Frequently Asked Questions for Golf Trip to Ireland/Scotland

---

Most of us in the United States grew up playing parkland golf and we have some of the best courses of that kind in the world.   Yet golf originated on linksland, the land between the sea and the usable farmland further inland.  Linksland is mostly just good for grazing- and for golf!  Seaside courses play firm and fast and the almost constant wind and rapid changes in weather require different kinds of strategies to succeed and a positive and flexible attitude to enjoy your round to the fullest.  Links golf can bring you to your knees at times, and we at Heather & Gorse would suggest  that your group  consider match play formats where the emphasis is on winning individual holes rather than the lowest medal score.  

Locals in west Ireland like to tell American tourists that they will experience all four seasons in one day.  We can validate that observation from personal experience, having played golf in 45 mph gales and watched the green fill with ice pellets before we got there and then all of them disappear on the next hole. In the southwest of Ireland, it can reach the mid-eighties in summer and the next day be in the low fifties. There can be dense fog in the morning if it's not windy.  Rain can come hard and fast but leave just as quickly with a wind that dries you almost immediately.  Come prepared with a good rain suit (including gloves), a waterproof hat and a ski cap for warmth and wind and you will be ready for anything. Courses do not close for weather (except on very rare occasions) so be prepared to play.  On a first trip to Turnberry, it was raining so hard on the covered practice bay that the group was seriously considering not playing, despite the non-refundable and hefty green fee.  As we walked to the first tee, the rain suddenly stopped and within 5 minutes we were continuing our round in a beautiful and clear Scottish evening with just a light breeze.  We have played a lot of rounds of links golf and have never walked off the course because of weather.   It's part of the game, but it very seldom ruins a round.  On the contrary, it becomes part of the fun!

Many of the most famous links courses you will play in Ireland and Scotland are traditional private golf clubs. If they were in the United States, you would not be welcome unless you were with a member. But there is a wonderful tradition of hospitality across the water and almost every club, even ones like Muirfield or Royal Troon welcomes visitors on certain days at certain times.  This helps keep local membership dues reasonable, so it is a good deal for everyone concerned.  But these clubs have proud traditions and American visitors are rightfully asked to honor these traditions.  Heather & Gorse will remind you of those before you go.   There are newer courses like Kingsbarns and Castle Stuart (now Cabot Highlands) in Scotland or Tralee and Ballyliffin in Ireland that will feel like any resort course in the United States.  You should try and book a trip that includes all different kinds of clubs as this will give you a more complete experience.  Smaller clubs like Carne Golf Links or Brora Golf Club are particularly authentic in their welcome, but even the famous ones try very hard to give you a real Scottish or Irish welcome.

In short, it can be scary at the beginning. Driving on the left on narrow roads takes patience and concentration. Once you get used to it, it becomes part of the adventure and it's fun and convenient to have your own car(s). It gives you more flexibility and makes the trip a more intimate travel experience for everyone. Every time the road narrows, the scenery gets better. We will recommend certain routes to get to golf courses that will make the road part of the adventure. 

If you have six or fewer in your group, a self-driving tour is an excellent option.  You can do it with eight or more, but it becomes a bit of a logistical nightmare.  For a self-driving tour, find one or more members of your group who have driven on the "wrong side" of the road before or welcome the new challenge. Leave early for the golf course, as it will take longer than you think (think narrow roads and farm equipment) and you may want to stop periodically for pictures.  We have lots more good advice for first-timers. 

For larger groups, it is much more convenient to hire a coach and driver.  The driver will keep you on schedule and allow you not to have to worry about having an extra pint after the round. The additional cost for this convenience can be spread out over the larger number of golfers to make it a reasonable option.

Great question that deserves a more detailed answer.  Some groups prefer to play only courses that have hosted Open Championships, while others prefer to play lesser-known fantastic seaside links courses throughout Ireland and Scotland.  We encourage you to explore the possibilities and talk with us at with Heather & Gorse to tailor your own trip to your specific vision of the best possible golf trip for your group.  

As golf trips overseas have become much more popular, the "high season' has expanded.  It now, as a general rule of thumb, covers the period from mid-April to mid-October.   May and September might find a few more tee times and they will become much more plentiful on most courses in April and October.  The weather is temperate, so temperatures will not drop too much in spring and fall, but days will be shorter.  

Travel is booming these days and golf travel is no different. Unfortunately, tee times at great links courses are a limited commodity, and increasing green fees reflect that truth.  Heather & Gorse tries very hard to keep costs down for our trips by being very creative in finding a mix of accommodations options for your group instead of just booking you into large hotels that pay tour operators a better commission.  We can also suggest less well known but nice golf courses that you can add to the mix to lower your overall costs.  Let us know your budget constraints and we will work with you to keep your golf trip both memorable and affordable. We are two retired guys who don't need to pay our mortgage or send our kids to college with the money we earn from our business.  This gives us a bit more flexibility than the larger tour companies.

When we first started booking golf trips for our friends, they used to shake their heads at us when we made them commit so early for trips and put down early first payments to cover green fee reservations sometimes more than a year in advance.   We recently saw on the website of a large tour company that people should be thinking 24 or even more months in advance in planning their trips!  If you are trying to convince your friends to join you on a golf trip, the need for an early commitment may actually work in your favor. It's much easier to circle something on your calendar a year or more in advance. This does, however, make it even more important to purchase good trip insurance.  

There are three ways to get on the Old Course.  The easiest is to book a package with a touring company that has access to guaranteed tee times. If playing the Old Course is the primary reason you are going to Scotland, you probably want to consider this.  You will pay a lot for this privilege, however. Heather & Gorse cannot get guaranteed tee times, but we will be happy to let you know where you can find them.  The traditional way to get a tee time is for your group to enter the daily ballot.  If you book a St. Andrews trip with Heather & Gorse, we will do this for your group.  You will know almost two days ahead of time if you won a slot (3-4 golfers only per entry) through the lottery and we will work with you to try and re-arrange tee times at another course on your itinerary so you can use the lottery tee time to play the Old Course.  The third possibility is a new "singles draw" lottery system.  You give your information during the day to someone at the Old Pavilion next to the first tee. Late that afternoon names are drawn in a lottery to "fill in" foursomes for the next day.  That saves people from lining up for hours to try to secure one of these individual tee times which was how the system used to work.   If you win a slot, you will be notified that evening for play the next day.  Heather & Gorse cannot do this for you- it must be done in person. It may mean that you will not be able to play that day with your group somewhere else and forfeit that green fee. But it does give you another chance to get on the Old Course. There is actually a fourth possibility, but it relies on whether the St Andrews Links Trust continues to offer this opportunity. They have something they call the Swilcan package.  You apply for it in September the year before you wish to play.  You tell them a group of dates you wish to play and how many are playing.  It is a lottery system, but you know by sometime in October if you have "won" a tee time on the old course.  It's more expensive than a normal tee time, but includes a round on one of the other Links Trust courses and I believe there is a food credit as well. A friend from Scotland recently suggested to me that I should tell Americans obsessed with playing the Old Course that it really isn't any better than many other courses in Scotland , but I realize if it is at the top of a bucket list that argument may not matter.  The New Course plays on land adjacent to the Old Course and is, in my opinion, a more fun course to play. But it isn't The Old Course and you don't walk across the Swilken Bridge on your way to the 18th tee!

We love this question because at Heather & Gorse one of things we like to do the most is exploring a wide variety of accommodation options with our clients.   How about a couple nights where your group has all the rooms in a Bed & Breakfast?   Country House hotels are intimate, you get to know the owner/managers and they often have a restaurant and small bar on-site.  They are usually in beautiful locations.  Self-catering properties work great if you are going to base yourselves for a week in one place. Each of you can have your own bedroom and there are one or two living areas to read, watch television or share stories of that day's round.  Often, one or more people in your group will offer to cook dinner for everyone. For larger groups, traditional hotels are often a good choice.  We try to pick family-run places that have a bit of character and have nice bars and restaurants or are in town where you have many choices on your doorstep for your evening activities.  Finally, we love to book 5* hotels for our clients that want the best!

No, it's not true.  You can still get a good "full Irish" breakfast and a plate of fresh fish and chips.  And if you aren't careful, you can still find lots of mediocre pub grub and overcooked beef.  But the food is getting better every year in pubs and traditional restaurants. We will help you find good pub classics and great pizza or burgers, but we will also suggest unique cafes and excellent fine dining alternatives for special nights out.  When we can speak from personal experience, we will tell you which clubhouses are worth staying for an after-round sandwich and a pint.  We at Heather & Gorse strongly believe when you are with friends and you have had a good day on the links or sightseeing, being able to gather for drinks and a good dinner is one of travel's most pleasant rewards.  

Some of the best courses are walking only, though some make exceptions for those with medical certificates that say they can't walk the course.  Sometimes, you will be asked to hire a caddie who will drive the buggy (motorized cart) for you. Many great courses, however, do have buggies you can reserve.  Heather and Gorse will work with everyone in your group  who  needs buggies all of the time or part of the time to make sure they are reserved ahead of time and ready for you when you arrive.  Obviously, caddies are an option as well on almost all courses. Every course had trolleys (push carts) that are complimentary or available for a small charge.