Scotland on a Budget?

For a lot of golfers, one "bucket list" trip has to be a visit to Scotland, the "home of golf". I was fortunate enough to recently fulfill this dream, and in many ways it was the best trip of my life!

It's relatively easy these days to search the Internet and find a tour operator who will take care of all the arrangements for you...you just pay, and away you go. However, these tour operators do not do this for free. If you are willing to take the time to do the research yourself, you will receive two major benefits: The satisfaction of a fully personalized trip, plus the potentially large savings associated with doing the legwork.

The first resource that I used in planning my trip was the Book "Golf in Scotland:...." by Allan Ferguson......I can't recommend this book enough! It can be found online through his website fergusongolf.com, or through Amazon. I used his special offer to buy two books, and was also sent a large road map of Scotland, which we used extensively throughout the trip. (I also purchased the UK GPS maps for my Garmin, but the road map still was still a very useful tool!)

Here is a list of suggestions that I think will assist you in organizing that most memorable trip!:

• When flying to Scotland, try to avoid a stopover in London. In Canada, I used Air Transat to fly non-stop to Glasgow. Perfect way to start the trip, and it wasn't any more expensive. (I will admit I did spend an extra $300 for first class service on the way over, since it was an overnight flight and I wanted to be as rested as possible for the first day!)
• Book your rental car as far as possible in advance, especially if you MUST have automatic transmission. Unfortunately, I ended up with a standard and adapted reasonably quickly, but it was an interesting experience sitting in the right side of the car trying to remember how to drive a standard!). I used the many search engines on the Internet, and did find what I thought was a reasonable price.
• Don't try to cram everything into your trip!! Many times we saw small groups of golfers travelling around in minibuses or minivans, obviously trying to rush around and play as many courses as possible in a short time. In my opinion, they lost that opportunity to actual stop and enjoy what was going on.
• We decided to spend an entire week in St. Andrews, and it was the best decision of the trip. There were six of us (two couples and two single golfers), and I found us a three bedroom flat which was the perfect size! The cost to rent the flat was just over $45/person per day...a LOT less expensive than staying in a hotel or B&B. We had a kitchen, dining room and living room, plus a garden area just for us in the back! From our flat, we were only a two minute walk from the main streets in St. Andrews, and less than a ten minute walk to the first tee of the Old Course.
• Staying for a week in St. Andrews also afforded us the opportunity to ballot for a time on the Old Course, instead of paying extra for many of the other ways to play. We were there in August, and one of our groups received a starting time on the third day of balloting, and the other group played on the fourth day. With so many other courses available in St. Andrews, we didn't have to worry about playing. When one group played the Old Course, the other group simply played another of the outstanding course in the area.
• Another note about balloting.....if pressed, we still would have been able to play the Old Course even if we weren't successful with the ballot. If you go early in the morning to the starter's hut, you can get put onto the waiting list and you will more than likely get out to play. When our groups, went out, we had other people join us to complete our groups, and we enjoyed sharing the experience with them 
• Nothing beats the experience of playing the Old Course, and it is best experienced  with a caddie. Don't skimp on this one of a lifetime experience!
• That being said, it is absolutely true that the New and Jubilee courses provide similar experiences, without the hefty price. We purchased a three day pass, which allowed us to play those two courses as well as the Castle course. All provided us with EXTREMELY memorable experiences!
• Use the Ferguson Book to select other courses to play! Even though the courses may not be as well known, they do provide authentic Scottish golf without the additional costs associated with the other more famous courses. We decided to pay the extra money for the Old Course, and wait until until our next trip to play other famous courses.