Reid & Robie

Golf is a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into an even smaller hole, with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose.

–Winston Churchill

As we stand by the first tee of The Old Course at St Andrews I am in awe of my surroundings. Behind me is the Royal and Ancient Clubhouse, erected in 1854, to my left is the 18^th green and I notice how large the swale in front of it actually is, much deeper than what is portrayed on television when watching The Open Championship when it’s held at The Home of Golf, as it has been thirty times. Actually being here in person is a dream come true for anyone who loves the game.

To think that the idea started with an off-the-cuff remark I made some two years ago on a Saturday morning to my regular weekly playing partners at Tenison Glen in Dallas is surreal now that we’re here. I knew that Reid and I would be somewhere in Europe in 2025 as we began our roving retirement and that Mike, one of our regular foursome, would be making his annual three-month trip across the pond so it was just a matter of selecting a week that would work for everyone else. Two years before we had taken advantage of Mike’s timeshare in Cabo and put together a trip for a week of golf in Mexico. But this would be different trying to coordinate people coming from Dallas, San Antonio, Colorado Springs and wherever Mike and I were in Europe. A week in June was selected that seemed to work with everyone’s schedule and then Jeff found an amazing Airbnb just three blocks from the Old Course that had six bedrooms and would house the entire group.

Soon after reserving the house, golf packages were secured for rounds at three of St Andrews seven courses, ballots to try and play the Old Course were submitted and travel arrangements made. It was October of 2024 by this time; Reid and I were just leaving Liverpool after 11 weeks and headed to the Greek island of Ikeria for three months. From there we’d be going to Albania for seven months so I’d be traveling from Saranda, Albania to Scotland for golf after almost a year of not playing. And now I am here with my good friends and it’s magic!

Photo gallery from St Andrews

Our first of three rounds of golf was played on the Jubilee Course which opened in 1897.

After our first round we took a tour of the Kingsbarns Distillery and learned about making Scotch whiskey. There are over 150 distilleries in Scotland with Kingsbarns being relatively new having only opened in 2014.

Besides being the home of golf St Andrews has a rich history. The St Andrews Cathedral was begun in 1160 and took 150 years to complete and St Andrews University, founded in 1413, is the third oldest university in the English-speaking world and the place Prince William met Kate. Several films were made here, including Chariots of Fire.

Our second round of golf was played on The Eden Course and Wayne’s wife Kayln joined us. There are a total of seven courses that are part of St Andrews. In addition to the Old Course there are five courses located on the same grounds.

Reid didn’t join me in Scotland as we’d just gotten back from a trip to North Africa the week prior. The rest of the wives took advantage of the time the guys were playing golf by taking in the sights of St Andrews.

Our final round of golf was played on The Castle Course, considered one of the five toughest golf courses in Scotland and home of the annual Scottish Amateur Championship. It is the one course that is not located on the same grounds as the Old Course and it has a much different terrain with lots of hills as it runs along the North Sea. While all of the courses are quite beautiful the Castle Course provided stunning vistas at every turn.

Our final day was spent wandering around the grounds of the Old Course, taking the requisite picture on the Swilcan Bridge and visiting the Wee Jigger Inn located on the 17th hole of the Old Course where we enjoyed a final scotch while watching people finish their rounds until 9:30 PM local time. Visiting the Home of Golf with good friends was truly a once in a lifetime experience.

Thank you for letting me share this magical experience! If you have any questions or thoughts please leave them in the comments section below and I’ll get back to you.