One of the trips I really wanted to take on this adventure was a train journey through Scotland. I love travelling by train and to be able to add five rounds of golf to the excursion was the cherry on the top. That being said, I don’t think Kim had the same feelings.
Kim had her trepidations but was a trooper and really jumped into the planning because she knew how much I wanted to make the trip. Our 12-day journey involved a flight to Glasgow, four different hotels, four train trips (with six legs), five golf courses and a return flight from Edinburgh. Fore!
There was no golf in Glasgow but as we had never been there before we spent two nights exploring the town. We always track down the oldest pub in whatever town we are in so a trip to Scotia was in the cards. We were just about ready to head out after a few beverages when a couple & their daughter sat down at our table and we ended up staying several more hours! Kim & the daughter Rebecca hit it off because she is in the same line of work as Kim was so after exchanging Linked In info we finally headed out.
The next morning we took our first train trip from Glasgow Central to Troon Station that was thankfully (for Kim) a short journey of only 45 minutes. I was accused of getting Kim a little drunk the night before but she did have a little something to do with it after all. We stayed in a lovely little hotel but was a little disappointed by the town of Troon. Not much going on as the town was a little outdated. My first golf day was a nice local course called Troon Links Lochgreen. A little dried out due to lack of rain but a nice start to my golf. Our first logistical snafu hit as it took well over an hour to get a taxi back to the hotel. Kim saved the day again by finding the only taxi available in the entire town.
Hotel lobby
The highlight of the Troon stay was my round at Royal Troon. Royal Troon is one of the courses on The Open rotation it did not disappoint. The clubhouse itself was an amazing start when you walk in & see The Open trophy upon your entrance.
One of the iconic holes at Royal Troon is the Postage Stamp hole #8. It acquired its name by the small size of the green and danger on all sides if you miss by just a little. Tiger Woods & Bubba Watson have each carded 6’s at the hole and German Hermann Tissies holds The Open record of 15 in 1950! Your intrepid author managed to hit the green although I ran my birdie putt by the lip. The coffin bunker sits at the top of the green & I couldn’t imagine how to get out of it & stay anywhere near the green. I had a playing partner who is a one handicap who tried three practice shots in the bunker & couldn’t even get out let alone get it on the green.
The next day we had our longest train ride from Troon to Inverness of just over four hours. Although we didn’t see Loch Ness (or Nessie) we did pass a tributary on the way. Inverness is a gorgeous city with an amazing castle towering over the town. I played a nice local course called The Inverness Golf Club which was a great parkland course, a nice change from the links courses I had been playing.
Our next train ride was to Carnoustie where my golf clubs managed to get misplaced aboard the train. There were a few minutes of panic because the train was not going to wait for me to find my sticks. Kim tracked down the porter who helped me look & fortunately they had only been moved by another traveler so we managed to find them & not delay the train too much.
The train passed through the Druimuachdar Pass, the highest point along the entire Scottish rail system. Once we got to the train station a 15-minute walk was the only way to the Carnoustie Golf Hotel. Luckily it was not raining that day. I snuck away on day two to play a little course called Arbroath Golf Links while Kim found a nice coastal walk.
The next day was golf at Carnoustie Golf Links, another open rotation course. I managed to get my heart rate up before I even teed off as all I kept reading was it was one of the toughest courses in the world. Fortunately for me the wind was only a token that day or it could have gotten very ugly.
Carnoustie has the nickname of “Carnasty” due to its 202 bunkers and the location right on Carnoustie Bay and the North Sea. The real challenge of the course was that a good drive could still funnel into a fairway bunker and luck really plays into where your drive ends up. I only found one bunker on the front but got my fill on the back.
My caddy Billy tried to teach me how to get out of the deep bunkers (also referred to as a$$ hole bunkers) without success. The name often refers to the 4-5 foot bunker walls but also how you feel trying to get out of them. I got out of my first two bunkers by playing out sideways and took an unplayable (with a stroke penalty) to get away from the front wall on another hole. The pics below are from a bunker on 18 which honestly wasn’t even an overly deep bunker. My Tennants lager after the round was much deserved!
We took our last train trip to Edinburgh where we spent the night & flew back to Dublin the next day. We had been to Edinburgh before but still would have enjoyed more time in the city. We hit a Stanley Tucci recommended Italian spot called the Little Capo for lunch & the oldest pub in town, The White Hart. Edinburgh Castle dominates the skyline in town in a very imposing manner.
Well you are now all caught up now except a quick trip we did for our anniversary once we got back to Dublin. Carton House is a lovely place with two nice golf courses including the Montgomerie, which I played on day two.
We’ve had 14 great years together punctuated by our ongoing excellent adventure.
Cheers!
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