Golfbreaks

Hi Ben, Great to hear you have a golf pass… and there’s so many brilliant courses up in Scotland to enjoy. In terms of recommendations it’s not easy as the places you mention are about as far apart as you can get! If distance and cash is no object here’s a few top 3’s to consider… Old school links: Cruden, North Berwick, Dornoch Brilliant new links: Kingsbarns, Trump, Castle Stuart Toughest links: Royal Aberdeen, Carnoustie, Muirfield Off the beaten track: Machrihanish, Machrie, Brora Old & New Open Venues: Prestwick, Musselburgh, Troon Turnberry will be closed until at least June I think but the changes look like they are going to be amazing so would definitely factor it in too! There’s plenty of off-course activities for your wife to enjoy, particularly as the majority of the courses are close(ish) to places like Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Inverness… Happy planning! Cheers, Richard

Thanks. If you are calling from the US our contact details are: 1-855-699-5853 (Toll Free) and usasales@golfbreaks.com And if you are calling from the UK it is 0800 279 7988 (Freephone) or +44 1753 752 900 and sales@golfbreaks.com Yes, please contact us and we can at least give you some advice even if you don't use us to book your trip If you want to speak directly to one of our team who is very knowledgeable on US golf destinations, then please contact David Ford on dford@golfbreaks,com or +44 1753 752 978 - David is currently based in our UK office. I hope this helps. Guy

We send a lot of our golfing groups to stay in Old Town Scottsdale at Hotel Indigo or Hyatt House (both decent 3 star with Hyatt House more of a suites hotel with more space), and they then play Troon North, We-Ko-Pa, Grayhawk and TPC Scottsdale. This will give them the true desert golf experience along with good access to restaurants, bars and night life! If you'd like a slightly higher standard of hotel for your trip then The Westin Kierland and Hyatt Regency are great options. I hope that this help. Guy

Thanks for your comments everyone; it is a really interesting debate. I thought that I would chip in with my views... being from Europe we obviously love the Ryder Cup (especially in recent years... ). It’s so rare in golf to play as a team and for some reason the Europeans just love that format. We have something else similar to The Presidents Cup in Europe called The Seve Cup (after the late great Seve Ballesteros), which is mainland Europe against the UK/Ireland. I’d actually rather see Europe against rest of world (including Americans) but that might be a little tricky to fit into the schedule! Thanks, Dan

Which do you prefer the most; the Presidents Cup or the Ryder Cup? As a Brit (or Euro) of course I am slightly biased... partly because the Presidents Cup doesn't get half as much coverage as the Ryder Cup over here... and also because we don't stand a chance of winning the President's Cup...!?! As Americans and Worldwide golfers I'd be interested to hear your views about the events and which one spins your wheels the most...! Thanks, Guy

Following up from yesterday, and talking of bucket list courses, I thought that I would let you know that our Scottish Golf Vacation sweepstakes is ending this Monday (14th). It is, dare I say it myself, an truly amazing prize! The vacation up for grabs includes 7 nights and 7 rounds of golf for 4 people, with golf at Turnberry, Kingbarns, Carnoustie, Gleneagles and Fairmont St Andrews, and accommodation is 5-star throughout the trip. It is a fine line up of golfing royalty with a total prize value of over $10,000. Therefore, if you fancy a shot at it you can enter here: http://usa.golfbreaks.com/scotland-vacation-sweepstake Good luck and please tell your friends. (Note that flights are not included but if you were to win and book your flights early then I am sure that you would get a good deal from the airlines!)

@Acropo I love your eclectic mix of courses. All of them are a great shout, although I have not played a fair few of them. As mentioned, I am a bit fan of South West England, so good to see that St Enedoc got a mention. Saunton Sands is also a great course down in those parts. You might all be interested to know the results of a survey that I ran in the office for the "best links courses in the world". Obviously a fair few of them are located in UK and Ireland, but the picks did also include a selection of worldwide courses. The top 15 are as follows... again, very subjective and based mainly on where the guys have played (so there are a few big omissions..)... but none the less they must have had a good time playing them..! 1= Royal Dornoch 1= Royal County Down 3. Royal St Georges 4. Old Course St Andrews 5. Royal Portrush 6. Kinsbarns 7. Pebble Beach 8. Castle Stuart 9. BallyBunion 10. Turnberry, Ailsa 11. Tralee 12. Lahinch 13. Royal Cinque Ports 14. Old Head of Kinsale (although this may not be classed as a true links) 15. Trump Aberdeen Other courses that did well in the survey and worth mentioning are: Muirfield, Carnoustie, Royal Melbourne, Royal Troon, Royal Birkdale, Kingston Heath, Bandon Dunes, Royal Portrush, Royal Aberdeen, North Berwick, The European, Saunton Sands (East), St Enedoc, Waterville and Kiawah (Ocean). What are your thoughts? It is a fairly fine bucket list if you are a links purist... but I am sure could be improved! Thanks, Guy

Hard to top that Doug.... would also throw a couple of bookends onto that at the very top and bottom of what would be a spectacular road trip. Royal Montrose, about an hour north of Carnoustie is the archetypal hidden gem. Golf has been played on the land there for 450 years, with the current course being a joint effort from Old Tom and Willie Park. Definitely worth a round if you're heading up that way. Right at the other end don't forget about Brora, a truly wild James Braid link north of Dornoch. Well worth the extra effort to get up there... it has sheep grazing on the course and everything! Richard

Great post @mchase , and although very much not in the UK, golf in France does deserve a mention when it comes to the best in Europe. After all it is just a hop over (or under) The Channel for us Brits.... and has the added bonus of fantastic food and wine!! Brittany has wonderful courses, but Dinard and Granville also deserve a mention, the latter being the only PURE links in France, and very close to attractions such as the Mont St Michel and D day beaches. In Northern France, Le Touquet La Mer, Hardelot Les Pins and Belle Dune all have a links feel to them, and are very underrated in European rankings. In fact they are one of our top sellers, as the UK golfers know how good they are! Then you have an array of fantastic courses around Paris, some easier to access than others. Visitors can play the likes of Fontainebleau, Golf de St Germain, and of course Golf National with its 2 courses amongst others. The best of the best in that area is Morfontaine, which regularly features in Continental Europe's top 5 , and Les Bordes (near Orleans), although both have very restricted access. If you're thinking of bolting golf on before or after the Ryder Cup in 2018 ,there are plenty of options in Paris itself, Normandy, Brittany or Northern France. A slight diversion to give continental Europe a shout, but now back to the UK...! Guy

Royal St George's is a great shout... with so much great links golf in the Southport area of England - plus all over Scotland and Ireland - the Kent area often gets overlooked. I think it should definitely be on people's bucket list. Obviously RSG is a the real star - it's a brutal links on some of the finest linksland you'll ever find. Hard to choose between that and Birkdale for title of England's No.1. Right next door is Prince's which is a lovely 27-hole links (hosted the 1932 Open won by Gene Sarazen) that's a great place to spend a day - huge amounts have been spent in recent years and it really is back to its former glory now. The onsite lodges are brand new and overlook by both Princes and RSG.. what a view that is to wake up to. On the other side of RSG is Royal Cinque Ports, a two-time Open venue. It's a brilliant course.. a proper out and back links with some amazing fairways that modern designers need bulldozers to create. The back nine, usually played into the teeth of the wind is possibly the toughest in the UK (discuss!). I used to be a member at RCP so am a bit biased but I think it's as good as anything you'll play elsewhere in the UK! Both Sandwich (for RSG) and Deal (for RCP) are quaint little seaside towns with plenty going on and lots of pubs/restaurants... and all less than a couple of hours from London! Richard

Either of those two bases would be a brilliant trip. That North-West corner is really wild and beautifully remote.. none of the crowds of touring golfers that can sometimes be found in the SW. If you're looking at Sligo and Enniscrone don't forget Carne - another absolute gem with giant dunes - as well as Donegal. Further round is a truly magical stretch of coastline. Rosapenna has a great hotel on site and two sensational courses in spectacular surroundings (the new one, Sandy Hills, is a Pat Ruddy classic - he of 'The European' fame). It's bit, tough and incredibly scenic. Portsalon is also a glorious throwback, a proper old-school links played around a remote bay - the 2nd hole is reminiscent of the 1st at Machrihanish, hugging the coastline and tempting you to cut the corner. It's stunning. Drive further on and you've got two big bruising links at Ballyliffen - hard to say which is the better one really. A day ticket there is a real treat that's for sure. I'd go back there in a heartbeat, it's a great area to play and the welcome is always warm. Consider flying in/out of Derry depending on where you're going to/coming from. Happy choosing! Richard

Thanks for all your posts everyone. Here are the results from the survey I ran in the office. I asked the team for their picks for their top 5 to 10 UK and Irish golf courses. The results were as follows.... (...actually 11 picks as we Brits love our soccer and cricket?1?) 1. Kingsbarns 2. Royal Dornoch 3. Royal Portrush 4. Turnberry - Ailsa Course 5. Old Course - St Andrews 6. Old Head of Kinsale 7. Ballyliffin 8. Royal County Down 9. Gullane No.1 =10 Waterville =10 Doonbeg It's an interesting selection and maybe not what you might expect. However the choices were influenced by the actual courses that people have played (or been lucky enough to play...). Other contenders included: Balllybunion, Portmarnock, Carnoustie, Royal St Georges, Royal Liverpool, Royal Troon, North Berwick - West, Machrihanish - Championship, Royal Porthcawl, Gleneagles - Kings, Druids Glen, European, Trump International (Aberdeen), and Hindhead (Surrey, England). What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Or what have we shamelessly left out (or over promoted..)!! I personally have a soft spot for Trevose - Championship in Cornwall (SW England)... but that is partly because I am also a water sports addict and the course overlooks Constantine Bay, one of the best surf breaks in England! Guy

Indeed. Muirfield is a superb golf course, you would expect it to be having hosted The Open no less than 16 times! Also, it is surrounded by a number of other top-class links courses including Gullane & Archerfield!

Thanks Dave. Good idea. Let's see if we can encourage some more of the guys to join in with the discussion. Guy