Old Course St Andrews then Runrig at Scone Palace

What a long day it started at 5am and finished at 2.30am the next morning, welcome to the simple world of George Fisher ! First up was a 7am tee time on The Old Course closely followed by the second fourball at 7.40am. Once again the sun shone on the chosen ones, I still don't know how they have got away with staying dry.

To make up the two fourballs we were joined by Georges best friend, Shaun McIssac, who happened to be passing through town, (I'll explain that fluke later) and myself. That's three times this season I have had to play and that is three times more than usual. A amusing moment before we teed off was the second that George was introduced to his caddy. George once again was extolling the virtues of Kenny (the walk on water caddy) when today's caddy appeared. The caddys name was Heather, yes your right a female George took one look at Heather and uttered the immortal words "Kenny who" ? Fortunately for Heather her partner Ronnie was caddying in the game for Shaun, which kept George on best behaviour.

The game went well and the sun stayed out, but the wind got up to about 20mph, which made the course a little more difficult than usual. Everyone had their share of good and bad, birdies here and bogeys there etc. Even Gary managed to temporarily solve his hooking problem, although this was not a permanent fix. When the guys finished it was off to The Dunvegan for lunch. What everyone did after lunch I do not know as I disappeared to take care of some issues before our evening commenced.

It turns out that George is good friends with Bruce Guthrie who happens to be the lead singer with the Scottish band Runrig. Last night Runrig were headlining a festival at Scone Palace, known as the homecoming concert. The homecoming event is a government sponsored scheme to promote the 250th anniversary of the birth of Rabbie Burns the Scottish poet. Bruce had given George tickets for all of us to attend the concert and the party after. I picked the guys up at 6.30pm, despite the fact the event had started in mid afternoon. Bruce had text ed George to say Runrig would not be on stage till 8.30pm. I must admit I did have a chuckle to myself when I picked the guys up because I don't think I have ever seen a more unlikely bunch of rock concert punters ! George had the obligatory denims and Geoff still showing off his new waterproofs, the rest a group of maturing gentlemen in assorted golf clothing, plus Heather (Shauns wife not the caddy) and walk over water Kenny.

It just goes to show what a class bunch of people these guys are because apart from George, Kenny, myself and maybe Shaun I don't think any of them had ever heard of Runrig, and looking at the way they dressed they certainly had no idea they were spending the evening in a cold field next to Scone Palace. Regardless of the miss match we set off the guys drinking beer and myself still chuckling. I have to point out that I may have underestimated one of the group, as it turned out we discovered that Mike is a veteran of over 350 rock concerts.

As the evening unfolded it turned out that my fears about the guys being in the wrong place were unfounded. An runrig concert is indeed a very unusual event in terms of the people that attend it. If we take away the political overtones at the start of the evening which included the unveiling of the Scottish Soltire Flag on Scone Palace for the first time in history and a typical chest beating speech from the First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, it was a very good night. Yes it was cold and we were well ripped off on the price of the drinks, including my coffee but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

When the show finished we had been told to make our way to the first aid post to the left of the stage and there we would get in to the after show party. This was the reason George had wanted us all to go so we could meet his friend Bruce. As after show parties go it was something of a disappointment and by that I mean a lack of celebratory more than anything else. As for the guys I think most were looking forward to getting back to the hotel. Bruce eventually appeared and despite his after show commitments to others he very kindly spent more time with us than I think he was supposed to, so for that we thank him. When he finished talking to us his time was taken up doing the political thing with Alex Salmond and press stuff. That done off we went back to the hotel. We got back to St Andrews just before 2am.

Just a comment for those that are interested and this is not a political point of view just an observation. Alex Salmond is the First Minister of Scotland, and this event was part of the 250 years celebration of Rabbie Burns birth. Alex must have thought that this would be a great opportunity to rally the masses. Scone Palace with it great Scottish heritage, the home of Scottish Kings etc, and Runrig headlining. I expect he believed he would walk on stage and be welcomed like a returning Lybian terrorist. There were cheers from the crowd but there was also a good proportion jeering. Now Alex whether you like him or not, is definitely one of the smoothest operators in politics in the U.K. He leads the Scottish Nationalist Party who currently have the majority in the Scottish Parliament. He also retains a seat at Westminster as an M.P. representing his Scottish Constituency. As one political opponent recently stated "geting dirt to stick to Alex Salmond is like trying to nail custard to the wall".

With all that has gone on recently by that I mean the early release of the Lybian (whose name escapes me just now), and the American reaction to that release, I wonder how long it will take before we discover it was actually nothing to do with Alex and his party, but more to do with Westminster. My money is on Alex being relinquished of all blame as usual. I think the jeers got his attention because when the party started and the people appeared he had a very nervous few moments, I think. Then he discovered he was among friends. Like I say just an observation and I could well be wrong and if I'm not I will never be able to prove it.

Kingsbarns Golf Links & George Fisher

Yesterday we played at Kingsbarns George's favourite golf course. He has been waxing lyrically about this course and his caddy Kenny since we met. Sure enough on the way to the course he was at it again. Now for my money it is the best course in Scotland, which is statement enough but George takes his praise to a higher place. As for Kenny his favourite caddy, well I do believe in Georges eyes Kenny can do the equivalent of walking on water !!!

As usual the sun shone on the guys whilst it rained everywhere around them, how they keep avoiding getting wet I will never know.

Their day was so good that they wanted to play the course again today, in the hope that they make the ballot on Saturday and would you believe these lucky so and so's got their wish. Tee times at Kingsbarns at 10am and 10.10am then they came out of the ballot for 7am and 7.40am tomorrow. I think I should ask these guys for six lucky numbers for the lottery ! The week is starting to feel like the film groundhog day and I believe had they not made the ballot George would have had the guys playing Kingsbarns on Saturday as well. It is a simple routine they like their dinner in The Russell Hotel and their golf at Kingsbarns. Thankfully we got tee times for the Old Course and Kenny has talked them into trying a different restaurant tonight.

Saturday is a big day for the guys, or maybe just George I'm not really certain. We play the Old Course and then George has got us all tickets to see Runrig at Scone Palace. As one very unkind Scotsman said to me Status Quo in kilts, personally I think that is a bit harsh. In the meantime would you believe George is friends with the lead singer, not only do we all have to go to the concert but we will be joining the band at the after show party. Great if you love name dropping, but as an Englishman I think I would rather take my chances at the agm of the tartan army in Aviemore !!

Auchterlonies then Carnoustie Golf Links

Yesterday we played at Carnoustie, when we set off from St Andrews the weather was appalling, the traditional sideways rain. We left St Andrews early so we could have time to stop at Auchterlonies Outlet Store along the way, so some of the guys could purchase some gortex waterproof clothing. On days like today there is very little that will keep you dry but with good gortex you maybe able to keep reasonably warm and dry, but quality does not come cheap.

As it turned several of the guys liked the look of some of the bargains they found so it wasn't just Geoff and Mike who ended up spending money.

We arrived at Carnoustie a little early approximately 12.30pm and our tee times were 2.00 and 2.10pm. The reason for this was that we had arranged for lunch in the Carnoustie Golf Club. This is not a well known fact but the golf club is more than happy to serve lunch to visiting parties. Jane and her staff will make you welcome and serve good food at reasonable prices.

The picture is of the guys getting ready in the car park before they head off for the first tee, bet they didn't get this treatment at Loch Lomond ! As you can see the weather was not great but would you believe it, the minute they stepped on to the course the sun came out, some people are just born lucky. Before the guys arrived they changed their arrangements and travelled over to St Andrews a day earlier than planned, so they could arrive at Carnoustie refreshed and to quote Tom "kick its ass". Wish I had a pound for every time I've heard that. Guess what ? Tom was right and if he has told me the truth he did kick its ass !!

Dinner was at The Russell Hotel where the party were entertained by Helen and her staff, they enjoyed it so much they have booked to go again tonight. By the way a message to Mike Twigg and party "the staff forgive you ". Only joking they said they had enjoyed your company and asked how you all were.

Today Scotlands finest Kingsbarns.

Loch Lomond and The George Fisher Group

Say hello to George Fisher and friends, well five out of the six as Geoff had made his own way to St Andrews. From left to right we have George, Gary, Peter, Tom and Mike pictured outside Stirling Castle. The Guys have been staying and playing at Loch Lomond since Saturday, I'm not going to point out the member you can guess.
I picked them up yesterday at 4.30pm and transferred them to Greyfriars Hotel in St Andrews. The choice of venue was George's he requested that they stay in a pub in the centre of town. Normally I would drive through Glasgow using the motorway but as it was tea time when we set off we took the back road to Stirling to avoid the Glasgow rush hour.
This pleased George as he is a great Runrig fan and has been watching a DVD showing their concert from Stirling Castle, and now he has had the opportunity to visit the place for himself. The guys focal point of this tour is a Runrig concert at Scone Palace on Saturday night. Someone in the group is so well connected that after the concert we are going to the groups party.
At this moment in time the group have only booked tee times at Carnoustie and Kingsbarns but three days at Loch Lomond seems to have raised the enthusiasm for more golf so we will take care of that for them.
It was gone 7.30pm by the time we got to St Andrews last night so it was a case of check in to the hotel a quick shower then explore the town. As usual with many of my guests they didn't manage to get past the Dunvegan Hotel. Jack and Sheena took good care of them with dinner and a few beers.
Today they are playing Carnoustie and the weather is appalling, so tomorrows blog could be an interesting tale of woe.

Next stop Loch Lomond, or so I thought !

So there I was sitting at Edinburgh Airport having just dropped Nina and Jim Sorenson off, and thinking how good it was going to be to have a couple of days off before I collect George Fisher and his friends from Loch Lomond on Tuesday. The phone rings and it is Roy Anderson from McLaren Travel, "where are you and what are you doing " ? Was the question. You know there are days when you should not answer the phone and this was one of them.
As usual with Roy life is never straight forward or simple, but in fairness he would never ask you to do something that he is not prepared to do himself, unlike some people I have worked for in the past ! His request was a simple one, "could I get to St Andrews and finish off the tour he was on as he had to be elsewhere on Saturday". The catch was the vehicle he wanted me to use was in Troon. Now for those of you who do not know the geography of Scotland Edinburgh and St Andrews are on the east coast, Troon is on the west coast !
So off I go 78miles to Troon, 120miles back to St Andrews getting there just in time to collect the information about where the guys were playing on Saturday and there departure time for Sunday. Here's what happened next.
The guys come off the eighteenth on The Old Course and go for a drink in The Dunvegan Hotel with Ron Smart, who owns Travelling The Fairways, the company they have booked with. They quickly introduce themselves to me and say they will not be long. Roy meanwhile sets off to Edinburgh Airport with one of the guys who has to leave early. Now bear in mind my day had started at 5am and it is now 6pm.
About thirty minutes later one of the guys comes out of The Dunvegan and asks to be taken to the hotel and tells me by the time I get back the others should be ready to leave. So off we go out of town to The Fairmont Hotel, nice hotel but just too far out of town to enjoy the atmosphere of St Andrews. When I get back the others eventually appear and they want a ride to The Balaka restaurant, a grand total off 300 yards ! They then ask if I would wait until they have finished eating and take them back to the hotel. Not tonight gentlemen, you can catch the hotel shuttle. The reason I couldn't do it was not because of my early start today but the time I had to pick the guys up the next morning, 7am. According to the laws of the land there has to be a minimum of 9hours between finish and start, failure to follow these rules result in a criminal prosecution. So if your driver ever tells you he cannot do something it is not because he doesn't want to help.
7am the next morning I'm outside the hotel but they are not, when they do eventually appear there were some serious hangovers on view. There tee time was 7.54am on The Castle Course only five minutes away so no real problem. When we get there they were in for a nasty surprise. They thought they had ordered seven caddies, but somewhere along the way the request was not passed on, so no caddies, a nightmare course and a serious hangover. When you drive a group around checking that the caddies are in place is normally something you do the day before. I didn't pick the guys up till 6.30pm so the caddy office would have been closed, Roy assumed everything was in place because it had been everywhere else. Ron said he had made the request and The Links Trust said he hadn't. Not that any of this mattered at this point. Also when you do request caddies there is no guarantee that you will get any.
One of the guys had a tantrum that had to be seen to be believed ! Now I don't mind doing Roy a favour but putting up with that crap no ! Fair play to the man when I came back to collect them at lunchtime he did apologise and a very good one it was too. He said "he was hungover and behaved like a jerk", I said "no problem and thanks for the apology, but if you ever open your mouth and speak to me like that again we will go around the back of the building and there the issue will be resolved". Next stop a 2.20pm and 2.30pm tee tmes at Kingsbarns. As we set of for Kingsbarns he viewed me with great suspicion and I don't blame because believe me I would have kept my word.
Kingsbarns went well the caddies were in place and the guys loved the course, and once again my new friend repeated his apology. After a few beers it was back to their hotel as they were leaving for Glasgow Airport at 5am, thanks again for that Roy. After the debacle of Saturday morning they were all up and ready to leave on Sunday on time and sober. When we got to the airport at 7am I have to say the guys were very generous with their respect for my two days work, for that I thank them.
Tomorrow I'm off to Loch Lomond to collect another No Traps group and we move on to St Andrews. So we will spend the next seven days following the exploits of the George Fisher Party.

Old Course, Kingsbarns and Edinburgh Castle.

It's been a very busy few days hence no blog.

Lets go back to Wednesday morning we started the day with a 8.10am tee time on The Old Course. Once again I played because of a restricted ballot. Most of the tee times had been taken up by the R & A, due to their Autumn Meeting so to get Nina and Jim on the course we applied for a local ballot time and were successful. We were joined by another local member Mick Moore, making us a fourball. Jim didn't start the round to well hooking his tee shot on the first. He then went to play a mulligan and was promtly reminded by the starter where he was and breakfast balls just don't happen on The Old Course ! He improved as the round went on, meanwhile Nina was steady all the way round. As for Mick and myself, lets just say he won the money !

After The Old Course, Nina and Jim went up to Kingsbarns in the hope they could get a tee time and we were fortunate enough to get 2.40pm. So after a good lunch in the clubhouse off they went again. The couple did very well weather wise despite the forecast which predicted rain and lots of it, they only got wet for a couple of holes on The Old Course. They finished their long day with dinner in Sands Restaurant which is in The Old Course Hotel.

Thursday started with us leaving The Old Course Hotel at 9am and transfering the couple to Tigerlilys in Edinburgh, their plan was to spend the day sightseeing and visiting the local tourist spots. After spending the first three hours visiting the castle the weather was so bad they retreated back to their hotel and I got an earlier finish than anticipated. Apparently when the weather cleared up later they spent sometime wondering around the city and visited a tapas restaurant on George Street for their dinner.

Friday was another early start as it was departure day for them, we were at Edinburgh Airport before 9am for their first class Delta flight back to the States. I would like to thank them both for their company and being a lot easier to deal with than I first imagined they would be. Although I have to say I will not miss Ninas thirst for knowledge about Scotland, I don't know any one person who has ever asked me so many questions. Thank you both for the respect you showed your driver at the airport you are very kind.

Carnoustie Golf Links

Today Nina and Jim were booked to play Carnoustie Championship Links at 11am and with the weather being a little overcast the day did not look too promising. Sure enough it did rain on and off for most of their round. The starter paired them up with a couple of German golfers.
The day didn't start to great for Jim as when we arrived at Carnoustie he discovered that he had left his golf shoes in the changing rooms at Turnberry. With the best will in the world even I couldn't do a two hundred and sixty mile round trip and get the golf shoes back on time. So it was into the pro shop and a nice new pair of brown eccos to start the day. If Jim wants to forget them before he catches his flight home there will be no complaints from the driver.
It was an expensive day for me too as I decided to visit the Carnoustie Golf Shop on the High Street, by the time they finished with me I was walking out with a new Taylor Made Burner driver. I have to thank Mike Twigg and his party for giving me the means to afford such a luxury, thanks guys you were very kind and please come back again I need a five wood !!
When Nina and Jim finished their round it was back to the hotel after a couple of errands in St Andrews, mainly to prevent Jim from getting egg on his face should he have been proved wrong about the hotels electrics. Tonight they are dining in the hotel with a friend should he make it down from Inverness in time.
Tomorrow we are fortunate enough to have got a 8.10am tee time in the Old Course ballot. It is a local time so I will have to play with the pair. At this time of the year it is almost impossible to be successful in the ballot because the R&A have a large block of tee times till the end of the month. But being a member of The St Andrews Club I am allowed to ballot for a local time, if I hadn't done this they would never have got on

Turnberry to The Old Course Hotel.

Nina and Jim played the Ailsa Course at 10.10am and apart from a few showers were very lucky with the weather. My day started with a meeting, Tracey Smith the reservations manager at Turnberry was kind enough to treat me to coffee.
Turnberry as some of you may know was taken over last year and is now part of the Luxury Collection Group, it also now managed by Starwood Management. So for all those members of these groups there cannot be many better places to use your loyalty points etc.
Once Nina and Jim had finished playing golf we faced a two and a half hour drive to St Andrews. In order to beat the tea time traffic in Glasgow they decided to get lunch to go. In the picture the couple are outside Peggys Tea Room in Kirkoswald, which is a couple of miles up the road from Turnberry. Nina said the sandwiches and the place were excellent, which is high praise from a lady that sets high standards.
After they checked in at The Old Course Hotel they made themselves at home in St Andrews. They wandered up North Street and explored the Abbey and university buildings. They had dinner at The Glass House, a restaurant I have yet to try and they assure me the food was great.
To wind down their evening they went to the cinema, the kind of old building you won't see too many of in the States and watched "The Time Travellers Wife". Tomorrow they face the challenge of Carnoustie.
Thanks to the lemonade kid for a very complimentary email about last week, but he rebelled on his last day at The Colonels House and didn't make his bed. Maybe there is hope for him yet.

Glasgow Airport to Turnberry.

Today I picked up a new party this week it is a couple so meet Jim and Nina Sorenson, pictured here at Culzean Castle, near Turnberry. This is another contract for Ron Smart who's company is Travelling the Fairways. Their itinerary is a relatively simple one, tonight they stay at Turnberry, play the Ailsa Course at 10.10am tomorrow.
When they finish golf we transfer to St Andrews and they stay at The Old Course Hotel. They are playing Carnoustie on Tuesday, and hopefully The Old Course on Wednesday. Thursday will be a day out in Edinburgh and they are staying at Tigerlily. Then goodbye on Friday.
You may think that it is a short trip but they have already had six days in Ireland.

Edinburgh Airport and goodbye to the Twigg Party.

So it's goodbye to Mike Twigg and his party dropped off at Edinburgh Airport at 8.30am this morning. I've enjoyed their company and look forward to seeing them again sometime, not a minutes trouble and no outrageous demands. Normally when you meet a group of eight there is always one pain in the butt, this lot didn't have one.

The guys were a little concerned about Kelly, one described him as "an international incident waiting to happen " ! But it didn't so he must have been on his best behaviour. Although Rob did say to him one day "Kelly you have always been a dick, but today you really pushed the envelope out" ! Nice one Rob.

It was a good trip which included being invited into the R&A for a drink, and Catriona Matthews caddy carrying Robs bag at North Berwick. When it came to paying the caddy Rob asked if Gary normally took a percentage of his wife's winnings, if this was the case he owed Rob $4 as Rob lost that morning.

Finally the answer to the question, the secret bed maker ? For those who haven't worked it out it was the lemonade kid, surprise surprise !!

One last message guys "going in hot ". Take care and hopefully I'll see you again.

North Berwick Golf Club and Muirfield

Final day of golf thirty six holes, North Berwick and Muirfield, and some good Scottish weather to boot ! You could not get two more contrasting environments. North Berwick is another of my favourite places, they are friendly, welcoming and nothing is too much trouble to the club. Sam the starter/ranger is one of the most entertaining people you will meet on your travels. If you go in the clubhouse (and you should) Linda and Susan will make you welcome. The food is good and delivered with a smile, caps and mobile phones are not welcome.
Contrast this with Muirfield. There the driver is not allowed within one hundred yards of the golf club and woe betide any driver who dares to take his golfers to the gate ! If you stay for lunch you have to dress accordingly, jacket, shirt and tie etc. Fair play it is a great golf course but why would you want to go any place where are you treated as an inconvenience ? I'll show you the difference in the following paragraphs.
When we arrived at North Berwick we discovered that one of the caddies had phoned in to say he couldn't turn up as he had to attend a funeral. So Malcolm the starter phoned around to try and find a replacement. As hard as he tried he couldn't find a caddy. Then after a moments inspiration he realised that Catriona Matthew, who won the British Ladies Open last week was playing the course, who lives in the town. That meant her husband who caddied for her last week was sat at home, one phone call and Rob had Catrionas caddy carrying his bag. Now how cool is that ? Last week Gary was walking down the eighteenth at Royal Lytham with a two shot lead to win the Ladies Bitish Open, next week he will be at the Solhiem Cup. Meanwhile he caddies for Rob on a wet Friday in North Berwick.
Meanwhile to play Muirfield we had to be back at the Colonels House at 3pm, where the guys would be escorted to the course, be late at their peril. As our tee times at North Berwick were 10.22am and 10.36am things were going to be tight. So to help Susan in the clubhouse organised packed lunches for the guys. As things turned out play was slow and the weather appalling so I picked the guys up at the seventeenth tee.
Muirfield had insisted that the guys played in twoballs, so despite a 3.30pm first tee of time all the guys were round the course in less than three hours. So instead of the planned takeaway for dinner I was able to get them a reservation at Bella Italia in North Berwick. The food was good but dinner was relatively quite due to tiredness. After dinner the guys went back to the house to watch the Tiger show on tv, better known as the USPGA, over here the coverage consists watching Tiger from A to Z and listening to Bruce Harmon extol his virtues, I think Butch is in love !!!
Leaving The Colonels House at 7.45am to get the guys to Edinburgh Airport in time for their flight home.

Gullane Number One

Today the sun shone and the weather was great. There was a bit of a hold up on the first tee due to a large party playing in front of the guys. The other problem we had were the caddies. Some of the guys ended up with kids carrying their bags, whether this was because of the large demand for caddies today or some other reason, we didn't get to find out. Fact of the matter was the kids were useless and had no interest in the job ! I mentioned it to the caddymaster and unfortunately there were some political reasons as to why these kids were working. All I will say to Bob is good luck sorting that out.

No great tales from the golf course except "Bandit Bill" is still doing the business and could have all the money tied up before the last game at Muirfield.

The interesting part of the day came after the golf was finished. When you play Gullane Number One you become a member of the golf club for the day, and it has to be said that one or two of the group abused their privileges, didn't you Bruce !! So by the time we went for dinner, at a place called the Old Clubhouse across the road certain people had difficulty focusing on the menu.

Dinner was great and the portions huge, so much so some guys didn't really need a main course. As the wine and the beer flowed one or two decided it would be a good idea to go into Edinburgh and revisit a few of the pubs they went to last Friday when they first arrived here. It has to be said the driver was non to keen on the idea but fair play to the guys they kept their side of the bargin and were back on the bus by 11pm, thank you. They were all home and tucked in by midnight, some bunch of John Waynes these are turning out to be ! To the wives and families out there who read this you have absolutely no concerns when you let these guys out, unlike some groups I've had in the past.

Once again the lemonade kid was in bed early, along with Bill and Rick (that's not the same bed by the way but bedrooms), the rest as we know sampling various drinks at Mathers Bar in Edinburgh. So a question for you all. Which one of the guys is so tidy that he even makes his own bed up in the morning ? I'll have you know he made his bed so well that Patricia the lady who looks after the Colonels didn't think he'd slept in it !!! I'll let you know when they have left the country.

Tomorrow thity-six holes, North Berwick in the morning and Muirfield in the afternoon and there will be no trips to Edinburgh once that is done !

Mrs Twigg, Mike said you tried to add a comment. I think if you want to do this you have sign up for a google account, this is because the blog is run through google. It's free so give it a go.

OLd Course St Andrews before and after

So hopefully you will now understand why you shouldn't ever leave your umbrella with the driver. You will not believe how many I have collected over the years !!!!

And they never saw it coming !

St Andrews to the Colonels House in Gullane

Today is a busy day arrived at the hotel just before 10am to load the luggage, hopefully everyone remembered everything ! First stop was back to Kingsbarns as Paul needed to change something he had bought. Then next stop the Castle Course for an 11.18 tee time. In the picture the guys are milling around the first tee, what they are asking is do we really have to play in this wind ? However as will be revealed later these guys got the best of the day.

The other four guys played the Old Course at 1.40pm. At the time the weather was both sunny an fine, in fact despite my protestations both Kelly and Bill gave me their umbrellas to put in the van, bad mistake. One thing you never do in Scotland is go out on the golf course with no waterproofs and umbrella, never !

By 4pm I had got the appropriate beer stocks and ice so I went back to The Castle Course to collect the first group of four, they were in the clubhouse having some lunch. As we sat there we watched a rain storm travel over the harbour and too much laughter after I explained how the guys had given me their umbrellas. We have some before and after photographs below. As one of the group commented "I hope it's raining sideways" and indeed it was. So after the storm finished we went to collect the drowned rats from the Old Course.

Rain or no rain I believe that a fourball should never take more than four hours to play a round of golf, and after all is said done I know the guys can do it. They played the Old in under four hours last night when they thought it was going to get dark and they might not finish in time. So why did it take five hours and ten minutes ?

A very rare event happened to the four guys playing the Old course and I don't mean the weather. Apparently there was a bit of a hold up on one of the holes and the fourball behind asked if they could play through as they were playing in a competition. No problem said the guys even though their good manners would later cost them their dinner due to our late arrival in Gillane. It turned out that the fourball were members of the R&A and to repay the guys they invited them in for a drink. An opportunity no visitor should turn down. Now the irony of the situation is this, Bill earlier in the week had asked what are the chances of getting in the R&A clubhouse, "nil" I replied as you can only get in there at the invitation of a member. Even if I could have found one of the members I know it still means getting dressed up with a jacket, shirt and tie etc. So here was four guys achieving the impossible in their golf shirts, shorts, golf shoes and soaking wet underwear, amazing !!

So much later than planned we set off on the two hour drive to Gullane. Needless to say by the time we got here every eating establishment was closed, so the last option the good old fish and chip shop was put to the test. Bruce was brave enough to try the traditional delicacy, but the rest wimped out and ordered pizza.

The Colonels House meets with everyone approval but to me it's a drivers nightmare because it is out on the edge of town and guess who will be driving the guys home after dinner ? So no more early nights for me and I can't even drink.

Kingsbarns Golf Links (yesterday)

Yes Mrs Twigg you are correct ! They have kept the driver that busy he hasn't had time to write the daily tour blog. So I'm now playing catch up but more importantly trying to remember where we have been and what we did, and I'm the sober one!!

Tuesday was a 9am tee time at Kingsbarns Golf Links, personally my favourite course. It's both fair and pleasing to the eye, also boasting that you can see the water from every hole, which is true.

Two main talking points this morning. Firstly all the guys enjoyed a good meal at Ziggys, and some are keeping to their threat of keeping the bar open. However attempts to get back into the Russell Hotel, the scene of dinner the night before failed. Why because the staff did not want them back ! Only joking when they passed the hotel on their way home the bar was closed. For those wives that maybe a little concerned I would like to point out that bars close to the public at 11pm in St Andrews.

Secondly it has been brought to my attention that one member of the group has seriously let the side down. He drank lemonade all night and went to bed early, some people have no shame, but we will not mention names as we don't want David to feel embarrassed !

After golf at Kingsbarns the guys had lunch in the clubhouse where they met Ron Smart the owner of Travelling The Fairways, the company that put together this trip. Free caps and T shirts were given out by Ron.

Now the reason why there was no blog yesterday is because six of the guys thought it would be great if we could get on The Old Course in the afternoon. You know there is a reason why they have a lottery everyday for people to play the course and that's because it is always oversubscribed ! So the Twigg Party think the driver can fix everything, thanks guys !!!! Well we did fix it and I am not going to say how we did it, but it was all legal and above board. The only catch was that I had to play and no disrespect to the guys but at this time of the year there are a thousand other jobs that need doing before I can play. However we played and enjoyed the company, even Bruce and his constant whining about being given the wrong information. David (the lemonade kid) and Rick sat out the opportunity. David, well we know why, and Rick has a painful ailement.

The golf finished around 9.30pm, which mean't that the guys had missed there dinner reservation at The Seafood Restaurant. Nobody seemed too concerned except Ron the tour operator whose credit card was debited £10 per head for the eight that did not show. S0 beware of the invoice when you get home guys, but still the experience was worth the £10.

The guys then went back to Ziggys for their dinner again, burgers, steaks, chilli etc. Once again seven of the guys went back to the hotel and haunted the bar, and one went to bed early. God bless the lemonade kid !!!

St Andrews Links Old Course and Castle Course

Today is a bit of an unusual event, as we have two groups of four playing on different courses, due to the fact that this was originally a group of four which later became an eight. Old Course tee times are difficult enough to buy as it is, but to get two times together when the size of the group increases, well that's impossible.
So we have a situation whereby a fourball is teeing off on the Castle Course at 11.18am and the four pictured here (almost minus feet) teeing off on The Old Course at 1.40pm. To balance things out we will do the same on Wednesday with the two groups changing places.
Today it was important to get all the guys names correct as when you play the Old Course the name on the handicap certificate must comply with the name on the ballot sheet. If this is not the case you will not be allowed to play. Personally I am next to useless when it comes to remembering peoples names and being the person responsible for checking them in at the Starter this could prove to be a problem. So between us all we devised a number system so we could get it right. Numbers one through four were playing The Castle Course and numbers five through eight would play The Old Course. When I look at the photograph I know that these guys have lied to me because above is not numbers five to eight !
As I am writing this a great shower of rain has just soaked St Andrews and I think there just maybe some divine justice in that !
Tonight I have arranged dinner a Ziggys for the guys at 9pm, it is slightly different from the usual St Andrews restaurants as it has a rock music theme and not golf like almost everywhere else. It's also a very laid back place where denims fit in well.
Whilst on the subject of food everyone enjoyed dinner in The Russell Hotel last night and according to the guys they stayed till closing, then continued their nightcaps till 1am. As this was pointed out to me they insisted that I apologise for labelling them a typical American bunch that peak early then spend the rest of the week moaning about vacations being tiring ! Well my bunch of John Waynes are three days into their trip and still keeping their hotel bar open ! As for apologising not a chance they can kiss my a**. If your still keeping bars open on Friday well I will give it some consideration.
The last picture is guys one to four using the warm up facilities at The Castle Course

Carnoustie and The Russell Hotel

So today the guys get to really test their golfing abilities, round the championship course at Carnoustie. Unlike many groups the guys were ready and waiting outside their hotel at 11am, we were not supposed to be leaving till 11.3o. So they either have very strict wives or were very keen to get going.

We had a good journey to the course the roads were very quite and it was too early for cocktails ! When we arrived the weather was perfect for playing sunshine and no breese, so therefore no excuses for not playing well. Although after a couple of tee shots I'm pretty certain not everyone was going to bring the course to its knees.

Four hours and twenty minutes later they were coming down eighteen, which is not too bad time wise for Carnoustie. Some of the guys (not mentioning any names) didn't think the course was as difficult as they were told it would be. Others are being very quite for the time being. Still after a couple of beers in the hotel they may have a different story to tell.

Tonight dinner is booked for 8pm at The Russell Hotel, which fortunately for me it is almost next door to the hotel where the guys are staying. So I get away with not driving them ther back, and they don't have too far to stagger home !

Tomorrow the guys split into two groups, the first are playing the Castle Course at 11.18am and the second group play The Old Course at 1.40pm.

Dalmahoy to Gleneagles then St Andrews

So today is the start of a new tour, this week I have the Twigg Party on behalf of Travelling The Fairways. Picked them up at The Dalmahoy Resort in Edinburgh and you could tell that one or two of the gents had visited a couple of bars last night. However we managed to leave on time for their next stop which was an 11.10am tee time on The Kings Course at Gleneagles.
The picture is the guys outside the starters kiosk on The Kings.
Some interesting tee shots, followed by some breakfast balls, not all the players but a few !
When they finish here we heading for St Andrews where the guys are staying at The St Andrews Golf Hotel. I also believe that they will discover that the bars in St Andrews are a lot less busy than those in Edinburgh.
It's always the same with American guys, particularly those making their first trip. They are very quick out the blocks wanting to do and see everything. In a couple of days it will be golf, dinner and bed. Especially after Carnoustie tomorrow !
Football season starts today, that's the one for real football supporters, not the premier league aficionados. Blackpool kick off at QPR, so my nine months of worry start now. Surely they can't avoid relegation again. Its been a great two seasons punching above our weight in the Championship. Long may it continue.....please.

Dalmahoy Golf Course

New trip starts in the morning a group of eight Americans I pick them up at Dalmahoy at 9am. Last time I had clients there it was because their air miles paid for their stay. That tells you all you need to know about that group, needless to say at the end of that trip the respect paid to the driver was minimal. And he was a member of the US Senate !!
This group get to start their trip with a game of golf at Gleneagles then travel onto St Andrews where they are staying at The St Andrews Golf Hotel. which has been recently taken over by the Malmaison group (according to local gossip so I could be wrong)
Then it's Carnoustie, Old Course, Kingsbarns, Castle Course. They then move on to stay at The Colonels House, Greywalls Gullane, playing Gullane No 1, North Berwick (a personal favourite)and Muirfield and depart next Saturday.
Let you know what they are like tomorrow, they have a lot to live up to after last week !

Turnberry to Glasgow Airport, then home.

This was the scence on the 18th on the Ailsa Course at Turnberry this morning. The guys played there yesterday and said it was an eeerie feeling coming down the 18th. You think that's bad imagine how Tom Watson is feeling every time he looks at the hole. From 1977 till the last day of The Open it must have been one of Toms greatest places to be, now he must feel a little different about the place. What a win it would have been, at 59 years old. What he achieved that week gave us all hope, so thank you Tom.
This morning was also the end for my guys from Manilla, vacation over and time to depart. They have been a great bunch of guys to work with, never a moments bother and no nasty suprises to check the drivers abilities. Some of you out there will know what I mean by that sentence. I still have nightmares about the Wilkes Party from three years ago !!
So I wish Jeffery, Henry, Robert and Merrick good luck and I hope I see them again, especially after the respect they showed their driver at the end of the trip.
Is it just me or does anyone else believe Lee Westwood can win a major. I'm tired of losing money on him. Still with Billy on the bag he has a better chance than ever, so I'm off to the bookies to give him my usual deposit and who knows I may see a return by the end of the P.G.A.

Turnberry is now a Luxury Collection Resort

So today the guys played the Kings Course at Gleneagles, as you will from the photograph the weather was good. They told me that in their opinion The Kings Course is more difficult than the P.G.A. Course they played yesterday, personally I wouldn't know as I have yet to play the P.G.A. Course. I played the Kings Course last summer and enjoyed the course but unfortunately I was in the company of an asshole, so I didn't enjoy the day ! I always play better when I'm with company that I enjoy being with so needless to say I played very poorly that day, but I still like the course.
In the picture the guys are leaving Gleneagles and heading to Turnberry the venue for this years Open. I was there for three of the four days with different groups. A very strange atmosphere during the play-off, it felt like the whole world wanted Tom Watson to win. I think the crowd suffered with him as he lost to Stewart Cink. I caddied in a game with Stuart way back in 1999 at the Dukes Course in St Andrews. I was with a former Ryder Cup player called Peter Dawson (no not the current secretary of the R&A ). Stewart was a pleasure to be with and tipped his caddy very well, meanwhile I was with a Yorkshireman, enough said !!!
We got to Turnberry around 7pm local time and it was the first chance I had to look at the improvements the new company has made to the hotel, and very nice they are. The reception area is completely re-designed, well worth a look. The guys tee off on the Ailsa Course at 9am and that will be their last round in Scotland, Tuesday they head off home to Manilla. I pick up my next group on Saturday.

Twitter and all that stuff !

Today the guys are teeing off at 10.50am on the PGA course which used to be known as the Monarchs. Jack Nickluas designed and as you would expect difficult for the average golfer to play.
So the weather today was traditional Scottish Fare, wind rain and sunshine, translated OUTSTANDING !
The guys being as considerate as they are do not need my services today. But after all Gleneagles being Scotlands premier resort will take care of all their needs This means a shuttule service from hotel to Clubhouse and onto tee no problem. So my deal is to pick them up tomorrow and transfer them to Turnbury. Tough day at the office I guess but no more than I deserve after yesterday.
So onto my final point does anyone out there know how to twitter ? Apparently I have a twitter account which has been set up by my web designer but I'm afraid I no not what to do. So if anyone is listening any guidence will be gratefully recieved.
I notice I have a new follower nice to meet you and do not be shy feel free to introduce yourself.