems you have had a great start to the trip.

 

Heading down St Andrews tomorrow for an Old Course watch in the morning and lunch at Rusacks Bridge restaurant before some golf. You have got me in the mood now...... 

[Yoshifan151]

2 minutes ago, scott_Donald said:

wow seems you have had a great start to the trip.

 

Heading down St Andrews tomorrow for an Old Course watch in the morning and lunch at Rusacks Bridge restaurant before some golf. You have got me in the mood now...... 

It was an amazing start to the trip! I think NB might be in my top 2, that was such a fun course to play and I don't think I could ever get tired of playing it.

We're about to get off the New course with the same twosome we played with at NB. 0/3 on the Old course 2 day ballot so far, hoping we get lucky for Thursday. We're starting to do the singles ballot as well but obviously would rather play together, but will take what we can get.

Hope you have a nice time tomorrow over here! Maybe you'll watch us coming up 18 on the Old 😂

 

[jatrain]

I love these real time update threads, thanks for posting!

 

Once you get up to the highlands, please post any non-course highlights as well.  I’ll be there in August playing and would love some recommendations (restaurants, etc) if you find anything particularly good.  

[Yoshifan151]

1 hour ago, jatrain said:

I love these real time update threads, thanks for posting!

 

Once you get up to the highlands, please post any non-course highlights as well.  I’ll be there in August playing and would love some recommendations (restaurants, etc) if you find anything particularly good.  

Thanks for tagging along, and will do!

[Yoshifan151]

0/4 on the 2 day ballot, currently waitlisted for the singles lottery. I'm at 18 and dad is at 57, seems like there may be a decent possibility I can get on. We may head over early to see what happens if my number keeps getting lower. Pops doesn't really seem to mind the idea of walking along the course if I get on, I'd much rather play together but we'll see, hopefully he can get on at some point and I'll walk alongside him.

[Yoshifan151]

2nd round of the trip was at the New course today, and we paired up with the same twosome from North Berwick. Funny enough they are also teeing off right behind us at Royal Dornoch later this week! Still windy but playing more as a crosswind here, and the sun kept popping out of the clouds so it was pretty warm at points. My allergies are destroying me though, not fun.

The course was a great one. While not nearly as stunning visually compared to North Berwick, the layout was a great test with plenty of undulated greens and some very tricky shots off the tee. Great bunkering as well that can be very tricky to spot behind certain mounds or tough to gauge distance. The yardage book given to each player from the starter was a huge help today. Greens were a tad faster than NB but quite a bit firmer. Plenty of great holes but 8 and 9 were the real standouts.

The golf game today was alright. Off the tee was solid, with only a couple subpar drives. Iron shots weren't as great as yesterday, resulting in a lot of long 2 putt or up and down pars. My putting was alright, with only a couple made outside of 5ish feet. Speed was better overall but I still had a handful of bad 3 putts. A combo of bad reads (I'm giving too much respect, most misses are high) and bad speed. Really need to get my s*** together on the green. 39/39 for a 78 total off the back tees.

 

3 green

 

4 green

 

5 green

 

6 fairway - nasty mounds and slopes

 

8 approach - crazy mounds with large pot bunkers guarding the green

 

8 green

 

9 tee shot

 

9 green

 

11 approach

 

11 green

 

13 tee shot

 

Can't add the pic for some reason but 17 tee shot has a very deceptive bunker way before the green, but visually looks like it's right in front of it

 

18 tee shot

 

Edited June 17 by Yoshifan151

[scott_Donald]

If you think today was windy then you will have a lot more windy days in the next two weeks!

 

I really like the New course, lots don’t, some easy holes and some nice ones. I prefer it to the Jubilee.

 

pics are great. 
 

With the putting it’s all pace, same could be said for all golf but I experienced poor pace putting today! With 3 three putts. Links golf is all about keeping it in play and making sure you use the same ball. I playedu four rounds with the same ball and now my last two I have lost 3 and 4 balls. It’s hard to score like that. 
 

I was playing today with my dads friend whose son is captain at North Berwick and the greens were much better today at Royal Aberdeen(he played North Berwick Sunday).

[El Gringo]

Some good pix there. I too have a lot of time for the New…much prefer it to the Joob. 

[Yoshifan151]

Unfortunately a bust for TOC today, got close but not enough spots that opened up. Submitted our entries for single and 2 day ballots again, hoping for some good luck as the weather looks like it will be very nice (especially friday). Off to play St. Michaels with an afternoon time.

[Yoshifan151]

0/5 on 2 day ballot and waitlisted for tomorrow's single ballot. We'll try again for Friday's single ballot but after that it's up to Dornoch and only a few more chances when we come back down.

[TBD203]

Fingers crossed for you - feels like a pretty similar trip to what I've got coming up at the end of the month. Glad to hear you loved North Berwick, that's our first stop!

[Yoshifan151]

10 minutes ago, TBD203 said:

Fingers crossed for you - feels like a pretty similar trip to what I've got coming up at the end of the month. Glad to hear you loved North Berwick, that's our first stop!

Appreciate it! Are you playing TOC or have some days to try for the ballot? You'll love NB, I think it's pretty solidly in my top 2, I loved it so much.

[Yoshifan151]

Played at St. Michaels today, super fun quirky course at a good price. We ended up getting on for $25 with a Golfnow hot deal. The front 9 starts out more exposed on a hillside with some trees and great views of the surrounding areas, with the back 9 routing through the woods with some big elevation changes. This course was playing very firm, shots would roll out for days on the fairway. The greens were very firm as well and played with a lot of rollout when hitting approaches, but on the slow side when putting. Green complexes were very fun with plenty of slopes and tiers.

Played ok today but didn't keep score. It was chilly and very windy, and I was getting torn a new one with my allergies flaring up badly. I was just trying to survive out there, so I guess it wasn't the worst thing I didn't get on TOC. I wasn't hitting it too bad considering, and I did get 3 birdies, better than the last 2 rounds together (only 1). Overall a neat course and one worth checking out if you need a budget round.

 

2 green

 

5 approach

 

6 approach

 

6 green

 

7 tee shot with 8 behind

 

8 tee shot

 

8 green

 

11 tee shot

 

15 tee shot with 16 tee behind

 

15 green and 16 tee shot

 

16 approch/green

 

17 tee shot

 

17 green

 

18 tee shot

[hammergolf]

2 hours ago, Yoshifan151 said:

Played at St. Michaels today, super fun quirky course at a good price. We ended up getting on for $25 with a Golfnow hot deal. The front 9 starts out more exposed on a hillside with some trees and great views of the surrounding areas, with the back 9 routing through the woods with some big elevation changes. This course was playing very firm, shots would roll out for days on the fairway. The greens were very firm as well and played with a lot of rollout when hitting approaches, but on the slow side when putting. Green complexes were very fun with plenty of slopes and tiers.

Played ok today but didn't keep score. It was chilly and very windy, and I was getting torn a new one with my allergies flaring up badly. I was just trying to survive out there, so I guess it wasn't the worst thing I didn't get on TOC. I wasn't hitting it too bad considering, and I did get 3 birdies, better than the last 2 rounds together (only 1). Overall a neat course and one worth checking out if you need a budget round.

 

2 green

 

5 approach

 

6 approach

 

6 green

 

7 tee shot with 8 behind

 

8 tee shot

 

8 green

 

11 tee shot

 

15 tee shot with 16 tee behind

 

15 green and 16 tee shot

 

16 approch/green

 

17 tee shot

 

17 green

 

18 tee shot

Hope you can kick the allergies. Where are you guys playing tomorrow? My clients got roughed up by the Lundin and the wind yesterday. They are playing NB tomorrow afternoon. 

[Yoshifan151]

16 minutes ago, hammergolf said:

Hope you can kick the allergies. Where are you guys playing tomorrow? My clients got roughed up by the Lundin and the wind yesterday. They are playing NB tomorrow afternoon. 

Thanks, so do I 🤣. Tomorrow we'll see we may just do some more sightseeing around the area. Gonna try for the singles ballot for Friday, if that's a dud (seems likely at this rate) then go play Lundin or the Eden/Jubilee. Your clients are in for a real treat tomorrow.

[hammergolf]

59 minutes ago, Yoshifan151 said:

Thanks, so do I 🤣. Tomorrow we'll see we may just do some more sightseeing around the area. Gonna try for the singles ballot for Friday, if that's a dud (seems likely at this rate) then go play Lundin or the Eden/Jubilee. Your clients are in for a real treat tomorrow.

I’m interested to hear what they think of NB. So far their favorite has been Dumbarnie. All of your picks for tomorrow are great options. I’m a little partial to Lundin but would play Jubilee or Eden in a heartbeat 

[scott_Donald]

I am just home after Dumbarnie; loved it, fun course not a bad hole in it. wish I knew a couple of lines off tees etc. would certainly play again, much better for me than Kingsbarns. 
 

Hated 17 green but I did chunk it and left myself an impossible chip or putt.

 

clubhouse was great and so were the staff.

 

from what I watched on 18 today on Old seems a few singles out etc. and a lot of Lab putters. Have faith and you will get on!

Edited June 18 by scott_Donald

[TBD203]

6 hours ago, Yoshifan151 said:

Appreciate it! Are you playing TOC or have some days to try for the ballot? You'll love NB, I think it's pretty solidly in my top 2, I loved it so much.

Old Course is my last round of the trip right after Kingsbarns. TOC and then fly home on the 13th.

[Chanceman]

Looks to me as though the lottery system is not working too well. I think the problem might be the day before deadline. That encourages drop ins ie people who happen to be in the town and just register on the off chance they get on. Conversely that works against the golfer who plans ahead. I reckon if they moved the registration to even a week prior it would help those actually planning to be there by reducing the numbers in the ballot. Maybe I’m wrong. 

 

[hammergolf]

40 minutes ago, Chanceman said:

Looks to me as though the lottery system is not working too well. I think the problem might be the day before deadline. That encourages drop ins ie people who happen to be in the town and just register on the off chance they get on. Conversely that works against the golfer who plans ahead. I reckon if they moved the registration to even a week prior it would help those actually planning to be there by reducing the numbers in the ballot. Maybe I’m wrong. 

 

Yeah they have made the lottery system much harder. In the past, only those willing to make the sacrifice of the que were able to control their chances. Now the new system has led to many more people applying for the very limited spots. It also seems to me that they have limited the amount of 48hr ballot times that used to be available. In the past half of the tee times on Thursdays were kept open for the 48hr ballot. I just looked at the tee sheet tomorrow and only 20 of the 71 tee times were given to groups from the 48hr ballot. The new leadership has made several changes that are not as customer friendly. They don’t offer the unlimited golf, 3 day or 7 day packages anymore. I can’t confirm it, but it seems to me that they have increased the amount of times they make available to tour operators. 

Edited June 19 by hammergolf

[Yoshifan151]

7 hours ago, hammergolf said:

I’m interested to hear what they think of NB. So far their favorite has been Dumbarnie. All of your picks for tomorrow are great options. I’m a little partial to Lundin but would play Jubilee or Eden in a heartbeat 

I've heard great things about Dumbarnie, didn't have it on the list this trip as I'm more interested in playing older Scottish courses and checking the modern courses off on later trips. 

 

[Yoshifan151]

4 hours ago, Chanceman said:

Looks to me as though the lottery system is not working too well. I think the problem might be the day before deadline. That encourages drop ins ie people who happen to be in the town and just register on the off chance they get on. Conversely that works against the golfer who plans ahead. I reckon if they moved the registration to even a week prior it would help those actually planning to be there by reducing the numbers in the ballot. Maybe I’m wrong. 

 

 

4 hours ago, hammergolf said:

Yeah they have made the lottery system much harder. In the past, only those willing to make the sacrifice of the que were able to control their chances. Now the new system has led to many more people applying for the very limited spots. It also seems to me that they have limited the amount of 48hr ballot times that used to be available. In the past half of the tee times on Thursdays were kept open for the 48hr ballot. I just looked at the tee sheet tomorrow and only 20 of the 71 tee times were given to groups from the 48hr ballot. The new leadership has made several changes that are not as customer friendly. They don’t offer the unlimited golf, 3 day or 7 day packages anymore. I can’t confirm it, but it seems to me that they have increased the amount of times they make available to tour operators. 

It definitely seems like it's a lot more corporate focused with a ton of massive groups going out, and like @hammergolf said removing some of the packages that were previously an option for the other courses. TOC experience hasn't been fun so far, hopefully we get picked once in the dozen+ attempts we'll give it. Seems like the play is really just to pony up thousands to some ripoff tour operator since they probably get a ton of times allocated.

[El Gringo]

I am very mixed on Dumbarnie. Overall a good course, but the lack of variety is irksome. Nearly all the greens are couched in fake dunes. No effort was made for the dunes to appear naturally formed as they run in all directions. My first take is that Kingsbarns and Castle Stuart are the better efforts. Going back to Kingsbarns next month so I will be able to update my memory. 

[TBD203]

Not to hijack your thread, but our schedule is as follows. I will try and post some pictures if I remember while over there!

 

6/30 - North Berwick

7/1 - Muirfield 18 standard play, lunch, then 18 alternate shot

7/2 - Castle Stuart 8:50am, and then Royal Dornoch 3:30pm

7/3 - fly to London and play Sunningdale New at 4:00pm

7/4-6 spend time with wives

7/7 - Sunningdale Old - 9am.

7/10 - Wife leaves and I play Kingsbarns 1:40pm

7/11 TOC

7/12 fly home