Scotland's Airports
Every golfer worth his salt has a bucket list trip to the mecca of golf, St. Andrews, the Home of Golf. If you only plan one trip, you must head to St. Andrews and play the Old Course. (full disclosure, once you experience golf in Scotland, you will return!)
But where else to you play? Scotland’s roughly the size of West Virginia, and it’s relatively easy to get around, assuming you can master driving on the wrong side of the road! Here then, are some week-long itineraries for a variety of other regions on strictly links courses while finishing in St. Andrews.
Airports-There’s four main airports in Scotland with flights from either the US or London:
- Glasgow on the west coast
- Edinburgh on the east coast
- Inverness on the north coast in the Highlands
- Aberdeen on the east coast
Depending on the itinerary you select below, you can rent an Avis or Europcar at any of these airports with a free drop in Edinburgh.
The Old Course at St. Andrews, where it all started
West Coast, the most Open Rota courses of the options
Glasgow arrival, Lodging: Stay in the Prestwick/Troon area, with a wide range of guest houses and hotel/motels, or treat yourself and stay at the Turnberry Resort
Open Rota courses:
- Royal Troon
- Turnberry
- Prestwick (where the Open was first played in the early years)
Western Gailes Golf Club
Travel time to St. Andrews 1.5 hours
Machrihanish, designed by Old Tom Morris, who said the Lord Almighty had golf in mind when he made this land!
West Coast-Kintyre Peninsula, maybe the most scenic routing of the options, but the most travel travel time.
Glasgow arrival, Play at Western Gailes the first day, stay in Troon on 1st night over
Catch the morning Caledonian ferry at Troon to the Isle of Arran, then from Lochranza to Claonaig on the Kintyre Peninsula, head south to Campbeltown. The Village at Machrihanish Dunes is a great choice, but there are other hotels and guest houses in town.
Golf:
- Machrihanish Dunes
- Machrihanish
- Dunaverty
Prepare yourself for one of the more beautiful drives in Scotland, up the Kintyre Peninsula, along Loch Fyne and through the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park to St. Andrews, a four hour drive.
Royal Dornoch Golf Club, one of the more beautiful settings in golf
Highlands
Fly into Inverness, and base there, great town, good restaurants, music, and pubs as the Capital of the Highlands, very scenic setting amongst the Highlands on the Moray Firth.
Golf:
- Royal Dornoch
- Nairn
- Castle Stuart
- Brora
- Moray
Drive to St. Andrews-2.5 hours
Northeast Coast
Fly into Aberdeen, and stay in Aberdeen
Golf:
- Royal Aberdeen
- The Trump Scotland
- Murcar Links
- Cruden Bay
Drive to St Andrews- 2 hours
Edinburgh
Fly into and out of Edinburgh, stay on the east side of the city near Gullane
Golf:
- North Berwick
- Gullane #2
- Muirfield
- Musselburgh
Head to St. Andrews, 1.5 hours
St Andrews only for the entire week
Fly into Edinburgh, find a guest house in St. Andrews or stay at the swanky Old Course Hotel or the Fairmont, and base for a week. You’re almost guaranteed to play the Old if you register in the ballot every day for a weeks’ stay. The courses surrounding St. Andrews are many, the best links courses are:
- The Old
- The New
- Jubliee
- Kingsbarns
- Crail
- Carnoustie
- Lundin Links
- Leven Links
You might also consider driving an hour to Gleneagles in the foothills of the Highlands. While there’s no links courses there, the Centenary by Jack Nicklaus is the venue for the 2014 Ryder Cup, and the Kings Course, a James Braid classic, is one of the finest inland courses in the country.
Having played all of the courses listed above, I couldn’t begin to suggest the best itinerary for your group. All are excellent golf courses, in unique and scenic settings, with the wonderful Scottish hospitality throughout. You might consider your groups tolerance for travel, interest in the Open Rota courses, desire to be near the larger cities when determining your trip. One thing’s for certain, you will have the time of your life!Cheers!
Michael McNally
What do you advise in planning a trip to Scotland, use a golf planner or book on your own?
If you don’t mind a little detail, and your trip is mostly straightforward, buy a phone card, and call the courses to arrange for tee times, use the web to research lodging, it’s not a difficult process. If on the otherhand, it you’re a large group with varying stops and coordination, and want a van and driver, then an agent is worth it. There’s several good ones, Perry Golf, Hidden Links, Haversham & Baker. Cheers!
How difficult is it to get on Muirfield, I heard it was private and impossible to get a tee time?
Muirfield is tough, you need to book at least a year in advance, here’s a link to their calendar for future bookings
http://www.muirfield.org.uk/page/Visitors.aspx
But oh is it worth it. You’re treated like royalty when you check in with you coat and tie, play a two ball match in the morning, shower/change into your dress wear, have a dinner sized lunch, then back out for an afternoon round. Well worth it!
Which would be the most overrated courses on your list, what are the surprising hidden gems?
Most people think Troon is a bit overrated, along with being very expensive, and you just get the feeling that the membership there is only accommodating public play so that it keeps their membership fees down. Has never felt all that welcomining, the course, save for a few holes, is flat and featureless, at least when compared to Turnberry. Brora is the best hidden gem, a little out of the way, a poor man’s Royal Dornoch, but a cracking routing, beautiful setting, great conditioning, and reasonable rates!
We have a group of 8 coming next summer….we would like to get a driver for the week that can drive us around from course to course and to our hotels at night….what company would you suggest….we do not want the cheapest nor the most expensive…..any suggestions. Thanks
Depends, if you’re looking for just a driver or someone to handle the hotel and golf booking, and a van. Please let me know. Thanks
We’re in the same boat – everything is arranged for a group of 4 in April. St Andrews area, Muirfield and more… We have a rental van but am thinking we should hire a driver instead of traveling on our own. Don’t need help with arrangements just good local advice on where to eat, drink and sight see. Any recommendations would be great! Thank you!
I don’t know your driving skills, but we’ve always been fine driving over there, it takes a little time to get used to things on the opposite side, but the traffic speed is on the low side, and it’s quite manageable. For St. Andrews, your first stop is the Dunvegan, just reeks of golf history, and some great jalapeno cheeseburgers. The Russell House is excellent with a nice atmosphere, especially in the back room. Nahm Jim is excellent Thai food in town. If you want seafood, there’s the Seafood Restaurant, right down on the coast behind the R&A. We preferred getting out of town a bit and drove 20 minutes south to the fishing village of Anstruther for The Celler. Where are you staying when you play Muirfield? And, I hope you are playing North Berwick??
A very good incisive description of the areas and golf in Scotland.
My personal favourite is the Kintyre Pennisula and the marvelous Machrihanish and you are correct it is a wonderful drive but there are a couple of other ways to get there: fly from Glasgow airport or charter the Kintyre Express speedboat which can accomodate 10-12 golfers which I did a couple of years ago. Brilliant fun.
Thought about mentioning the high speed ferry or flying, but the drive, either to Arran, or up and around Kintyre are really special. When I make another trip there, it will be by auto! Thanks for your comments. Cheers!