Scotland Tour with Kevin And Leann
We first met Kevin and Leann when they travelled with us in 2019, as part of a much larger group led by Shaun Boskie. It was therefore a great compliment when they approached us to help them plan a two week trip covering some of the best courses Scotland has to offer. We spoke at length about what they wanted from this tour.
Finally we established that they would like to stay in St Andrews first, before travelling to the Golf Coast of North Berwick, Kilspindie, Gullane and Muirfield and finishing their tour in Turnberry. They would be joined for the initial two stages by school friends Freddie and Christine Hildago. All four grew up together in New Mexico, but Kevin and Leann now have a home in West Palm Beach in Florida. They are really keen golfers, and didn’t baulk at the thought of 12 rounds of golf in 15 days. Because they were great friends and knew each other well, we opted for a penthouse apartment on The Scores in St Andrews rather than the ubiquitous hotel rooms.
Choosing an apartment has real advantages for a group of four (or more) We always select comfortable apartments in prime locations, offering each couple en suite bedrooms. For those who know St Andrews, The Scores is reportedly the most expensive real estate in Scotland. It offers sea views across to Carnoustie and the Angus coast, with the Royal and Ancient Golf Clubhouse and the Old Course 18th green just a pitching wedge from their front door. It also allows social space – a well equipped kitchen and comfortable sofas for drinks before dinner or a nightcap before bed. They loved it.
We had booked 5 nights and they played The New Course and The Castle course in St Andrews, Carnoustie and, always a favourite, Kingsbarns. They ate in the best places in town- all booked in advance – and were able to soak up the atmosphere of the town. On day six we transferred to Greywalls in Gullane but decided to drive via Gleneagles for lunch. They enjoyed a walk through the grounds, a tour of the hotel and lunch in the Dormy clubhouse before heading south to Gullane.
Greywalls, in Gullane, is an Edwardian Manor House built in 1901. With just 23 individually designed bedrooms, its grounds are extensive with one side opening directly on to Muirfield golf course. Using Gullane as a base we had them play Gullane Number One course, North Berwick Championship course, Kilspindie and of course, Muirfield.
All of these golf experiences were superb and we were pleased to see that fatigue hadn’t noticeably set in. It’s very easy to want to pack as much as possible into your tour – after all this may be your only chance to access these courses- but we don’t want the gloss to wear thin if you become too tired to enjoy them.
After Muirfield we had to say farewell to Christine and Freddie. They had commitments that made a return home necessary but Kevin and Leann still had Scotland’s West coast to experience. If Greywalls was 5 star comfort, the Turnberry resort was spectacular luxury. We had 5 nights with four rounds of golf for this happy couple. They played the Open venues of Prestwick and Royal Troon as well as the Alisa course and King Robert the Bruce at Turnberry.
They enjoyed the hotel spa and the spectacular sunsets seen from their ocean view room. And their energy level didn’t drop one bit! On a rest day we had built in, they didn’t collapse in the spa – they opted to play the Ailsa course a second time!
But all good things must come to an end and we finally returned to Edinburgh Airport for their return journey. We were sad to say goodbye. We had enjoyed 15 days of fun with them and we said goodbye not to clients but to friends. We look forward to seeing them again.
As a footnote though…
Kevin is already thinking of his next trip. He wants to return to play Macrahanish on the Kintyre peninsula, Machrie on the isle of Islay and then (at our suggestion) take the fast boat from Campbeltown across to Northern Ireland to play Royal Portrush, Ardglass and Royal County Down.
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