I am starting to get pretty old, and one of the goals in my life has always been to travel to Scotland and play.

What is the best way to get there? I mean, while I am an experienced traveler, I have never been to the British Isles, and my wife is not one who plays golf. So, where do I begin to look for planning a trip? Airfare, etc?

My handicap is close to 10, so that probably means I can't play the Old Course at St. Andrews, but I would love to play it, or something like it and find some course off the beaten path to play, and maybe meet some friendly local people over there too.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

you can play the old course all right depending on what time you go at there is a ballot in operation, think handicap limit is 26 so you should be fine

There is no shortage of threads here on Scotland as a dream destination. Try this link:

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/index.php?ac...ite=%2Bscotland

have you given any thought to Ireland ?

obviously if you want to play the old course that could be combined with a trip to Ireland

depending on how much time and $ you have - one suggestion would be play the old course and kingsbarns and turnberry and then take a cheap flight on ryanair flight from Pretwick to Belfast and play royal portrush and portstewart and finish with royal county down

this itinerary would have you play 5 of the top 10 links courses in the world (portstewart is no slouch by the way) - all of these links have stunning architecture and world class views

Interesting you thought you could not play the old course with a h/cap of ten.

I would suggest starting at the old course and woking your way north along the east coast.
Some stunning courses along there.

I will bet him £10 he is in the top half of handicaps playing whichever day he goes.

If you go near Edinburgh, Muirfield, Gullane no:1, North Berwick, are worth playing then take a car and drive round to St Andrews and play, kingsbarns and the fairmount courses there,

play the carrick which is right near loch lomond.Carnoustie if cash is king.

I am not sure when you are planning your trip but it's a little late in the season for this year. The majority of international flights fly into Glasgow. Depending on your point of origin you might have to connect via one of the London courses.

I am guessing you qualify as a senior (over 55). If you have a look at the SGU website you will find a list of Senior Open competions this is the best way to play some of the courses. They are normally a weekday, you get to play of the medal tees, the cost is usually arround £12, plus you have a chance to win some money. A valid handicap certificate is a that is required.

Have a look at the SGU Opens search feature to see what is available (select senior opens).

Here is an example of some of the better courses available on the rota, they are all over the country because I don't know where you intend to visit.

03 Sep 2009 Nairn Dunbar Golf Club Gents Senior Open 22 £12.00 55+ more details
03 Sep 2009 Scotscraig Golf Club Gents Senior Open 18 55+ more details
09 Sep 2009 Lanark Golf Club Gents Senior Open 24 £10.00 60+ more details
18 Sep 2009 Carnoustie Golf Links - Burnside Course Senior Open 20 £15.00 55+ FULL
25 Sep 2009 Tain Golf Club Gents Senior Stableford Open 28 60+ more details
05 Oct 2009 North Berwick Golf Club Gents Senior Open 28 55+ FULL

You could also have a look at the standard handicap opens as a way to getting a game at the weekend.

Getting a few games this way saves you some cash to to put towards playing the more expensive venues.

Best of luck

I read this book - our trip to Scotland was great, in part, because of the info in it.

http://www.fergusongolf.com/book.htm


Then, I ran into the author at the Bellhaven Hotel in North Berwick and we had a single malt.


Perfect.

Ben

P.S. A caddie told me this joke as we were waiting to tee off on the Old...

"Do you know what we call a mulligan over here in Scotland?"

"No - what?"

"Hitting three."



On second thought, I don't think he meant it as a joke!