When I created this blog, I had to be realistic that I’d never be able to cover every destination around the world with travel guides and itineraries. And just because there are plenty of trips I’ll never personally take, that doesn’t mean they’re not Vication-worthy. After following along with my dear friend Ian Solomon’s bucket list golf trip to Scotland, I knew it would be something worth featuring as a guest post for any followers who love golf as much as him (not likely).
So, here’s the Scotland Golf Guide, including how to play the best courses, enjoy the local charm of Edinburgh and St. Andrews and play eight rounds in six days. Perfect for the casual and avid golf fan.
I’m Ian Solomon and I am excited to share why Scotland lives up to its “Home of Golf” nickname. I discovered my passion for golf (both playing and watching) about six years ago, and my interest in the sport has taken off in a similar trajectory to a Rory McIlroy drive. Nowadays, no vacation is complete without at least one round of golf, and in my opinion, the best vacations are centered around golf.
Two years ago, a good friend of mine, Henry, and I went to the Manchester and Liverpool areas of England to play four rounds of golf and take in all four rounds of the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, won by Jordan Spieth. Immediately after the trip concluded, we had our eyes set on our next golf trip. Fast forward to November 2018, and it was time to plan a Summer 2019 golf trip. Scotland was always going to be the destination, so we found a week where flights were reasonable and the rest was history. We would be joined by a third friend this go-around. From the initial text to having everything (well, nearly everything…more to come on that later) booked, it was a matter of less than a week. August could not come soon enough.
Here’s a quick overview of the courses we played.
stay
Our first of two Airbnb’s was located in St. Andrews, and I was blown away by the town. Very old and authentic, plenty to do, with lots of character. Of course, the University was not in session and it was tourist season, which brought out the golf vibes to an even greater degree. The flat itself was located on Abbey Walk, about two blocks from the hustle and bustle of the town and was a fantastic location to stay for the first four nights, providing for plenty of food and drink options, as well as close proximity to the golf.
For our final two nights, we relocated to Edinburgh and got to experience a larger city with much more activity, as the Edinburgh Art Festival was taking place. We stayed a car ride away from the happening areas of the city, but were able to explore during the mornings and pub-hop at night to experience all that Edinburgh had to offer.
day 1: arrival and new course at st. andrews
Fresh (and I use that term lightly) off the redeye, we cleared customs and got our baggage at the airport in Edinburgh and headed to pick up our rental car. Three people with golf travel bags and regular suitcases, called for a 9-person passenger van. A 9-person passenger van, driving on the opposite side of the road, this was going to be fun. The New Course at St. Andrews was our destination, and it was a perfect setting for our opening round of the trip.
We were able to get acclimated to links-style golf, take in the beauty of the most iconic golfing location in the world and enjoy a stunningly beautiful afternoon. Prior to teeing off, we enjoyed lunch and a pint at The Jigger Inn, located at the Old Course Hotel right along the Road Hole, number 17 of the Old Course. After the final putt of round number one dropped, we capped it off with a pint of St. Andrews Smooth Draught Ale (favorite of the trip) on the Roof Garden of the Links Clubhouse, overlooking the entire property. Dinner and drinks were consumed at the Dunvegan that night, and it wasn’t a bad start checking off both The Jigger Inn and Dunvegan on day number one.
day 2: carnoustie
We left the morning open to catch up on sleep, and still had ample time to walk the town, enjoy a fabulous breakfast at The Cottage Kitchen and stop by Janettas Gelateria, which is a must hit.
After an enjoyable morning we hopped in the van and drove about 45 minutes to Carnoustie, home of the 2018 Open Championship. Prior to warming up on the practice green and indoor simulator, we enjoyed lunch at The Rookery, overlooking the first tee. We met our caddies on the first tee and off we went.
Story time: My caddie asks how far I drive the ball. “About 265 on a good ball,” I say. He advises me to keep my driver in the bag to avoid the right fairway bunker that could come into play. I am of the belief that if a golfer of my level (low-teens handicap) has a caddie, you should always listen. Not this time though. “I will listen to you the entire round, but with people behind me watching and driver being my best club, I am hitting it off the first tee.” Into that right fairway bunker I went, and with three shots to get out of it, I marked a triple bogey 7 on #1.
The round was filled with tons of enjoyable moments and historical commentary from our caddies. It was, in my opinion, our most difficult round of golf of the trip, but that didn’t stop it from being one of the most memorable.
Walking across the Barry Burn on 18 as darkness approached was a memorable moment. Off we went back to St. Andrews for a fantastic dinner at Forgan’s followed by Scottish dancing at the restaurant.
day 3: kingsbarns & elie
Ready for our first of two (or so we thought) days with 36 holes, we departed for Kingsbarns, a 15 minute drive from St. Andrews. Kingsbarns, a new (opened in 2000), manufactured-type links course, offered a more resort-style feel with fantastic views.
We enjoyed breakfast in the clubhouse room overlooking the course and ocean, warmed up at their top notch practice facility and met our caddies as well as our playing partner on the first tee.
Battling some drizzle and wind early, we were able to put the umbrellas away by the turn to enjoy some late morning sunshine. En route to a near ace on 13, I was able to card a personal best round of 82 and off we went to Elie…or so we thought.
Elie, known amongst the locals as a hidden gem, is an old, short links course. It was quiet, and we enjoyed the first 5 or so holes before the rain started. We quickly changed into our waterproofs, but the rain picked up. Thunder, lightning and an absolute downpour forced us to seek shelter on the 7th hole. We waited about an hour before darting back to the car, as the course closed due to unplayable conditions. The talk around town was that those were extremely rare conditions. Unfortunately we were not able to experience Elie in its entirety, and our first day of 36, resulted in just 25.
day 4: old course at st. andrews
While this whole trip will be a lifetime memory, Monday, August 5th, is a day I will remember for the rest of my life. There are essentially four ways to play the Old Course at St. Andrews: 1) enter the lottery the August prior to your visit (trip was not on the radar at that point); 2) use a tour operator (this would have doubled the cost of our trip); 3) enter the ballot two days before the day you wish to play (more on this in a minute); 4) line up in the singles queue.
We entered the ballot (a certain number of tee times reserved for groups of 2, 3 and 4) every day to this point and were 0-4. Our last resort was the singles queue. While we had originally planned to arrive to the Old Course Pavilion between 2:00am – 3:00am, we had gotten word that it would be better to arrive around midnight. Only myself and Henry were committed to the queue, but at 12:07 we stepped foot on the grounds and were numbers 9 and 10 in line (since Henry planned the trip, he was number 9).
From midnight – 6:00am (when the Old Course Pavilion opens), we traded golf and life stories with the other ~25 golf aficionados (all American) who lined up in the queue. Believe it or not, it was quite enjoyable. When the staff opened the Old Course Pavilion at 6:00am, we filed inside based on the order we arrived. There were 7 guaranteed slots throughout the day, so the first 7 people were able to get a tee time and either play soon or go back to sleep. Thus, we were put on the wait list, and would only play if there were cancellations, but we remained optimistic. Ultimately, Henry went off at 9:50, and nearly three hours later, I went off at 12:30.
Paired with three people from Los Angeles, with houses in Scotland and members of the R&A, it was the round of a lifetime. It was also great to have a caddie who was in his 21st year of work at the Old Course. They couldn’t have been more welcoming, providing stories and really adopting me as one of their own for the day. It was a beautiful afternoon with the sun shining, and we even got to experience winds close to 30 mph at the beginning of the back 9.
With time to kill, Henry was enjoying a few pints at The Jigger Inn, watching group after group play the Road Hole. “Take it over the ‘L’ in hotel,” was the line to take on the Road Hole according to the group, so playing my fade, I started it to the right of that and delivered a perfect drive on one of the most iconic holes in golf. “Holy sh*t! You have no idea what a perfect shot you just hit,” said one of my playing partners. I texted Henry and told him I’d meet him in the fairway, and he walked the final two holes with us.
Upon completion, we enjoyed a pint, spent way too much money at the Old Course Shop and met our third friend at Dunvegan for some celebration whisky. A day to remember forever.
day 5: gullane
The town of St. Andrews treated us well, but it was time to move on. We departed for the Edinburgh area, and headed towards Gullane Golf Club for 36 holes at the site of the 2018 Scottish Open. Our morning round was on Gullane 2, which provided a nice warm up for the afternoon round on the Championship course, Gullane 1.
Throughout both rounds, there was off and on rain, but Gullane provided some stunning views and exceeded all expectations. We had breakfast and lunch in the visitor’s clubhouse, and the clubhouse manager, John Greer, provided tons of laughs and hospitality. It was my first time ever playing 36 holes in a day, but it was a fantastic day.
The nightcap took us to Whiski Bar in Old Town Edinburgh, and we were able to enjoy solid pub food and a variety of different beers.
day 6: north berwick
Our final round of the trip was booked for North Berwick, a course that is rapidly rising every set of golf rankings. The tee time was slightly delayed due to downpours, thunder and lightning, but as the storm cleared and only light rain remained, off we went.
North Berwick lived up to the hype, despite the need to change into and out of waterproofs 3 or 4 times. It was a track that had similarities to the Old Course, and maintained a ton of character. Between one of the most unique holes I’ve ever played #13 The Pit, with a stone wall surrounding the green and the original Redan hole #15, North Berwick provided many exciting opportunities.
Through 6 rounds, Henry and I had taken the exact same number of golf shots, quite remarkable. Unfortunately for me, but thrilling for him, he carded a 76 in the elements, which allowed for a special cheers in the clubhouse upon completion.
North Berwick was such an outstanding final round. We dined at a nice Italian and Seafood joint, Ecco Vino, and pub-hopped around Old Town Edinburgh to put the final stamp on a memorable trip.
I’d love to say that this was “the trip of a lifetime,” but I will surely be back to do it again. Everything about Scotland (the golf, the people, the towns, the food, the pubs) exceed expectations. From a golf standpoint, it is unique that most of these clubs are private, but offer a certain number of visitor tee times each day…much different from the exclusivity vibes you get in the United States. It was an awesome experience being able to feel so welcomed at such prestigious golf courses.
My final piece of advice: this trip is entirely doable on your own (i.e. without a tour operator/travel company); get committed to it and make it happen.
If you want to follow along with my golf adventures at mediocre stateside courses (for now, until the next big trip) with mediocre scores, follow me on Instagram @iansolomon and Twitter @TheIanSolomon. Until next time, Scotland.