October 2023Molly on the Move

Main ImageFor ease, luxury and camaraderie, nothing tops the annual CGA Member Trip. But here’s a plan for next time: Scottish golf off the beaten path.BYLINE: By Susan FornoffOn our first golf sojourn to Scotland four years ago, Mr. McMulligan and I won the lottery for a tee time at the Old Course, marveled at the coastal splendor of Cruden Bay and thanked friends profusely for sharing their home course, majestic Royal Dornoch.But we also happened upon North Berwick’s hilly east course, the view-filled Glen, and a lush parkland nine with an honesty box for green fees, Blair Atholl. We came away intrigued by the idea of planning a second trip to more deeply experience this tiny country, its friendly people and its disproportionate share of golf riches.Besides, we hate hot weather and relished the idea of ditching Colorado’s summer sun for the cool, moist climate of Scotland.So shortly after the CGA’s member trip to Scotland, we set off on our own two-person, two-week tour. We had four special lodgings booked (see Itinerary below for details), a car service to pick us up in Edinburgh and a rental car a few days later – but only three tee times!Here’s what we learned.

British Air does not lose all golf clubs that travel through Heathrow, despite what TV viewers might think from watching pros play with borrowed sets. Advice in “Golf in Scotland,” by fellow Coloradoan Allan Ferguson, prompted us to fly British nonstop from Denver to Heathrow and then stay with British to Edinburgh rather than jump to another airline. A travel agent also suggested, “Give yourself plenty of time on the connection, because Heathrow is nuts.” Oh, so true – our clubs got to Edinburgh with us as Allan promised with a 2-hour-and-45-minute connection but did not make our 1-hour-and-45-minute connection from Glasgow to the flight home. BA delivered everything two days later.

We packed smart, but we packed wrong! We took our Sunday Golf mini-bags, a big suitcase to share and a carry-on for golf shoes in case our clubs didn’t make it for the next day’s round. (You can always rent clubs, not so for shoes.) We had our weathers, our wind shirts, our wool socks. And when we got to Scotland, the world had a heat wave! There was no AC anywhere and we were walking everywhere. Mr. M did not bring shorts. I brought only one short-sleeve shirt. Shops sell umbrellas but not sunglasses. Wouldn’t you know it, our B&B hostess offered to wash our sweaty clothes five days into the trip. Yes! After that we stuffed dirty clothes into the carry-on, which we checked coming home. The Scots, by the way, were elated with the heat and proclaimed these days the best of their lives. We were only elated when we wandered into Prestwick’s air-conditioned Smuggler’s and met owner/barkeep Louise and her customers. One of them, Buff, caddied for President Clinton when he played Prestwick.

A smarty pants friend suggested we watch Scottish Elevator Voice Recognition to help us learn the language. We laughed until we cried and asked a few Scots along the way to please say “Eleven” to get us giggling all over again. Golfers need to know a golf cart is a buggie, a push cart is a trolley, an umbrella is a brolley, and walking all these courses shall make you knackered. Also, expect courses to be pronounced differently than you read them. North Berwick is North Barrick and Shiskine is SHISkin. There’s another one I’m not going to tell you how to pronounce because I want to keep it a secret.

Small-group travel opens up a wider range of lodgings than tour groups can access. And I’m not talking about affordability. By splurging for the best rooms at small, well reviewed properties, we ended up with big rooms with big beds and humongous views. And forget what you’ve heard about tiny bathrooms. At the Douglas Hotel on the Isle of Arran, we could do yoga, together, in the bathroom. (We did not.) Remember: For an American king-size bed, request a super king, which is two twins zipped together; when comparing prices, consider whether you’ll get the typical, substantial Scottish breakfast; check to see whether your bathroom is en suite, private (yours alone but in the hall) or shared.

Breakfast

I wasn’t nervous at all when Mr. M got behind the wheel, on the wrong side of the car, on the wrong side of the road. And if you believe that one, let me tell you about all the birdies I had in Scotland. The idea of driving here ̶ going the wrong way around roundabouts, giving way on one-way roads with two-way traffic – made us both so nervous that we hesitated to leave the Arnold Clark rental lot. “Sir, you’re going to have to drive sometime,” the agent said playfully. One trick we’ve learned is to delay car rental until we are rested and acclimated. We arranged for East Lothian Private Hire to pick us up at Edinburgh Airport and drive us to North Berwick. This allowed us to get driving reminders and hear the state of the nation from the gregarious Stuart Pearson, who reminded us that in tight situations we should “play nice” with drivers coming the other way. Wonderful mantra for driving in Scotland, where the natives are much kinder and more patient than in the States. Mr. M did very well. I, on the other hand, got caught several times opening the door on the wrong side of the car. Alternatively, villages are walkable, and there are clean and safe bus and train lines that stop at many golf course gates. We rode the bus to Royal Musselburgh with our clubs for our first round, and walked down the beach with our clubs to play North Berwick!

Beach

Scotland’s 19^th hole culture is not thriving, probably because of the country’s strict drinking-and-driving limits. A tour van driver hauling around eight Americans told us, “They don’t want to drive here, they don’t know where they’re going, and they want to drink after the round but they know we’re really strict about that.” We drank only at courses we’d walked to, carrying our clubs down the street, or, in North Berwick, up the beach. After one round in Machrihanish, we went native and had our 19^th hole at the Muneroy Tea Room: Earl Grey and chocolate orange sponge cake, worth every calorie.

Things do go wrong when traveling, and it’s nice to be on a VIP group tour like the CGA’s where somebody else solves the problems. A DIY tour requires rolling with the tide. Our new golfing friends from New York, whom we met in Machrihanish, got stuck at a course with no taxi in sight, and one of the locals insisted on giving them a ride back to their hotel. She took them down a back road where they had to wait out sheep traffic. They were far from annoyed. To them, this was much more fun than a Manhattan traffic jam!

Sheep

About the golf. It’s a little different here. You reserve a tee time and it’s yours, with no strangers thrown in. But you’d better be prepared to play in less than four hours. Most courses have no bathrooms and often have routing that sends the front nine away from the clubhouse and brings the back nine in. No wonder most courses have no drinking water. Buggies can be found but should, like caddies, be reserved ahead of time.

Tee times need not be reserved ahead of time unless there is a course you are determined to play. Must-play Shiskine, for instance, was our reason for boarding the ferry to the Isle of Arran. It doesn’t take online tee times far in advance, but I emailed the professional there to make sure there was availability on the one day we could play and he kindly booked times for us. We also took advantage of the uniquely Scottish concept of “opens” that all the courses put on a few times a year for a fraction of the regular green fee. We paid 25 pounds to book both of us into a mixed foursomes at Royal Musselburgh and were paired with a fun couple from Fife. A few days later, Mr. M played in a “senior gents” at esteemed West Kilbride for just 20 pounds. We also made sure there was availability at Machrihanish and Machrihanish Dunes before we committed to that journey. But we found Girvan on Golfnow, and secured a coveted visitor time at fully booked North Berwick by visiting the secretary on the day we wanted to play.

Girvan

Prices at some lesser known courses have doubled in four years, and locals told us again and again that it was the fault of us Americans. We, they said, equate great golf with cost and weren’t booking some of the wonderful courses of Scotland because they were not expensive enough. Or, we’d play and tell the operators, “This course would cost a gazillion dollars to play in the States.” So, they raised prices and confined visitors to the day’s less desirable tee times, after 11 or noon. That only inhibited the interaction with local golfers that we enjoyed at places like Dundonald, Girvan, Shiskine, Machrihanish, Machrihanish Dunes and, especially, the stunning and affordable course that I am not going to name because I don’t want it to double rates and isolate visitors. Besides, whether on a CGA Member Trip or off the beaten path, aren’t some secrets meant to be kept?

unamedTHE MCMULLIGAN DIY SCOTLAND ITINERARY

Nonstop flight, Denver to London Heathrow on British Air, connecting to Edinburgh.

Four nights in North Berwick at the four-room Seaholm Bed and Breakfast, where Lorena Peressini’s warmth, attention to detail and delicious breakfasts brought us back a second time to stay in the Bass Rock View room. Fun golf at Royal Musselburgh, the Glen and North Berwick’s famous West Links.

Window

Pick up car and drive to Prestwick for three nights at six-room Golf View Guest House, golf-centric yet luxurious and beautifully decorated, which unfortunately hospitable owners Neil and Alison Ferguson are turning over to the golf club later this year. Golf for Mr. M at West Kilbride, a traditional seaside links course he loved; for me, Dundonald Links, a wonderful layout that hosted the women’s Scottish Open the past two years; for both of us at Girvan Golf Club, a challenging muni next to Turnberry that starts alongside the sea and finishes in farmland. Our one regret is not playing Prestwick despite gazing down upon its fairways from the Golf View Hotel for three days. If your view includes a golf course, make sure you play it.

Prestwick

Car ferry from Ardrossan to Brodick for two nights on the Isle of Arran at the 21-room Douglas Hotel, which opened in 1852 and won many awards after its late owner transformed it into a modern and luxurious boutique hotel with pub and bistro in 2013. An unforgettable 24 holes at Shiskine Golf and Tennis Club, which even Mr. M loved despite all its blind holes. We wished we had more time on Arran, which has beautiful beaches and scenic villages in addition to a few more golf courses.

Score

Car ferry from Lochranza to Claonig and a drive down the wild and rugged Kintyre Peninsula for four glorious nights in magical Machrihanish at the 22-room Ugadale Hotel, yet another luxuriously updated historic property. Two chairs at our bay window overlooked one of the most famous first shots in golf, across a corner of the sea at Machrihanish Golf Club. A bit up the coast, Machrihanish Dunes serves as the old course’s contemporary companion and an example in minimalist course architecture showcasing its spectacular setting. And, there was the course that shall not be named but is not to be missed. I recommend visiting Machrihanish ASAP. There are plans to build another course, a 73-room hotel and many cottages adjacent to the Dunes course.

Mach

Overnight near Glasgow Airport, departing on British Air the next morning for Heathrow and our nonstop flight back to Denver.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCESTom Coyne’s “A Course Called Scotland” introduced us to Machrihanish, the Golf View Guest House and the magic of golf in Scotland. Allan Ferguson’s “Golf in Scotland” gave us essential tips, selected itineraries and course reviews. Visitscotland.com entranced us with its photography, descriptions and listings on all the places we visited. We discovered listings of “opens” at brsgolf.com/opencomps/Scotland and golfempire.co.uk/region/scotland. And David Jones’ UK Golf Guy foldup “Golf Course Map of Scotland” gave us the lay of the land to more than 550 golf courses.Molly McMulligan, created by golf journalist and CGA member Susan Fornoff, is the CGA’s on-the-course advisor on how to have more fun on the golf course. She answers questions in Dear Molly and will be sharing more of her travels. Mr. McMulligan, Keith DuBay, is also a journalist and a much better golfer than Molly.October CoverExecutive Director's MessageCGA Member ZonePUMARules of GolfColorado GolfTravelInside the RopesSRIXONSwing TipMember EngagementWellness TipOutside the RopesMolly on the MoveSpirit of the GameRMGCSAGearFeatured Member Club