Scotland is the birthplace of golf and we wanted to try our hand at our favourite game over there. Was it different? Was it harder? Easier? Were we good enough? Did we need to prove our handicap to get on the courses? Could 2 Old Girls travel with heavy golf clubs? So many questions.

So we searched the internet, asked people we knew in Scotland but still had some unanswered questions. There is lots of information on the “famous” courses (for example, The Old Course in St Andrews) but very, very little on the public, municipal courses we were interested in playing. So we swallowed hard, packed our clubs, packed some warm clothes, jumped on the plane and hoped for the best.

Here are some things we discovered:

1. We had the hard sided golf cases. They are big. Make sure the car you have rented have seats that fold down so you can get them in! We’d rented a Ford Fiesta and with the back seat down they only fit with the front seat was pushed forward. Once we stowed the cases at our Airbnb our bags fit into the car nicely. We had pre-rented with Enterprise but numerous emails and phone calls before the trip still only had “they should fit” as an answer back.
2. See our blog “Renting Your Car in the Republic of Ireland” for some good tips about insurance. https://oldladieswho.travel.blog/2019/05/15/renting-your-car-in-the-republic-of-ireland/
3. We flew WestJet and Air Canada. They each have a sports equipment charge we found very reasonable. After checking in they were scanned immediately and went on their merry way. I found it easy to travel with the heavy, bulky case but the girl I was travelling with thought she might try and find a lighter version for next time. Wheeled cases are important for us Old Girls.
4. We took our handicap papers but didn’t need them on the municipal courses. The “fancy” courses require a minimum handicap like Royal Troon and The Old Course. We were thrilled to know that had we chosen to play our handicaps were below the required maximum. We decided the cost was too high and getting a tee time is not easy. For example, Royal Troon only lets non-members play 3 specific days a week from May to October.
5. Golf course signage is very subtle. Give yourself lots of time to find the courses. Our GPS steered us wrong twice so we ended up asking directions from some locals and still driving in circles.
6. Ride-on carts are called buggies. They are available at most courses for approximately 20£. “Famous” courses require a disabled certification, so we had read. We decided to walk and pulled our bags using a rental pull-cart. Each course had the pull-carts for 4£. Our observation was that the courses are so wet that the buggies would tear them up quite easily.
7. Courses are much longer than what we are accustomed to here in North America. We were quite taken aback at many par 3’s over 200 yards!
8. Ladies are not given much ‘grace’. The Ladies Tees are right up there with the men’s.
9. Sand traps are deep!
10. Course planning have organized the next tees close to the previous greens so there is minimal walking to the next tee. It was still sometimes very baffling to find the next tee. Study your course layout on the score sheet closely if you can. We were confused quite a few times.
11. GolfNow/GOLFPASS is a great app with many courses participating. We used it exclusively.
12. Non golfers and their dogs seem to be welcome to walk on the courses anytime. We saw many, many people walking along with their dogs. This is refreshing use of beautiful trails and land we had never seen before. If you like to “find” balls these walkers must pick them up because we didn’t find many during our games…not like we usually do at home.
13. Everyone was friendly, helpful and seemed genuinely happy we were playing their courses.

The courses we golfed:

We decided to golf courses within an easy drive of our Airbnb, in Prestwick, so we stuck to South Ayrshire courses. We were not disappointed. They all gave us great deals using GolfNow/GOLFPASS with each costing less than 20£. All the courses we played are associated with Golf South Ayrshire. They also offer packages for non-members…http://www.golfsouthayrshire.com/.

Seafield and Belleisle Golf Courses. Doonfoot Road South, Ayr.

Our GPS took us across the road into a subdivision. Once we asked several people and drove around and around it was easy to find again. We golfed each of these courses on separate days. The Club house is lovely with very friendly and helpful staff that made us feel very welcome. The little restaurant had great coffee, too.

These lovely courses are just a few minutes away from Alloway, the first home of the famous Scottish poet, Robert Burns. We had a walk (or shuffle) about after one of our games.

Troon Lochgreen Golf Course. Harming Drive, Troon.

Troon Links includes 3 courses – Lochgreen, Fullarton and Darley. Lochgreen is mostly a links course and the longest at Par 74. With beautiful views it was long and exhausting…We felt every swing and every step by the end! It once served as a qualifier for The Open and I can believe it. I’d love to golf it again.

 

Girvan Golf Course, 40 Golf Course Road, Girvan.

We were thrilled with this course. The views of Ailsa Craig and Turnberry from the first 8 links holes are spectacular. The final holes are parkland style. A shorter course but still provided challenges. This could have been my favourite.

Dalmilling, Mainholm Road, Ayr.

Our GPS was really confused trying to find this course. It’s not well marked. Once we found the club house we were pleasantly surprised. It is a parkland style course with open fairways and some fun challenging holes. It became so windy and rainy we scurried back to our car after 12 holes. We are not as tough as most Scottish golfers. I’d love to try this course again when our balls wouldn’t fall off the tees because of the fierce winds.

The Himalayas , St. Andrews.

Early one morning we jumped in the car and headed to the birthplace of golf…St Andrews. It was a rainy, cold day on the east coast but we braved the elements and golfed 18 on The Himalayas. Ok, lets be honest, it’s just a putting challenge directly beside The Old Course. For 3£ we were given a ball and putter. We had lots of laughs “golfing” St. Andrews.

After asking around, we found out that there are 7 courses in St Andrews and some are very affordable and accessible. Next time we go we will play one of them.

Some Good Eats

Buckley’s Cafe Bistro, Main St, Prestwick. Great breakfast and lunch food. We had them make up a take out sandwich one day for the golf course and we loved it. The presentation was amazing and tasted so good we had to go back…once for breakfast and once for lunch. My favourite was the Mexican breakfast. A great golf snack was their fruit scone.

The Prestwick Pioneer, Main St., Prestwick. We literally stumbled into this place our first night we arrived…jet lagged, hungry and desperately needing food. We soon discovered they have nightly specials and returned often during our trip. The beer was great, food fantastic and service fast. We had to pick a table, then order and pay at the bar, then we were free to leave when we were finished and not have to signal for a bill and then pay…a great system. We enjoyed the pizza more than once when we just wanted a light supper. I also found the Indian option delicious.

The Harbour Cafe, Girvan. This was the second time I’ve had the fish and salad at this “hole in the wall”. Service is friendly and fast and fish is excellent. Hit the spot after golfing 18.