GOLF DETAILS: SCOTLAND

For our golfing experience in the home of golf, we have chosen a wonderfully varied selection of outstanding courses.  They are each within one hour’s drive of our hotel.  Each has its own unique setting, varying from the upland hills of Perthshire to the bunker-laden flat lands of St. Andrews.  Most courses have few if any motorized golf carts, and these are reserved for persons with a certified medical condition.  Thus, our costs are based on each player using a pull cart.  If it is necessary to have a motorized cart, or if a caddy is desired, we will do our best to make those arrangements for you, at an additional cost.  Below, we briefly describe each golf course.

Saturday, 13 August

Today we will walk a few steps out of our hotel and play the Dalmahoy Golf Club, one of Scotland’s premier golfing venues, designed by the legendary James Braid in 1927. It has been host to many prestigious golf events over the years, featuring such illustrious players as Greg Norman, Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Lee Trevino, and Colin Montgomerie.  Its two 18 hole courses are situated on 1,000 acres of stunning Scottish countryside surrounded by woodlands, streams, lakes and the Pentland Hills.   After our round on the championship East Course, which is par 73 (6814 yards) for the men and par 74 (6004 yards) for the women, we’ll have lunch in the Long Weekend Café/Bar.  After lunch, we will travel with the non-golfers to our home away from home, Perth.

Statue of James Braid and 1st hole of Dalmahoy Golf Club

Monday, 15 August

Today we will venture about an hour's drive east of Perth to play the course hosting the 2007 British Open, Carnoustie Golf Links.   Golf has been played here since the 1500s, but the present course came into being in 1850, when it was designed by Alan Robertson of St. Andrews.  Some 20 years later, the legendary Old Tom Morris improved and extended the course to 18 holes and in 1926, the famed architect, James Braid, redesigned the Championship course extensively.  The final three holes were remodeled by James Wright in 1937, and it is today, much as it was then. 

Carnoustie Championship course is now in the finest condition it has ever been. Not only does it offer the ultimate challenge to every golfer but it provides a playing quality second to none. The Barry Burn eases it’s way through the final 3 holes, quietly awaiting the shot that is slightly less than perfect. It was there in 1999 that Frenchman Jean Van de Velde lost the chance of being Open Champion and a place in history.

The 16th and 18th holes with the Carnoustie Hotel in background

The Championship course plays from 6120 to 6941 yards long.  Par is 72, with three par 3s and three par 5s.  After our round, we will lunch in the new club house restaurant, and then return to Perth.

Wednesday, 17 August

Today we travel to the home of golf, St. Andrews.  Because of the fame of the “old course", the great demand for tee times and restrictive policies for groups, it is not possible for our group to play it.     However, we will play one of four other championship caliber links courses that share the very same  hallowed grounds as the “old course":  New (1895); Jubilee (1897), Eden (1914) and the Strathtyrum (1914).  During our 2008 tour, we played the Jubilee course.  Originally built in 1897 as a 12 hole course for ladies and beginners, many now consider it to be the toughest test of golf at St. Andrews .  The course was named in honor of Queen Victoria , whose Diamond Jubilee was in 1897.  It is a par 72, 6742 yard course (5856 for the ladies), with many fairways lined with grass and gorse covered dunes.  Beautiful views of St. Andrews Bay are found on several holes.

At the conclusion of our round, we will join the non-golfers for lunch at the famous Rusack’s Hotel, overlooking the 18^th hole of the “old” course.  We will conclude our day with a visit to the St. Andrews Golf Museum, before returning to Perth.  (NOTE: You may choose to use the free day (Tuesday, 18 August) and to try and play the old course through a daily lottery, but there is no guarantee that you will be selected, and you have to provide your own transportation from Perth.)

    The 8th hole of the Jubilee Course                                 Some happy golfers at St. Andrews 

Friday, 19 August

Fifteen miles north of Perth is one of the most picturesque golf courses in all of Perthshire, Dunkeld and Birnam.  Each hole affords not only a new and interesting challenge for the golfer, but also ever-changing views of the glorious surrounding countryside.  Officially opened in 1922 by Her Grace the Duchess of Atholl, the course has a magnificent heathland setting on a hillside above the historic small town of Dunkeld.  To the southwest, the outlook is over Dunkeld Cathedral and along Strathbraan while to the east, wide ranging views encompass the Loch of the Lowes where Ospreys breed every spring.  On the course itself the only disturbances that you may experience will be from deer crossing the fairway, from an Oyster Catcher leaving its nest as you approach, or perhaps from the plaintive calls of a Buzzard circling lazily overhead or a Curlew gliding in to land.  It is a relatively short course, playing 5511 yards from the back tees and 4930 yards from the forward tees, but its par 70 (36,34) layout is far from easy.  There are only two par 5 and four par 3 holes, so most of the yardage is made up with demanding par 4's.  There is a very nice restaurant in the clubhouse for our lunching pleasure. 

  Two holes with spectacularly different vistas