Carrbridge Tomatin Distillery Scottish Nine Hole Open

Sorry for the non golfers out there we're a wee bit on a roll with some great Scottish golf ideas today
Carrbridge Golf Club Tuesday 10 July 2012.

This was flagged up by Golf Tourism Scotland on their Facebook pages earlier and we thought we should publicise it a little bit more, just to highlight the variations and choices in Scottish Golf.

We used to run a four day 72 hole stableford event in the Speyside area and know this course and the area - just love Landmark - really well from living up there for a while and this is just such a great idea.

When some courses are taking more than five hours to play the ability to play a nine hole open in less than a couple of hours from check in to first beer is brilliant.

They also have Tomatin Distillery as the main sponsors of the 2012 event and the competition will be held on Tuesday 10 July with quite a healthy list of prizes too - although it's not about winning is it?

They ask "Why play a nine-hole open?" and answer, "After last year’s event many competitors commented that it was amazing how only playing nine holes concentrated the mind as you can’t afford to have a bad hole."

Tee times will be available all day from 7.30 am, allowing everyone to find a suitable time but please be aware that late afternoon/early evening slots are filling up fast. Catering will be available all day and there will be a beer tent for consolation or celebration after your round.

And as they quite rightly point out if you're travelling north on your way to watch the Scottish Open at Castle Stuart it's a great wee bonus.

If you're on holiday in the area or play locally but haven’t yet entered you're asked to telephone the clubhouse on 01479841623 or download and complete an application form to enter.

We genuinely hope this competition and others like it will go from strength to strength with bigger prizes and over the coming years.

For info, The Scottish Open will again be held at Castle Stuart from 12 - 15 July 2012 and Carrbridge Golf Club will host the next "Tomatin Distillery Scottish Nine Hole Open" on Tuesday 10 July to coincide with this event.

This makes us think that it would be great to run the Scottish Golf Classics again. All we need now is someone to replace Drambuie as our lead sponsors...

Cluny Celebrations in Scotland

With nearly 300 events taking place across Europe in the 12 months from September, 2009, Scotland can feel proud that its week-end of events has been ranked in the top 6 by the Federation of Cluniac Sites.

The Burgundy based organisation promotes the cultural, educational and touristic aspects of the network of Cluniac abbeys and priories spread across the continent.

Recognising the importance of Paisley and Crossraguel Abbeys (the farthest-flung from Cluny), the Mayor of Cluny, his Deputy and other civic dignitaries will visit Glasgow, Paisley and Crossraguel in May. They will enjoy a programme which consists of concerts, exhibitions, a conference and a Medieval Fair and a children’s bowling competition at Dundonald.

On Friday, 14th May the programme opens with a civic reception in Glasgow and a free concert by Canty, the 4-female voice ensemble from Cappella Nova. In the evening Renfrewshire’s Provost will host a civic reception in Paisley Abbey. In Paisley that day a special exhibition opens in the Museum tracing the impact the abbey had on medieval life in the town. Rooms are available to book online in Paisley at The Watermill in the town centre.

Saturday 15th sees the main events of a conference on the history and archaeology of Paisley and Crossraguel in Paisley Town Hall, while outside, a Medieval Fair will take place with various aspects of village life being portrayed by re-enactors. Inside the abbey will be activities for young children and youth with theatrical performers, an alchemist and calligrapher present.

In the afternoon the Franco-Swiss delegation will visit Crossraguel, the most complete Cluniac site in the UK. The abbey will be the subject of a £133,000 digital documentation project by a Cluny technical college and Historic Scotland. This will create 3-D images of how the abbey might have looked in its hey-day and provide a valuable tourism dossier for further developments.

Linking Paisley, Kelburn Castle, Dundonald Castle and Crossraguel will be coach tours starting at Paisley and Maybole. Historic re-enactors will be present at each site to entertain visitors. On Sunday, 16th May, a church service in Paisley Abbey will have the R.C. Bishop Tartaglia of Paisley as guest preacher.

Of course you can check availability and make your online reservations with Scotland's For Me

AC/DC Get Ready to Rock Hampden Park

Well after much anticipation in the office, the day has finally come for the AC/DC gig at Hampden Park in Glasgow. Our glorious leader Ian and our design guru Steven have been like schoolkids in shorts all day.

But now they have left and are making their way to Glasgow in a luxury coach, to soak up all the pre-gig atmosphere, when the time comes they will be ready and able to lend a hand with rock out hand signals and singalong choruses.

We've asked them to send loads of pictures to our Twitter account, so please keep checking us @scotlandforme and let us know what you think.