Golfing Scotland...

Scotland, the land where golf originated. Every town we visited, we tried to check out the local golf courses. We looked up the Isles of Skye Golf Course (which I posted in my earlier blog) and on our way from Loch Ness to Dundee we stopped to look at the golf courses of Spean Bridge and Fort Augustus.

These were small local courses, very much like our courses in Raub or Dungun for comparison. The golfers were mostly elderly couples ( probably retirees like us) and children. The courses were not busy, the fairways looked friendly but avoid the rough and hazard. I cannot imagine how I can get out of the 3-inch deep second cut of the rough. And god bless you if your ball was in the hazard.

If you dream of playing at Carnoustie or St Andrews, then Dundee would be a convenient town to stay at. It is a lovely clean town with a very easy-going pace. Carnoustie is an easy 30-minutes drive north of Dundee on the way to Aberdeen ( the Kertih of Scotland)

Like some of our own golf developments here, Carnoustie also has its own apartment projects lining the fairways. And reflecting the current global economic climate, many of these apartments were up for 'bank-lelong'!

St Andrews was about 1 hour south of Dundee. And unlike Carnoustie, St Andrews has indeed lived up to its name as a golfing tourist destination. The Koreans arrived before me by the busload and deprived me of the chance to tee-off for my game of golf.

Anyhow, I was very touched by the warm welcome I received from the concierge at the St Andrews Old Course Hotel after I told him that I am a prince from Malaya! He being a soldier who fought in the war in Malaya in the 40's was very happy to meet with this native from the colonies...

The concierge proudly welcoming pakdokter at St Andrews...notice the ex-Calibur in his left hand!

Since the Koreans had booked all the available slots I decided to take up a one-hour 'brush-up' with the local 'pro' at the driving range. And the driving range looked like the stables at the Ipoh Race Course..

With a lot of time left we checked out St Andrews town. It is a pretty university town, reminiscent of Oxford and Cambridge.

The ruins of St Andrews cathedral