Caddie Golf Tours

A fantastic couple of days at Turnberry for our 8 New York golfers, The Bamundo Party, who golfed the Ailsa Championship and up the road at Royal Troon Golf Course. Turnberry Hotel, Ayrshire, Scotland The sun shone and the legendary Open venue of the Ailsa Championship course played and looked absolutely beautiful. This is truly one of Scotland's greatest links golf courses and should not be left off any visiting golf party's itinerary. 18th green Ailsa Championship Course, Turnberry Putting out on 18th Ailsa Championship, Turnberry The recent sale of the Turnberry Resort to the American Donald Trump will see some alterations to the actual hotel rather than any major changes to the golf course and I am sure the R&A will be heavily involved if any are planned.

It was good to meet up again with Mr. Coffey and his wife who had traveled over from Boston, USA, last year to golf in Scotland with the assistance of Caddie Golf Tours. They returned last month with two other couples who would be experiencing Scotland for the first time. All of the Coffey Party on the 1st tee of Old Course, St. Andrews The two new golfers to Scotland were treated to some excellent golf on this trip that Mr. Coffey set up with John Boyne from Caddie Golf Tours: Date of Arrival - 24th May 2014 Itinerary 3   Coffey Party x3 Couples - x3 Golfers Sat 24th May Arrive Edinburgh and transfer to St. Andrews EI1052 11:10am Sun 25th May Golf Castle Course pm Ref: LATCCQK                                        Mon 26th May Golf Lundin GC 9:00am ...

I received an invitation in the post this morning to a private viewing of Scotland's national sport "The Art of Golf". The exhibition is being held at the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh on the 10th July which coincides with the first days golf at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club of the Scottish Open. I think we will make the wee trip to Edinburgh an overnight stay and include some good food, a glass of wine or two and some art. Excellent.

I did not realize that it has been a full month since I last posted a Blog on our site, goodness the month of May flew by quickly, with 6 Scotland and St. Andrews golf tours taking place and spilling over into the beginning of June. The office with a view There have been numerous posts and photographs placed on our  G+ page  and I shall look to compile a summary of a busy May to place here on Blogger now that I have returned to Caddie Golf Tours office for a couple of days.

The annual golf match between the Vikings and Celts took place on Saturday 26th April at the magnificent Kingsbarns Golf Links, situated 7 miles south of St. Andrews. Vikings & Celts 1st tee Kingsbarns Golf Links Our Swedish golfers have been coming to St. Andrews for over ten years and strong friendships have been forged which has resulted in this grand match against the Caddies and members of the St. Andrews Caddies Golf Club. Boyne & 'Viking' Kenneth 12th tee Kingsbarns Golf Links This year nine matches were played and Celts narrowly win by 5 1/2 - 3 1/2 points. My game against Kenneth ended with Boyne holing a 5 foot putt on the 18th to secure a halved match. No pressure! The Captains and the Trophy A big thank you to all the competitors, the staff and caddies at Kingsbarns Golf Links for their contribution to a super day of golf at such a wonderful location. We know we are very fortunate and look forward to the return match in 2015...Fore!

I registered for the 2014 Caddie season on the Links at St. Andrews in early March and began carrying a bag at the end of the month with our returning golfers from Ireland being my first clients. Always good to see the lads from Cork and Dublin...with a pint or two enjoyed in good company post round. 17th fairway Old Course St. Andrews The caddying has been a little stop and start for me on the St. Andrews Links this April due in part to the high number of caddies that have been taken on at the beginning of the season, and the rotation system thus employed, but also the interest in Caddie Golf Tours over the last couple of years has lead to an increase in Scottish Golf Tours and inquiries for 2014/15 that the team are now concentrating on and enjoying organising. The range of nationalities arriving this year encompasses our very own Scotland, neighbours England and Ireland, France, Sweden, Canada and the USA who are all looking to Caddie Golf Tours for advice and guidance to v...

The St. Andrews University students are providing a different mode of transport for the patrons and caddies of the Dunvegan Bar here in St. Andrews, situated 120 yards from the Old Course, for one day only !...?... Carriage harking back to years gone by The reason for the horse & cart carriage today was the historic St. Andrews University 'Kate Kennedy Parade', the official history and description follows: Each year thousands of students and citizens gather on the cobbled streets of St Andrews to watch Scotland’s oldest historical pageant. At 2pm on Saturday 12th April, the annual Kate Kennedy Procession will leave the medieval gates of St Salvator’s College. The Procession traces its origins to the adoration by students of the niece of Bishop Kennedy, the founder of St Salvator’s College, the olde st in the University. This niece was Lady Katharine Kennedy, affectionately known as Kate, the fairest and most beautiful woman in her day. The part of Kate is tradition...

A note to inform all that the majority of courses will be bringing to an end their reduced pricing structure that is in operation during the winter months and the first couple of weeks April. The High Season (full price) golf prices in Scotland will begin on Monday 13th April, 2014, though there will be a few exceptions. 18th tee New Course St. Andrews These photographs of the New Course, snapped yesterday, show just how good the weather has been this last week in St. Andrews, great conditions for links golf...there has been some wind! 18th fairway New Course St. Andrews Please remember to contact Caddie Golf Tours if you have any questions about golfing in Scotland this year or golf 2015. We will be happy to discuss and arrange your trip to the Home of Golf...Fore!

This morning we are booked on the Castle Course, opened in 2008, it is the most recent of the fantastic golf courses in the collection around the historic old town of St. Andrews. Castle Course St Andrews, 3rd green The Castle Course came in for some criticism when it was opened and this was primarily aimed at the greens which the golf course architect, David McLay Kidd and his DMK design company, 'over egged' with some rather severe contouring. Thankfully, as the course has matured, the St. Andrews Links Trust have listened to the feedback from the local and visiting golfers and in each of the last four years the greenkeeping staff have set about making those greens more playable during the winter maintenance period. 7th green Castle Course, St Andrews The spectacular cliff top setting of the golf course is inspiring with the ocean visible from every tee and the ancient spires of St. Andrews being used as a delightful backdrop. I really like the Castle Course. I...

Our San Francisco golfers arrived in St. Andrews this evening and we meet in the legendary Dunvegan Hotel, 120 yards from the Old Course, to have a wee chat about the golf arranged this weekend. Dunvegan Hotel & Bar St. Andrews After a couple of business (heavy) meetings in Paris and London the golfers have reached the peace and quiet of St. Andrews, and my goodness the classic Scottish links golf lined up for these two chaps will allow them to be subsumed into golf in Scotland...without them even realising it! The 18th Tee Old Course, St Andrews The weekend itinerary follows, it is intense, a degree of fitness is required, but my goodness it is good:  28th March 7:00am Old Course, St. Andrews 28th March 1:00pm New Course, St. Andrews 29th March 7:50am Old Course, St. Andrews 29th March 1:30pm Kingsbarns Golf Links, St. Andrews 30th March 7:30am Jubilee Course, St. Andrews 30th March 2:00pm Carnoustie Championship, Dundee The bridge to 18th green Car...

Specialised travel company Thistle Dubh, our friends over in Centennial Colorado USA, were in touch a few weeks ago to introduce two of their clients travelling to Europe, Scotland and golf at St. Andrews. They asked if we could arrange to get their golfers onto the Old Course which would round out their weekend of golf with the New Course and Carnoustie Championship already in the mix. Old Course St. Andrews Well, with a little bit of good fortune the two golfers from San Francisco, Tim a 10 hdcp and John a 9 hdcp, will be joining our very own John Boyne on the 1st tee of the Old Course on Friday at 07:00am. We three have the first tee time of the day and to paraphrase Colonel Kilgore "I love the smell of a golf course in the morning"...Fore! Here is Friday's official tee time draw sheet for the Old Course at St.Andrews: http://www.standrews.org.uk/Ballot/Ballot-Results

Lorna, our loyal Caddie Golf Tours 'Intelligence Officer' , looks forward to her 2014 golf season. Now that we are finally into the Spring, I’m looking forward to the 2014 golf season getting up and running. Having promised myself that I would definitely take some golf lessons over the winter, but once again I haven’t yet got round to it. LB slips on to the Old Course St. Andrews in February 2014 Of course (ahem...) there’s been some practice at the driving range and a couple of rounds on the Links, including my once a year round on the Old Course, a round on the New and of course the Eden. Oh, and not forgetting the putting competition at Dinosaur-land crazy golf! Jurassic Parr Golf Although it’s the start of the golf season for me, I am already aware that I’ve missed a few competitions through my golf club, St Regulus in St Andrews, and this year I definitely aim to play more club games. St Regulus Ladies Golf Club in St Andrews    This weeken...

Mike Thomas & buddies prepare to golf the Old Course Our client Mike Thomas who came to St Andrews with Caddie Golf Tours in August 2012 has decided that it has been way too long since that first visit to golf in Scotland and has decided to use the tough winter weather in Pennsylvania as an excuse to return to St Andrews. Mike Thomas (on right), his 4Ball  & John Boyne Mike will once again stay for one week, this time at the end of April, join the St. Andrews Golf Club for the week, purchase the great St. Andrews Links 3 Day Golf Pass which offers unlimited golf on the New (est. 1895), Jubilee (1897), Eden (1914) and Castle (2008) courses here at the St. Andrews Links over a five day period. A wonderful variety and quality of classic links golf courses and all on your doorstep. Mike teeing off from the Old Course 1st tee, August 2012 Mike will be prepared to golf on the Old Course every day that he is here and we at Caddie Golf Tours fully expect to get him...

Muirfield Golf Course, Scotland A note to inform all that the recently announced tee times at Muirfield GC during June have been allocated. There are tee times still available in April and October of 2014. Please contact Caddie Golf Tours for information on golf in Scotland. 

This really is a *Stop Press* moment as Muirfield Golf Course, last year's venue for the Open Championship, has just released 3 rare tee times for June this year, 2014. Phil Mickelson 2013 Open Champion at Muirfield GC We at Caddie Golf Tours can assist with golf and accommodation in the area so please do not hesitate to contact us as these times are sure to snapped up quickly.

I have a scheduled meeting with the Caddie Department of the St. Andrews Links Trust on Friday 21st February to discuss the 2014 golf season and my registration for what would be my 13th year as a caddie on the links courses at St. Andrews. Putting on 1st green Old Course St. Andrews If we have time there is the possibility of a round on the Old Course in the afternoon as the BBC Weather forecast for Friday is looking fairly decent if a wee bit windy. The Ballot tee time draw for golf on the Old Course has plenty of spaces after 12 noon, as one would expect at this time of year.

Malmaison Hotel in Dundee Good to see the wonderful Malmaison Hotel Group open their much anticipated new hotel in Dundee at the beginning of February giving Caddie Golf Tours yet another excellent venue for our clients.  Malmaison Hotel, Dundee It is located on the edge of the River Tay with easy access routes to St. Andrews (11 miles), Carnoustie (12 miles), Gleneagles (40 miles) and Aberdeen (66 miles). Reception at Malmaison Hotel, Dundee The Malmaison Hotel Group have a presence in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and now Dundee giving our clients quality priced rooms in Scotland's most vibrant cities with some of Scotland's greatest golf courses within an hours drive of their doors.

A list is a list and it will tend to be subjective and that is surely the case when compiling the World’s Top 100 golf courses as Golf Digest did recently. But it was rather gratifying for we golfers in Scotland to see that fourteen of our greatest golf courses were named on it and all but one of them can be accessed without resorting to a member taking you out for a game of golf (Loch Lomond). Royal Dornoch GC Your golf party could easily be playing on one of the following courses anointed by Golf Digest, not forgetting to include a few of the other classic courses from the +500 dotted around our wee country. Here are the Scottish golf links and their positions on Golf Digest's World's 100 Greatest Courses : 6. Royal Dornoch GC 7. Old Course St. Andrews 8. Muirfield 19. Turnberry Ailsa Course 31. Carnoustie Championship 50. Kingsbarns Golf Links 56. Trump International Links Trump International Golf Links 57. Machrihanish GC 65. North Berw...

The Village at Machrihanish Dunes on the rugged and breathtaking Mull of Kintyre in Scotland continues to garner awards for its excellence with golf industry leaders Golf Tourism Scotland and the readers of Scotland's golf magazine Bunkered naming it 2013 " Resort of the Year" and "Scotland's Best Golf Experience" respectively. 9th green at Machrihanish Dunes Our Exclusive Golf Offers , in conjunction with the Village at Machrihanish Dunes , provides Stay & Play Packages throughout the Spring, Summer and Autumn of 2014. Ugadale Hotel at Machrihanish Village March Offers  Bed & Breakfast at Ugadale Hotel & golf at Machrihanish Dunes GC 1 nights stay, 1 round of golf - £88 per person 1 nights stay, 2 rounds of golf - £119 per person 2 nights stay, 2 rounds of golf  - £175 per person Spring April Offers Bed & Breakfast at Ugadale Hotel & golf at Machrihanish Dunes GC 1 nights stay, 1 round of golf - £119 per ...

Yes a great accolade from  Golf Digest Magazine   that highlights the quality of three classic Scottish links golf courses at Royal Dornoch (6) in the romantic and rugged Highlands, the Old Course (7) in the historic town of St. Andrews and at Muirfield GC (8) venue for Phil Mickelson's 2013 Open triumph and located just south of Scotland's capital Edinburgh, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Image from and of Royal Dornoch GC   With a little bit of planning all golfers can have the opportunity to tee it up on these legendary courses. No need to find a member to sign you on, some forward planning with Caddie Golf Tours and you can golf here...Fore! http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/2014-02/worlds-100-greatest-golf-courses More of Scotland's golf courses feature in the full list of 100 published by Golf Digest with the world famous Turnberry (19), Carnoustie (31), Kingsbarns (50), Trump International Links (56), Machrihanish (57), North Berwick (65), Crud...