Scotland Trip 2024
I was thrilled to execute another trip to Scotland for friends and family in 2024, this time taking the group up to the Highlands of Scotland. We did things a little differently this time around. We not only kept the group a little smaller than normal, but we rented 2 cars and also did an AirBnB for part of the trip. Not having to worry about shuttles and drivers was a nice change, and Matt Mattioli and I did a fine job driving with no incidents to report! We spent half the time in the Inverness area, and then the other half up in the Dornoch area. We finished the trip with a night at the Dalmahoy Resort outside of Edinburgh, Good times with good people! From left to right: Jason Kauflin, Matt Mattioli, Chad McGraw, John Khalil, Nathan Moore, Cindy Kauflin, Roger Emig, Rawn Emig.
Scotland Day 1 – Arrival
All of us made it onto the same flight into Edinburgh, which helped out tremendously. After procuring our rental vans, we set off for Inverness, about a 2-1/2 hour drive. We were met at our AirBnB by the host, who showed us around the house. What a great set up: 5 Bedrooms, stocked kitchen, and a hot tub overlooking the Moray Firth. It was very fun hanging out together back at the house after golf each day.
Scotland Day 2 – Nairn
Our first day of golf gave me the opportunity to get to one of the top courses in the Highlands which I had yet to visit. We played the Championship Course at Nairn on a day that started a little murky but improved as the round went on. Nairn has a proud history and hosted the 1999 Walker Cup Matches which featured Matt Kuchar, Luke Donald, and Paul Casey among others. Solid golf course in excellent condition! A very standard links course layout with a nice elevation change on the back nine! Afterwards we were given a special treat. The club’s historian, Hugh Sutherland, gave us a private tour of Nairn’s Archive Room. We saw two pieces of golf history that you don’t get to see very often. The first was a Sunday Stick, which is basically an old walking stick where the handle is shaped like a miniature golf club. Back when all courses were closed on Sundays, locals would use these coming home from church and if no one was around, the would throw a ball down, turn their walking stick over, and play a shot or two! The other item was a Stymie Stick. Back before balls were allowed to be marked on the greens, this was the measuring device used to determine if you were allowed to move your ball if another ball blocked your line to the cup. If it was within 6 inches, you could move it. If not, too bad!!!
Scotland Day 3 – Castle Stuart
Getting to share my love for the Castle Stuart course at Cabot Highlands with my good friends and family was a special treat. It is absolutely one of my favorite courses in Scotland, and anywhere else on planet Earth for that matter. There may be other courses in Scotland with more history, more panache, and more memorable golf holes. But Castle Stuart has all the elements that make a terrific golf facility, and I love it sincerely. A special shoutout to the staff at Cabot Highlands, including Stefanie Whyte and Elspeth Beardwood, for helping create such a special day for us. They set up a private meal for us on the top level of the amazing clubhouse!
Scotland Day 4 – Fortrose & Rosemarkie
After three nights in our amazing location in Inverness, it was time to head north. On the way, we stopped at a course I consider to be utterly unique in the world of golf. Fortrose & Rosemarkie is the 15th oldest recorded golf course in the world, starting in 1793. The course is situated on one long peninsula with a road bisecting it right down the middle. You are paying constant attention to whether or not cars are in play! Not a ton of photos as it was pretty rainy, cold, and windy for most of the round. Thank you to Mike MacDonald for all of his time and effort to get our group to Fortrose. We had a nice lunch at the course before heading up to Dornoch to check into the Royal Golf Hotel.
Scotland Day 5 – Royal Dornoch/Sightseeing
We divided up into two foursomes on this day. I set up the Mattioli/Khalil/Moore/McGraw foursome for a round on Royal Dornoch, currently ranked the #2 public course outside of the United States by Golf Digest. For me personally, getting golf lovers to a course this widely regarded (that none of them have played before) is a thrill! The Kauflins and Emigs took the day off from golf to go on a Highland Coo search, do a little sightseeing, and of course get a few games of Hearts in. We ended our afternoon touring the Dunrobin Castle and Gardens and stopping at Brora for afternoon tea and another game of cards!
Scotland Day 6 – Brora
We had a beautifully bright and sunny day at Brora Golf Course for our last round up in the Highlands. There is just something special about Brora, which is pretty much the northern-most course in Scotland that most groups would consider on a trip. From the cows and sheep roaming the fairways to the tiny electric fence surrounding each green to keep the livestock off the greens, Brora is in a word CHARMING. And don’t miss the cheesecake!!!!
Scotland Day 7 – Dalmahoy
Our final night together was at the Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club, located just outside of Edinburgh. We had planned on playing golf at Dalmahoy after driving down from the Highlands, but the weather did not cooperate. We got our hopes up pretty high when, after it had been raining all the way down from Dornoch, we arrived at Dalmahoy to find blue skies. But it did not take long for that situation to change, and the video below shows some of us getting “caught in the elements” on the first green!!!
