Scotland

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The Five Golf Regions of Scotland


St. Andrews - The Home Of Golf

There is more to Scotland than the Old Course...

Still, that is where we start. St. Andrews, The Home of Golf and The Old Course is fittingly a well-located hub for almost all Scotland Golf Trips.


In and nearby St. Andrews you will find; The Old Course, The New Course, The Jubilee Course, The Castle Course, Kingsbarns, Carnoustie, Dumbarnie Links, Crail, Gleneagles, and more


Four additional great golf destinations in Scotland all within a few hours drive from St. Andrews.

The Highlands - Inverness and Aberdeen

Inverness and Aberdeen are just two hours apart and offer a stunning selection of courses. With one hotel change, you can play all these and more

Inverness: Royal Dornoch, Brora, Cabot Highlands & Nairn, Aberdeen: Royal Aberdeen, Cruden Bay, and Trump Scotland.

East Lothian Coast

Directly south of St. Andrews, separated by the Firth of Forth you will find the many golf courses populating the East Lothian Coast. The marquee names include; Muirfield, North Berwick, Gullane #1, and Dunbar


Ayrshire Coast

The Ayrshire Coast located two hours southwest of St. Andrews is home to Turnberry Ailsa Course, Royal Troon, Western Gailes, Prestwick, Dundonald Links and more.


Off the Ayrshire Coast, off the charts!

The Inner Hebrides.

Call it the authentic Scotland, the road less traveled, or just a WOW! A bit harder to access, but well worth your time.

Find your way to Campbeltown on The Mull of Kintyre to play Machrihanish Golf Club and Machrihanish Dunes.

Catch a ferry to the Isle of Islay and stay and play at a magnificent stay and play The  Machrie.

And just when you think you have seen it all-- check Ardfin located on the Island of Jura--off your bucket list.

Travel Info

Weather

April 20th to mid-October is the "go" range for Scotland Golf trips.

St. Andrews, located in Scotland, experiences a temperate maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. Here are the average low and high temperatures in St. Andrews from April 20 to October 15:

  • April 20:
    • Average Low: 38°F (3°C)
    • Average High: 52°F (11°C)
  • May:
    • Average Low: 43°F (6°C)
    • Average High: 57°F (14°C)
  • June:
    • Average Low: 48°F (9°C)
    • Average High: 62°F (17°C)
  • July:
    • Average Low: 52°F (11°C)
    • Average High: 66°F (19°C)
  • August:
    • Average Low: 52°F (11°C)
    • Average High: 66°F (19°C)
  • September:
    • Average Low: 48°F (9°C)
    • Average High: 61°F (16°C)
  • October 15:
    • Average Low: 43°F (6°C)
    • Average High: 55°F (13°C)


Airports

Edinburgh's International Airport best services trips that start or end in all of Scotland's Golf Regions except the Highlands. Glasgow International is also convenient to these destinations; however, does not offer as many options as Edinburgh.

Both Invernmes and Aberdeen Airports are convenient for trips that start of end in the Highlands.

Ground Logistics


Why St. Andrews

St. Andrews Overview

Location

  • 50 Miles from Edinburgh Airport
  • 84 Miles from Glasgow Airport

Why St. Andrews

  • The Home of Golf
  • Quaint Scottish town totally accessible on foot
  • Easy access to Edinburgh Airport
  • Four significant golf courses within 10 minutes of your hotel
    • Old, New, Jubilee & Castle

Playing more than one destination--connects easily to

  • 80 Miles from Aberdeen Golf Region
  • 83 Miles from East Lothian Golf Region
  • 123 Miles from Ayreshire Golf Region
  • 148 Miles from Inverness Golf Region


St. Andrews Courses

Here are the courses that are easily accessible when you stay in St. Andrews.

  • World Class Golf
    • Old Course
    • Carnoustie
    • Kingsbarns
    • Dumbarnie
  • Others
    • The Castle Course
    • The Jubilee Course
    • KingsbarThe New Coursens
    • The Dukes Course
    • Crail Golf Links
    • Gleneagles


Playing the Old Course

Overview of access to the Old Course

  • Advance Reservations
    • Each year the Advance Reservations window opens in late August for two weeks.
  • It is best if you are prepared to make a "good application" at this time.
  • A "good application" is an application where you know the names of the trip participants and have identified dates that you can travel.
    • You will get an opportunity to make name changes but it is limited
    • You will have the opportunity to choose three sets of dates that work for you. Each set can be up to a two-week window.
    • The season for this process is April 15th to October 13th
    • Advance Reservations are not available in September and parts of October.
    • August selection typicall will provide the least probability of success.
  • The Advance Reservations are allotted in late October.
    • That is early enough to access tee times at most other courses that you will need to fill out your trip
    • To purchase an Old Course Tee Time, you will also need to purchase a tee time at one of the other St. Andrews courses.
  • The Daily Ballot
    • The Ballot is a system to access the Old Course for those visiting St. Andrews without an Old Course tee time. Despite its overwhelming popularity, the Old Course still upholds the tradition of a ballot (lottery) drawn two days ahead of play (except for Sundays and tournament days).
    • This enables golfers who are in the area to still have the opportunity to play the Old Course during their visit. This reflects the public spirit of St Andrews Links and its commitment to staying as open and accessible to all golf lovers.
    • The Ballot often works but there is no guarantee.
    • The ballot is drawn at 4 pm two days before the day you hope to play. That being the case, you have time to rearrange your schedule to accommodate your Old Course tee time. The courses in St. Andrews are more than happy to accommodate you in moving your tee time to play the Old Course--that is if there is space available.
    • If you are working the Ballot--we like to leave an open day in your St. Andrews schedule so that should you be successful in the Ballot--you have room to rearrange your schedule.
    • If unsuccessful in the Ballot, you can always try to use the Singles Queue to be joined to a two or three-some that has not been filled out.
    • Also, if you do not make the Ballot--you can walk on the New or Jubilee Course on your open day as they always reserve one of the courses for walk-ons.


  • Singles Queue
  • Last resort when all else fails.
  • Each day you can report to the Starters Box at the Old Course and get in line to fill any open spots that may become available during the day.
  • Authorised Providers
    • RTG Golf is an Authorized Provider of Old Course Tee Times.
  • Each spring RTG receives a small allotment of Old Course Tee Times.
    • Depending on dates and demand, RTG may be able to offer you a Guaranteed Old Course Tee Time for your trip.


Why The Highlands

Inverness & Aberdeen Overview

Location*

  • Inverness & Aberdeen Airports are both located just 15 minutes from their respective city centers.
  • Edinburgh Airport to Inverness 153 Miles
  • Edinburgh Airport to Aberdeen 125 Miles

Why Inverness & Aberdeen

  • Easy access to the city airports
  • Aberdeen and Inverness are just 100 miles apart
  • Six World Class Golf courses between the two cities
    • Access three of these courses from each city center with drives of 15, 30 and 60 minutes.
  • More hidden gems than you will have time for
  • The area between these two cities is the Scotch Whisky capital of the world.
  • We include the tiny town of Dornoch as part of Inverness as it is only an hour away--and the two towns are often used together when visiting the Inverness Golf Region.
    • Dornoch has one of the best hotels in all of Scotland. Choosing this destination allows you a chance to stay at The Links House.
  • We include the tiny town of Dornoch as part of Inverness as it is only an hour away--and the two towns are often used together when visiting the Inverness Golf Region.
  • Dornoch has one of the best hotels in all of Scotland. Choosing this destination allows you a chance to stay at The Links House.

Playing more than one destination--connects easily to

  • Inverness to St. Andrews Golf Region 144 Miles
  • Aberdeen to St. Andrews Golf Region 80 Miles
  • Inverness to Troon Golf Region 205 Miles
  • Aberdeen to Troon Golf Region 179 Miles
  • Aberdeen to East Lothian Golf Region 158 Miles


The North of Scotland

Two golf regions in the north of Scotland--Inverness & Aberdeen.

  • World Class Golf Inverness
    • Royal Dornoch
    • Castle Stuart
    • Nairn
  • Inside Information
    • Brora
    • Nairn Dunbar
    • Fortrose and Rosemarkie
    • Boat of Garten
    • Moray
    • Tain
  • Very Exclusive, Very Cool--sometimes accessible!
    • The Carnegie Club at Skibo Castle
  • World Class Golf Aberdeen
    • Cruden Bay
    • Royal Aberdeen
    • Trump Scotland
  • Inside Info
    • Montrose
    • Murcar
    • Moray


Why East Lothian Coast

East Lothian Overview

Location*

  • 33 Miles from Edinburgh Airport
  • 78 Miles from Glasgow Airport

Why East Lothian

  • Easy access to Glasgow and Edinburgh Airports
  • Options to stay in North Berwick, Gullane or Edinburgh
  • Four big name courses within easy access of your hotel
    • Muirfield, North Berwick, Gullane #1, Renaissance Club
  • More hidden gems than you will have time for
  • Easy access to Edinburgh City
    • Scotland's most visited city

Playing more than one destination--connects easily to

  • 86 Miles from St. Andrews Golf Region
  • 103 Miles fromAyreshire Golf Region
  • 157 Miles to Aberdeen Golf Region
  • 186 Miles to Inverness Golf Region

*if staying in North Berwick area.


The East Lothian

The East Lothian region is just north and east of Edinburgh.

  • World Class Golf
    • Muirfield
    • North Berwick
    • Gullane #1
  • Inside info
  • Dunbar
    • A favorite of those that add it to their itinerary.
  • Very private, very exclusive, very cool--some times accessible
    • The Renaissance Club


Why the Ayrshire Coast

Ayreshire Coast Overview

Location*

  • 70 Miles from Edinburgh Airport
  • 36 Miles from Glasgow Airport

Why Ayreshire Coast

  • Easy access to Glasgow and Edinburgh Airports
  • More hidden gems than you will have time for
  • Options to stay in Troon, Prestwick or at Turnberry Resort
  • Five big name courses within easy access of your hotel
    • Ailsa at Turnberry, Royal Troon, Western Gailes, Dundonald & Prestwick
  • Five big name courses within easy access of your hotel
  • Ailsa at Turnberry, Royal Troon, Western Gailes, Dundonald & Prestwick
  • Jumping of spot to Machrihanish, The Machrie and Ardfin.

Playing more than one destination--connects easily to

  • 100 Miles from East Lothian Golf Region
  • 106 Miles from St. Andrews golf region
  • 148 Miles from Inverness Golf Region
  • 178 Miles to Aberdeen Golf Region
  • 200 Miles to Inverness Golf Region

*if staying in Troon area. Turnberry is +20 miles


The Ayrshire Coast

Here are the courses that are easily accessible when visiting the Ayrshire Coast of Scotland.

  • World Class Courses
    • Turnberry Ailsa
    • Western Gailes
    • Royal Troon
    • Prestwick
    • Dundonald
  • Inside info
  • If you would like to add an adventure to your trip considering adding
    • Machrihanish
    • The Machrie
  • Located off the west coast of Scotland
    • Can be accessed by ground, ferry and air.

  • Ask us about Ardfin for an over the top once in a lifetime experience.

What Our Clients Say

Nothing makes us happier than setting up the perfect golf trip for our customers.  Here are some kind words from a handful of customers.

HI Tom, Just wanted to send a heartfelt THANK YOU for the trip you prepared for us. As my dad said yesterday on the way home, “we wouldn’t change a thing”😊.

We are so grateful for the accommodations that were perfect for us, the people you had us interface with who were completely incredible, and the courses you set up for us which were a great mix of old and new and all high quality.

I sincerely hope this is not the last trip you plan for us and I would not hesitate to send my friends to you for future trips.

Greg N.

You did a fantastic job planning our trip.  The itinerary, courses, transportation, times, and general rhythm of the trip was right on the money. In addition, your genuine care for how it was going, and availability was beyond my expectation. The app and King of Scotland game made it so fun and easy for us to play, track real time, and be able to focus on being there.  And the app to help make the pairings was a game changer.  It was fantastic all the way around, and I just want to say thank you.  Thank you very, very much!  Outstanding job. It was a pleasure working with you on the trip.

Trevor P.

Everything about the trip was incredible. Organization and communication leading up to and throughout the week was top notch. I have already let 3 friends know they have to use RTG for their next golf trip!

Chase P

Amazing Trip. Thanks for everything u put together! DK

Doug K

Amazing getting on at Muirfield. The Marine Hotel was terrific, the drivers were pros.

Dave A

It was an incredible trip. Everything was arranged very well. Tee times were at times that met our needs well. The hotels were excellent and transportation went off without a hitch. Well done!

Mike H

Terrific line-up to start our week: Sligo - Carne - Enniscrone. Carne was by far the highlight of the three. Lahinch and Doonbeg rounds were wonderful. Lodging at Mount Falcon in Ballina and Doonbeg were top notch. Our first driver for first 3 days Aidan was a true professional and fun guy to travel with. This trip was a home run.

Terrence F

Incredible experience from start to finish. RTG made the trip unforgettable and would highly recommend them to anyone looking to organize an international golf trip.

Will H

Tom planned an incredible trip for my group. Everything ran smoothly including lodging, travel, dinners, and most importantly, golf. I highly recommend using RTG Golf for any trip to Ireland.

Charles R

As always, Tom does a fantastic job. He dots every I, and crosses every T. Never a surprise. They run like clockwork. I think this was my tenth trip with Tom, and I’d do another 10!

Kevin A

Thanks Tom for all you did. It was a fantastic trip and well organized, thanks to you. Appreciate it!

Paul A

The trip was a once in a lift time experience and a lot of that was due to Tom Kazlak organizational skills and attention to detail. Any issue that came up he was all over it. And is driver in the Edinburgh area (Stuart) was the most dedicated to the customer driver I have ever experienced. Every bit of the trip was 1st Class!!!!!!!!!!1

Eric H

Great fellowship, amazing courses and scenery, comfortable lodging in great locations, seamless ground transportation in all facets, and amazing attention to detail in making it all work. Well done, Tom! Thank you for setting up an incredible experience that I will never forget.

Charlie K