Golf Vacation Plan…Select a Winning Team

A quick scan of various golf based websites, magazines and social media will provide you with some very specific advice on the difficult characters you really do not want to deal with on a two week full on Scottish golf tour; a special challenge you have had on your “must do” list ever since you took up this beautiful game and fell helpless to its infectious charm. Some annoying habits and attitudes can be tolerated during the weekly fourball but likely to cause disruption and fallout on tour.

Far better to focus on the positives.Who do you really want in the tour party?
Selection starts now.

Big X   Chief Organiser
Every travelling group needs that key person; the one who acts as they go-between for the golf group and your tour operator ensuring all key information is distributed and acted upon. The one with the colour coordinated & cross referenced folder. Anyone fortunate enough to be married to a teacher will know what I mean.

Match Secretary
Responsibilities will include setting up daily competitions, programming the pairings (always risky) adjudicating on submitted scores and awarding of tour handicaps. Handicaps will of course be continually revised in order to reflect performance both on and off the course!
All decisions of the Match Secretary are final.

F&B Manager
A critical position on any golf trip. Walking 18 holes each day. Yes that’s right…walking; remember this is Scotland and you will burn approx 1500-2000 calories per round on any of the Scottish links courses. Striking a healthy balance between enjoying the best of Scottish produce, including a few celebratory drams of single malts and maintaining peak condition may prove impossible or simply not worth the effort. You are here to enjoy yourself. Haggis for breakfast, venison for dinner and all washed down with a glass of Belhaven, Bunaihaibn or Irn Bru (our other national drink)

Golf Historian  
Just to be clear nobody needs to be enlightened with a stroke by stroke account of every golf course played by Old Tom,Young Tom, James Braid and all the other highly distinguished architects of our ancient Scottish links. However if you have made the effort to travel here and are prepared to test yourself on these historic golf courses then some basic background information will certainly increase your enjoyment of the occasion. Any appointed Tour historian deemed to be overplaying their part will immediately be required to play the remainder of the tour using Hickories only.

Chief Medical Officer – Physio If Possible!
For the purposes of this article we will avoid discussion of any serious ailments.What we may well require assistance with from our CMO is of a less critical nature but always important.
Recovery from effects of night before (see F&B above)
Recuperation from various strained ankles, knees, hips, hamstrings, wrists and shoulders
Prevention and treatment of any skin damage from wind, sand and sun (sunshine cannot be guaranteed)
Please note all post round cool downs will involve iced drinks and not iced baths.

Ambassador – Diplomat
Your Scottish inbound golf operator will naturally have dealt with all the major negotiations with golf clubs and accommodation providers however during the course of a week or two enjoying the very best of Scotland’s famed hospitality, an ability to engage with the locals, with the golf operations teams, with the clubhouse staff, with the hotel staff and the numerous bar, cafe & restaurant workers will undoubtedly reap rich rewards in terms of some preferential treatment, recommendations, additional discounts and just possibly some giveaways.

Basic selection now completed. You now just need to fill up the other spaces on the golf tour group, get some serious practice done, pray for some lenient weather, get yourself and your golf associates over to Scotland and then prepare for battle.

We look forward to seeing you.