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Scottish Golf
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the real length of a golf course
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Upscale places, products & services
Aberdeen &
Grampian Highlands
Royal Aberdeen, Cruden Bay...
Ayrshire
Royal Troon, Turnberry, Prestwick...
Scotland's Golf Coast
Edinburgh area, North Berwick, Muirfield, Gullane...
Northern Highlands
Royal Dornoch, Brora, Nairn...
St. Andrews area
Other golf courses
Machrihanish, Pitlochry...
Links Lite
Great links golf
for the not-so-great golfer
Testimonials
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Your website is both charming and informative.
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Ross Docherty, Northern Ireland |
Detailed info on independent golf travel
in Scotland ©
Golf Nook Scotland is dedicated to providing reliable information
for the golfer who wants to travel independently
in Scotland. Richard writes the golf course
reviews, Mary-Alice writes about places to
stay and things to do other than golfing.
As you look through the website, you will
discover suggestions for...
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Where to play |
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Where to stay |
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What to do all day |
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Why independent golfing in Scotland is such
an advantage
Being an independent golfer in Scotland means
you are not tied to an itinerary. You
choose
where to play, where to stay, and what
to
do all day. You choose whom you want
to play
with and how much golf you want to
play.
If you like a golf course you can play
it
again. Or you can go to another or
you can
go to your B&B and take a nap.
Some golfers
who want to squeeze all the golfing
they
can into their trip will play all day.
They
find a course they like and purchase
a day
ticket which allows them all day play.
They
schedule a morning round, drop in the
clubhouse
for a leisurely lunch and rest, then
play
an afternoon round. Others will play
a round
in the morning then eat lunch before
driving
(over some beautiful scenery) to another
golf course for an afternoon round.
This
does not have to be rushed because
in the
summer the sun doesn't set until after
10:30
PM, so there's plenty of time to eat
lunch
and relax. When you are not tied to
a tour,
you get to decide everything.
Visit Scotland -- the beautiful "home
of golf"
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| Golfers still on nearby course when we took
this at almost 11 PM |
When you're an independent traveler,
you
don't have to stay at the large impersonal
tourist hotels that travel companies
have
contracts with. Rather you can stay
at a
clean, attractive and friendly B&B
where
you can meet other travelers at breakfast
time and have unhurried conversations
with
the B&B owners if you wish. You
can choose
your own places to eat and meet the
locals
at the neighborhood pub. You can tour
the
local Scotch whiskey distillery and
be given
a "wee dram" to sample.
Golfing with a local
On a golf company tour you will never have
the pleasure of golfing with a Scot
and comparing
golf in your country with golf in Scotland.
You'll never have a member show you
the best
line off the tee or give you a read
on an
undulating green. On a tour you can't
play
another round on that special course
you
know you would have played better if
only
you could play it again.
In short, that expensive golf package
tour
will let you play only a few of the
more
famous courses. They never schedule
the wonderful
lesser-known courses because their
clientele
don't even know they exist and they
never
schedule the smaller quaint B&Bs
because
they can't include a suitable mark-up
on
them. Bottom line is that when you
travel
with a packaged tour you probably travel
a very long distance only to be deprived
of an authentic Scottish golfing experience
and never have the opportunity to get
to
know the real Scotland and the great
Scottish
people.
A do-it-yourself golfing trip in Scotland
is highly do-able
As you read through these pages you will
sense our enthusiasm for Scotland and the
great Scottish links courses, and may soon
feel your own enthusiasm building. The basic
how-to is all laid out here for you. Go ahead
and do it. You'll have one of the most memorable
times of your life. And be prepared -- this
trip may not be a "once-in-a-lifetime-golf-trip,"
it mayl be the beginning of many trips once
you discover how easy and inexpensive it
can be. In fact, making arrangements yourself
will save you more than half of what the
golf touring companies will charge you.
Specific example of independent golfing in
Scotland
A group of 4 couples was quoted a price of
$5,220 each from a popular golf tour company
for a one-week 6 golf course Scotland golf
holiday in 2009. It included a 4 star hotel,
all ground transportation (no airfares) and
greens fees. Using information from Golf
Nook Scotland, the couples decided to put
together the trip themselves. Their arrangements
included everything the golf tour company
included but instead of staying at a 4 star
large commercial hotel they booked a 5 star
B&B featured listed on our Platinum Page
that includes a traditional Scottish breakfast
(very hearty) every morning and two gourmet
3-course dinners, plus sightseeing. And they
had the entire B&B to themselves including
a plush TV room and outdoor putting green.
The cost? Only £965 which in January 2009
dollar/pound exchange rate worked out to
$1,448 each or $207 a day! Compare that to
the $746 per day the golf tour company wanted
to charge and you can see why independent
golf travel is the way to go.
This is just one example of how much money
you can save if you make arrangements yourself,
and all it takes are a few phone calls. You
can read what some others have said about
their experiences as independent golfing
travelers in Scotland by visiting our What others say page.
As an independent golf traveler you are not
tied into an itinerary set in stone. If you
play a golf course you enjoy and want to
play it again, you can. If you want to sightsee
rather than golf one day, you can. The independent
traveler is always free to take spontaneous
action during a golfing vacation. That's
why it's a real vacation.
An alternative to independent golf travel?
If all the above sounds good but you feel
an organized golfing package would
suit you
better than doing it independently,
we recommend
two fine solutions--Bonnie Wee Golf for traveling to any golf courses in Scotland
and Ireland, and North Berwick Golf Lodge for concentrating on Scotland's Golf Coast.
Both solutions are very personalized,
so
you'll still get a real taste of the
country.
Read about these unique opportunities
on
our Platinum Page.
What you can expect from Golf Nook Scotland
Golf Nook Scotland offers advice and
help
for the independent golfer and his
or her
non-golfing companion. Because you'll
want
to know what you can expect and where
you
can stay in complete comfort, all the
information
and suggestions are here for you--things
we personally experienced and can share
with
you. You can have confidence in any
recommendations
we make, because we list only places
and
things we personally believe in. We
include
--
- Why Scottish links golf is a different game
(*Scottish links golf is a must-read page)
- Richard's personal recommendations for Scottish
golf courses
- Info on some of the unusual holes, how to
play them and what to look for
- Building your Scottish golf trip around a
central hub
- Where to stay and why
- What to bring
- How to get here
- Eating out
- Shopping for food
- Mary-Alice's personal "must-see"
lists for Scotland
- Activities to do without a car
- Platinum Page for posh places, products and services...when
you want "upscale"
- Basics *** Hints & help to make your stay in Scotland
enjoyable and comfortable
If you are considering an independent golf
vacation in Scotland, Golf Nook Scotland provides solid information you can trust
for how to plan your trip. You will
return
home with not only memories of these
spectacular
links golf courses, but also of the
culture
and beauty of Scotland.
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