Thursday, 28 October 2010

Gailes LInks Course Guide

Great new addition to the Gailes Links website has been unveiled with  a fantastic Video Course Guide.

Gailes Links, also known as Glasgow Gailes, have introduced a short video on their
web home page showing the course, clubhouse, practice facilities and other amenities.

Even more impressively they have on their web site an “Interactive Video Course Guide” - (right). 

You can click on a hole number to view the video fly through with expert commentary from John Greaves, PGA Professional, and the Golf Pro at Gailes Links.

Gailes Links will be represented at the forthcoming  International Golf Travel Market (IGTM) in Valencia with the rest of Scotland's West Coast Golf Links on the Visitscotland stand.

Wednesday, 20 October 2010

Teeing Off - 150th Anniversary of The Open

Took a couple of pictures on what was a historic moment for the four golfers involved - Brian Morrison Prestwick Club Captain, David Fleming, Club Pro, Ian Bunch club secretary and Ian McCaig from Scotland's West Coast Golf Links - and Jock the dug!

Tuesday, 19 October 2010

Winter Golf Breaks in Fife at Kingsbarns

Looking for a winter golf break?

Well you could do a lot worse than the Fife coast and to boot one of its top golf courses, Kingsbarns, have decided to open their course for an additional two weeks at the end of the year. It's quite unbelievably celebrating its tenth anniversary and was recently ranked 15th in the Golf World Top 100, 
The course will now stay open until November 14 to accommodate increased demand from visiting golfers.

You could play this wonderful links and have a stay at any number of Fife properties including some great privately run hotels such as The Inn at Lathones, The Crusoe Hotel, Ogstons on North Street  - all have some great winter deals and online booking.

Stuart McEwen, the General Manager, said: "After a very busy season and another successful Alfred Dunhill Links Championship the course is still in fantastic condition and we want to give visiting golfers as much chance to enjoy it as possible. 2010 has been a tremendous year for Kingsbarns. We have celebrated the 10th anniversary of the course opening, hosted the Open Championship Local Final Qualifying and attracted greater numbers of visiting golfers. We want to keep the momentum going before the regular winter break."

Kingsbarns attracted widespread praise from both the professionals and the amateurs at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

British actor Hugh Grant said: ""For the middle-aged golf addict like myself, this is like dying and going to golfing heaven. It's impossible to say which of the three courses is the best but Kingsbarns is probably the prettiest."

The Hollywood film star Andy Garcia said: "The Kingsbarns Course reminds me a lot of some of the golf courses on the California coastline. There's one on the Monterrey Peninsula, and Pebble Beach too. I love playing links courses and Kingsbarns is a beautiful design. It looks much more than just 10 years old."

For tee time reservations you can call +44 (0)1334 460861 or visit the Kingsbarns website


Monday, 18 October 2010

Marking the 150th Anniversary of The Open

October 17th 2010. 

The scene, with four golfers making their way towards the first tee in watery autumnal morning sunshine is not an unusual one in itself being replicated on courses across Scotland and beyond by tens of thousands of Sunday morning golfers.

The difference this morning however is the location and the date. Accompanied by the Club Captain Brian Morrison, Club Secretary Ian Bunch and Club Pro David Fleming, I was in fact walking towards The Cairn which marks the location of the first tee of the first Open Championship which teed off exactly 150 years earlier over Prestwick Links on the Ayrshire coast.

October 17th 1860

That was a Wednesday and on that particular Wednesday morning a small group of eight roughly dressed individuals made their way towards the wind-strewn sand hills of Prestwick from The Red Lion Inn at The Cross which doubled back then as the clubhouse for Prestwick Links.

According to the history books, “Under his arm each carries a strange assortment of wooden implements. They march, like prisoners under guard, accompanied by four members of the gentry, whose role it is to ensure that none among them shall transgress.”

For certain they were not aware of what they were about to set in motion but it was on this day 150 years ago that history was made by the eight individuals made up of “golf professionals”. Professionals in the sense that they made a living form the game through as a caddy, club or ball maker.

The eight players teed of at midday and before dusk had fallen they had played 36 holes of stroke or medal play golf

They were unknowingly making history by playing the first ever round of The Open Championship resulting in the presentation of The Belt to Willie Park from Musselburgh who won that first Open with a score of 174 and a two stroke cushion over Tom Morris who was at that time the Keeper of Prestwick’s green.

The red morocco belt was purchased for £25 by the members of Prestwick and subsequently retained by Young Tom Morris after he won it in three successive years from 1868-70. The Claret Jug, still played for now, was then purchased jointly by Prestwick, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club and The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfer and first played for in 1872.

So it was with this burden of history that our band of four men and a dog took the short walk to the historic mound of stone and the starting point for the first ever Open Championship.

Now if you’ve played Prestwick before you’ll know that the first runs alongside the Glasgow to Ayr railway line with out of bounds on the right. It is a rather intimidating opener. Well the “old first” exists in the sense that the tee is there and the green is there, the green being the current 16th.

Apart from that there is no fairway and the thirteenth green stands in your way! The fairway as I saw it seemed to be a path about five yards wide running down from the fourteenth tee. That made this an even more intimidating opener.

Add to this that every golfer in Scotland has his own Open Championship memories and who wouldn’t have wanted to be standing in our place. My own first Open memory was as an eight year old at Muirfield chasing Tony Jacklin in a buggy (he in the buggy not me) for an autograph. Various spectating highlights have followed over the years at Troon, Turnberry, The Old Course, Carnoustie, Birkdale and Lytham and my own single zenith as a spotty 17 year old youth caddying for English Amateur Chris Poxon at Royal Troon. We (he) may have missed the cut but it is my own special albeit tenuous “professional” connection with the greatest of golf championships.

It may be gilding the lily slightly to say that it was an emotional moment but there was a genuine sense of history in teeing the ball up on that spot at that moment and I have to say it was with some pride, for all I think, that each drive left the tee – straight - following that historic route.

The original 1st hole measured 578 yards and the talk on the tee was how Tom Morris Jnr could hole out over that distance in three strokes using hickory shafts and a gutty golf ball. I still haven’t figured it out but it would have required me to hole out with a four wood to have replicated the feat!

As it was the green was reached in three and unusually two putted for a five. Elation.

Our Professional David Fleming lipped out from a few feet for what would have been a deserved four and Ian Bunch, the club secretary, well Ian was penalised by the fact that what would have been fairway in 1860 was now benefitting from a 150 years of growth!

As I played the rest of the round, I couldn’t help, as I criss-crossed those hallowed fairways, but compare Prestwick again with all of those aforementioned championship links and how well this challenge still compared. So hallowed indeed were those fairways that I quite respectfully avoided playing from most of them!

Prestwick remains one of the purest links golf challenges that a golfer can take on and while it will never see an Open championship again, it will for sure continue to be high on the list of courses you must play before you die. Indeed it should be very high on that list.

In those early days Prestwick, however, continued to host the Open and did so intermittently until its swan song in 1925 when sheer pressure of crowd numbers contributed, it is said, to the home favourite MacDonald Smith losing out to his American challenger Jim Barnes.

Indeed as part of the 150th celebrations, the pro shop has taken a series of the images from that last event and produced a wonderful range of canvasses. David Fleming explained, “There is such a wealth of history in the club archives that it seemed a natural project to follow and they have been incredibly popular with visitors and members alike. When you scale the images up to 40 inches you can see that even in 1925 hospitality tents had already made an appearance and the crowds around the players must have made it almost impossible to play competitive golf!”

(Since it was formed in 1851, David Fleming is only the eight professional in the club’s history.)

Indeed the history is all around you at Prestwick. Replica belts and trophies, original scorecards, photographs, winners boards. Yet the contradiction at Prestwick is that while it retains its tradition it is far from lost in it.

Since becoming the club secretary Ian Bunch has, in his own style, transformed the way the club is seen from the outside. First class visitor facilities and a genuinely warm welcome are offered at Prestwick along with increases in tee time availability for the tourism markets; a position that in itself encouraged other golf courses in the area to follow suit.

In addition each year Prestwick recognises the role that the golf travel sector play in its success by hosting a wonderfully quirky “six-some” event.

The cherished highlight was surely the first hole but our game was rounded off with an equally indelible memory coming down the 13th hole.

Playing into the wind, the club pro once again out hit us both by seventy five yards into the wind. As we approach our balls we witness the gap decreasing with David Fleming’s ball coming towards our own being pushed back down the fairway assiduously by the beak of a rather large black crow!

Patently tiring the crow looks up towards the incoming golfers and decides to beat an escape with the golf ball firmly fixed in its beak and heads for the beach. Imperiously now, and sensing escape with a Taylor Made Penta, it flies off and lands fifty yards away on the boundary fence separating course from beach; differentiating in-play from Out of Bounds.

And yes you can guess the next part. It had a last thought about where it was going to drop the ball, turned towards the Firth of Clyde, decided the pro needed penalised and neatly dropped Mr Fleming’s ball Out of Bounds!

Hole to the amateurs on the day of the first professionals!

On a day such as this it was quite clear that the spirit of 150 years ago was still very much present in the south westerly Ayrshire breeze and hell if we want to romanticise the presence of our feathered friend on this day then who is to condemn us!

Thank you Prestwick for what you started and to Ian Bunch and David Fleming for letting me share a little part of it with them.

You can find out more about the history and heritage of not only The Open Championship at Prestwick but also Troon, Turnberry and the other seven links golf courses on Scotland's West Coast.

Saturday, 16 October 2010

Winter Tee Times at Royal Troon

The Scottish Golf Union has teamed up with one of world golf’s most famous venues, Royal Troon to offer SGU affiliated golf club members exclusive green fee rates during the winter months.

Royal Troon have very generously donated tee times to the Scottish Golf Union to offer to golf club members in Scotland with all proceeds going into junior golf development. The tee times, detailed below are available for £280 per fourball, allowing golf club members a terrific discount on the standard green-fees at Royal Troon.

The following tee-times are available at the special discounted rate:
All times available are on a Tuesday at 10.00am
  • November 2010 – 2nd, 9th
  • December 2010 – 7th, 14th
  • January 2011 – 4th, 18th
  • February 2011 – 1st, 15th
  • March 2011 – 1st, 15th
  • April 2011 – 5th
To book your tee-times, please contact the Scottish Golf Union on 01334 466477 or for further information please e-mail l.llewellyn@scottishgolf.org. All tee-times are subject to availability at the time of booking.

Wednesday, 13 October 2010

Scottish Golf Screensavers

In the week that sees the 150th Anniversary of The Open Championship teeing off for the very first time at Prestwick Golf Club, we're adding some nice wee gadgets to the website for you to use.

The first of these can be seen in the Downloads Page of the website which as well as featuring PDF versions of the printed materials it also now has a Screensaver from each of the ten courses invovled with Scotland's West Coast Golf Links.


So if you're looking for something different on your screen as the winter months reduce your golf play why not download one of Ayrshire's finest links golf courses to keep you sane until the Spring. And then you can visit us in 2011 and play the real thing.

Screensavers of Scotlands Championship Links Courses

In the week that sees the 150th Anniversary of The Open Championship teeing off for the very first time at Prestwick Golf Club, we're adding some nice wee gadgets to the website for you to use.

The first of these can be seen in the Downloads Page of the website which as well as featuring PDF versions of the printed materials it also now has a Screensaver from each of the ten courses invovled with Scotland's West Coast Golf Links.


So if you're looking for something different on your screen as the winter months reduce your golf play why not download one of Ayrshire's finest links golf courses to keep you sane until the Spring. And then you can visit us in 2011 and play the real thing.

Monday, 11 October 2010

Scottish Links to Valencia...

Scotland's West Coast Golf Links are delighted to confirm that they will be attending the International Golf Travel Market in Valencia this November alongside industry partners on the VisitScotland stand.

Group Chairman, and Prestwick Golf Club Secretary, Ian Bunch was delighted that the marketing group were going to be represented, "IGTM presents an exciting opportunity for Scotland's West Coast Golf Links to promote the golf destination of Ayrshire to the travel trade. Whilst we are hardly unknown there is more to the area than many realise and this market gives us the opportunity to present our product clearly to the travel trade."

The group will be represented by Guy Redford from Dundonald Links who is looking forward to the challenges and opportunities the event offers. "We've believed for some time that Ayrshire needed a presence at key travel trade events and we are sure that being at IGTM will open up some great new business relationships not only with the golf courses but also the accommodation providers all over Ayrshire."

Find out more about Scotland's West Coast Golf Links on their website and get the low down on IGTM online

Winter Golf at Prestwick and Muirfield





Exclusive Deals for Golf Club Members at Scotland's Open Championship Venues.

Members of SGU affiliated golf clubs can take advantage of exclusive preferential green fees this winter at two of Scotland’s most famous Open Championship venues with proceeds from sales being invested into the development of junior golf in Scotland. Once you've booked your tee time you can check Scottish hotel availability and book on line at Scotland's for Me

Muirfield and Prestwick have generously donated tee-times to the Scottish Golf Union between October and the end of March, with a four-ball on Prestwick costing just £280, representing great savings against the standard green fee rates. A four-ball at Muirfield this year is available at a further discounted rate of £200 due to winter work being carried out on the course

These special offers are only available to existing members of SGU affiliated clubs.

Tee-Time Availability:

Muirfield
9.30am Tee-Time on Tuesdays and Thursdays from November to end of March

Prestwick
12.00pm Tee-Time Every Monday from now until end of March

To book your tee-times, you should contact the Scottish Golf Union on 01334 466477 or for further information please e-mail l.llewellyn@scottishgolf.org. All tee-times are subject to availability at the time of booking.

Muirfield has hosted the Open Championship on no fewer than 15 occasions, the last of which was back in 2002 when South African Ernie Els lifted the Claret Jug and will be Scotland’s next Open Championship venue in 2013.

Prestwick of course lays claim to the birthplace of the Open Championship, having staged the first ever event back in 1860. Situated on the picturesque Ayrshire coastline, it has retained its reputation as one of the finest links courses in the country, with a visit to the Prestwick clubhouse a must during your day, featuring a glittering collection of memorabilia from the various championships it hosted during the club’s rich history.

Conditions
  • The number of tee-times is limited so you are advised to book early to avoid disappointment.
  • Payment must be made in full within 7 days of booking and tee-times will be sold on a first come, first served basis.
  • All four members of your group must be members of an SGU affiliated golf club and handicap certificates will required at each club.
  • Further rules and regulations for visitors at Muirfield and Prestwick will be sent to you following confirmation of your booking.
  • The four-ball at Muirfield is £80 less than last year as winter work is being carried out on the course.