Sunset at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club in Scotland
Scotland - "What I did on my Summer
Vacation or the Trip of a Lifetime.”
In December 2013, a few weeks after the worst
time of my life when my wife suddenly passed away,
one of my good friends asked if I was interested in
going to Scotland for eight days of golf with he and
his son. Since it was the top item on my bucket
list, I decided to jump in. What follows is a journal
of the trip. The three of us have single digit
handicaps, so we played as far back as each club
would allow(except Trump). We played 198 holes in
7 days and figure we walked over 70 miles just
playing golf!
GETTING THERE
Thursday, June 26th and Friday June 27th.
We left Charlotte, NC and flew directly to
Heathrow in London, where we connected to another
airline for the short trip to Edinburgh. A few tips:
Heathrow is a very time-consuming airport to get
through (with tight security and fairly long customs
lines) so make sure you have enough of a layover to
make your connection. We barely made it. We
were scheduled to play Royal Aberdeen that first
day around 3:30pm, but our clubs didn't make it on
the first flight. Although we were initially upset, it
was actually a blessing in disguise. By the time we
made it to Aberdeen, we were beat. So, another tip
is don't schedule golf on the first day. The final part
of day was the drive to Cruden Bay -- which is north
of Aberdeen — where we re-scheduled missed round
to the following day, in which we would play 36-
holes. We checked into the Kilmarnock Arms hotel in
Cruden Bay and had some dinner.
SATURDAY, JUNE 28 - DAY ONE
OF THE GOLF MARATHON
Round 1 – Trump
International
Scotland
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We were able to reschedule our first day
golf to
include both Trump International Scotland and Royal
Aberdeen. As we drove into the Trump facility you
can tell that “The Donald” was
involved, everything was immaculate. I had heard
that Trump International Scotland was the finest
links course in the world and this would be my first
experience with links golf. Trump International
Scotland did not disappoint. It may be the best
course I have ever played. The fairways are
generous, reasonably flat and firm, but once you got
out of the fairway, the thick heather was waiting.
The bunkering is very similar to the courses that
followed in the week. The green complexes are
large, firm, very undulating, and in perfect
condition. The views from a few of the tee
boxes(11th, 14th, and 18th) are absolutely
spectacular. You are never very far from the North
Sea and it is visible on most holes. It has a full
practice facility, which was unusual for this trip.
Caddies are available, but this is one of the courses
that you can get away with just using the yardage
book provided. If you are traveling to Scotland,
this course is a must play.
Round 2. Royal Aberdeen
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We drove south from Trump to play Royal
Aberdeen in the afternoon. Royal Aberdeen was
founded in 1780 and claims to be the 6th oldest golf
course in the world. Royal Aberdeen is what I was
expecting for old school links golf. Royal Aberdeen
is defined by its narrow, undulating, and very firm
fairways cut through the dunes. A caddie here would
be a definite plus. The complimentary yardage book
was helpful, but a knowledgeable caddie would be
even better. We got our first taste of Scottish
weather for about 15 minutes that afternoon. The
wind started to blow and it poured for about 10
minutes. As fate would have it, the rain and wind
came on the 9th hole and it may have been the
most difficult hole we played all week. Thankfully,
this was the only real rain we had for the 8 days.
We did not play it in the prevailing wind so the back
9 played much easier that the front. Since the
Scottish Open was scheduled the next week at Royal
Aberdeen, it was fun experience to play a course
with the bleachers installed and some of the TV
platforms constructed. The course was fun to play
and the staff treated us very well. We finished the
day with dinner
at the Cock and
Bull restaurant right across the street from the
entrance to Trump International. Good Steaks and
Chicken dishes.
SUNDAY, JUNE 29
Round 1 – Newburgh-On-Ythan
We wanted to experience true public golf in
Scotland, so we scheduled a round at a local course
near Curden Bay. Newburgh-on-Ythan is a city
course just south of Cruden Bay. The first nine is a
heathland style course that runs up and down the
hills across the street from the Ythan River that
feeds into the North Sea, the back nine is a true
links that runs right along the river. After getting
beat up on the two courses the first day, Newburgh-
on-Ythan was a welcome rest to make a few birdies
as the fairways were generous and not as much
heather or gorse. This is a no frills course but was
in decent shape and would be a fun 2nd round of the
day if you are staying in northeast Scotland.
Round 2 -- Cruden Bay
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Our last afternoon in Cruden Bay was spent
on a
bright sunny day at Cruden Bay Golf Club. Cruden
Bay was designed by Old Tom Morris and opened in
1899. It is ranked in the Top 50 courses in the UK
by a number of different publications and it’s
Matt Ginella’s(Golf Channel travel guy)
favorite course in Scotland. It a true old style links
course where the ball can bounce all over the
place. The greens are undulating, but not crazy.
For the first 8 ½ holes, I was wondering what the
fascination was, as it was similar to the other links
courses we had played. When I arrived at the
middle of the ninth fairway after a blind uphill tee
shot, I discovered why it is so highly ranked. From
the middle of the 9th fairway until you leave the
16th tee box, you have unobstructed views of the
North Sea, some of the views are from 100ft above
the sea, running down to some holes right along the
sea. This course has a mix of some really easy
holes to some really difficult holes. It did have the
most unusual hole we encountered. The 15th hole is
a 245 yard blind dog-leg par 3! You drive over a
large hill to a green tucked in a hollow at the base of
the dunes. A caddie would definitely help at this
course.
We completed the day eating dinner in the
restaurant at Cruden Bay GC. They had a number
of different dishes available and it was not fancy but
good.
The one sightseeing excursion we made in Cruden
Bay was to walk the 15 minutes up to the ruins of
Slain’s Castle that sets on a bluff 100ft above
the North Sea. It is a nice walk and the views from
the castle are spectacular. The legend is that while
staying at Slain’s, Bram Stoker got the idea
for writing the 1897 novel, Dracula.
MONDAY, JUNE 30
Carnoustie
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We drove south from Cruden Bay towards
Carnoustie having to navigate through Monday
morning traffic in Aberdeen. Aberdeen traffic was
a mess both Friday afternoon and again on Monday
morning, so leave yourself plenty of time when
traveling around Aberdeen. The only disappointment
in our trip was Carnoustie. I had
heard from everyone that had played there that it
was the most difficult course they had ever
played. First, we were not allowed to play
the back tees and
Second, the weather was perfect, no wind nor rain.
It was not a bad course, but ended up being the
easiest we played. The last three holes were really
good though! Carnoustie was our first experience
with caddies. We found out that the quality of
caddies is kind of pot luck, we had two good caddies
and one that was basically a bag carrier. Based on
our experience, if you tee off very early in the
morning or just after lunch, you have a better
chance of getting an experienced caddy. If you tee
off late in the morning or later in the afternoon or
early evening, you may get someone that can just
carry your bag.
We left Carnoustie in the late afternoon for the 60
minute drive to St. Andrews. On the way, we saw
the only McDonald’s restaurant on the entire
trip. We had to stop! After a Big Mac, fries, and a
soft drink, we were back on our way to St.
Andrews. The best part of the McDonalds
stop
was
to get a drink with lots of ice! If you like cold
drinks, make sure ask for a lot of ice. Otherwise,
the ice will be gone in seconds. Driving in to St.
Andrews from Carnousite was
exciting. We were not
sure where the Old Course was, but all of a sudden,
there was the Old Course hotel and the Old Course
next to it. We had arrived at the home of golf. We
found our accommodations (Old
Fishergate
House B&B) and settled in.
TUESDAY, JULY 1
Round 1 -- St. Andrews (Castle Course)
Since we were not playing the Old Course
until
4:45 in the afternoon, we decided to try the St.
Andrews Castle course on the bluffs
above the town
of St. Andrews. It’s only 4 miles out of town
as you head towards Kingsbarn. Castle was a
pleasant surprise. Every hole has a view of St.
Andrews Bay, the North Sea and you
can look down
on the town of St. Andrews on a number of holes.
We watched RAF fighter jets practice takeoffs and
landings all morning and it appeared we were
looking down on them the whole time. The course
is really fun to play and it is similar to the Trump
Course in Aberdeen. It’s modern
links golf.
The fairways are flatter than the older courses, but
the greens are over the top with undulation. They
had the most undulation of any greens we played.
The weather and the views were fantastic. It was
another course where a caddy is not necessary.
Round 2 -- St. Andrews
(Old Course)
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After a few days of warmup, the Old Course
was
next on the list. When I stood on the first tee,
three things came to mind. First, you think about
all the golfers that have played from that same tee
since the mid 1700’s. Second, if you have ever
made fun of Ian Baker-Finch for hitting it OB left
during the Open Championship, you want to make
sure you don’t duplicate it. Third, there are so
many people standing around, you want to hit a
decent shot. It was a perfect day, sunny and no
wind. Our handicaps allowed us to play the Medal
tees, there are still a few tees that they use for the
pros that we could not use, but we got to play most
of the course. Caddies are a must at the Old Course
as many of the bunkers are hidden. The Old
Course is a lot like Pinehurst #2. A really good golf
course with tons of history, but not many truly
memorable holes. The one thing you notice when
you finish 9 holes is how far you are away from
town. I think it is like three miles out and three
miles back!
WEDNESDAY, JULY 2
Kingsbarns
Kingsbarns was next on the list. It is only
seven miles
from St. Andrews. Golf has been played on the
present site since 1793 when the Kingsbarns Golf
Society was established as the 11th earliest golf
society in the world. The current Kingsbarns course
was redesigned and reopened in 2000. It is similar
to Trump International as it is more a modern links
course. It had a good mix of holes and like most of
the courses we played in Scotland, the last four or
five holes are played against the prevailing wind.
Caddies are available. We had one in our group
and he was helpful, but with the yardage book, a
caddie is not necessary. One of the highlights of our
trip occurred on the 13th hole, when the 17-year old
son of my friend that planned the trip made his first
hole in one. What a fantastic memory for them.
Kingsbarns is a definite must to add to your playlist,
especially if you are based in St. Andrews.
[Editor's note: Want to know more? View our
Kingsbarns Golf Links
review, which includes a stunning course
video]
THURSDAY, JULY 3
Round 1, St. Andrews (New Course)
The New Course at St. Andrews was next on
the
list. It runs just to the right of the Old Course.
New Course is a relative term as it was built in
1890. The caddies call the New Course a slicers
course as it goes out on the left and returns on the
right. They refer to the Old Course as a hookers
course as it goes out on the right and returns on the
left. Again, a caddy is very helpful. The New
Course is a lot like the Old Course and was in the
same condition and is less expensive. It is also
much easier to get access to play. From 8 to 9:30
in the morning, there are no tee times. You just
show up, pay your green fee and start when
it’s your turn. We only had to wait for one
group to tee off in front of us. It was mostly locals
the morning we played! I would definitely play the
New Course again, but leave a couple of days
between the Old and New courses as they are very
similar.
Round 2, St. Andrews (Castle)
We enjoyed Castle so much, that two of us
decided
to go back and play it again. Part of the reason
was that we had a 50% of coupon for replaying
within a week. Another fantastic afternoon of
weather. We basically had the course to ourselves.
We teed off around 5pm and finished just before
8pm.
FRIDAY, JULY 4
Final Round -- Panmure Golf
Club
Panmure Golf Club is a private club located
about
two miles from Carnoustie. Before the 1953 British
Open, Ben Hogan spent two weeks practicing at
Panmure to escape the busy Carnoustie course. It
has hosted a number of important events, including
the 2009 British Senior Amateur. It is just a good
basic combination of a links course and a heathland
course. Nothing fancy, no North Sea views, just good
golf. If you are looking for a 2nd round in a day
after playing Carnoustie, Panmure would be a good
choice.
Footnotes:
Travel:
As I said earlier, unless your first round is very
close to your arrival airport, I would advise against
planning to play the first day. I would try to
schedule your courses so you don’t have to
drive too much. We spent too much time driving.
Food:
I hate to say the food was bad, but it did not fit
my palette. The three of us were not fans of fish or
seafood, so that limited our selection. We did find a
great pizza place (Pizza Express) and Italian
restaurant (Little Italy) in St. Andrews that were
great. The funny thing was that the two busiest
places to eat during the day in St. Andrews were
Subway and Dominos. That had a lot to do that they
are very near St. Andrews University. I am sure
that there are many fine places to eat in an around
St. Andrews, but many of them stopped serving food
around 9pm and we were playing so much golf, we
just grabbed food whenever and wherever we could.
Golf:
A caddy on many of the very old courses is a must
because of all the hidden bunkers and mounds. If
you are planning on playing the Old Course, I would
schedule it the middle of the trip. It will give you a
couple of days to figure out how to play links golf
and you will not be too tired to enjoy it. Make sure
you have a couple pairs of really good golf shoes,
it’s all walking in the UK. Unless you are an
absolute nut about golf(like I am), seven days in a
row of golf, maybe to many, especially if you play
multiple times a day. If you are planning on playing
just once a day, that maybe fine. Finally, it was a
fantastic experience and cannot wait until I return.
I will probably try western Scotland for the next trip
or Ireland.