GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG freshman women's golfer Kendall Dobbins (Summerfield, N.C./Northern Guilford) took a trip of a lifetime this summer as she travelled to Scotland to explore and play some of the famed course in the birthplace of golf. Dobbins chronicled her trip with a entry given solely to www.uncgspartans.com.
Scotland
The “bucket list”! Yes, we planned an entire trip around playing golf on some of the of world's greatest courses in Scotland!
Friday, June 9th my father and I departed Piedmont Triad International airport on our way to the home of golf, Scotland. The first leg of the trip took us to Philadelphia where we met up with Ted Bonham, my high school coach. After a quick dinner in Philadelphia we boarded a plane at 7:00 pm on a flight headed to Glasgow, Scotland! We landed in Glasgow June 10th at 7:00 am and hit the ground running. The biggest challenge was driving. We had a 6 speed manual transmission rental car with the steering wheel on the opposite side of the car. Then there were the infamous roundabouts every 2 miles going in the opposite direction to what we are accustom to in the United States. The first 30 minutes driving in Scotland was pretty crazy.
DAY 1: Our first stop was Trump Turnberry; our tee time was at 10:02 am. Luckily, we had time to explore Turnberry and have our first official Scottish meal in the clubhouse. After eating we did a quick warm-up at Turnberry's recently renovated practice facility.
Ted and I were paired up with a couple (Ann and Berry) visiting from France. Ann was born in France and Berry was born in Scotland.
Turnberry was a great way to start off the trip. The course was amazing! Donald Trump bought the golf course and renovated the resort, clubhouse, practice area and driving range. When we were on the driving range one of the staff members mentioned that Mr. Trump was not satisfied with the new range, so he requested $3 million of additional improvements be made. I guess you can do those sorts of things when you are Donald Trump.
Turnberry has hosted many great tournaments – including:
The Open Championship in 1977, 1986, 1994, and 2009
The Senior Open Championship in 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2003, 2006, and 2012
Women's British Open in 2002, and 2015
After completing the round and saying good-bye to Ann and Berry we were off to Edinburgh where we would stay 4 nights.
DAY 2: The next morning, we were up early to drive to Kingsbarns, which was about 1.5 hour north of Edinburgh. When we arrived we had just enough time to grab a bite to eat at the clubhouse. By the way, the Kingsbarns clubhouse is the most welcoming /coziest clubhouse I have ever been in. I could have hung out in the clubhouse for hours, but golf was waiting. After a quick 10-minute warm up we rushed to the first tee. Ted and I were paired with two players from St. Andrews. We had a blast and I wish the day never ended.
After the round of golf we headed back to the clubhouse to eat and I had the most amazing fish and chips! Let me just say hands down Kingsbarns is my favorite course and clubhouse.
After our day at Kingsbarns we drove back to Edinburgh to get a good night's rest, which we desperately needed.
DAY 3: The next morning we drove to Saint Andrews and although we were not able to secure a time for the Old Course, we were able to explore The Old Course. St. Andrews does not allow golf on The Old Course on Sunday, but it is open to the public, similar to a park in the United States. We saw locals walking the course and playing fetch with their dogs. So we were able to walk several holes and get pictures of the famous Swilken Bridge.
Even though we did not play The Old Course we did play the Castle Course at St. Andrews, which is St. Andrews newest course. The weather was quite nasty the day we played the Castle Course, so there were not many golfers playing. Of the seven courses we played the Castle Course has the most “Disney” like greens I have ever played. What I mean is the greens were very unrealistic -- they were very undulating, with little to no flat area to place the pin or land a ball. You would think the ball would break one way, but it would break completely opposite. However, the golf course was still amazing. By the time we got to hole 13 we had some fog roll in and this is when things got interesting! We could not see beyond 150 yds. So, my dad would go down the fairway about 200 yards to make sure the group in front of us was clear and to place a white towel where we needed to hit the ball. Of course he would take cover behind a small hill or bunker to ensure his safety from incoming golf balls.
Luckily the fog did clear by hole 16 and we were able to finish playing the Castle Course.
After our round at the Castle Course we had dinner across the street from The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. Ted proclaimed that “it was the best spare ribs he has ever eaten.”
DAY 4: The next day we played North Berwick West course. North Berwick and St. Andrews are my two favorite towns ever! They are both small and quaint towns with lots of shops, restaurants and great golf. The North Berwick West course was an amazing track, and the weather that day was perfect, which only made the experience even better!
DAY 5: Tuesday, June 14th we played Carnoustie. Ted had a friend drive from England (it's a 7 hour drive), Simon, to play Carnoustie with us. Even though the weather was cold and raining, like every other day, it was definitely one of the most entertaining rounds of golf due to Simon and Ted's comic relief.
DAY 6: The next day we drove up to Cruden Bay that is located in the Scottish Highlands. When we arrived it was cold, raining and windy -- by far the worst weather since arriving in Scotland. We were able to see some of the course from the clubhouse, then immediately left. We drove four hours south to Prestwick and the weather was completely different. Prestwick is where the first ever Open was played! The clubhouse was filled with the history of golf -- including photos, and documents dating all the way back to the beginning of golf. Prestwick was another amazing golf course, and it is crazy to think I have walked on the same golf course as Old Tom Morris and many other famous early golfers.
DAY 7: The BIG surprise. Unbeknown to me Ted has a good friend that is a member at Royal Troon and we were able to play Royal Troon. What an experience! We were able to play Royal Troon with all the grand stands up for the Open. We actually played on the last day they were allowing guest to play on it before closing the course to prepare for the Open.
My trip to Scotland was a once in a life-time opportunity. The hospitality of the Scottish people was great and the golf was even better. I highly recommend adding Scotland to your bucket list. My other suggestion is to do your homework and do your own booking arrangements. We found you can save a significant amount of money and have greater flexibility with a DIY trip. Good luck and great golfing.
-- UNCG --
