Holiday in Scotland - advice on courses?

LordPutt and I are hoping the weather perks up in September as we're planning on taking the first two weeks off and driving from London to Scotland and back (via the Lake District). We're staying with friends in Ballater for a couple of nights to start with and then thought we'd have a mooch around and find a few nice (not expensive!) golf courses as we make our way to the Lake District. Does anyone have any recommendations? We've got some 2for1 greenfee vouchers but some first-hand advice on what's good and what's to be avoided would be helpful. We liked the look of Castle Stuart but £170 a round is just plain daft!

LP - had 5 days in Scotland in May. If you are going up the west side and staying on that side, then you must visit Turnberry (worth it just to walk around the clubhouse). Whilst the Ailsa is quite pricey, probably the same as Castle Stuart, the Kintyre is much more reasonable pricewise, but is still a cracking course that is a real challenge.

If you fancy a trip over to the east coast of Scotland, then you will struggle to find better value for money (IMO) than Gullane 2 and the real gem that is The Glen at North Berwick. Neither of those are as expensive as their illustrious neighbours (North Berwick and Muirfield), but they are fabulous courses and I have often said - if I could only play at one club for the rest of my life, then it would be The Glen!

Hey LP!

As you are not too far away, a quick trip to Boat of Garten is a must, extremely picture skew course. I would also be tempted to maybe head a bit further north for a night, get a cheap B&B and play afternoon/morning at places like Tain, Golspie and Brora. All top quality at reasonable money. Montrose is another favourite of mine but a little pricier then further up the coast is Letham Grange, known as 'the Augusta of Scotland'

Enjoy and hope you get decent weather

If you are looking to get games in the Lake DIstrict area on the way up there, then Silloth would be the prime choice though that may be a little expensive

I grew up in the area and haven't played the courses around there for something like 30-35 years (cough) but a detour to the south lakes area would mean places like Grange Over Sands would be in the cards, or down to the end of the Furness peninsular and take in Furness GC (on Walney Island)

As I say, my info is very out of date so don't blame me if things aren't what they used to be but from my sources still living up there, Grange or Furness would be worth checking out. I was a junior for a couple of years at Furness and would love to go back and play it again

Hitting up East Lothian is a very good idea, I have played the Glen and Gullane 2, both excellent. You could play North Berwick too since you are there. On your way south from Ballater I would consider Carnoustie and the New Course before you get to the lothians.

Alternatively you could play Royal Aberdeen, Carnoustie and Montrose or Crail as you head south, then take the M8 over to the west, head south and play Powfoot and Southerness in Dumfries and Galloway on your way to the lake district. There is no shortage of good options.

red

I think you may have missed LP's comment about the courses not being expensive. Royal Aberdeen and Carnoustie don't come cheap, especially when there are two of them playing

Come and watch the Tassie LadyPutt

Ballater is on Deeside so that Brings the North East Coast into play (Trumpton, Cruden Bay, Royal Aberdeen...further down you have to pass Montrose, Arbroath, Carnoustie (3 courses), Panmure & Monifeith. The Tassie is the 1st week in September and ties up the Championship and the Burnside but the Buddon isn't involved (although it does look busy from the other side of the fence).

Depending on your chosen route you can either go over the Tay bridge and into Fife (too many courses to list) and why wouldn't you at least not want to go see Stan Drews if you've never been before. Or head inland with the option of Gleneagles or perhaps Blairgowrie.

If you then cross the Forth on the way back South you have to skirt right round the Edinburgh bypass to get to East Lothian but again, like Fife, too many courses to mention between Musselburgh & North Berwick.

The thing is LP - no matter whether you go cheap or expensive, it is a real treat to play golf in Scotland. You will be welcomed in most places and impressed by the total lack of stuffiness there is, even at some clubs that could be within their rights to be stuffy.

Oh and on the way up, you could probably do worse than giving Fleetwood Golf course a try. Labels itself as probably the home of the first Links course in England and the only true links course on the Fylde coast. Midweek, £35 a round sounds reasonable to me.

We decided to go up the East side, otherwise we were going to give it a whirl.

Hope you and the Lord have fun.

LP I know you were only joking about expensive courses, so may I suggest a a new one thats quite reasonably priced near Aberdeen. Trump tells me it's the best course in the world

Thanks for all the suggestions chaps - I'll get the map out and have a browse (and also see where I can use my 2for1 vouchers). As D4S says, some of you have missed the "not expensive" bit but I suppose what's expensive for one isn't for others. I'm looking for no more than £35 a round here! After all, there's 2 of us and we'd probably need a buggy. The petrol for this trip alone is going to cost and arm and a leg, especially as we'll be in LordPutt's Subaru Impreza which is a bit of a thirsty beast.

You realise that when I take over Scotland is becoming my version of Escape from New Yorks Manhatten Island right?

Don't risk getting trapped up there. The day is coming when I will be dictator of this little rock!

Is that you Snake? Ah no the patch is over the wrong eye.

I'm off to the Farne Islands tomorrow - bird watching! Well at least that is what my wife will be doing, I'll be dodging the bird poo that comes raining down in copious amounts. Mind you, might not be so bad at the moment, it appears that only the puffins are left in great numbers.

Don't they eat Puffin in Iceland? Don't think I'll mention that.

I'm rambling now - no change there then.

Is Iceland still a country?

Anyway.l Don't forget the local currency. The Icelandic Cod.

You misunderstand me sir - the Farne Islands are just off the coast of Northumberland and have a colony of 36,000 pairs of puffins, lovingly protected by the National Trust. That is why I will not be talking about chewing on a tender morsel of puffin wing!

Northumberland. Is that north of watford? Should be forced to leave the union and become a vassal state of the Republic of the South of England.

If you decide to play any of the courses in the the North Berwick area, the town itself is a pleasant little place to be based. Sorry, can't help with courses as I only know the West Course at NB.

LondonJonnyO wrote:Northumberland. Is that north of watford? Should be forced to leave the union and become a vassal state of the Republic of the South of England.

Is see you are sitting on that fence again LJ!

We did however have a lovely time, even if we could not understand a word that was said.......most of the time!

And where on earth did the personal pronoun 'youse' come from? As in the question have youse two finished?

And just to get things back on track LP - Longhirst Hall hotel (near Morpeth) Bed, Breakfast, evening meal and 2 rounds of golf - from £89. The Hotel is not bad, food quite good, but did not have time to try the golf.

If you are looking for good courses that are inexpensive you could do worse than locate yourself centrally and play Muckhart, Creiff, Auchterarder, Callander and Stirling. They are all within a a shortish drive of each other, they are all good parkland courses that won't cost an arm and a leg.

Thanks Redrage and OS - your recommendations are right on the button. I'll have look on the map.

i do find it hard to form an opinion and often take the middle ground it's true.

If you travel up the M6, M74, a80/M80 on the way to Ballater, you will pass Gleneagles. For cheaper round try Auchterarder. The course is right next to the King's. Further along you get to Perth, St James's sits right on the Tay, and ofter floods.
You now have a choice to get to Ballater, up the a93 or A92 via Dundee, & cut back over at Stonehaven.
Going the A93 route you go right through Blairgowrie, so you ould play either course there. & onto Ballater. Ballater itself is a very quaint course, quite flat & an easy walk.

Going the Dundee/Stonehaven route, you have a plethora to pick from:
Dowanfield in Dundee, Monifieth Links, Panmure, 3 @ Carnoustie to name but a few.

Once in Ballater, if you fancy Boat o' Garten, you need to take the Tomintoul Road out towards Aviemore.

That brings you south down the A9 again back towards Perth. Lots of little courses just off the road, Aberfeldy being one of them.

Continuing down M74, you have Lockerbie, Lochmaben, Dumfries & Galloway, Dumfries & County, Powfoot, Southerness, so many in such a short distance & not overly expensive.

Enjoy your trip LJ. A lot will come down to the planning & the weather.

Thanks Stetup - I'll have a look at some of your suggestions although I think Gleneagles is slightly out of our price range!

I've played some good courses on the east coast that were pretty good value for money.

Firstly along the coast in the Lothian region (near Muirfield): Gullane (no 1 course is expensive but no 2 and no 3 are great value), North Berwick, Dunbar. I've played a few inland courses there too, but they are nothing special and I wouldn't recommend them on a trip.

Then up the Fife coast towards St Andrews: Crail (2 courses here, good value if you get a day ticket), Leven, Lundin, a fun 9 holer at Anstruther (great fish and chips nearby!). Of course there is St Andrews itself... the Old course may be out of your price range but the Jubilee course is pretty cheap and is a championship links, some of the other courses there are also cheap. Down the road at St Andrews Bay is a 5 star Fairmont hotel with 2 great courses with spectacular views: the Torrance and the Kittocks. We played there with 2-fore-1 vouchers for only £50, well worth it.

I've only played one course on the west coast: Dundonald, which is near Troon. This was discussed on 606 a while ago, it is a fantastic new course designed by Kyle Phillips of Kingsbarns fame, and due to the recession you could play it for as little as £35 last year. Bargain!

One point to note: all the courses I have listed are links courses. If you are going up to Scotland, there's no point playing parkland, might as well enjoy something different!

Thanks Ray - I agree about playing links courses and we'll be looking at your suggestions as well.

raycastleunited wrote:I've played some good courses on the east coast that were pretty good value for money.



I've only played one course on the west coast: Dundonald, which is near Troon. This was discussed on 606 a while ago, it is a fantastic new course designed by Kyle Phillips of Kingsbarns fame, and due to the recession you could play it for as little as £35 last year. Bargain!

Dundonald is Loch Lomond's winter course. It used to be called Southern Gailes, been around for a long time. Just been re-branded Dundonald in the last 10 years. And at the moment is in wonderful condition & you can play there for £30.

SetupDeterminestheMotion wrote:

raycastleunited wrote:I've played some good courses on the east coast that were pretty good value for money.



I've only played one course on the west coast: Dundonald, which is near Troon. This was discussed on 606 a while ago, it is a fantastic new course designed by Kyle Phillips of Kingsbarns fame, and due to the recession you could play it for as little as £35 last year. Bargain!

Dundonald is Loch Lomond's winter course. It used to be called Southern Gailes, been around for a long time. Just been re-branded Dundonald in the last 10 years. And at the moment is in wonderful condition & you can play there for £30.

I thought Loch Lomond had sold Dundonald, which is why it is so cheap now? Fantastic course, it is set back from the sea so no spectacular views, but I loved the challenge.

In February 2003, Loch Lomond Golf Club acquired a new links course near the legendary town of Troon in Ayrshire. It was intended to not only enhance the Club’s prominence within international circles but also to provide its esteemed international membership with a challenging alternative links venue.

Designed by the highly acclaimed golf course architect Kyle Phillips, also renowned in the UK for Kingsbarns and The Grove, the 7,100-yard, par 72 course was inspired by the timeless architecture of the great Ayrshire links courses of Royal Troon, Prestwick and Western Gailes, all connected by the historic rail line.

At the time of purchase, the course was known as Southern Gailes and it has since been renamed ‘Dundonald Links’ to reflect the history of the site.

It's always been cheap to play, as most people play Glasgow Gailes or Western Gailes which are next door.

My brother is a member @ Loch Lomond, so when I play with him I get to play free. You can't get any cheaoer than that.

SetupDeterminestheMotion wrote:

My brother is a member @ Loch Lomond, so when I play with him I get to play free. You can't get any cheaoer than that.

wow. I've played Loch Lomond and it is a special place.

I wish I had a brother like that! Does he let you ride in his helicopter and borrow his Ferraris too?

OK I've decided (just about) but the decision has been dictated by my 2 for 1 vouchers!

So it is Ballater, then Buckpool, Cullen or Garmouth & Kingston (2 out of 3), followed by Troon Darley, Seafield or Belleisle (2 out of 3) then on to Kendal and either Grange over Sands or Keswick.

Any suggestions on the either/or?

Belleisle is a nicer track than Seafield.

raycastleunited wrote:

SetupDeterminestheMotion wrote:

My brother is a member @ Loch Lomond, so when I play with him I get to play free. You can't get any cheaoer than that.

wow. I've played Loch Lomond and it is a special place.

I wish I had a brother like that! Does he let you ride in his helicopter and borrow his Ferraris too?

Yes, one that has never taken me to Loch Lomond. Played Dundonald with him many times, but never Loch Lomond.

He doesn't like getting beat.

I concur that Belleisle is nicer than Seafield. (btw despite being within a driver of the sea at the nearest point - both are parkland rather than links)

Going for a bit of bite with the Darley then LP (allegedy the 4th hardest course in Scotland to play to your handicap).

Overall those are good choices for bargain golf in Ayrshire but if you do want to sample real quality at a fraction of the price that it should be then yes I'd say that Dundonald is the best value in Ayrshire. The price has gone up slightly, I got it at £50 a couple of weeks ago but seriously it is that extra step up in quality. The only Ayrshire courses ranked above it are Turnberry Ailsa, Royal Troon, Old Prestwick and Western Gailes none of which you'll get for anything close to £100

Thanks for the tips everyone - I've crossed Seafield off the list for the moment. I'd read about the Darley being difficult but I'm up for the challenge and it is a bargain on the 2 for 1 deal during the week.

Dundonald sounds lovely but with 2 of us that's at least £100 and this trip is going to cost an arm and a leg with hotels (budget ones), food and, most of all, petrol! By my reckoning, it's going to cost more than the 2 weeks AI we've booked at a 5* resort in Tenerife in March! But hey - you only live once

Therein lies the problem LP! Because you are going to spend a fortune on petrol, you need to make sure you are playing quality courses to make the trip worth while. There's no point spending hundreds of pounds on getting there only to play average courses... you might as well play average courses at home and save money.

It's a bit of a conundrum. I would always go for the slightly better course. An extra £20 could be the difference between going home and talking about a wonderful course / trip for years, or going home and instantly forgetting the experience! The only problem is where do you draw the line?

Agree, Ray, but golf is secondary to the trip - we are going to see friends in Ballater and to see a bit of scenery in both Scotland and the Lakes because I'm ashamed to say I've never been. We thought we would take the clubs (as there's room in the car) and play a bit but LordPutt also wants to enjoy driving his Subaru Impreza around the empty roads of Scotland!

Sorry Ladyputt, I am just back from Scotland, I was up Loch Lomond side, and down through Ayrshire, but never found any empty roads, traffic was slightly worse, to many foreign sightseers.

Mind you if you are going up after the schools go back, then you might find the roads a bit better.

Compared to London, the roads in Scotland are pretty empty all the time !

raycastleunited wrote:Compared to London, the roads in Scotland are pretty empty all the time !

That's what we're hoping to find - and plenty of petrol stations selling high octane fuel because that's all the Scooby will run on, and we'll need to stop a fair few times!

Played Ballater yesterday - first time I've walked 18 holes (without using a buggy) for about 4 years! Played some good bits and some bad bits. Now we're in Elgin and here for 3 days so looking to play somewhere probably on Friday. Then it's on to Inverness for one night and then to Ayr for 3 where we'll probably play a couple of times. Scotland's been looking great in the sunshine - if a tad on the windy side. Not too many petrol stations around that sell 97 or 99 octane fuel so we have to fill up where we see it. Done over 600 miles so far and we've not been going a week!

Keep it up LP, hope you have fun on your tour.

Moray GC near lossiemouth usually gets decent reviews. Just on the coast north of elgin. Also if you've time while in inverness - highly recommend fortrose and rosemarkie. Just 20 mins from the city (15 by scooby ) and a beautiful walk around chanonry point. The course is short but a great test and very enjoyable. Its well established and a quirky links. Even if you don't have time for a game its a lovely spot for a walk, and the best place for dolphin spotting in the area. Im off up next weekend myself and i can't wait!

Hi LP, hope you are having a great time and the weather is being as kind to you as it is here at the moment.

Moray GC is very nice, I remember playing there about 20 years ago though and having the cr@p scared out of me when a plane took off right behind me while I was teeing off.

We also played a little links course, Hopeman I think it was called, that was cheap as chips and great fun. There is a par 3 similar to the Postage Stamp at Troon - 100 yards long and 100 feet down, green the size of a table top and surrounded by heather. Apparently it can be a flick with a wedge or a driver depending on the wind.

Hi all - having a great time. We played Buckpool last Friday - a super links track and just £22 for the two of us on 2 for 1! I was chuffed to play to my old handicap of 20 with a nett 71 and beat LordPutt by 1 shot.

We spent last night just outside Inverness and went on a boat trip on Loch Ness but didn't see Nessie. Now we're in Ayr and I've just booked for us to play Belleisle (as recommended by SetUp and JAS) tomorrow - if it doesn't rain which it looks as though it might. Then it's on to Kendal (either Kendal or Keswick) and then home. We've done over 1,000 miles so far - hate to think how much the petrol bill will be

No golf today - rain!!!! Try again in the Lake District - probably on Thursday.

we had a toyota aygo until 2 years ago which could do 1000 miles of non city travelling for about £70 - cost about £30 to fill up and well over 400 miles to a tank