850 miles and 82 golf courses in 5 days….!
Well, it’s been quite a week – it all started at 6:30am last Sunday morning as I left Edinburgh and headed north on a golfing research trip.
After 5 days travelling 850 miles, visiting 82 golf courses and discussing Scottish golf with dozens of golf club managers/secretaries, golf pros, golf club members and golfing visitors, I return exhausted but even more passionate about the quality of golf courses we have here in Scotland.
As I mentioned last Thursday, my intention for this week’s blog was to have a look at what discounted golf packages are available in the Highlands and North East for next year. Whilst I have picked out three packages, my view from this week’s trip is that the majority of green fees are already of exceptional value, particularly in the North East region.
The Highlands
The Dornoch Firth Pass (www.dornochfirthgolf.co.uk)
Royal Dornoch Championship Links
Struie (Dornoch)
Golspie Golf Club
Brora Golf Club
Tain Golf Club
The £40 Dornoch Firth Golf Pass gives you 25% off when you play Brora, Golspie, Tain and Royal Dornoch’s Championship Links and Struie course.
The card can be purchased at any of the courses and you then simply book your tee times direct with the golf club to receive the discount. One thing I would point out is that pass holders can only play the Royal Dornoch Championship course after 2.00pm.
My calculations work out that (after paying £40 for the pass) you will make an overall saving of around 15% on the high season green fees.
The North East
Moray Firth Golf Pass (www.morayfirthgolf.co.uk)
Elgin Golf club
Forres Golf Club
Grantown on Spey
Hopeman Golf Club
Moray Golf Club – Old
Moray Golf Club – New
Nairn Dunbar Golf Club
The Moray Firth golf pass will cost you £15 for a 25% discount at the above seven clubs. The pass can only be used once at each club but it does offer you a saving of over £90 over seven of Moray Firth’s finest courses.
Banffshire Golf Pass
Royal Tarlair Golf Club
Cullen Links
Turriff Golf Club
This golf pass offers three rounds of golf for a total of £45 at the above golf clubs. In my opinion, teeing off next to the three kings (three rocks close to the first tee) and the stunning views at Cullen Links is worth the £45 alone!
If you were to pay for the three courses separately (without the pass) then this would cost you £76 – so the pass is worth around a 40% discount.
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In terms of my 850 mile trip over the last five days, some stand out features were being surrounded by red squirrels at Kingussie Golf Club, the sand dunes of Wick Golf Club, the delightful course at Hopeman golf club which I hadn’t seen or played before, the views at Cullen Links from the Cullen Bay Hotel, the sunset at Cruden Bay, views at Stonehaven Golf Club and the breathing views along the road at Dunnottar Castle.
After an overnight stay in Blairgowrie, I managed a tranquil early morning stroll around two of the finest parkland courses in the area, Rosemount & Lansdowne – these courses have to be in your golfing diary if you are in the area.
I headed south to a number of courses around Perth then headed onto Auchterarder and Gleneagles. From there I headed to the beautiful setting at Stirling Golf Club, which is overlooked by Stirling Castle from above! The best way to finish this golf research trip was at the sun soaked setting at Glenbervie Golf Club. This is a traditional members club but if you do get a chance to book a tee time at this scenic parkland course, I would grab it with both hands!
The only downside to travelling 850 miles and visiting 82 golf courses in five days was that there was no time for golf! How had I managed that? I’ll have to plan the next trip a little better!
