1 Scotland Golf Adventure Guide The essential planning resource for great Scottish golf trips. Contents Introduction Using This Guide (PDF Version) Scotland Tourism Board Scotland Golf Adventure Guide, 1 Planning my first golf trip to Scotland was time This guide is designed to be printed on letter- or Scotland’s National Tourism Board is the official The Big Picture, 2 consuming and difficult. The tourist board informa- A4-size paper, but you can also view it directly in tourism marketing body for Scotland. They main- tion, travel guides, books about golf in Scotland, Adobe Acrobat. It’s your choice. tain an excellent web site at: Tools for Planning Your Trip, 3 and countless web sites overwhelmed me with Printing When to Go, 4 possibilities but provided minimal guidance on www.visitscotland.com In the Adobe Reader toolbar click the Print button making smart choices. And whenFree faced with Demonearly PDF Temperature & Rainfall Statistics, 5 , or choose File > Print. Specify the printer, page Contact them and they will gladly send you a free 600 golf courses and thousands of hotels, you range, number of copies and other options, and Vacation Planner. Be sure to also ask for a copy Building a Rough Itinerary, 6 need to make a lot of choices. This is a FREE DEMO PDFclick of OK. the Enable Scotland (check) Golfthe option to “Shrink of the Official Guide to Golf in Scotland. Use the Sample Itineraries, 7 I started by filteringAdventure the golf course Guide. and accom I -hope youoversized like pages what to paperyou size.”see. web site to request these publications or call: Getting on St Andrews Old & Muirfield, 8 modation choices down to a manageable number. Viewing in Adobe Reader US/Canada 800 462 2748 You won’t find every golf course in Scotland listed Driving Times & Distances, 9 View this document in Adobe Reader to use the UK 0845 22 55 121 here, just the best. Still, there are more courses To purchase a versionbuilt-in of this hypertext guide links with (blue text). For example, International +44 1506 832 121 Golf Course & Town Map, 10 than you could play in four or five trips so I added clicking on a Table of Contents entry will take you tools — course rankings, detailedall visitor of policies,the content, please visit: Golf Courses, 11 directly to that page. Other Official Scotland Tourism Web Sites course cards, driving-time map, etc. — to help you Golf Course Rankings, 18 golf.visitscotland.com (Golf in Scotland) craft your own itinerary with confidence. If you’re connected to the Internet, clicking on a Demo DemoGolf CourseDemo Designers, 19 Demo Demo http://www.golfadventureguides.com/purchaseURL will open that web site in your web browser; Compact, concise, and practical describe this Regional Tourism Web Sites clicking on an email address will start a new Getting to Scotland, 20 guide well. It goes beyond the scenic pictures and www.standrews.co.uk message. When over the link, a small “W” will flowery prose found in most travel publications. www.angusanddundee.co.uk Flights Between U.S. & Scotland, 21 appear in the cursor, indicating it’s a web link. If The result is a guide specifically for golfers that Flights Between London & Scotland, 22 you have the full Adobe Acrobat software (not www.scottishgolfsouthwest.com delivers the essential information and tools for Adobe Reader), you may see a “+” in the cursor. If www.golfeastlothian.com Demo DemoFlights Between Ireland & DemoScotland, 23 planning great golfDemo trips to Scotland. The way I’ve Demo www.visit-dumfries-and-galloway.co.uk/golf/ so, change your Web Capture Preference to open done it is non-traditional, but I think it’s incredibly Choosing Where to Stay, 24 web links in your browser, not Acrobat. www.perthshire.co.uk effective. Accommodations, 25 www.aberdeen-grampian.com Course Cards & Calendar Renting a Car, 31 No Ads. No placement fees or advertise- The Course Cards and Calendars are separate PDF A Word of Caution Rental Car Price Quote Worksheet, 32 ments. Golf courses, hotels, airlines, car rent- files. When printing these documents I recom- The volume of information from the tourist boards Demo Demo Demo Demomend you disable (uncheck) Demo the “Shrink oversized al firms, and tour operators can’t buy their can be overwhelming. They promote every golf Tour Operators, 33 way into my guide. I provide an unbiased, pages to paper size” option. course, hotel, tour operator, and travel-related Practical Matters, 34 independent view of the travel-planning Clear Plastic Envelope establishment in all of Scotland. Their material experience and my only objective is to make Paying for This Guide, 36 Buy an expanding, clear plastic envelope to hold and listings are supported by advertisements. Use it easier and more enjoyable for you. them wisely to supplement and reinforce the care- Index, 37 the printouts of this guide and calendar pages. Demo Demo Demo DemoDuring your trip it makes a great place to file Demoaway fully edited unbiased information in this guide. This guide is not free. See the Paying for This Course Cards & Calendars, 39 score cards, brochures, receipts, etc. gathered Guide section on page 36 for details. during your trip. DemoScotland Golf Adventure Guide — FreeDemo Demo PDF Demowww.golfadventureguides.com Demo Demo Copyright © Golf Adventure Guides. All rights reserved. Demo Demo Demo Demo Demo Demo Demo Demo Demo Demo Demo Demo Demo Demo Demo Demo Demo Demo Demo Demo Demo Demo Demo Demo Demo Demo Demo Demo Demo Demo 2 The Big Picture Make your plans and reservations as early as possible. I recommend going through the planning and reservation process in these steps. 1. Rough itinerary 2. Travel reservations 3. Tee times 4. Accommodations Your first step in the planning process is to create Why make travel reservations so early in the Now that you know exactly when you’ll be in Book accommodations after you’ve made the tee a rough itinerary with proposed arrival and depar- process? Well, if you’re not actually in Scotland you Scotland, it’s time to finalize the golf itinerary and times. Until you have your tee times set, you really ture dates. It may seem rather obvious, but before can’t play golf in Scotland. If you’re travelling by air make the tee times. This is the ultimate objective don’t know where you’ll be and need to stay. you make any other plans you’ve got to have your first priority is to book airline tickets. isn’t it? a good idea when you plan to arrive (and into Thankfully, there are many options to choose from Use this guide to help pick the right airport, airline, which city), the length of your trip, which courses Free Demo PDF and in all price ranges. Depending on your travel and connections to increase the chances that you want to try to get on, and the date and city of style and how many “base camps” you use, you both you and your luggage will get to Scotland as departure. may have relatively few reservations to make. Use planned. You want toThis avoid is a tripa FREE to the dreadedDEMO PDF of the Scotland Golf the Driving Times & Distances, Choosing Where “Baggage Services” Adventureoffice at the airport. Guide. I hope you like what you see. to Stay, and Accommodations sections to help you decide. To purchase a version of this guide with all of the content, please visit: 5. Rental car You could certainly book a rental car along with I strongly recommend calling the golf courses the other travel reservations, but I’ve placed it at Demo Demo Demo Demo Demodirectly. Do not rely on email or online reservation http://www.golfadventureguides.com/purchase the end to emphasize that it’s the least critical step systems on the course’s web site. Golf courses, in the process. Just don’t forget it. Also, if you’re especially those in Scotland and Ireland, are coming into Scotland on a ferry you may not even Use the When to Go and Temperature & Rainfall inherently low tech. Online tee-time reservation need a rental. Statistics sections to select an approximate time Take the arrival and departure information from requests are likely to go into a black hole. By Demo Demoof year for your trip. Go throughDemo the Building step one and makeDemo your travel reservations us- calling theDemo course directly, scheduling conflicts can a Rough Itinerary process to get more specific ing a travel agent, online service, or the airlines be resolved and tee-time decisions can be made about which courses you’ll play. Read through the directly. Use the Getting to Scotland section for immediately. Sample Itineraries, Driving Times & Distances, airline service, schedules and contact information. Start with the most important (to you) courses on Golf Courses, and Accommodations sections as your itinerary. Work your way through the list until you craft your itinerary. Booking early will help you get a better fare and the exact flights you want. Don’t make tee times you’ve secured all of your tee times, adjusting the Demo DemoAt the end of this step, you should have yourDemo cal- or hotel reservations until you’ve gotDemo your travel itinerary along the way as needed.Demo Use the Renting a Car and Rental Car Price endar page(s) filled in with all of the courses you plans set. Ask if a fax confirmation is needed and be sure to Worksheet sections to understand and simplify intend to play (on specific days) and have decided understand their deposit requirements.