Advertisement
Published: November 14th 2009
Edit Blog Post
The Catherdal In St Andrews
Only the skelton of the Catherdal remains. It was destroyed during the Reformation St Andrews Scotland -- Sept 3, 2009
Sept. 3rd was to be our day of travel to St Andrews a 5 ½ train ride which turned into a 10 ½ ride. First there was problems with the wires ahead of the train, next there was flooding near Dunbar and trains going north to Scotland were being turned back (after some delay the passengers from earlier trains were transferred to ours and we made it past Dunbar. However, problems come in 3‘s so our next problem was the breaks on the engine. Eventually we made it to St Andrews, in the pouring rain. The train station in Leuchars has tracks on both sides so they have long ramps to an over-pass, great safety device but not really fully appreciated in the pouring rain, particularly with people in front of you who are moving at a turtle’s pace. We finally caught a taxi to the Fairmount St. Andrews and after a nice pint of Guinness settled in for the night.
Sept 4, 2009 -- St. Andrews
Both courses at the Fairmont were closed due to the quantity of rain that had fallen as were most other courses. The Old Course was the
Wish this was my barber
A free shot of whiskey with every haircut. exception but they were fully booked, so off we go to St. Andrews. My recommendation is that if you have the chance visit St. Andrews, do so. This recommendation is obviously not based on fine weather since it was in short supply but rather the town, the history and the people. The Scots are very friendly. One of the sights that will capture your attention and perhaps your imagination is the ruins of the cathedral. It was destroyed in the Reformation but part of its skeleton continues to stand. It was one of the largest cathedrals in Scotland and a destination for pilgrims. After seeing Westminster Abbey it would have been interesting to see a Scottish version from the same time period. Naturally we journeyed up to the Old Course in St. Andrews, what golfer would not make this pilgrimage. Our travel difficulties continued later that evening. We had an excellent dinner at the Doll House in St. Andrews (reservations are recommended) only to learn when we were ready to leave that the road between St. Andres and the Fairmount was closed due to a serious accident. Well as the delay dragged on, I naturally had to sample Scotland’s national
The bridge on the 18th hole
This is the famous bridge that you see the players crossing in the British Open drink, single malt Scotch. I must say that the one I chose was smooth.
Sept 5, 2009 St. Andrews
I lined up a game at the Torrance Course. My partners were a Finn and a Southern from Memphis Tennessee. A difficult and interesting course with lots of huge puddles left over from all the rain, some fairly tight fairways and extremely strong gusting winds that seemed to come from different directions on each hole. If your ball was carried into the fescue, forget looking for it; hit another ball. I shot a 94 and for me this was an excellent score, particularly considering the wind.
Sept 6, 2009
Up early to try my luck at the Kittocks Course. If anything the wind and gusts were even stronger. If I thought there were large puddles on The Torrance Course yesterday I was mistaken, on the fourth hole the flag was protected by a bunker that you definitely did not want to enter, so I played a safe shot away from the flag but to the green only to see a splash, about a 15 wide puddle so deep that I couldn’t see my ball somewhere in the middle of
A small bunker at St Andrews
I wouldn't want to be in this bunker. this puddle I assume. There were a number of bunkers and other spots on the course like this; you knew where your ball was but you were dammed if you where going to try and fish it out. The Kittocks course has more holes along the side of the ocean than the Torrance, very scenic but if you hit a high shot you can enjoy the scenery as you watch the wind carry you ball over the cliffs towards the sea side. While I found both course interesting and challenging I found the Kittocks course the tougher of the two; maybe because I shot 101, aside from this and the wind which was stronger, there were several holes where you were shooting blind towards the pin and if you were slightly off the fairway you could kiss your ball good-bye.
The Old Course in St. Andrews is closed on Sundays and one can walk anywhere on the course. After seeing the course and walking a number of the holes, I would definitely love to play here, as long as one stays out of the bunkers, it is an easier course than either the Torrance or Kittocks Course.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.323s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 18; qc: 74; dbt: 0.0906s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb