Category: Scotland
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Day 19: Carluke Golf Course and a Reunion
Today was “Reunion Day” with Peter, our third friend in Scotland (after Karen and Anne.) We met him on the Dunbar golf course ten years ago and always make it a point to see him once a trip, catch up on Scottish politics, his family, and golf! Sadly, his arms were recently injured so he…
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Day 18: Castle to castle
After a breakfast of haggis, eggs, and beans, we left the wonderful Golf Hotel and Crail. Our morning waitress gave me a parting gift—the news that I could get canned haggis in any market and take it home with me. That is seriously good news indeed! That, along with the tip from the shop next…
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Day 17: We drove north, not south
We had every intention of taking the boat tour to the Isle of May, but this morning I could tell that John did not love the idea. “Do you really want to take a boat ride for an hour and a half, walk around the island for two hours, and then…” he asked. The magic…
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Day 16: St. Andrews and a stop at Kingsbarns
We were a little worried at breakfast. I had written on our calendar that today was the Jubilee Course at St. Andrews, tee time 9:50, but I had no confirmation email. After lingering over my vegetarian haggis (yum!) at breakfast to get to the course on time, we raced to the starter with 20 minutes to spare,…
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Day 15: Moving Day and an Open course!
Today was moving day. Tomorrow is St. Andrews so the goal was to drive down the coast and arrive in Fife before bedtime. On the way, we made our way past sheep ranches and grain farms. Everything loves the weather and grows beautifully here. So green, so sparkling, and the sheep so white. They’ve all…
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Day 14: Newburgh Ythan and the harbor
This morning, we still had not decided where to play golf. Isn’t it nice to have that decision to make? We could go to Aberdeen and play Kingslinks or Balenkask, but John was not keen on driving into Aberdeen at all after reading just one of the Cold Granite murder mysteries by Stuart McBride. (So…
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Day 13: Cruden Bay, The Championship Course, and our very Scottish caddie.
Our game wasn’t until 1 pm, so we started the day with a walk along the Cruden Waters River, then down a tree-covered path, up a gently sloping field through overcast skies to a great view of the North Sea. There we saw the ruins of New Slain’s Castle which was a strong influence for…
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Day 12: Cruden Bay’s St. Olaf Course
This morning started with haggis for breakfast, and a good slice too! Each region and chef has their own recipe. This one was not as spicy as the last, but tasty with eggs and a mushroom! From breakfast, we went down to the course. Today, we played the St. Olaf GC course, which is 9 holes inside…
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Day 11: More bad weather, whisky, and Dracula’s hotel! (a travel day)
Today was a travel day. We meant to go through the Cairngorms National Park, through the highest of the Highlands. Instead, we were diverted (because of roadwork) to the north coast through Keith and Highly. Perfect for whisky tasting, so lunch at the Ugie House (don’t you love the Gallic names), we stopped at Glendronach Distillery…
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Day 10: What We’ve been waiting for, plus extra weather!
Today was our big day to play Royal Dornoch GC. This is a game that we paid for months ago and were lucky to get because starting times are so hard to get. This is northern Scotland, but the secret is out. Royal Dornoch is a championship course with a hefty price tag and worth every…