golf trip
Monarchs House Announces Partnership
As anyone who has ever captained a golf trip knows, planning a golfing holiday with your mates can be at the least, challenging and at the most, exasperating. There’s organizing, scheduling, orchestrating, administering, and accounting to do to ensure for a seamless trip. For 10 years, Monarchs House has always lightened a golf captain’s burden by taking on much of this workload but for 2011, we have not only removed much of the captain’s challenge but also made the process a bit of fun as well.
We are pleased to announce a partnership with GolfTripGenius.com. GolfTripGenius.com delivers intuitive, easy to use, web-based software that makes great golf trips even better. The genius edition of the software, available to Monarchs House guests at no charge, helps a Captain with tournaments, parings, scoring, statistics, leader board, and tournament and trip accounting. As an added benefit, if you carry an iPad, you also get dynamic, on course tournament scoring. Once your trip is over, please accept with Monarchs House and GolfTripGenius.com’s compliments a wonderful full color remembrance of your trip. Shortly, we will link to a sample here. Captaining a golf trip has truly never been easier.
If you want to learn more about planning a golf trip and being a captain, GolfTripGenius.com has written, what we think is, the seminal piece on the subject. You can read it here.
We are delighted to add another great feature for our guests’ enjoyment at Monarchs House, your home at the home of golf and with GolfTripGenius.com on board, they make a great golf trip better.
Crail Balcomie
There is a 100% certainty that you will love playing golf at Crail’s Balcomie Links if:
- You love golf
- You love golf history
- You know the name Shivas Irons and/or
- You consider yourself a creative shot maker
If you are in Scotland to tick the box by playing the big reputation courses, you have likely heard of Crail Balcomie in passing, if at all. It is even possible that you may not appreciate Balcomie for what it is: a unique, quirky, 5861 yards, par 69, joyous self-examination of your golfing skills. Certainly, you will learn more about yourself and your game after a loop here. You will put into practice all you know about hitting a golf ball from varying lies and weather conditions as the course lies at the mouth of the North Sea and the Firth of Forth. You will attempt to balance your concentration on your game with the overwhelming magnificence of the sea views on every hole. You will puzzle yourself, “who puts four par threes on the back nine” until you play them. You will ponder is this Burningbush (Shivas Irons reference) ? When your round is over, you will wonder how you can fit in another eighteen before your golf trip comes to an end.
Balcomie may lack the notoriety of its slightly more mature cousin up the road, the Old Course, but the memories created on the little links by the sea will last a lifetime. Crail is a 20 minute taxi ride from Monarchs House and should be included on all golf itineraries.
To learn more, visit the Crail Golfing Society website here
For a course review click here
For the scorecard click here
For more on Shivas Irons click here
Golf
IF YOU BELIEVE GOLF IS A RELIGION, WELCOME TO ITS SANCTUARY
St Andrews is a mystical experience that’s almost spiritual. The aura that permeates the air creates an unexplainable range of emotions. And the altar where you experience it all is the first tee of the Old Course. Step onto that sacred land and you now have a responsibility. Not to necessarily play well. But, to respect all those who have gone before you.
As you tee up your first ball you’ll hear 600 hundred years of drives. Approach shots. Pitches. Chips. And putts. You’ll experience 600 years of winds. Sea mist. Clouds. Rain. And more often than not, sun. 600 hundred years of emotions and history. And by the simple act of swinging your driver, you become a part of it all.
GOLF AROUND ST ANDREWS
There’s more to golf at St Andrews than the Old Course. Today golf in St Andrews is played on 11 courses. Each has its own history, challenges and charm. Each has its own ability to conjure up the spirits of all who preceded you. Six of the courses at St Andrews; Old Course, New Course, Jubilee Course, Castle Course, Eden Course, Strathtyrum Course and Balgove Course are part of the St Andrews Links and are open to the public.
As there are more courses per capita in Scotland than anywhere in the world, gold in Scotland is not limited to St Andrews. You can find 60 championship courses within one hour’s drive, including the likes of Gleneagles and Carnoustie. Turnberry and Royal Dornoch are further away but reached by luxury coach or helicopter. Two hidden gems that are but a short thirty minute drive from Monarchs House are Crail Balcomie and Golf House Club, better known as Elie. Both are inspiring 18 hole links courses with spectacular views of Edinburgh and East Lothian over the Firth of Forth.
Many have visited St Andrews over the years. Whether it is the trip of a lifetime or an annual pilgrimage. But, now for those staying at Monarchs House, St Andrews is more than a vacation, escape or dream. It’s home at the home of golf.
More on Weather
Usually there are two things people ask first when inquiring about a golf trip to Scotland: can you get me on the Old Course and when is the best time to go? The Old Course question is a story for another posting. This time we’re talking about Scottish weather.
Does Scotland deserve its reputation as the home of the constant shower?
When you talk to a native Scot they would have you believe that their weather is bad all the time. We never understood that. Why say your weather is bad when it’s not? There may be a secret campaign to convince visitors not to expect much and then, when the weather is grand, you have exceeded expectations. Here, we are only dealing with facts.
Unlike the United States, golf in Scotland is a walking sport. There are few courses where you can take a motorized cart or buggie with out a Doctor’s note. If you start with that premise, Scotland has the perfect weather for golf and walking. It is neither too hot or cold. Yes it rains but much less than you think, unless you’re on the west coast (region A, if you’re following along). There it rains 300 days out of 365. On the east coast (regions B, C, D & E) it rains far less than you might imagine. St Andrews, for example, has less average annual rainfall than Rome and far less than New York City.
Scotland’s visitor golf season (locals play all year round) is between the months of May and September, with the shoulder months of April and October providing some great golf opportunities as well. Here are some handy charts that will help you plan your next trip.
Temperature (warmest to coolest/min -max temps in F°)
July (56-72)
August (54-68)
June (50-65)
September (50-62)
May (42-58)
October (40-55)
April (38-50)
Rainfall (driest to wettest)
April
June
May
July
August
October
September
On the West coast, you should consider that during the months of August, September and October rainfall levels are double that of April, May and June.
Personally, we favor golfing in April and October. During those months there are fewer crowds, better opportunities to make tee times and if you are a price sensitive consumer, there are more bargains.
Old Course Busy Dates – 2010
Use this calendar to help plan your trip.
| February | ||
| Fri 05 | R & A GC - Winter Shotgun | All Day |
| Sat 06 | New GC - Winter Meeting | All Day |
| Mon 22 | Course Closed - Winter Maintanence | All Day |
| March | ||
| Mon 01 | Course Closed - Winter Maintenance | All Day |
| Mon 08 | Course Closed - Winter Maintenance | All Day |
| Mon 15 | Course Closed - Winter Maintenance | All Day |
| April | ||
| Fri 09 | Tartan Day | 09:10 to 12:00 |
| Fri 16 | NEFATB Golf Week | 09:10 to 12:20 |
| Sat 17 | Lindsay Shield - Leven | 13:00 to 17:00 |
| Sat 24 | Lindsay Shield - Carnoustie | 13:00 to 17:00 |
| May | ||
| Mon 03 to Thu 06 inc | Course closed | All Days |
| Sat 08 | Course closed | All Day |
| Thu 27 | Local Clubs Gold Medal R1 | 13:00 to 17:10 |
| Fri 28 | St Rule Trophy - Practice | 10:10 to 10:50 |
| Fri 28 | St Rule Trophy - Practice | 12:10 to 12:50 |
| Fri 28 | St Rule Trophy - Practice | 15:50 to 16:20 |
| Fri 28 | Local Clubs Gold Medal R2 | 16:30 to 17:40 |
| Sun 30 | St Rule Trophy | All day |
| June | ||
| Thu 03 | Links Trophy | All Day |
| Sat 05 | Course closed | All Day |
| Sun 06 | Links Trophy | All Day |
| Thu 10 | Rotary International | 07:00 to 10:10 |
| Sat 12 | New GC - Summer Meeting | All Day |
| Fri 18 | Highpoint Media Ltd | 09:10 to 12:20 |
| Sat 19 to | Open Championship | All Days |
| July | ||
| Thu 01 to | Open Championship | All Days |
| Tue 20 | Boyd Quaich | 13:30 to 15:20 |
| Wed 21 | Boyd Quaich | 07:00 to 08:50 |
| Thu 22 | Boyd Quaich | 07:00 to 08:30 |
| Sat 31 | St Andrews GC - Autumn Meeting | All Day |
| August | ||
| Thu 05 | Boys & Junior Ladies Open | 06:30 to 07:20 |
| Thu 05 | Boys & Junior Ladies Open | 11:30 to 12:20 |
| Tue 10 | Lammas Cup | 06:30 to 07:20 |
| Sat 21 | New GC - Autumn Meeting | All Day |
| Sun 22 | St Andrews GC - Spring Meeting | All Day |
| September | ||
| Mon 13 to Thu 16 inc | R & A GC - Queen Victoria Jubilee Vase | All Days |
| Fri 17 | R & A GC - Queen Victoria Jubilee Vase | 07:00 & 07:10 |
| Fri 17 | Bing Crosby Tournament (St Andrews GC) | All Day |
| Sat 18 | R & A GC -Town Match | All Day |
| Mon 20 | R & A GC - Autumn Meeting Medal | All Days |
| Fri 24 | R & A GC - Mixed Foursomes | All Day |
| October | ||
| Mon 04 to Mon 11 inc | Dunhill Links | All Days |
| Fri 15 | R T Jones Memorial Day | All Day |
| Fri 22 | Executive Golf Pro Am | 10:00 to 12:00 |
| Fri 29 | R & A GC Winter Shotgun | All Day |
| November | ||
| Mon 01 | Course Closed (Winter Maintenance) | All Day |
| Mon 08 | Course Closed (Winter Maintenance) | All Day |
| Mon 15 | Course Closed (Winter Maintenance) | All Day |
| Mon 22 | Course Closed (Winter Maintenance) | All Day |
| Mon 29 | Course Closed (Winter Maintenance) | All Day |
