Friday, July 25, 2008

Booking a golf vacation in Scotland. St. Andrews. Even non golfers will find this helpful

I've covered this subject before in this blog, and now the Worlds economy is in meltdown, and less disposable income out there, people want a good deal.

We offer FREE help and advice to people who choose to use this service. Just email us at
golfgroups@aol.com

I can't emphasise enough times that a trip to Scotland, and in particular St. Andrews/ Fife, that all the things you require are already there.
Its a jigsaw puzzle, and by following this post you'll save you, your friends, family, golf group, golf society hundreds, if not thousands of pounds or dollars.

Most Golf Tour Operators insist that you play those ''Trophy'' Courses, insanely making the visitor travel hundreds of miles in true ''Wacky Races'' style in a short period of time.



If the golfer has travelled from America/ Canada, they have already lost a nights sleep, are jet lagged to hell and are accommodated in places that bear no resemblance to what this great country has to offer.

So lets look at the pieces of this vacational jigsaw puzzle, piece by piece
  1. Flights
  2. Transportation including Airport transfers
  3. Accommodation
  4. Golf and trips
The Internet has made the World a VERY small place. Just think, 15 short years ago, for most, to do this was almost impossible, now all you have to do is put your cursor over the link and click it!

We have a wealth of golf and things to do in the St. Andrews area. It is stupidity in my opinion to spend so much of your holiday on the road when you can be bashing the fairways in one area. It doesn't make sense, we Brits DO NOT, and WOULD NOT do it ourselves if we were going away, so why do the vultures that are Golf Tour Operators make you do it? Simple, they make lots of £$£$£$£$ by making you think that you cannot do it yourself and adding on commission

Lets start helping you to SAVE money, the dummy's guide to booking a Golf Trip to St. Andrews and pay homage to the Home of golf. If you have any questions, as I've mentioned email us at golfgroups@aol.com
Flights



If you are flying in from overseas, these are the usual suspects - Do shop around, and its worth noting that group bookings can save money with some companies.

a) http://www.cheapflights.com/book-flights-online/?fromdeals=1

b) http://www.vayama.com/

c) http://travel.priceline.com/flights/

d) http://www.opodo.co.uk/

e) http://www.ebookers.com/shop/home

f) http://www.expedia.com/

Please also remember to include Travel/ Medical Insurance, it wouldn't be the first time someones golf clubs, or luggage has gone missing, or worse still, someone has needed medical assistance.
Excuse me for being blunt, but during my time in the Forces I was taught a saying that has lived with me ever since ........
''Prior planning prevents p*ss poor performance!''

Transportation


I have my own personal preference on what I would do, and I'll explain why.

I'd book the services of the likes of our Transportation Director, Bill Murray and his team, from Mac Mur Tours who will pick and drop you from the airport, and take you to the golf courses, or on day trips


1/ We drive on the other side of the road over here
2/ Vehicles here are mainly gears & clutch and not automatic
3/ The price of gas/ petrol is extortionate!
4/ Local knowledge, knowing all the places to go, eat and avoid!
5/ Flexibility
6/ Bill wears a kilt, is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet and is a real Scot!

The other option is to hire a vehicle from the ''usual suspects''. Like everything on here it can be booked online.

Here are a few for you to choose from, but the one I have found the best by personal experience is http://www.expedia.com/ which is a website you may find that can kill 2 birds with one stone, as they tend to have excellent deals on flights too, but both can be booked individually

www.hertz.co.uk

www.avis.co.uk

www.ArnoldClarkRental.com

http://www.alamo.co.uk/

www.enterprise.co.uk

http://www.europcar.co.uk/

www.thrifty.co.uk

Accommodations

Having flown in, and found your way to St. Andrews, you need to decide what type of accommodation you require. If you have a good budget, we can get the best rates at the Old Course Hotel, Resort and Spa. However, take a look at the choices here, in and around St. Andrews to suite all budgets.

Our personal choices would be the likes of Kinburn Guest House a 9 iron from the town, or if you want a little bit of history, Ladywell House in Falkland, 20 miles outside town, and a place that was the former residence of Frances Shand Kidd, the mother of Lady Diana.

Golf, Golf and more Golf !

We know our golf, we play it, live it breathe it, we enjoy seeing people playing these courses...




You can of course pay a premium rate for an Old Course GUARANTEED time, we also work with the Old Course Experience who offer this service and can get you one, but as we have proved having got dozens and dozens of Golfers onto the Old, there really is no need to pay over the odds... Just follow these simple instructions.......


1/ Adavanced booking via the Links Trust

2/ The daily Ballot - the lottery. We are more than happy to help you put your name in

3/ Get up early and wait by the first tee - and I mean about 5am! It does work

It is important that you check for busy dates on the Old, if the Course has an event on, forget it, choose different dates to come!

The New, Jubilee and Eden Courses can also be booked directly by yourselves online, saving you lots of dollars!

Things to do in and around St. Andrews

Have a look at this page, which we hope may help. If you want any further help or suggestions, please email us!

Last but not least, we also own the World famous Barber's Pole which gives clients ''a free nip of whisky with every haircut'' as featured on ABC Sports and National Press!


WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AT THE HOME OF GOLF!


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