Pilgrimage to Scotland

It started with playing golf in 45C (114F) weather last week and a sudden urge to get out of the heat for a few days, as well as an excuse to build my Emirates miles to get to 25k. I looked at South Africa (too pricey), Bangkok (saving it for Emirates fam trip), Kuala Lumpur (schedule didn't work), Singapore (same), Jakarta (earthquake), Anywhere in Europe (too expensive), and India (no visa). So that left Colombo, Sri Lanka...until I stumbled on a sale price for a flight to Glasgow on the exact dates I needed to travel. Travel a day earlier or a day later and the price is more than double, so I decided it was time to try and fullfil a little dream.

There are a couple things I have always wanted to do, but just have never made the time, or had the means to accomplish. One is a pilgrimage to Cooperstown. To play a round at Augusta National. Another is a trip to St. Andrews to play the Old Course. Here was my chance.

I booked the flight, booked a B&B in St Andrews and gave myself 2 full days to get on the Old Course. The Old Course is booked months and months in advance, as well as tee times reserved for locals and members of the R&A. Then a daily ballot is used to fill any open tee times. As a single you normally can't book a tee time and you can't be in the ballot. The only way to get on is to show up at the Starter's window and wait for an opening. If you don't make it on, there are still 5-6 other courses that you can try to get on.

So I arrived at the Old Course just after 6am, first tee time is 7am. It was a clear, crisp morning, probably about 50F. I was #18 in line and my chances didn't look good--some people had been there since 3:30. We caught a break when the first tee time didn't show. A couple others got out with groups over the next 30 mins. Then the gentleman who was #7 in line got a tee time. And then a miracle happened--and everyone else between 7 and 18 had disappeared. In 2 minutes I went from sitting in the cold on the bench, to plunking down $210, grabbing my bag and stepping on the tee box to meet and greet 3 other players and 3 caddies, including mine, grabbing a club and hitting a tee shot cold...plus my driver was missing. I don't know if I left it in the car, someone stole it while I was waiting, or maybe it was in Dubai. There wasn't anytime to really do anything about it, so with all these wonderful swing thoughts and a some nerves, I teed it up and managed to top my drive (with my 3 wood) about 50 yds. The hole was a complete shambles of topped shots and shanks--two lost balls and a 3 putt at the end for a 12. But it was perfect weather and I was playing the Old Course. I took a triple bogey on the second. On the third, I finally stripped off the jacket and got over my fear of hurting the pristine grass and started playing better with 3 straight bogeys and then a birdie on #6.

My Caddy, Kevin, has been at St. Andrews for 6 years and he has seen it all, so I just followed his advice, tried to hit it where he aimed me. (Remarkably, Kevin had never actually played the Old Course; but was scheduled to play it for the first time that afternoon).

I never kept a scorecard, but best I can figure I probably fired in the mid-90s, with alot of pars and bogeys, 2 birdies (also birdied #14, the #1 handicap hole!), and a few Others.

The course was pristine and in immaculate condition. It's not an especially long course, but there are so many bunkers and splotches of rough and gorse to dodge, that you have to be thinking on every shot. And then you have greens the size of football fields with hills and valleys to deal with. I had a couple putts where I would have bet my paycheck that it would break one way but Kevin was telling me to play the opposite break...and you hit it and still can't believe it breaks that way. I had one putt where I was only 5 feet from the hole, but it was the wrong hole of the double green.

It was a wonderful 4 hours. I saw some wild carom shots out of bunkers (mostly accidental, but remarkable still), putts from 50 yds off the green (they say the fairways are cut to run at 14 on the meter during the Open), I saw a putt pass the hole, turn around and roll in, and I saw skulled shots (my own included) roll forever and wind up on the green. Sometimes you are hitting to wide open spaces (with invisible bunkers lurking) and sometimes you are hitting to a fairway no wider than a bowling alley (with invisible bunkers lurking). The rough was thick, but you could usually get the club on the ball and get it headed up the fairway--the Gorse (dark green bushes in the pics) is nasty and unplayable. I topped one tee shot and my caddy says "I think you're in the bunker" and I say to him "why would they put a bunker 75 yds off the tee?" Turns out I rolled about 200yds and missed the bunker (but there was still a bunker 75 yrds off the tee). It's a magnificent, quirky and historic course...I can't wait to do it again someday.

After my morning on The Old Course, I put my name on the list for The Jubilee Course. It looked like a couple hour wait (it was actually a shorter wait for the Old Course), so I went and bought a new Driver at a shop my caddy recommended. Finally teed off around 2pm. During the morning we were treated to an airshow with planes arriving for a weekend airshow at Leuchars AFB just across the water from St. Andrews. The first arrival we saw was a B52 which did a low pass before landing. My partners for the Jubilee course were two of the crew members on the B52. Good Show Guys!

The Jubilee was opened in 1897 and is a bit tighter, but more straight forward than the Old Course. I think overall it was a bit tougher and stingier course for scoring.

The next morning I waited about 3 hours to get on the Eden Course (built in 1914), which was probably the most scenic of the 3 courses I played. A little more wide open and more forgiving. Again, the weather was perfect and we enjoyed a whole round of aircraft demonstrations.

I haven't walked 18 holes in probably 2 years, and I walked 36 on Thursday and another 18 on Friday (carrying my bag for the Jubilee and Eden). I was very sore but very happy with a wonderful weekend.

But I'm still 400 miles short on my Emirates miles!