I'm off.....

Back late last night...
Traveled over wednesday for golf on thurs, fri and saturday.

Stayed in 1 Golf Place which is literally 100 yards from the 18th green... pretty magic how the first tee and 18th green is IN the town.
Hard to sleep with the excitement of playing the old course... we started there on Thursday. Mats were in use as it was Nov. 1st.
We just moved our balls over to the rough which, to be fair, is just like hitting off fairways in most courses.
Weather was good but breezy so not overly easy or difficult either. First tee shot has about 20 acres of room to hit it into but bloody nerve-wracking at the same time...
Hit the ball nicely, putting was moderate, 34 points.

Played the jubilee course on the Friday, lovely bright day but very breezy and what a great course, much tougher. Out of our 16 guys, only 3 broke 30 points.
I probably played my best ever golf tee to green, hit 15 in regulation (missed 2 more, one from 100 yards, one from 70) but suffered the yippedy dooo daahs on the greens, taking 44 putts (8x3 and 10x2 putts) for 29 points, should've comfortably had 38+ points... such is life.

Played the New course yesterday, a pet day really..... only a little wind and brilliant sunshine... no mats in place here this month (they alternate mats on the new and the jubilee for a month at a time, mats on the old all winter). Putted better but didn't strike the ball as good.

Fantastic trip overall... Old course has the magic and is fun to play (got to love driving a par four with a 3 wood )
New course is tougher but would like to see it on a harder day.
Jubilee was my favourite of the 3 despite my absolute nightmare on the greens....

http://www.standrews.org.uk

No title this year but a fantastic trip again.
35 on the old in a tough windy wet day, 35 on the Jubilee in perfect conditions and 33 on the New on another beautiful day. The scoring was high this year due to the lack of wind and the sunshine on the 2nd two days.
Highlight of the first day was picking up birdies on the first and the 18th. Got a great birdie on 16 also after taking the agressive drive down the right. 17 was an animal. Hit a mediocre drive down the left which got caught by the wind. Good 3 wood for my second and still had 50 yards to the flag!
The front 7 holes were where you need to score down the wind and that didn't happen.

Played really nice on the Jubilee which is a tighter, tougher couse but the conditions made it easier. Was 1 under after 11, crushed a drive down the 12th and was going for the green in two from 200 yards and lost the ball in the rough to scratch the hole.. 3 bogeys on the next 3 holes because of being rattled! Plenty of bad decisions made out there...

Got a hot start on day 3, -2 thru 3 but 3 putted from 18ft on 5 and lost a ball in the gorse on 6 after stupidly hitting a driver while trying to chase... certainly the secret is to get the ball into play from where you can score but when you are drinking/up late the thought process isn't always the sharpest.
The weather on the Sunday was spectacular and at one stage a flock of wild geese flew overhead and it was just picture perfect.. the estuary, the course and the town.
There's a great buzz about the town too, especially when the students are about.

The package is a winter golf deal that has to be organised through approved hotels over in Fife. You get a round on the old course and two other rounds also - we play the new and the jubilee courses which are right beside each other and are right beside the old (if you hit your tee shot left on the first hole of the new course you'd be on the 2nd hole of the old course).
Very limited times available though each day and much in demand - 2009 http://www.standrews.org.uk/golf/book_golf/winter_golf.html
2010 http://www.standrews.org.uk/golf/book_golf/Winter_golf_2010.html

We stayed in the Greyfriars hotel which is less than 5 minutes walk to the first tee of the old course. http://www.greyfriarshotel.com/
All 16 of us in single rooms.
Some of us stayed in 1 golf place previously which is 100 yards from the 18th hole but the rooms aren't as nice and we were sharing...

Costs us €600 for the bus to Dublin, flight inc. 1 bag and golf bag, bus to St. Andrews, 3 nights b&b, golf and return buses/flight.

Teeing off on the Old Course at 10:10am on the 11th November 2010

scrubber72 wrote: »

hi licksy,
Just wondering how much for hotel
thanks

Sorry, I forgot that I didn't include the hotel in the overall cost so I edited the post above. The €600 is the cost of travel, b&b in the (nice) hotel and the golf. You also get 3 x £5 catering vouchers back per person to use in the clubhouse which is located at the 1st tees of the New & Jubilee and near the 2nd tee of the old.... pays for your lunch and a couple of pints on one day which is nice. You can also leave your clubs & gear in a locker here overnight for a £1.50 fee which saves you dragging them back to your hotel room.

Mats are in play alright. We allowed that if you hit the fairway, you could use a mat or bring the ball to the side and place it in the rough so it didn't make much difference to be honest. That would be strictly the case on the Old course with rangers keeping an eye out but less so elsewhere...
The only place it really matters is on 1 and 18 where there is no rough... I used the mat here both times and hit a wedge to 15ft on 1 and sank the birdie and hit a 8 iron to 5ft on 18 (from 131 yards, windy) and also dropped the putt. Still hate playing of mats though

You fly into Edinburgh and it's around 1-1.5 hours from there depending on traffic in a bus. We go with Ryanair - it's not cheap but the times suit us better. We prefer to use the Thursday for travel and have pints and dinner etc before playing Friday, Saturday & Sunday. Fly home late Sunday.
You could fly out early and play later that day...
Aerlingus only do 1 flight per day I think.

Hi.

Not really much point in giving you lines because it's sometimes hard to chose lines anyway and the wind is usually the deciding factor. Also, I play there in November and it isn't the same then as in July (jealous!).

You will be given a pin location sheet which is useful. For sure, buy the course guides which are excellent. They are the 3Deagleview kind so you have a clear way to plan your strategy. There is a 'pro tip' type comment for each hole...
The greens over there are huge and the character of the hole can change greatly depending on the pin position. It's not easy to know where to hit it to (or not) but that's something you pick up over time

The first tee shot on the Old is magic. Acres of space. Watch a few others hit in front of you and judge the roll. Could be anything from a driver to a mid iron in Nov depending on wind!
An invisible bunker is the threat from the 2nd tee - left side is safer (away from the gorse) but the bunker awaits. If you're in it, it's a wedge out sideways probably.
On 3 & 4 you get what you see.
5th is a short par 5 - there's a HUGE chasm in front of the green so either hit enough to be up or else lay back short of this... the green is beyond massive (100 yards long).
6th is a blind drive over gorse but there's a marker post.
7 is a great par 4, you drive towards the 11th (it's a double green) and then flick right over Shell bunker. Green feeds towards the right.
8th is a par 3, big green.
9th is a fun, short par 4. If you're going for the green from the tee, the gorse at the front left bunker is your only real threat (assuming you avoid the couple of fairway bunkers).
There's usually a coffee truck behind this green when we play
10th is another fun, short par 4... depending on wind you may get on or close... need to be practiced with putting from fairway or bump and runs...
11th is a magical par 3... I haven't played better. Hopefully the pin is hiding behind Strath bunker and the wind is howling from the estuary. Take it all in when you're on this green.
12th is a great par 4.. short and you may fancy a crack at it but don't miss basically! If you lay up there are plenty of bunkers to avoid. If you go for it there is gorse waiting for a stray one...
13 is one where you just need to hit your tee shot short of the mound that disrupts the fairway, also avoiding the Coffins bunkers and that will leave an easier approach. Green is huge (shared with the 5th).
14 is a great par 5... Lots of room from the tee but OOB on the right keeps you awake. Keep left with your second if you can.
15 is very tricky around the green.
16 is a fantastic driving hole with OOB all down the right. Last Nov the wind was strong from the right and I started my drive about 40 yards right of the fence and brought it back to the middle... putter from 30 yards short of the green for my 2nd. Fun
17 is awesome. I'm yet to make a par on it though I did birdie it
18 is a special shot... take it all in again as you stand on the tee here. You'll be thinking of all the iconic pictures you've seen of Open Champions playing this hole. A drive up the left is obvious... right is better but more dangerous. Bump and run or putter for your second is likely. More fun

There's a driving range and practice area which is near the 16th tee so if you have time you can take a walk down the road beside 18, behind the 17th green and all along the hotel beside 17 and you can see people playing the 2nd and 17th maybe (and the 16th).
Also, for a very small amount of money you can leave your stuff in a locker in the clubhouse which is near the 2nd tee on the old and at the first on the new.

New Course.
1st is a short par 4 with a big mound in the way. Sensible to lay up short of it but I prefer to take a driver and have a lash at it.
2nd is a straight par 4, miss the bunkers from the tee.
3rd is a good par 5. Room on the right from the tee (gorse on the left). The green is shallow so distance is key here. A hollow in front and also runs off behind I think.
4th doglegs right to left. Plot your distance from the tee based on the guide and the wind.
5th is a strong par 3. Doesn't look as long as it says on the card so you have to trust the yardage. The green is severe too in places.
6th is a low index par 4 I think. The danger here is the tee shot - Gorse left and a little on the right in an area of bumpy rubbish. I'd advise to lay up short of this trouble and negotiate a slightly longer 2nd shot. No bunkers here so run on your second.
7th is a short par 4. Bunkers in the way from the tee so may not be a driver.
8th is a fun par 5. The green is protected by a couple of huge mounds & bunkers on either side so if you're having a cut at it you better be straight.
9th is a long par 3. If you can be straight, there ball may feed on because the green is in a hollow.
10th is a good long par 4, bit of a blind drive but there is a marker post. Good green here.
11th is a short par 4. Miss the bunkers and you'll have a short flick to a green that slopes back to front.
12th is a par 5 that is well reachable. The fairway is a bit broken around driving distance so that may be the only real difficulty.
13th is a lovely par 3 with a severe green (slopes back to front).
14th has no bunkers and may not require a driver. The fairway narrows @ 240/250 so just plan a strategy based on wind.
15th is a good par 4. Drive down the left and you'll get a better look in at the green which is offset to the right. Bit of tricky ground near the front of this green.
16th is a good par 4 - miss the gorse on the left at driving distance is key. Couple of fairway bunkers but may not be a factor?
17 is a strong par 3, 230 yards from the whites. Big bunker front right.
18th is ~ 400 yards. One fairway bunker @ around 250 from the tee to avoid. I muscled a drive here last Nov and used a putter for my 2nd Playing back at the clubhouse and behind the green is OOB so be careful. Good green here.

You can hire a pull troley for the New but on the Old you have to carry or hire a caddy so leave the kitchen sink out of the bag. A decent caddy will help with lines from the tee and approaches and putting but I've seen some less than good ones there too so YMMV.

Similarly, you could look up the european tour site and see the "flyovers". Just choose a tournament like the Dunhill Links or the Open last year that was played there and you can get access to those previews.