We didn’t play golf today, just looked at it! We checked out of the Carnoustie Golf Hotel and Spa (a truly lovely place) late and in very windy conditions. The sun was bright, but we did better in the last two days than we would have done today. Sitting in The Rookery (Carnoustie’s upstairs restaurant— cute name), we watched player after player tee off into a very stiff breeze. Ball after ball went way right into the rough and players pushed their trolley’s upwind with all their might. 6,000 yards was going to feel like 8,000 today, for sure.
Earlier, the wedding party from last night seemed to congregate below our open window, still sounding like lively partiers. Good luck to them! And as we left stories and lives behind us, we drove off toward a blue, blue sky dotted with puffy clouds. Tomorrow the weather will change again, so we enjoyed all we could of it.
For some reason, allergies hit me hard again today. I had medicine with me but it wasn’t strong enough. All through Dundee, I was sneezing, but was able to look up enough to see that the roadwork from last year was completed and that traffic flowed nicely now. No longer a road to be dreaded, we soon crossed the Tay Bridge and were in the Kingdom of Fife. Carnoustie and the Old Course are really just 30 minutes apart. Easy peasy.
The first stop of the St. Andrews grounds was the Eden Course, where the Small Balgrove and Strathtyum courses also are. Eden is actually a very special course because it was the first St. Andrews course we played. On that day, the weather held until the last putt rolled in. Then it came down in buckets, and we ran for shelter! Today, there was a boys and girls team match. Carnoustie vs. St. Andrews. Boys and Girls (teenagers) teeing off together into the wind and pushing trolleys. Off they went to find their balls in the rough. Today was a tough game for all players.
At the Old Course (New Course and Jubilee), we inquired about tee times. We’ll show up tomorrow morning for a chance to play the New Course, then who knows what… Surprises to come!
In Anstruther, we found our apartment for the next few days. Cellardyke is the town name, and it’s just as cute as can be. It’s a fishing village, so everyone here is connected to the sea. As we were walking through a neighborhood to the quay tonight, we passed two trucks parked across the street from each other, both with different logos for fish markets! Neighbors and rivals. Down at the harbor were slips full of sailboats, a quay for the fishing boats, and a big RNLI boat, Royal Navy Lifeboat Institute. Lifeboats are a really big thing in Scotland. On every shop counter is a statue or an orange container for donations to the local lifeboats.
The harbor area was delightful and with perfect lighting and more people than the restaurants could handle. We ended up joining a long queue of locals in a fish and chips takeaway line up a cobblestone alley. It was actually a lovely little wait for a seaside meal, which we took back along slanted, turning roads, through parks, and down secret paths to our apartment. This is a place where everyone seems happy, and I see why. Good night!