We took the redeye from Austin direct to London Heathrow and from there a short flight into Edinburgh (pronounced Eh-din-borough). We were met by our driver Anne from Pioneer Golf who we used to book our vacation. Pioneer helped with securing tee times, accommodations, and most importantly, driving us all over the place. We drove about 40 minutes from the airport to the town of St. Andrews where we checked into our bed and breakfast, Cleveden House. Our hosts Charlie and Ray run Cleveden House which is located very conveniently near the St. Andrews golf courses. They have very comfortable rooms and serve hot, cooked to order breakfast every morning.
Our driver Anne, showed us around town and got us oriented. There are three main streets (North, South, Market) that all run parallel. They link the golf course with the old cathedral ruins at the end of the town. The town is a major university town, most recently notable for when Prince William and Princess Kate went to school. The university takes up most of the real-estate and the rest of the town is small shops. It's very walkable and quaint.
On Sundays the St. Andrews Old Couse is not playable and open to public - people have their dogs on the course and are walking all over it like a park. We got our picture taken on the famous Swilcan Bridge and then headed over to the Jigger Inn - a pub adjacent to the Old Course Hotel. The bartender and waitresses were very friendly (as were almost everyone we met in Scotland). We had some great seafood soup and beer (Belhaven's Best). I like Belhaven Scottish Ale in the US, but never had the "Best" which was like a pale ale - very drinkable - I had two.
The first night we ate at the Tailend - we had the Fish and Chips which was made with Haddock. It was very good. We were lucky - we didn't have reservations, but there was one table in the back. I also had some St.Andrews Ale and Shellie had a dessert with ice cream from Jannetta's. On our tour we saw the line for Jannetta's out the door and it was over 60 people long - and it was 50 degrees outside. The weather was nice, but not THAT nice.
~We had breakfast and then we were picked up by Anne and taken to the first golf course on our itinerary: Carnoustie, where the Open will be played next year. This course is billed as one of the hardest in golf. On the way we saw a lot of pretty Scottish countryside and Anne let us know what we were seeing. The weather was very good - I was expecting 50 and raining and it was 50 and sunshine. I was nervous playing at Carnoustie, but I met up with my playing partners who each had caddies and they were very nice. I didn't have a caddie, but I would recommend one. I listened in on what I could, parred the first hole and I was ready to go. Golf in Scotland is a little different - they like to mow around the green, so you can putt from off the green. Otherwise it's like Texas - hard fairways, windy conditions, but much colder.Also you have to WALK. I am not used to walking (well, I walk around from time to time and I am competent at it), but walking 18 holes of golf is a pain. By 15 I was tired and hitting bad shots, which, by the way, is when the hardest closing holes in golf start.... Now honestly, I did not find Carnoustie to be that hard - compared to the golf courses I play, the wind was about the same, the bunkers were brutal, but I could get out, and the mowed fringed helped. Also we played from the yellow tees (maybe like blue in the US), so it wasn't that long. I had the hardest time hitting 5 iron off the tee on the short holes and got my worst scores on the three shortest holes.
After golfing, we got back and went shopping and ended up at the Dunvegan. BTW, it is not a vegan restaurant - the opposite - it was bought by an A&M Aggie and his wife and the have the BEST chili I have ever had. I was super, super tasty and I can't wait to go back. They also had nachos and their own beer which was very light and easy to drink.
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