KitaScot
Medal Winner
I took time to "smell the reeds" inbetween bouts with the wind and rain and when the sun peeked through.
The celeb photog at the Alfred Dunhill Championship kindly shot me on The Bridge....
Prestwick St Nicholas #2 my first par in Scotland: chipped from the white wire rings at the right to the back of the green and let the ball come back to the hole for a 3' putt.
Machrihanish Dunes...smiling because I just made a par! and then made the 2nd par in row....
...before losing count on the back nine (a sad game for such a beautiful course that deserved far better from me....oh well).
2 from Boat of Garten....the 2nd hitting into the sun I had no idea where the drive landed...
...but just walked down prepared to drop/replace a lost ball when I found it down in the fairway!
2 groups before me had hit all their drives to my feet walking up the fairway to the right....they stayed after the round to talk to me, likely to apologize, (and to see just who was crazy enough to carry his clubs up and down these fairways), and we enjoyed a nice talk likening BoG to those THEY AND I PLAYED IN UPSTATE NEW YORK, which is why I had come to play here.
Brora where when you go, REMEMBER TO KEEP DRIVES LEFT OF CENTER! It was about the most pleasant day in terms of weather, and I made enough pars (and a birdie) for my best score in Scotland, an 86...
Two of Tain....where the wind and rain was on and off and so strong that I barely remember the course....
...but it was a great feat, finishing in the late PM sunset and full rainbow with a few pars and a birdie (a low screaming 3 wood sliced around a dogleg to the back of the green, 2 feet from the hole), and a score in the mid-90s where most of my Scotland rounds ended up.
Royal Dornoch where I was paired with a Londoner who kept saying nice things about my short game (bunker escapes and lag putts) despite not making a par.
Though the only round I failed to do so it was still a lovely day and I was happy with a 101 score.
Gullane #3 being followed by a nice lady and her well-behaved dogs. Had my best 9 of the trip, a 40 that began with a double bogie but followed up with a sand-save par 3 to keep my optimism and game on track making some nice par approaches and a few chips for 1-putt pars.
....but the 2nd nine played on and round the mountain top was just crazy in the wind that blew my drive on that down-hill par 3 from 20 yds left of the fairway all the way across to the right rough.
I did recover though with a nice chip that trundled down and around the bunker at the right and onto the green for a 2-putt bogie....typical of the 56 back nine...
All-in-all it was a very memorable trip. In better shape, playing these courses more than once, I would have scores similar to those here in Florida, primarily because I don't fear bunkers!
I'm indebted to all the advice and hand-holding I got along the way from folks here and on golfWRX as well as my hosts who kept me well-fed....though I did lose 12 pounds from all that walking.
It would be nice to return for another month, but for now I have a lot of great memories!
The celeb photog at the Alfred Dunhill Championship kindly shot me on The Bridge....
Prestwick St Nicholas #2 my first par in Scotland: chipped from the white wire rings at the right to the back of the green and let the ball come back to the hole for a 3' putt.
Machrihanish Dunes...smiling because I just made a par! and then made the 2nd par in row....
...before losing count on the back nine (a sad game for such a beautiful course that deserved far better from me....oh well).
2 from Boat of Garten....the 2nd hitting into the sun I had no idea where the drive landed...
...but just walked down prepared to drop/replace a lost ball when I found it down in the fairway!
2 groups before me had hit all their drives to my feet walking up the fairway to the right....they stayed after the round to talk to me, likely to apologize, (and to see just who was crazy enough to carry his clubs up and down these fairways), and we enjoyed a nice talk likening BoG to those THEY AND I PLAYED IN UPSTATE NEW YORK, which is why I had come to play here.
Brora where when you go, REMEMBER TO KEEP DRIVES LEFT OF CENTER! It was about the most pleasant day in terms of weather, and I made enough pars (and a birdie) for my best score in Scotland, an 86...
Two of Tain....where the wind and rain was on and off and so strong that I barely remember the course....
...but it was a great feat, finishing in the late PM sunset and full rainbow with a few pars and a birdie (a low screaming 3 wood sliced around a dogleg to the back of the green, 2 feet from the hole), and a score in the mid-90s where most of my Scotland rounds ended up.
Royal Dornoch where I was paired with a Londoner who kept saying nice things about my short game (bunker escapes and lag putts) despite not making a par.
Though the only round I failed to do so it was still a lovely day and I was happy with a 101 score.
Gullane #3 being followed by a nice lady and her well-behaved dogs. Had my best 9 of the trip, a 40 that began with a double bogie but followed up with a sand-save par 3 to keep my optimism and game on track making some nice par approaches and a few chips for 1-putt pars.
....but the 2nd nine played on and round the mountain top was just crazy in the wind that blew my drive on that down-hill par 3 from 20 yds left of the fairway all the way across to the right rough.
I did recover though with a nice chip that trundled down and around the bunker at the right and onto the green for a 2-putt bogie....typical of the 56 back nine...
All-in-all it was a very memorable trip. In better shape, playing these courses more than once, I would have scores similar to those here in Florida, primarily because I don't fear bunkers!
I'm indebted to all the advice and hand-holding I got along the way from folks here and on golfWRX as well as my hosts who kept me well-fed....though I did lose 12 pounds from all that walking.
It would be nice to return for another month, but for now I have a lot of great memories!
