SGTW Day 1 – Arrival

I came in a day early into Edinburgh so I could hook up with my mate, Iain Holmes, of Sullivan Golf Travel. Iain was kind enough to grab me from the airport in Edinburgh and we headed out to Duddingston Golf Club for an afternoon round. Duddingston is one of the finer parkland courses in the area and their staff had made quite an impression on me during last year’s event. So it was a thrill to get to play the course and really get a feel for what is a great option for groups staying in the Edinburgh area. We then had a nice dinner in downtown Edinburgh before getting ready to get down to business for the week.

SGTW Day 2 – West Coast FAM

My FAM trip for 2025 would be focused on the West Coast of Scotland. We first met up with the event organizers at Edinburgh Airport and got on our shuttle. After picking up a couple other operators at the Glasgow Airport, we headed to our first stop at Cameron House, a resort located about 25 minutes north of Glasgow at the base of Loch Lomond. After dropping our bags in the room, we quickly made it over to the Carrick Course for a round on their championship layout. Great views and a much greater variety of holes than I ever would have imagined. I then snuck over to the Wee Demon, Cameron House’s new 9-hole short course. Definitely tricky and long at times, but a great complement to the big course. After a long afternoon, I took a quick dip in the pool and hot tub before cleaning up to meet the group for a great dinner. We did a quick site visit after and then headed off to bed after a long day.

SGTW Day 3 – Exploring

The group packed up and headed south from Cameron House. First stop was Irvine Golf Club. Getting to see places like Irvine are the reason why these FAM trips are so invaluable. I honestly did not know much about the course before we showed up. I walked away not only convinced that guests would receive a true Scottish welcome, but wanting to know if they take international members. We then made a quick stop at the fabulous Marine Troon Hotel overlooking Royal Troon Golf Course. I was very familiar with Marine Troon after staying there during the World Hickory Open a couple years back, but I had not had the pleasure of visiting our next stop, The Gailes Hotel. I cannot believe how much that hotel has to offer for golf groups. Terrific rooms, a great spa, full Trackman driving range, a short game practice area, and the friendliest staff around. After a terrific lunch at the Gailes, I broke away from the group to do some golf course walking in the area. I got to walk and visit 3 courses in the area that I had not seen before: Gailes Links, Prestwick St. Nicholas, and Prestwick St. Cuthbert. After about 15 miles of walking, I taxied back to join up with the group for dinner at Dundonald Links, our home for the night.

SGTW Day 4 – Cross-Country

The day started with breakfast and a terrific site tour at Dundonald Links. Their multi-bedroom units with a putting green at the center would be an ideal home base for many golf groups. On our way east we stopped for a special event at Rosebank Distillery, where we bottled our own custom whiskey! We then made our way to the world-famous Gleneagles Resort, where we had lunch and got a full tour of the hotel and amenities within. One more hotel on the way up to Aberdeen, we stopped at the Dunblane Hydro by DoubleTree for a site inspection. We ended the day be checking in to the Hilton TECA Hotel just outside of Aberdeen.

SGTW Day 5 – Trump International

This “bridge” day gave all the tour operators the chance to converge on the Aberdeen area from their respective FAM trip locations and get ready for the serious business to begin. I was able to drop my stuff off at The Chester Hotel and get changed for an afternoon round on Trump International Aberdeen. Luckily for those who had not played the course before, the sun came out and the wind stayed relatively down. It was an absolutely fantastic day on the links, highlighted by the great group I was in with operators from Poland, Argentina, and Australia. The highlight of my round was my approach shot on the long par-4 9th hole. After laying up to about 50 yards short of the green (with my hickory clubs I had no chance of getting to the green in regulation), I used my hickory putter up the slope to a back pin. It was probably about 80 yards total and I hit my putter as hard as I could and luckily had the ball stop about a foot from the cup. That evening was the introduction of SGTW and the mixer where I got to see a number of friends!

SGTW Day 6 – Meetings Day One

Scottish Golf Tourism Week is a highly effective event for a tour operator who wants to meet as many suppliers as possible. The room is filled with golf courses, lodging vendors, transportation providers, and various attractions and activities that a golf group might be interested in during a golf trip. The very short appointment times are tough, but if you meet someone you have interest in, then you just follow up after the event for more information. The nice thing is if you meet someone that you really don’t have much interest in, it is only a short window of time that you have spent with them, and you move to the next appointment. It is a challenge to keep all your notes straight and do proper follow ups once you get home, but I love meeting people who eventually will help me do my job better. After a full diary of meetings, I was given a personal tour of downtown Aberdeen by Iain Holmes who went to University there.

SGTW Day 7 – Meetings Day Two

The second day of the actual SGTW event is always packed to the gills. I had learned my lesson from previous years and had all my clothes for the day laid out before I left my room in the morning for our second day of meetings. It is a rat race from there. Non-stop appointments until about 1:30pm. Get up to the room and change into your golf clothes and grab your clubs to board the shuttle at 2:00pm. Eat a boxed lunch on the way to the golf course. I was finally able to visit my friends at Newmacher Golf Club where we played a 9-hole shotgun start so we could see that facility. Back on the bus immediately after completing golf. Quick shower and get your best threads on, then board the final shuttle over to the Awards Dinner. Luckily for everyone, the SGTW staff had things mapped out very well. A terrific day!

Golf Day One: Cruden Bay

With the Scottish Golf Tourism event behind me, it was now time to get my other “work” in on this particular trip to Scotland. Over the years, I have done many site visits to places that only afforded me enough time to say hello, look around for a few minutes, and then head to my next stop. My goal for staying in Scotland for an extra week was simple: To play a collection of golf courses that I have only seen, but not gotten to play. After catching the shuttle down to Edinburgh Airport, I picked up my rental car and headed towards St. Andrews. I picked up my partner in crime, Brian Weis of GolfTrips.com, and we headed back to the Aberdeen area that I had just left. Our first stop: Cruden Bay. This fantastic course had been on my docket for many years, and the day did NOT disappoint. What an absolute thrill ride of a golf course! After dinner we checked in to the nearby St. Olaf Golf Hotel overlooking the golf course.

Golf Day Two: Fraserburgh and Peterhead

We headed north to play two courses that are well-respected in the hickory-golf community. Our first stop was at Fraserburgh where Gerry Chalmers and his team took great care of us. On and off rain and wind did not deter us from enjoying this great golf course, full of humps and bumps and interesting holes. With all the golf we had planned over the next few days, we did not hesitate when the staff offered the use of a buggie for the morning. We then headed back towards Aberdeen to visit Peterhead. The rain continued for the rest of the day, but my memories are just of all the cool golf holes that Peterhead has to offer. Definitely worth the stop! After our long, rainy day, we made it back to The Chester Hotel in Aberdeen where we had a great couple of nights!

Golf Day Three: Murcar Links and Royal Aberdeen

For those that know the map of Aberdeen, both Murcar and Royal Aberdeen are basically attached to the eastern part of the city. It is such a cool thing to play two courses that take up the same coast line and actually touch each other on the map. You would think it would be all the same, but to me the courses are very different. Murcar Links has lots of blind tee shots, aiming poles, and interesting angles. Royal Aberdeen is pretty much 9 holes out and 9 holes back and might be the most pure links course I have ever seen. And with hickory clubs? So fun! The fairways at Royal Aberdeen are so big and the greens have so much square footage, it is a dream. Both courses are terrific!!!!

Golf Day Four: Stonehaven and Gleneagles

Our trip to Stonehaven is a day that I will not soon forget. This course, just south of Aberdeen, might not be for everyone. It is a par-66 course built on a very rugged piece of land. It is a very hard walk and locals joke that you need to have one leg shorter than the other to survive all 18 holes. All I can tell you is after 6 holes Brian Weis and I agreed that we were going to investigate what it would take to be members at this club. It was one of the most awe-inspiring and fun rounds of golf I have played in a very long time. How often do you take your first trip around a course and remember EVERY ONE of the 18 holes. I could recount them with amazing clarity, that is how cool this place is. If you want to talk about the overall return for what you pay for a round of golf, Stonehaven might have the best payoff for an inexpensive course in the world. After this mind-blowing experience, we made it all the way down to Gleneagles to get a full scope of the 3 golf courses there. We took a driving tour of the Queens Course and the PGA Centennary Course and then grabbed our clubs and got the Kings Course played as the sun went down. What a day! We drove down to the East Lothian area to check in to The Leddie for a couple of nights. The newly refurbished Leddie (formerly the Ducks Inn) has definitely moved up in the world of quality lodging options.

Golf Day Five: Muirfield and Archerfield Links

Our next day was another one that will rest in the memory banks for a long, long time. The experience at Muirfield is one that every golf fan should try and enjoy at least once in their lives. Upon arrival, we were greeted with warmth and shown into the locker room to get ready for golf. The golf course was what you would expect. A solid championship layout in fantastic condition. But the real magic begins once you get done with golf and get showered and cleaned up. The lunch buffet at Muirfield is a unique experience. Coats, ties, and dress shoes are required for men. If the staff at Downton Abbey ran a golf banquet, this is what it would feel like. Thank you to everyone at Muirfield for such a special day. We then filled the rest of our day with business. We made a few different stops in the area before ending the day with a fantastic site visit at Archerfield Links. With a world class practice facility, 36 holes, and some very unique lodging options on site, Archerfield could be a great home base for certain groups in the East Lothian peninsula.

Golf Day Six: Craigielaw and Kilspindie

Yes, it is very fun to play all of these different golf courses on a trip. But to do my job well, I have always said that you cannot speak about a golf course without playing it. Nothing proves that theory more than playing Craigielaw and Kilspindie in the same day. After taking a nice tour of the Lodge at Craigielaw, we teed off on this relatively new course in East Lothian. The green complexes were very modern, with lots of slope and deep pot bunkers swallowing up many errant shots. On one stretch of the course, you play against a wall with Kilspindie sitting on the other side. You can see the course for multiple holes, so you would think you would be able to figure out how that course will play. NOPE! By contrast, Kilspindie is open, short and foregiving. Add in the fantastic views and you have one of the more enjoyable golf courses around. I have definitely added Kilspindie to my personal list of most enjoyable courses to play hickory clubs with in all of Scotland!

Golf Day Seven: Glen Club East Links and Dunbar

We stayed at the Garleton Lodge for our last couple of nights. With its serene setting and quality amenities, Garleton could be a perfect fit for the right group! Our final day of golf saw us head toward the east end of East Lothian. Many are familiar with North Berwick Golf Club as one of the top courses in the world. Just down the street from the more famous “West Links” is the Glen Club East Links in North Berwick. Hole # 1 goes straight up to the green and you spend the next 16 holes exploring the rolling seaside property. What a cool collection of golf holes! Then you finish back at the top of the hill on the 18th tee, hitting down to the fairway below as you hit your final shots. For our last round of the trip, we made it to Dunbar Golf Club, a course I have heard great things about for years. It did not disappoint. Dunbar is a pure, championship layout. It was long, windy and tough and you can see why they have held multiple Open qualifiers at Dunbar over the years.

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