Customer Reviews

Golf in Scotland : A Travel-Planning Guide with Profiles of 60 Great Courses

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Simply put, if you're an American (on anyone else who can read English) and you want to travel abroad to play golf in Scotland, this book is "a must," the first one you should buy, and maybe the only one you really need. That is, unless you don't care about what the trip will cost and you have no difficulty letting other people make decisions for you. Mr. Ferguson gives you the ins and outs of making your own arrangements, the pros and cons of various approaches, and the highlights of a number of top-notch Scottish golf courses. He gives you the tools to do it on your own, without the tour company or travel agent . . . to create your own golfing adventure. Which is not to say that Mr. Ferguson will not work with you as non-comissioned, fee-based agent (as he's done with me), but it's also very clear he'd be just as happy, maybe more so, to have you buy the book and plan the adventure on your own (as I do now). By the way, the second book you ought to buy is James Finegan's "Where Golf is Great" (see my Amazon review), a judgment with which I feel certain Mr. Ferguson would not disagree.

First off, let me say that the 1st and second editions of this book garnered 29 5 star reviews (all the reviews were 5 stars). Allan's book makes it so easy to book your own golf trip and save a ton of money. We just finished using the book to set up a trip for August of 2006. This is our second trip and hit alot of the "trophy" courses the first time around. We'll be playing Machrihanish twice, Royal Dornach, Nairn, Royal Aberdeen, Murfield twice, St. Andrews Old and Jubilee, Crail, and Carnoustie , renting a VW Caravelle van, and staying at some great B&B's. I had two tour operators quote me on the same trip and they each wanted at least $1000 more per person over what it will cost us to book ourselves...so Allan's book is saving us $4000. Allan's reviews of courses and lodging are spot on.

I purchased this book about a year ago to plan my upcoming trip to Scotland. The bookings are all made: tee times, lodging transportation (rental car). Everything was just as Allan said. Very smooth and easy. I would reccomend this book to anyone planning to visit the home of golf.

My wife and I have taken two great britian golf trips over the last two years (scotland and ireland), both arranged by one of the major tour companies. Never again. Golf in Scotland gives you all of the information you need to sucessfully plan a golf trip to Scotland...and it can be fun too! The tips in the book are very valuable as are the lists of contact information. In a little over a week, we were able to confirm airline reservations, a car, 12 rounds of confirmed tee times (including St. Andrews-Old Course), and hotel accomodations. We talked to some of the sweetest people at these various establishments, who were very helpful in making our plans work. I play as a single golfer, which is an advantage, as many courses are able to add me to an existing group, but the fact you are traveling with a larger group should not disuade you. You just need to plan further ahead. Don't be afraid to take a shot at this, as the savings are significant. We have saved over 40% over a very comparable trip two years ago and I am able to play many of the rota courses (turnberry, troon, carnoustie, and the old course). Read the book and get started! It's one of the greatest places to play on the planet.

Anyone who goes to Scotland to play golf without reading this book is missing so so much. I have made two trips to Scotland to play golf. The first was through a travel agent, the second one was with the help of Allan and his book. This book not only covers every last detail of any trip, but every word in it is from first hand experience on Allan's part. By reading this book, you are able to customize your trip exactly the way you want to. I can honestly say that I would not have changed one thing about our trip because we were able to choose what we wanted based on Allan's experiences. Although this book was meant to help plan a trip to Scotland, I can tell you that it is even more fun to read after you return. It is great fun reading about the places you have been and getting another person's view of them. Don't miss out. This book will save you thousands of dollars. So as Allan says " Why would anyone want to stay at a big hotel when you could stay at a 300 year old coaching inn and eat the cooking of the chef who used to cook for the swells- all at less than half the price."

I've been to Scotland two times in the last three years, specifically to play golf. Each time, I started planning for the trip by calling one of the tour operators. After going over my itinerary the tour operator would quote me a package that I knew was $1500-$2000 over the actual costs. I don't mind paying people for their time and effort, but I don't appreciate being "taken" either.

For both trips I ended up doing the research, making the phone calls, sending the letters and faxes, and was able to play every course I desired without having to pay an operator the $1500-$2000 commission. The only down side is the time that was required to make all of the plans, about, 10 hours. Using "Golf in Scotland" as your reference you can experience the same success but with about a third of the amount of time invested.

"Golf in Scotland" provides all of the direction and reference information needed to plan a very successful trip playing the courses that we all dreamed about- Muirfield, The "Old" Course, Troon, Turnberry, etc.

I am currently planning a trip to Scotland to play golf in 2002. I found this book very informative and detailed with valuable information on planning this trip. He has information that can help you determine if you would like to use a tour service or not. You also get a good comparison of actual cost vs. tour prices. If you decide to do your own booking, he gives good suggestions on how it should be planned and all of information you need to book golf courses, hotels and transportation. This is must reading for anyone planning a golf trip to Scotland!

Before things become critical let me state one thing. This is the best single resource for planning your own golf trip from the USA to Scotland, though there are a few limitations.
1) Scotland has over 500 golf courses. The 68 selected in the book include all of the most expensive courses in Scotland. The book advises to think of this trip as " your first golf trip to Scotland" rather than the "golf trip of a lifetime." But subsequently orients the reader to the most expensive courses available. Notable areas that are barely covered in the book are the Northeast Coast with excellent courses such as Reay, Wick, Buckpool, Hopeman, Cullen, Arbroath and Inverllochy, though the author does mention Fraserburgh and Duff House Royal. Also the municipal courses of Aberdeen are not mentioned at all, but include a course designed by Alister Mackenzie and the original links of the Royal Aberdeen Club. Also there are 2 Fore 1 , Green Fee and Green Free vouchers where you can play many courses at 50% discount that are excellent courses. This is mentioned by the author but not noted in the course descriptions in the book.
2) The lodging selections by the author also include the most expensive lodging in each town. Get on Google map or trip advisor and you can find excellent lodging in most towns for less than 50 pounds per person per night, some for less than 30 pounds.
If you have the funds and want royal treatment then by all means enjoy. However if you wish to explore Scotland, rub elbows with the locals and get more bang for the buck, start with this book and get on the web and start looking around. You can have a great trip for less!

ever dream of playing the old course? allan makes it possible. he gives you everything. i've created a relationship with the Sporting Laird hotel, a wedge away from the old course. they are already my friends. inquired at the old course and carnoustie for me. no problem as a single. i received the book in early february and will arrive in st. andrews apr 4th. so many great courses within 10 miles. do it now, not someday, cause there will be a time when someday never comes.

As an avid golfer and reader of all things golf-related, I can say that this book is absolutely without parallel. Thorough, engrossing, entertaining, and eminently satisfying. The author's obvious love of Scotland shines in every paragraph. Planning on visiting Scotland in the next couple of years, I took a chance on this book after reading a review. Woe unto the hapless golfer who doesn't avail himself of this work before making arrangements. A new standard for golf travel writing has been set. Mr. Ferguson WILL be MY itinerary planner for Scotland!