A challange to golfers coming to Scotland!!!

Groups of 8 or more who are coming to St. Andrews, Scotland.

Do you fancy playing a fun game against a local club?
Meet the locals, enjoy a meal, and drink some beer!

As a past Captain of Falkland Golf Club I would be delighted to take invite groups of 8 to 32 !!

We look forward to welcoming the Nash party from Barcelona on 16th June 2011.

If you would like your group booking taken care of when you are coming to St. Andrews look no further, Golf Tours with a difference!!

Steve Cooke. Managing Director.
St Andrews Golf Groups

St Andrews Golf Groups on facebook

St Andrews Golf Groups on twitter

Golf. Scotland v England at Crail Balcomie

Forget the Ryder Cup, Scotland v England games are always keenly fought affairs...



The Venue - Crail Balacomie

Teams
Representing Scotland - George and David

Representing England (and the peoples Republican of Yorkshire) - Steve and Bob

The match started in bright sunshine, still a bit crisp, but was good to play on the magnificent settings of Crail Balcomie again.


The match was very close all the way round, England never down, went 2 up twice to be dragged back to all square, Bob as deadly as ever from 6ft, and Steve playing Par golf, and shooting +3 made sure England pipped Scotland on the 18th Green winning by 1 hole....


The great thing about today, and Fridays game at Crail, reminded me why I love this game, and these Courses so much, friendship, banter, fun and frolics, with some great conversation.

I think a lot of people have forgotten how to have fun, I've noticed that a lot of golfers now like playing with their group, clique, gang etc, and it become difficult to become accepted into a new club sometimes.

The game of golf is more of a chore than something where you can have fun, I was brought up in the 'old school' as I wrote in a previous blog, playing golf for the RAF which is an excellent education, and have always enjoyed helping people.

So very often people become suspicious about those who do things for free, whats in it for them? What are they after? May be its just a case that the true integrity of this sport is really alive and kicking, but you just have to look a little harder to find it these days.

Golf to me always was a symbol of friendship, honestly, integrity and etiquette, a springboard to the rest of your life if you started playing when you are young. I see some clubs where ''Juniors'' are a swear word, I see other clubs, like Ladybank who have a superb system for Juniors.

The older readers will know what I mean when I say this modern world has changed, and not for the better. Even golf has changed and attitudes.

The great thing is, I know great people are out there, and the game with Bob, David and George proved it........

Most people who will be reading this will be positive, productive forward thinking people who know exactly what I mean

Long may the true spirit of golf live

If you see a guy playing by himself, ask to play with him
If you see a new member, say hello
Its free to smile and be friendly
Its just as easy to say nice things about a person than it is bad things

Few picture of the day can be found HERE

A crazy hole at Crail Balcomie !!

Sometimes, odd things happen on a golf course, and this was certainly the case when I had the pleasure of playing with Bob Taylor, from ''Links with History'' and his mate George, at Crail Balcomie.

Myself playing off 8 these days, Bob off 10 and George off 15, had been plodding along getting acquainted, and enjoying some great golf, along with some pretty dire stuff too.


Bob had been in an aggressive mood from the 1st, and soon realised he was one of these golfers who never left a putt short on these superb, lightening fast greens. On the first 8 holes he had sunk a monster putt already, maybe 45-50 feet to save par on the 8th after being in the bunker, and a couple of previous holes had hit lengthy putts that were thankful the hole was in the way to slow them down!

So there we were on the 9th tee, playing off the medal tees, into the wind, a fairly modest par 4 that needed negotiating of about 350 yards. We all went pretty much down the middle, but the best was yet to come.

Bob went first, and his 7 iron looked close, in fact, I said to Bob that's either in, or its a ''gimmi''
George had got a dose of the hooks, and of course went about left, leaving himself about 30 yards from the pin, I hit my sandwedge on the green, but about 35 foot short.


As we walked to the green, Bobs ball was nowhere to be seen!! George walked up to the hole and gave out a cheer as he found Bobs ball, in the hole for an eagle!! Superb, well done, congratulations.... and I was very pleased for my new found friend.

So on we went, George off the green and some distance away went next, using the good old fashioned putter from miles away as you learn to do on these fantastic links courses. As he hit his putt, some form of profanity was heard as it sailed away... I said its looks pretty decent, and as it got closer, it got better and better, and in she plopped!! George had now achieved a somewhat incredible birdie (what I haven't mentioned is George and Bobs combined age is about 135 years old!) My putt was quite a steep uphill effort, quite a big right to left break, and I thought to myself, a par would be a good result, and saw George and Bob doing the good old ''high 5'' thing.
Standing over my putt, I struck it, it looked half decent all the way, Bob tending the pin took the flagstick out as my putt neared the hole, and in she went!!!


The 3 of us went wild!! What a hole! -4 between the 3 of us!

It was that kind of day, and the best of it is, I found 2 great friends in Bob and George

A day at Crail Balcomie Links near St. Andrews

Ahhhh Gowf, as gowf is supposed to be, a nice sunny, wind free day on Crail Links with some wonderful company.

FULL PICTURE GALLERY OF CRAIL BALCOMIE - HERE !


If all 365 days of the year were like today, what a wonderful country we would have! Alas, thats why our season runs from May- September, yet the fringe months either side can produce magnificent weather.
I played the Old on March 1st, and caught the sun, 9 days later, we saw another 2 days of snow!


Crail is one of the many superb courses in the St. Andrews area. That's what our company take pride in, we promote what we know, we want groups/ clubs or societies to STAY in St. Andrews and experience the delights this region, the region that is the home of golf


If you want to go elsewhere we will just suggest you go to our travel partner Wullie Duff, from Duffers Golf Tours who's expertise is Scotland and Ireland...

We will be doing full reviews, and interviews in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!!

Have a great weekend golfing!

Steve Cooke
Managing Director.
St. Andrews Golf Groups.
134 South Street.
St. Andrews. KY15 7BA

Telephone +44 1337 858888
email - golfgroups@aol.com

Website . www.golfgroups.org
Facebook - www.facebook.com/golfgroups
Twitter - www.twitter.com/golfgroups

''Proud members of St. Andrews Merchants' Association & IAGTO''

Re-launch of St. Andrews Golf Groups

Some of you already know me, some have wanted to follow my blog, and have waited a while for me to actually start it. Its going to start with blurb about me, and in the next few weeks I have lined, and am lining up interviews with people in and around St. Andrews, I'm not leaving any stone unturned! Got some interesting people lined up already!!
You know who you are friends!

If you want a place in St. Andrews featured, please ask, I'll be delighted to do a review on anything here.

I would also like to say, there is going to be a unique opportunity in the coming weeks for you to have a monthly public display in St. Andrews too.... Get your message out!! More about that soon!

Today a little bit of History about myself, the face behind St. Andrews Golf Groups and the Barber's Pole, if you're going to do business with someone, its best to know exactly who he is and what can be achieved, and maybe a little bit of information!

Life can take many directions, mine certainly has, its been an adventure!
I'll be brief, but this is my journey of life...

1965
Born in a 'pit house' where just about all my family including my own father were involved in the mining industry.

1971
Wakefield. West Yorkshire

Moved to where my dads side of the family live Wakefield, Yorkshire, where he became a self employed electrician. He found a Niblick hickory shafted golf club on a job, and gave it to me

My grandparents bought me 3 uniroyal golf balls. Nobody in my family played golf, I think back then, it was more of an elitist sport.


I learnt to play golf in a cemetery!

Please bear in mind, and forgive me, but this was West Yorkshire! A place where green land wasn't rife, and if there was any in the area going free, the gypsies would soon find it!

Over the next few years, I started building up a set of golf clubs, and holidays were centered around my golf, either Blairgowrie, where I fell in love with the Courses in Angus, not too far away from here, and of course St. Andrews. They went day-tripping, I went golfing. I was about 11 years old. All the money I could save was saved for an unlimited weeks golf pass playing St. Andrews links. This pass allowed me to play 3 of the 4 courses back then. Of course the Old wasn't part of the deal, but happily went round and round and round the Eden, New and Jubilee. The New and Jubilee courses not recognisable today to what they were back then, and there was no Fairmont, or Dukes!! Damn even the Jubilee and New shared a small wooden hut of a clubhouse!! I always had enough money for one round on the Old!!
Always remember the day I broke 100!
Oh how times change!!
I was lucky to meet, and become a life long friend of Arnold Palmers Caddie, a chap called Tip Anderson, normally when we met over the years, he was hungover, or drunk, that was Tip! Everyone I know fell for the charms of this great man, a great golfer in his own right.
RIP Tip my old friend....

Thanks to Wullie Duff from Duffers Golf Travel for the photo.
A signed copy is going to be displayed in the Barbers Pole. St. Andrews.

1983 -1995
THE RAF YEARS!!
Big boys world now, joined the RAF, because I knew there was a base near St. Andrews, and by good luck spent most of my 12 year RAF career there at Leuchars, representing the RAF at Golf, and playing all the best courses around, for free, and with spectacular hospitality!
On several occasions I was fortunate enough to be invited into the Royal & Ancient, the ultimate for any golfing purist!

I was a tactical chef in the RAF, I was on the first aircraft out to the Gulf War in 1990 with MCSU


I was eventually attached with a Helicopter refueling site, where days were long, hot and pretty boring, but fortunately, I'd remembered my hair clippers! Seemed I was the only guy in the desert for miles around who had got any!!! This then ended up with me cutting ever unit arounds hair, even our good pals the Americans, I must have done hundreds over the months.
We were never short of illegal alcohol (banned in Saudi Arabia!) Extra rations, and even got all our uniforms washed an ironed by an American unit!

I quite enjoyed the life, but like today the forces started cutting back, and I was literally told with 2 years to go I would need to find a job in civvy street! Quite a scary prospect as I had been in the forces not long after I had left school, and to be honest I had kind of got used to the disciplined way of life.

Natural wastage they called me, very nice having been put on the streets of Belfast in the heights of the problems there, going to Kurdistan to stop Saddam obliterating them as well after the Gulf war, I witnessed 3 colleagues get murdered by a car bomb planted by the IRA in Roermond, that along with driving down the Basra Road after the war had finished, youtube video of it here, not for the fainthearted.

So, not to be beaten down, In my final 2 years, I decided to train as a Barber on my days off, I was working 2 days, 2 nights and 4 days off, so I worked hard to get qualified.

I then prepared to open a shop in St. Andrews!
Quite a worrying prospect, the bills for the year, were as much as I was getting paid for a year in the RAF!

1995 - present
The Barbers Pole St Andrews opens
Became very popular very quickly.
I needn't have worried, even opened a couple of other shops up which worked too!
16 years to date and still going strong, to the extent its been accepted in principle to be franchised, and I have made the latter stages of Dragons Den to try and get the help I would need when dealing with something of that magnitude!


Lots of famous people have been in over the years, far too many to mention!

We are famous for giving away a free nip of whisky with every haircut, and are currently sponsored by Whyte & Mackay!


The Barber's Pole website
Barber's Pole on Twitter
Barber's Pole on Facebook



Its really quite simple, for me why.
How is a little more complicated, my 1 year old daughter, Leigh became Scotland's youngest diabetic in 2001 aged just 22 months. Nearly losing your child is a wake up call in anyones life, stranger still, there was no diabetes either side of the family. It makes you wonder if the illegal anthrax, plague, nerve and biological goodies they pumped into me in the first Gulf War, and where highly illegal. had anything to do with it....

So I gave up working in the Barber's and was a stay at home dad, looking after my daughter who needed about 10 blood sugar tests a day, and 4 injections.
As she grew older, she became able to do more things by herself, she has been injecting herself since she was 4 years old!
Today she is as healthy as any 10 year old could be, only difference is, she has to inject herself insulin, and knows she cannot eat the same things other kids can....

Then I created the Golf Company at this stage,

2004- present St. Andrews Golf Vacations.
Now St. Andrews Golf Groups

I have now lived breathed and grown to love everything about the local area, and especially golf
When working in my shop, I soon realised the lion share of Golf Tour Operators, are just bringing golfers to St. Andrews for a day or 2, and they are not really seeing St. Andrews, they are seeing what they are led to see. Well I'm sorry, you can't see everything in this great town of ours in a day or 2!!


Its impossible, there is so much to see and do in this historic town, that I don't wash this staying in town for that long, its stupidity in my opinion, when paying homage to the home of golf, you actually miss it all in the blink of an eyelid, and lose the chance to visit everything in this great town, eating in the MANY award winning restaurants, visiting the attractions, walking the beach where the opening of ''Chariots of Fife'' were filmed, pictures outside everything that is deep routed to this great game we all love, and most of all, the locals, I have already mentioned Tip Anderson... there are many more like him.....



When I first visited St. Andrews and fell in love with the links, there we 4 golf courses here, there are now 10, facilities that are incredible, courses within a short drive that will give you golfing bliss, including Carnoustie a short 30 or so minute drive (avoid rush hour!)
I was lucky to have played for the RAF against the many outstanding other courses, the Likes of Ladybank, Scotscraig, Crail and Lundin Links.

You don't need that GUARANTEED time to the Old, I keep telling people, if you plan well, you will get on, I do this year in year out.
There are GUARANTEED tee times available, these of course come at a price, and we deal with our Partners, the Old Course Experience

We have done dozens of groups over the years, arranged several Charity events, and covered every special occasion thinkable!

In 2008, we broke all sorts of record when we organised the Centenary event for the Society of Liverpool Golf Captains, 300 red coated gentleman, gracing the fairways of the Golf Courses in the area, starting with a civic reception attended by the gracious Provost Frances Melville, and a granda gala ball and prize-giving.


One of my proudest moments was sitting on the top table with the Captain of The Royal and Ancient and Provost Melville at that event!

We kind of stood down after this event, as the global recession hit, we have several groups booked already for 2011 and 2012, and are always happy to assist and give free advice and tips!

Everything you want in Scotland is already here, all we do is help people put it together, and have an enjoyable visit to the area, there is something very special about this Old Town, I would be doing you a disservice if I didn't get you to try it too!

The recession made me put the company on the shelf, and decided to relaunch Oct 2010, and have done all sorts of marketing ploys now, including email campaigns that has attracted the attention of a massive sponsor, and trust me, when I say they don't come any bigger in golf, as far as I'm concerned!
We have also got into social media
Twitter and facebook have both proved to be popular methods for spreading the word in business circles,
My personal profile on facebook. Please add if you like.
On Linkedin
St. Andrews Golf Groups on facebook
St. Andrews Golf Groups on twitter

Here is a facebook page if you need assistance when coming to St. Andrews, or indeed Scotland.

During all of this Ive been involved with various things over the years.
I have been Captain of Falkland Golf Club, and think many will agree, I was instrumental at bringing it back into the right direction, and now, thanks to a good team, it is one of the few clubs in the area attracting new members, and making a profit!

I've been heavily involved at stages with the St. Andrews Kilrymont Rotary Club, which I may be rejoining

Vice President of the St. Andrews Merchants Association, I have just suggested I become membership Secretary, as I'll be visiting many of the Businesses in town anyway giving you an insight to what we have here!

Ive served on many committees in town, getting the students on good terms with the locals was one of the more interesting ones! St. Andrews Festival week, and think its safe to say I had a lot to do with the Christmas decorations in St. Andrews too! But thats another story, I have a great story about a Solicitor who nearly got charged with breaking and entry to a building when we realised we couldn't get to the main light switch that was supposed to switch the main display on at countdown which was 10 minutes away! Thousands of people outside, live on radio....



Charity is very special to me, I have several I would like the company to support, they are for my friends Mel, Alex and Muzza, I'll keep plugging those on my facebook and twitter accounts as we move into a different era!

Well we started with black and white TV's and ended up on facebook... thats life I guess!

I'm here to help people get to St. Andrews, on any budget, if its in a tent, or into the Old Course Hotel, I've done them all!

Oh and I also support Leeds United ;=)

Fancy bringing your club to St. Andrews?

Had a good idea recently which we are putting into practice, we are inviting groups of golfers to play members of clubs in the St. Andrews area! with a view to having annual return matches at various venues thereafter!!

Apply within, already got a group from Barcelona who are interested in a club/ society swap, Spain does appeal in the colder months!!
looking for groups of 16-24 ideally, apply within! Location no problem! Affordable golf, affordable accommodation!

Contact me for more details @ golfgroups@aol.com
Putting the fun back into golf!!