Day 3 – 6 Aug. We got to LAX with plenty of time to spare and spent about 3 hours in the Aer Lingus lounge, well actually it was the Delta lounge. It was a pretty good lounge, good food with a self-serve bar. Back in the day I could have really made them pay for that decision!!! We munched away the time and boarded on time. The air frame was an Airbus 330-300. Business class had a nice layout, 1-2-1, with lay flat seats and individual entertainment systems. I watched a couple of movies and Beanie read and slept– such a wild child. We had two seats together in the middle and Beanie had good service while I felt like I was the invisible man. After a while it kind of became a running joke. The meal was good, I had beef and the Bean had chicken, which we shared. We’re currently in the lounge at the Dublin Airport waiting for our flight to Edinburgh in about two hours. Beanie looks pretty good, but I feel like a burnt weenie sandwich – whatever that is! Looking forward to getting to Scotland (~7:30 PM) and getting horizonal for about 10 hours.
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| Nice Flight From LA to Dublin |
We caught the flight from Dublin to Edinburgh without issue. It was a smaller plane, and ATR, so I was a little concerned that my golf clubs might not make it even though Beanie had worked some deal that guaranteed delivery (for a small fee of course). Everything went fine, even getting thru the grueling customs inspection that consisted of following a sign that said, “Nothing to Declare” and walking out of the terminal. The next part was pretty funny. If you’ve never seen the Robin Williams video about Scottish golf, go here first, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSXMS8ABAAU&t=27, It’s a bit salty, but classic. So, Beanie and I are dragging our bags to the taxi stand and when we get there we start taking to the taxi driver and I swear all we could think of was the Robin Williams video. That accent! Everything went great, he got us to the hotel and there was Kim on the front steps to meet us. Very nice to travel 5000 miles over and 14 hours and have a friendly face there to greet you. We cleaned up a bit, had a couple adult beverages and crashed around 11:00 PM. All in all, a good day.
Day 4 – 7 Aug. Big day today. The rest of the group arrived mid-morning via plane, train, and auto. We met our driver, Sean, a burly Scotsman of good wit and disposition. He made the drive from our hotel in Edinburgh to Fife a pleasant one with good narrative about the local county and humorous names for local towns. We made a surprise visit to the Old Course and we could actually drive the bus across the 18th fairway to the Links Course (there are seven courses at St Andrews) for a nice lunch. It was surreal to look at the 17 Roadhouse hole and the 18th fairway and green and realize we were actually at the site of so many historic golf tournaments.
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| On Hallowed Ground |
After lunch, we did a little shopping in the golf shop and headed for the Fairmont. It’s about 5 miles outside of the town of St. Andrews and is a beautiful property, http://www.fairmont.com/st-andrews-scotland.
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| The Fairmont St. Andrews |
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| Fairmont St, Andrews Lobby Area |
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| Sunset @ the Fairmont |
We settled in and met up with Bill and Kim for a walk about. There is a path (and when I say path think single file trail) that goes along the shore of the North Sea we hiked for a few miles. Really rough, rocky shoreline, but pretty interesting to experience. There are two 18-hole courses on the property and both of them seem really nice. On the return portion of the hike we walked right up the 17th and 18th fairways. It really got the golfing juices flowing. We could not have asked for a better day. The sun was shining, temps were in the mid 60s, and the wind was probably 8-10.
After we got back to the Fairmont we were greeted with some great news, Bill and I were drawn from the ballots and will play the St. Andrews Old Course on Wednesday @ 12:40 PM. We had put 8 names in and only 4 were drawn. I feel bad everyone didn’t get in, but we’re so stoked we were on the lucky side. This means we will play Kingsbarns tomorrow, the Old Course on Wednesday, and Carnoustie on Thursday. Hard to imagine a better week of golf. And if things go the way we hope, Beanie and Kim will be able to walk along with us at the Old Course. After such a great day we just cleaned up, met with the rest of the group for adult beverages and had a very nice meal at the Italian restaurant on site at the Fairmont. Sometimes life is good and sometimes it’s just freakin’ awesome.
Kathy: Not too much to add. I hope I don’t jinx it by saying the weather has been perfect. It was amazing yesterday walking on the 18th fairway at St. Andrews – in between people teeing off of course. Wonderful to look around and recognize all the historic buildings we’ve seen so many times on TV. The town, hotel, grounds and coastline are beautiful and it was so nice to stretch our legs that afternoon and walk the coast trail at the hotel. It goes all the way to St. Andrews but that would mean a lot of rock scrambling. Kim and I are so pleased that “the boys” won their ballots and will be golfing the Old Course! Today while the guys are golfing Kingsbarns, the ladies will be site seeing with Sean. Not sure what we’ll be seeing but did hear something about Sterling Castle.
Day 5 – 8 Aug. (RC) Today is Kingsbarns.
Another perfect day for Scottish golf. Temps were in low 60s, wind <10 and the sea was flat as the proverbial tortilla! The course was as good as it gets.
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| Bill & I @ Kingsbarns |
I was chatting with the starter and he said if the conditions today were last week during the Woman’s British Open they would have torn the course up. I’ve never seen such a lush links style course. We put two foursomes out and even though personal best rounds were not to be had, to a man, everyone had a good time. The only minus for the day is we had a pretty weak caddie. The second group couldn’t speak higher about their caddy, but ours was not top shelf, or really any shelf. On a personal note, I had a pretty good round, 86, considering I had a 9 on the 3rd hold, a par 5. Things were looking pretty good, 65 yards from the pin, laying 2 and then it all went kinda dark!! I chunked a lob wedge into the coffin bunker (there is a reason they call them coffin bunkers) and was lodged tight to the wall so I couldn’t go forward, backward, or sideways. I chose to just swing hard and see if I could do a Mickelson and somehow shoot it straight up and out. You can see where this is going. The ball hit the wall (kinda like crap hitting the fan), came almost straight down, still in the trap. I hit my next shot quite poorly and once again left it in the trap. For those of you keeping score I am now laying 4. The next shot hit the steep wall of the bunker, bounces back and hit’s me. That’s a 2-stroke penalty and I’m still in the trap and now laying 6. I finally get out, 25 feet to the pin, 2 putt, and move onto the next hole. Yep, much like you, couldn’t stop laughing about that one. To the credit of my golfing partners, they never peeped anything (that I could hear). Still a great day of golf. The course is pretty hilly for a links course. Hence me and the boys grunting up to the clubhouse coming off 18.
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| Leaving 18th @ Kingsbarns for a cool pint at the top of the hill |
Another high note for the day was in the parking lot we ran into Catherine Kirk, LPGA profession, and Tom Kirk’s son Tom. For those of you who have not had the pleasure and privilege of meeting Tom, he is a retired colonel who was captured as a POW in the Vietnam War and shared accommodations with John McCain at the Hanoi Hilton for just under 2000 days. He’s currently residing in Anthem, AZ. Catherine is a LGPA professional from Australia, maiden name Hull, played her collegiate golf at Pepperdine, and 3-time winner on the tour. She was sooo gracious, stopping to sign autographs, take pictures, and just chat it up like we were old friends. Really good people and it gives me someone to root for on the ladies’ tour.
The Bean & I with LPGA Pro Catherine Kirk
Following the golf and
some expensive pro shop grazing, we hopped on the bus for dining in “downtown”
St. Andrews. You have to understand St.
Andrews, while a city, is probably more closely related to a village or
hamlet. We went to a little placed
called the Hams Hame Pub & Grill. We
came in with 15 people and the first thing they told us is they couldn’t
accommodate all of us. After some back
and forth we convinced them they could and we spread about the 300-square foot
venue. Good pub type food and kind of
funny when I walked about the 4 tables we were spread across, 13 of 15 people
got the fish and chips. They use haddock
in this part of the world and it’s quite tasty.
Last time I was in Maine, haddock was more expensive than lobster. After dinner, five of us walked up to the Dunvegan
Hotel Corner Pub, http://www.dunvegan-hotel.com/golfers.php, a favorite hangout of the St. Andrews caddies and locals. It was packed, but everyone was so nice and
friendly. We managed to get a small
table by the window, providing a nice place to share stories and experience the
whole vibe. When we left at about 9:00 we walked across the street to view a
beautiful sunset and watch the last couple foursomes of the day make their way
up the 18th hole of the Old Course.
Great way to end a day. Tomorrow
I move on to bring the Old Course to its knees!!!
Kathy: What a nice day we all had. We dropped off the guys at Kingsbarns and then Sean, our driver, took us to Anstruther, a charming fishing village up the coast. As you can see the signage here is a bit different!
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| People Crossing May Be A Wee Bit Slow |
Sean has a great sense of humor and we’ve all enjoyed his stories of working with some celebrities. The village was charming and while the other ladies checked out the stores along the waterfront, Kim and I headed inland to see the homes and small mom and pop stores where the locals shopped.
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| Last Working Phone Booth in Anstruther - Maintained by College Tech Students & This Homeowner |
Well, okay, we did stop in a couple of the waterfront tourist stores – I bought our Christmas cards for this year. We spent some time at a lovely old church and the small cemetery surrounding it. The headstones dated back into the early 1800s.
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| Countryside Church |
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| Ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral |
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| Ruins of Queens Palace in St. Andrews |
We then headed back to the town of St. Andrews and Kim and I had lunch at The Tail End Restaurant and Fish Market (we agreed, the best fish and chips we've ever had – definitely the one to beat) and visited the St. Andrews Cathedral and the crumbling Queen’s Palace.
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| World's Best Fish & Chip |
Again, Kim and I went our own way since easier to navigate around with the two of us rather than all 8 of us. Then back to Kingsbarns to watch the guys come up the 18th hole, followed by drinks in the clubhouse. Fun to watch the guys figure out all the bets and hear their stories of glory and defeat!
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| Post Round Lies & Drinks @ Kingsbarns |
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