Sunday, June 26th - Monday, July 4th:
The 18th Green and Clubhouse at Carnoustie Golf Links:
I am writing this blog post as a collective post for my whole golf trip for the past ten days. This is mostly because some people don’t care about golf to the same level that I do, and because I haven’t had time, as literally each of my last ten days have been exhausting and filled with golfing, eating, and a little bit of Scotch drinking before going to bed early to rise early for the next morning’s round.
St. Andrews is beautiful. I regret not going there for a semester abroad, and I will probably look for some abroad program in the graduate-level business school that I will inevitably enroll in down the road. There are seven golf courses at St. Andrews, and the town, albeit small, is bustling and filled with students. For scores here I had 85 at The Castle Course, 86 at The Eden Course, 76 at The Old Course, and 80 at The New Course. The Old Course is spectacular, and although our weather there was not great, the course is fairly easy from the “tourist tees.” I was actually surprised at how well I played there given that it was probably my 4th or 5th round of the year and that I had not swung a club for two months before coming to Scotland. While staying at St. Andrews at the Rusacks Hotel right on the 18th fairway (beautiful!) we also played at Carnoustie, Lundin Links, and Kingsbarns, where I shot 82, 77, and 81, respectively. Kingsbarns is one of the most beautiful golf courses I have ever seen, and Carnoustie is really not “the hardest golf course in the world” from the tourist tees.
The View of the 17th at the Old Course (St. Andrews) Over the Famous Old Course Hotel:
Notable places to eat were the Dunvegan where we enjoyed some Scottish Steak and Ale Pie with potatoes and veggies, and Rusack’s Scottish Breakfast of Black Pudding, eggs, bacon, rolls, jam, fruits, yogurt, and cereal was awesome. I also ate a delicious lunch at The Eden Course clubhouse of a sweet chili chicken Panini. Beers to try would be McEwans Scottish Ale, Belhaven’s Best, and Maclachlan’s Best Ale. All are Scottish Cream Ales and are tasty. A great place to try them would be the One-Under Pub underneath the Rusack’s Hotel, where we also ate some delicious Crab, Prawn, and Lobster Spring Rolls with plum sauce. The spot on the 18th hole is just breathtaking. We also had a great caddie experience at Carnoustie and St. Andrews, and I would recommend using the caddie services at both courses. Unfortunately, I dropped and broke my camera after playing Kingsbarns, so I will have to rely on my brother’s photos until I can get a new camera in Edinburgh after the golf trip ends.
Following St. Andrews we drove up to the Scottish Highlands to play Castle Stuart, where the Scottish Open would be held during the following week. It was very funny, because the tents, TV towers, and grandstands were being set up while we were there. The course, which won “Best New International Golf Course for 2010” was very fun and forgiving, and we got to play it twice. I fired a trip-best 75 the first time, and an 83 the second time. The second afternoon, my brother and I decided to also play Tain Golf Club. It was a fun little track, I shot 79, and the highlight was an “Alps” style hole right near the water. We did happen to also eat at a nice restaurant in Nairn near our hotel, The Clubhouse, which was called the Golf View Hotel. There we enjoyed some really good steamed mussels while I also ate a Filet with Béarnaise Sauce and a potato and watercress soup. From here, we drove up the coast farther to the town of Dornoch, to our hotel called the Royal Golf Hotel, right on the first tee of Royal Dornoch Golf Club.
Our Foursome on the Swilken Bridge on the 18th at the Old Course (St. Andrews):
The next morning we played Brora Golf Club nearby, a funny course because sheep and cows roam the fairways to keep the grass short. The greens are surrounded with fences, which, as I found out at one point, are electric. I shot a 78 here, and we drove back to our hotel to play Royal Dornoch. Royal Dornoch was my favorite course of the trip, and it was in Club Championship shape with fast greens, as the tournament was happening during the weekend we were there. We did have a little trouble with a pace-of-play argument with a caddie, but other than that, I really thoroughly enjoyed seeing the course that inspired the great golf course architect, Donald Ross, who was a former professional at Royal Dornoch. We also ate two incredible meals at the Royal Golf Hotel. At the first, I drank some Tenants Ale while eating Mussel and Prawn chowder, Cullen Skink Risotto (with fish, prawns, and olive oil), and a Roasted Loch Salmon Filet with plum sauce. I also tried some Glenmorangie 10 year Whisky here, which was wonderful. The second meal brought me a potato and leek soup as well as the Chicken Supreme, stuffed with Haggis. I also tried some Orkney Brewery Dark Island and Northern Light beers, as well as a Caol Ila 14 year Whisky. I also ate some really tasty smoked salmon and eggs for breakfast before we left for our next hotel.
The 9th at the New Course (St. Andrews) and the Eden Estuary:
The following day we drove down to Cruden Bay, where I shot an 82 that was really good until the last 5 holes (+7…). The course was very Irish-like, as other Irish links I had played in the past. We stayed the night at the Kilmarnock Inn, which had a particularly lively bar with an entertaining band. I also tried another beer, Tenants Ember here, which was more of a creamy ale than the regular Tenants. The next day we played a delightful old links course called Peterhead Golf Club before playing another highlight of the trip, Royal Aberdeen Golf Club. Royal Aberdeen will host the Walker Cup this year, and it should be very entertaining to watch, as the front nine is one of the best I have ever played. I shot 77 at Peterhead, and 81 at Royal Aberdeen for my golf scores. I should note that we also ate a great meal at the Cruden Bay clubhouse. I enjoyed crawfish tails with peppers and pasta as well as Indian Style Meatballs with rice, peppers, and onions. Following our round at Royal Aberdeen, we endured a brutal three and a half hour drive down to Gullane to our hotel, Greywalls. Greywalls is one of the nicest small hotels I have ever stayed at, and it was our ticket onto Muirfield.
The 15th at Kingsbarns:
The following day, we woke up and played our round at Muirfield. We had a wonderful time joking with the great caddie personalities who were betting on various events during the round as well. The course is in pristine shape and is gearing up to host yet another British Open in 2012. I had a dismal 86 here, but it did not deter me from having a great time in the beautiful weather. That afternoon we played our final round at North Berwick West Links. This course was very old, quirky, and fun, and we got to also see Bass Rock, an island colony of 13,000 birds just off the coast. I had an 81 here, which should have been better as the course was pretty easy. We then ate at The Roux restaurant at Greywalls, which was one of the best meals of the trip. I had broccoli soup and Rabbit, as well as a very tasty beer called Joker IPA. Greywalls is also special because a lot of golf professionals stay there with the British Open is at Muirfield, and pictures on the walls show Tom Watson, Nick Faldo, and Ernie Els all with the Claret Jug in the very bar we were drinking in. All-in-all we had a wonderful trip. I played 306 holes of golf, and it probably rained on us for less than 25 of them, which is unheard of in Scotland. I wish I had a little more season playing experience under my belt, but I did not let my play detract from the sheer awesomeness of the courses. I will proudly be wearing all of the garb I purchased over there for years to come.
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