Golf - Scotland - page 72

Any advice for someone who's never played a links course? Take a local caddie to help you. Most clubs have
members who caddy in the summer and they are very knowledgeable and make the round both more interesting
and fun.
What would be your one golden tip to an amateur to help us reach the clubhouse in better shape? Don't try
and swing any harder when playing in wind. The golden rule is to take one club more than you think and swing it
easier.
Any etiquette tips for someone who's never played in Britain? Please take your hats off when you go into the
clubhouse after your round. Let quicker groups behind you play through. Those two tips will make you popular
both on and off the course!
Where's the best 19th hole in Scotland? The old clubhouse in Gullane is great after a round at Gullane or North
Berwick. A friendly pub with great food.
Where to Play
With more golf courses per capita than any other country, Scotland offers a bewildering
choice of venues. A selection of golf's most iconic courses offers some of the sport's most
famous holes, with deep, challenging bunkers where you might only get out backwards, if
at all. But there's also great pleasure to be had on simpler, local fairways eked out by
small communities, where you have to hope the sheep or deer nibbling at the green under-
stand your cry of 'Fore!'.
TEN OF THE BEST
St Andrews ( Click here ) The public Old Course is the spiritual home of the game and you can't help but be
awed by the history and sense of occasion here. The 17th - the Road Hole - is famous for its blind drive, nasty
bunker and seriously sloping green. Several other courses for all abilities make this Scotland's premium golfing
destination.
Turnberry ( Click here ) Marvellous views out to the island of Ailsa Craig make this resort one of Scotland's
finest. Pack an extra ball or two for the nasty 9th on the Ailsa course, where your ball will sleep with the fish un-
less you manage the 200-yard carry off the tee. Luckily there's the renowned Halfway Hut for a stiff drink before
taking on the 10th.
Carnoustie ( 01241-802270; www.carnoustiegolflinks.co.uk ; 20 Links Parade, Carnoustie, Angus) Widely
known as Scotland's toughest challenge and nicknamed Car-nasty, as much for the almost constant winds as for
the course itself. It ain't over till it's over here: the Barry Burn on the 18th hole has undone many a prospective
winner in social games and Open Championships alike.