Attending 148th Open Championship at Royal Portrush

3,067 Views | 37 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by EKUAg
DuckDown2013
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It's official. Myself and 3 other Ags just secured our tickets to the Open this morning. Flights are booked! We will be heading to Edinburgh on July 12th for a few days of golf in Scotland and will be attending the Thursday round for the Open. Anybody else making the trip? Have any of you played any of the courses in Scotland? We have decided to play at least 2 rounds of golf, maybe 3.
98Ag99Grad
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Why not fly in to Belfast and play courses in Northern Ireland where the tournament is? Flying one of those puddle jumpers from Scotland to NI might be a hassle with your clubs, just FYI.

I've been to Ireland twice but never Scotland so no help on courses over there.
bagger05
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If it was me I'd do Musselburgh, Muirfield, and North Berwick. Didn't play any of them on my trip but all look badass and have tons of history.

That is if I couldn't fly to Belfast and get on at Royal County Down.
rosco511
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I would read the book a Golf Course Called Scotland. It provides insight to a lot of Scottish courses.
Duckhook
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rosco511 said:

I would read the book a Golf Course Called Scotland. It provides insight to a lot of Scottish courses.

It's actually "A Course Called Scotland". He also wrote "A Course Called Ireland".
Both are great reads and a great story, but I would recommend this one instead. We used this guy for our trip planning a number of years ago. I don't think he does planning anymore, but you might check with him.

Golf in Scotland: A Travel-Planning Guide with Profiles of 74 Great Courses https://www.amazon.com/dp/0971032645/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_JOoTCb6QQ65H0
Aggie369
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I've played both in Scotland and Ireland (including royal port rush) I'd be happy to answer any questions

Royal County Down and Port Stewart would be doable in Ireland. Royal County Down is arguably the number 1 ranked course in the world
The Grinder (99)
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I've been to both Ireland and Scotland. I personally enjoyed the trip to Ireland so much better I don't know if I'd go back to Scotland.

My $0.02
bagger05
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That's a high bar. Planning on Ireland in 2020 or 2021.
Aggie369
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Where did u play in scotland
bcanales05
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Where are you all flying out of?
Gig-Em2003
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I'd expect Royal County Down will be an impossible tee time to get. We couldn't get it 13 months in advance a few years ago.
Aggie369
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Probably should go through a service if you want any of the big time courses with being on such short notice. Haversham and Baker will probably have the most pull with getting tee times
The Milkman
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What does something like that cost?
Aggie369
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I've done a trip with them but it was 10 rounds of golf and hotels...tough to gauge the price difference
LHIOB
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Depends on where you want to play

I am doing Scotland in 2020 (with Aggie369 and 6 others). Just got quotes from several services. Perry Golf came back at $7k for Old Course, New Course, Carnousite, Kingsbarn, Turnberry, Troon, Prestwick and Wester Gailes.

That price includes golf, hotel and driver/van. Flights, caddies, swag, food and booze are extra.

I told my buddies to budget $10k all in.

From the 16th tee at RPR you can see Scotland. Its pretty wild. Also wild - the 16th hole.
1208HawkTree
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The Grinder (99) said:

I've been to both Ireland and Scotland. I personally enjoyed the trip to Ireland so much better I don't know if I'd go back to Scotland.

My $0.02


You need to send me a recap...
Harry Stone
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The Grinder (99) said:

I've been to both Ireland and Scotland. I personally enjoyed the trip to Ireland so much better I don't know if I'd go back to Scotland.

My $0.02


Im the exact opposite. prefer scotland over ireland
The Grinder (99)
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I found golf comparable in both countries. Of course the names are more recognizable in Scotland (ie Troon vs Ballybunion). Hard to say golf in one better than the other. If I had to I'd give Scotland a 10 and Ireland a 9.9.

It's obviously a personal opinion but the rest of the trip was so much more enjoyable for me. Much more engaging and friendly in Ireland. This is true from the clubhouse and 19th hole experience but much more obvious when we were out in town and even at our hotels.

Obviously you can't go wrong with either. I just enjoyed my time in Ireland better.

Also, if I were to give any advice on a west coast Scotland trip, I'd say prestwick is not worth committing a full day to. I'd prob play Troon in the AM as my main round of the day and then play Prestwick late in the same day.

I made the mistake of playing Royal Troon championship course in the AM then playing the Portland course in the afternoon. The following day we played Prestwick. Troon is awesome. Portland is very average and prestwick is hard to describe. It is silly to be honest. You can argue it is worth seeing based on the history, but that's it. The clubhouse trophies are cool with the original trophy (a belt) replica and the original claret jug replica.

If I go back to west Scotland I wouldn't play it again. If I could magically go back and give myself advice on how to plan that trip again, I'd do my best to play Royal Troon early; play prestwick late and fast; play Troon again the following day, then play Turnberry the next day.

We also Made the trek up to Inverness and played Dornoch and castle Stewart. That was very nice. I found the people there a little more friendly to Americans.

I guess my overall impression was that the scots were friendly enough but they seemed to merely tolerate Americans. In Ireland I never felt that way; if anything the people there seemed to look up to Americans. I know we're talking golf, but when you're there for a week or so, that **** can make a difference

Also, as far as I understand it, every course that hosts The Open has a replica of the claret jug. I believe it is accurate up the the time of the most recent open hosted there. So the jug at Prestwick is much smaller as it lacks all the additional podium pieces that were added to fit the names as needed.

Lastly, I'm not trying to sound down on a Scotland golf trip. I just point out you can have a very good trip in Ireland and maybe not travel as much (and get to play more golf) since you'll be in Ireland for the Open.

For the Irish trip, we used Carr golf. They did a wonderful job.
DuckDown2013
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Thanks for the info, Ags. One of my best Ag buds lives in Norway, so he's handling most of the planning. I will see what the schedule is and report back Here for feedback!
DuckDown2013
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Hey guys- just to send an update.

We are flying in to Edinburgh for 3 full days before heading towards the open. We are shooting to play in the Glasgow area where the high profile courses are (Turnberry, Troon, Prestwick) but I think we'll shoot to play at more off the beaten path type places.
Any recoomendations you guys might have would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance!'
Aggie369
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If you're going all the way there you should prob spend the extra money to just play the good courses

DuckDown2013
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As some have previously stated, most (if not all) of those courses are already booked up on tee times by now.
Aggie369
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Were you able to call any of the services?
Duckhook
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DuckDown2013 said:

Hey guys- just to send an update.

We are flying in to Edinburgh for 3 full days before heading towards the open. We are shooting to play in the Glasgow area where the high profile courses are (Turnberry, Troon, Prestwick) but I think we'll shoot to play at more off the beaten path type places.
Any recoomendations you guys might have would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance!'

Why not play in the Edinburgh area since you're flying there? Or fly into Glasgow?
E King Trill
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I'll be there on Saturday and Sunday. The course looks amazing. Woke up at 3am MT on Monday morning to buy tickets. Fought through the website crashing for 5 hours and got in to buy tickets right before they sold out again.

Flying to Edinburgh the following day and am going to play the following courses in Fife from the 23rd to 27th.

23rd: 36 holes at Crail (Balcomie links)
24th: St. Andrews (New Course)
25th: St. Andrews (Old Course) going to get in line at midnight and get on the old fashioned way.
26th: 36 holes at Elie
27th: Leven Thistle golf club

Which other Ags will be there on the weekend at The Open?
DuckDown2013
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Duckhook said:

DuckDown2013 said:

Hey guys- just to send an update.

We are flying in to Edinburgh for 3 full days before heading towards the open. We are shooting to play in the Glasgow area where the high profile courses are (Turnberry, Troon, Prestwick) but I think we'll shoot to play at more off the beaten path type places.
Any recoomendations you guys might have would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance!'

Why not play in the Edinburgh area since you're flying there? Or fly into Glasgow?


To be honest, I don't know. I'm pretty blind on this deal. As I mentioned, one of my best friends lives in Norway and is kind of running things. We are putting our trust in them!

On a separate note- how much of a pain is it going to be for me to travel with my clubs? I'd really like to take them but don't want to pay an Outrageous amount. Are rental clubs an option? I assume they aren't cheap? I'm flying American Airlines to Dublin>>Edinburgh and then a nonstop from Dublin back to Texas on the way Back.
The Grinder (99)
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I would bring my own clubs for sure. I bet it would be more expensive to rent for every round actually. But either way, at the end of the day, either is a small price relative to the cost of the trip. I bet its like 50-100 each way for the clubs. They charge them as a regular bag (that is, not an oversized bag).

One of my friends clubs got lost on the way there an he had to play with rentals for the first two days. I felt so bad for him. At least for me, it would not have been the same playing with some random set of clubs.
LHIOB
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The course is amazing

The 2 new holes they built fit right in. Number 7, the par 5, is an absolute MONSTER.

If the wind is up and they let the rough grow that place will eat their lunch.
Duckhook
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DuckDown2013 said:

Duckhook said:

DuckDown2013 said:

Hey guys- just to send an update.

We are flying in to Edinburgh for 3 full days before heading towards the open. We are shooting to play in the Glasgow area where the high profile courses are (Turnberry, Troon, Prestwick) but I think we'll shoot to play at more off the beaten path type places.
Any recoomendations you guys might have would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance!'

Why not play in the Edinburgh area since you're flying there? Or fly into Glasgow?


To be honest, I don't know. I'm pretty blind on this deal. As I mentioned, one of my best friends lives in Norway and is kind of running things. We are putting our trust in them!

On a separate note- how much of a pain is it going to be for me to travel with my clubs? I'd really like to take them but don't want to pay an Outrageous amount. Are rental clubs an option? I assume they aren't cheap? I'm flying American Airlines to Dublin>>Edinburgh and then a nonstop from Dublin back to Texas on the way Back.

I would take your own clubs. Not that much of a hassle, but you do need to be sure you have a big enough rental vehicle for everybody's clubs, luggage, etc. Some kind of van works best.
E King Trill
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Can't wait, heard they had taken a couple holes from the adjacent course but didn't know if that worked out okay from a design perspective.
98Ag99Grad
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DuckDown2013 said:

Duckhook said:

DuckDown2013 said:

Hey guys- just to send an update.

We are flying in to Edinburgh for 3 full days before heading towards the open. We are shooting to play in the Glasgow area where the high profile courses are (Turnberry, Troon, Prestwick) but I think we'll shoot to play at more off the beaten path type places.
Any recoomendations you guys might have would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance!'

Why not play in the Edinburgh area since you're flying there? Or fly into Glasgow?


To be honest, I don't know. I'm pretty blind on this deal. As I mentioned, one of my best friends lives in Norway and is kind of running things. We are putting our trust in them!

On a separate note- how much of a pain is it going to be for me to travel with my clubs? I'd really like to take them but don't want to pay an Outrageous amount. Are rental clubs an option? I assume they aren't cheap? I'm flying American Airlines to Dublin>>Edinburgh and then a nonstop from Dublin back to Texas on the way Back.
I've actually had more problems flying with my clubs in the states than I have overseas. Are you flying from Scotland to Ireland for the Open? I mentioned earlier that might be an issue with the clubs. not that you can't do it, just be prepared to pay more than normal. Those little planes don't have alot of room and they charge through the nose for extra bags. Also, make sure you budget enough time to drive from Portrush down to Dublin. It may not look far on map, but a 100 mile drive could take 4-5 hours. they have some freeways like you're used to over here, but mostly you'll be on 2-land roads with no shoulder through small villages. And it's usually not a straight shot either. Roads in NI are better than down south since its part of the UK.
LHIOB
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ColoAg12 said:

Can't wait, heard they had taken a couple holes from the adjacent course but didn't know if that worked out okay from a design perspective.


They didnt take from the other course they built 2 new holes. They removed the old 17 and 18 to make room for grandstands. Numbers 7 and 8 are brand new. If you get a chance go up to the back tee box on 7. It took me over a minute to walk up to it from our tee box. The first day we played it down wind and I was on in 2. My caddie said I was the first person he had seen on in two. The next day it was into the wind and I had no chance.

16 is a complete beast of a hole. From the back tees its like 236. Into the wind they may have to hit driver.
Sueshade10
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I did the Scotland trip with Haversham and Baker 4 of 5 years ago. I definitely recommend booking with them. It was top-notch service and we got tee times on all the courses we played. First, if you don't mind the 4 hour drive up into the Highlands I definitely recommend Castle Stuart in Inverness. Of course you need to play the Old Course and I also recommend Kingsbarns Golf Links. Kingsbarns is about a 20 minute drive from St. Andrew's. You can't really go wrong in choosing a golf course because you will be golfing in Scotland! I also recommend paying the extra 40-50 euro to get your own caddie. Do not share a caddie!!
JR Ewingford
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I'll get flamed for this but I think the Open is the best tourney of the year. Yes I know the Masters is awesome but something about the courses/weather/culture fascinate me.
Aggie369
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I think it's the best golf but I enjoy watching the masters more just because it's the same every year.....it's the same shots, holes, pin placements, etc
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