The following video will make for some interesting viewing for anyone who plans on travelling (or who has travelled in the past) to Scotland for golf. Caddies can play a big part during your visit and they definitely enhance the experience when playing some of the toughest links courses around. This docu-film gives you some insight into some of the characters you may meet on your travels.
By Gary Sheppard. Gary has been with PerryGolf for over 4 years and is one of our Golf Travel Specialists.
The new Robert Burns Birthplace Museum opened in late January as part of the ‘Burns weekend’ and just prior to Burns Night on the 25th of January; the bard’s birthday. The new museum is in Alloway, adjacent to the other Burns sites – the Burns Monument, Burns Cottage, Auld Brig O’Doon and Auld Kirk – and they are linked by Poet’s Path, a pedestrian walkway. Alloway is a short distance from Turnberry and Troon and is definitely a worthwhile break from golf.
Robert Burns died in 1796 and is regarded by many as Scotland’s finest poet, so it was fitting that the museum should be opened by the present Makar (national poet), Liz Lochhead.
Burns Suppers will be held all over the world this week, wherever Scots or followers of the poet are together. The first Burns Supper was held by his friends in 1797 on the anniversary of his death and although the date has moved to the anniversary of his birth, it has become a national custom ever since. The meal consists of soup, followed by haggis, neeps (mashed turnip) and tatties (mashed potato) and the highly-flavoured savoury pudding is ceremoniously piped into the dining hall. The host, or a chosen speaker, will “address the haggis” through a traditional poem before plunging in a dirk (dagger) at the appropriate line.
Toasts are, of course, made with whisky!
By Yvonne Shaw. Yvonne has been with PerryGolf for over 10 years and is a member of our admin team.
I have learned with interest this week that Kinloch Lodge, on the beautiful island of Skye, has retained its Michelin star for 2011.
For those not aware, Skye is located off the west coast of Scotland and is famous thanks to the “Skye Boat Song” about Bonnie Prince Charlie fleeing there after the battle of Culloden in 1746. Skye offers some stunning scenery as well as a wealth of history…and with the Talisker Distillery also located on the island, it makes a great stop on any tour of Scotland. Now with its Michelin star, one of the highest awards in fine cuisine, a stay at Kinloch Lodge would really put the finishing touch to a trip.
You can see further details of Kinloch Lodge by clicking here.
By Alastair Niven. Alastair has been with PerryGolf for over 9 years and is one of our Golf Travel Specialists.
The 2012 Curtis Cup will be held at Nairn Golf Club on the 125th anniversary of the founding of the club. The course, which has hosted a number of important tournaments over the years, including the 1999 Walker Cup and the Scottish Amateur Championships, will be the most northerly venue yet.
The announcement will provide another boost to the Highlands, which over the past two years has increased in popularity with overseas visitors after the opening of the fantastic Castle Stuart Golf Links which is being tipped to be the next host of the European Tour’s Scottish Open once Loch Lomond ceases to become host venue. When you add these two fantastic courses to Royal Dornoch, which is in the top 20 world rankings, it gives the area a huge appeal to all golfers.
By Keith Baird. Keith has been with PerryGolf for over 10 years and is one of our Golf Travel Specialists.
Much of Scotland’s history has been as wild and changeable as its weather…but on a more light-hearted note, the oldest golf course in Scotland; ‘The Home of Golf’, is often fiercely disputed.
Musselburgh (near Edinburgh) can prove existence in 1674 and it is even suggested that Mary, Queen of Scots played there in the late 1500’s. The Old Course at St. Andrews has records of golf played there in 1574 and is the most widely known ‘Home of Golf’. Stirling, with it’s much fought over castle, insists that King James IV played a round of golf there in 1506 with the Earl of Bothwell, so it is assumed there was some sort of course there at that time. Now Perth golfers have come up with some interesting facts to claim the title as theirs.
It is well-known that golf was banned in 15th Century Scotland and all men were encouraged to practice archery in readiness for any invasion by their neighbours in England. James IV was crowned at Scone Palace, near Perth in 1488, and by 1502 (in a more peaceful period) he had decided that an invasion was unlikely and golf could again be played. The King was a keen sportsman and took up the game himself. He commissioned a set of clubs from a local bow-maker and is reputed to have used them on the town’s North Inch course the same year.
By Yvonne Shaw. Yvonne has been with PerryGolf for over 10 years and is a member of our admin team.
