If looking to stay in Aberdeen area after Trump, then Murcar and Royal Aberdeen are 10 mins away and both are great. If heading south, Old Course should be on shoulder season prices so worth trying the ballot as you've said. Carnoustie obviously not far down the road from Aberdeen either, they...
Looked it up....Craigtoun is the new name.
It's a 18 hole course, fantastic inland course with great warm up facilities and clubhouse. It was previously owned by the Old Course Hotel but I imagine it will improve even further with the Links Trust taking it on.
You don't really need them to give you the specs away, just make sure you know what they are during the fitting and remember them. You should only really need to remember the shaft, length and like angle. Just casually ask if they're not volunteering the information.....you don't need to give...
Someone posted this link yesterday, it's available on multiple platforms including LG TVs for free:
https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/news/articles/detail/dp-world-tour-fast-channel-to-provide-coverage-to-uk-fans/
I had a look at golf.de and there are 'open' tournaments listed, but they seem to require a DGV ID so likely not open to visitors from other countries.