The 11th green at Crail Balcomie Links is shared with the 8th green (background).  At any one time, eight players plus caddies share the large expanse.

    Yesterday, I wrote about the Old Course at St. Andrews, a dream come true for me after 50 years of golf.  Nevertheless, it was an expensive dream; the round cost my son and me about $700 US because of a brutal exchange rate between pound and dollar.  The dollar/British pound exchange rate is more favorable now by almost 50%, making a golfing trip to Scotland somewhere between fairly expensive and outrageous.  If a trip to the Old Sod is on your wish list, I offer a few tips to ease the burden somewhat.  
    Mid-June was perfect from a weather and traffic standpoint, so if you have the flexibility to schedule a trip then, consider it.  Although you won't get much of a price break compared with the high summer season, your odds of avoiding persistent bad weather are better than earlier in the year.  (Note:  The driest areas of Scotland suffer 150 days with rain annually, the wettest 250, so bring raingear no matter when you visit.)  In seven days of golf, we were rained on only for about six holes on two different golf courses.  It went from spring to winter to spring in the course of three holes at the Old Course.  Overall, we were exceedingly lucky.     

    In July, the crowds begin to increase, limiting your chances for having your name pulled out of the ballot box at the Old Course.  You can sign up for a stay-and-play package and have your tee times prearranged, but that costs more and will box you into staying at one of the more expensive hotels.  The other thing -- and some chauvinists might object to me saying this -- is that in the high season for tourists, you have the greatest chance of hearing a substantial amount of American English spoken on the city streets, around the practice greens and in the local pubs.  That may be either comforting or off-putting when visiting another country, depending on your point of view.
    Rather than pay the high cost of the more upscale hotels, you might consider a stay at one of the smaller bed and breakfast inns within a half hour of St. Andrews.  We stayed in the charming fishing village of Crail, just nine miles from the Old Course and featuring two outstanding links courses in town.  I thought Crail Balcomie Links, the 13th-oldest course in the world, was almost the equal of the Old Course experience, and for a lot less in green fees.  We stayed in a private house courtesy of a home exchange -- click here for more information and see below -- but I just checked prices for June at the Caiplie House , a bed and breakfast inn in Crail, and a double room is running about $550 US for a week's lodging.  There are other choices as well in Crail and the nearby towns.  Crail itself doesn't offer much in the way of dining options, but St. Andrews to the north does, and some of the towns south of Crail, such as Anstruther, have a fair complement of restaurants.  Crail is surrounded by great golf, including Kingsbarns and the new Castle Course in St. Andrews, and some excellent courses, like Lundin, Elie and Leven Links to the south.  None of these is more than a half-hour away.
    If you like the dollar exchange rate today and can commit to your Scottish golf vacation, consider booking your tee times and accommodations and paying as soon as possible.  You run the mild risk that the dollar will become more favorable in the exchange rate game, but the greater risk is that it will go so far the other way as to make you think twice about going.  At least you will know in advance how much you will be paying and can budget for it and then dine appropriately -- in better restaurants if a favorable exchange rate, or maybe ratchet back your dining excursions a little if the dollar nosedives again.  The abovementioned Caiplie House offers meals beginning around $18 US, not a bad price in our experience.   Truth be told, the food in St. Andrews and the surrounding areas was generally no better than okay.  The beer, of course, is great.
    Finally, if you want to avoid lodging charges altogether, and you own a home you think someone from Scotland might want to stay in, you can consider signing up for an international home exchange program.  Don't dismiss the desirabilty of your home; I heard from a couple in Edinburgh recently that they have exchanged with people in suburban Connecticut, and had a great time.

    There are a few such exchange programs, including HomeLink International, which we use.  We had a tremendous initial experience with our swap with George and Dorothy Horsfield of Glasgow.  They stayed at our place in South Carolina last April, and we stayed at their cottage in Crail in June.  Any anxieties we might have had about our first such exchange melted after a few email exchanges between George and me.  We even were able to play a couple of rounds of golf with them at Crail and Scotscraig, the 7th oldest course in the world.  Best of all, we have made friends for life.

    If you have any questions about our golf vacation or the home swapping program, please contact me.

The fishing village of Crail is picture-postcard perfect, and with reasonably priced lodging and two splendid golf courses in town, it is a great alternative to the higher priced accommodations in St. Andrews.

The Swilcan Burn wiggles its way in front of the first green at the Old Course.  The green is somewhat easier to approach from the left side than it is from the right.

    As a golfer of some 50 years, I did not know what to expect when I stepped onto the first tee at the Old Course at St. Andrews last June.  Would I cry because a lifelong dream was finally coming true (or because I was dropping about $700 large for two green fees and caddies fees, given a usurious exchange rate at the time)?  Would I be so intimidated that it would feel as if I were wearing three ski jackets as I attempted to take the driver back for my tee shot?  Could I possibly whiff in front of all the people at the adjacent practice green and those waiting to follow us onto the tee box?
    Nerves tend to dissipate a little as you actually step onto the first tee at the Old Course and survey the fairway ahead, the widest I had ever faced, if you include the parallel 18th fairway, the equal of two and a half fairways at most wide-open and treeless muni courses.  Yet you are still aware that this is the Old Course, and no force was going to take my club back in a perfect arc; I swung as if I were wearing the Michelin Man's suit and used almost all of the two fairway's width, ripping the ball about 45 degrees hard left.  Firm fairways and extra roll are not always benefits, as I found out, my tee ball stopping at the right edge of the 18th fairway, just short of the out-of-bounds fence that guards the adjacent road (the same "Road" as in the Road Hole, #17).
    The ring-bound yardage book suggests aiming left off the tee, but only just left of center toward a small gorse bush at the edge of the Swilcan Burn, not left of Glasgow.  Remarkably, I had an open and fairly short approach for having hit the ball so far left, and I was able to cut a six-iron just over the Burn which guards the front of the green.  After the drive I was almost happy to get down in just three more strokes for a gentleman's bogey 5.

    Golf is definitely a game played between the ears, as I found out when faced with the easiest -- and toughest -- tee shot of my life.

Out of bounds lurks off the right side of fairway #1 at the Old Course; therefore, the tendency is to aim well left.  My tendency was to aim left and hit it one fairway and a half to the left of where I was aiming.

Tomorrow:  Advice on making the Scotland golf vacation affordable (somewhat).

Kim Hoyt at the 3rd hole at Woodside Reserve's Nicklaus Design course. 

-- photo courtesy of Tom Hoyt

    Hanover, NH's Tom Hoyt, a faithful reader, and his wife Kim recently combined a golf vacation and prospecting trip to Reynolds Plantation in rural Georgia and the golf communities in and around Aiken, SC.  Here is Tom's report, only lightly edited, which reconfirms what I found during a trip to Aiken a few years ago.

     We flew into the airport in Columbia, SC., our first time there.  We found it very convenient as the size is not overwhelming, and the access to Interstate 20 is just minutes away.  Certainly flying in/out of Charlotte or Atlanta may give one more direct flight access, but coming from the Northeast, we are used to connecting to get anywhere.
     The Fairfield Suites in Aiken gave us quick access to many of the amenities of Aiken, as well as downtown shopping and dining.  As for driving in Aiken, many of the downtown streets are divided by small parks.  The north to south "Chesterfield" and the east to west "Chesterfield" are actually two different roads.  Making turns and crossing traffic requires a bit of thought for a "first timer."
    From Aiken, we drove around Augusta, GA (Aiken and Augusta are practically twin cities) and, of course, made our way around the perimeter of Augusta National.  Having never been there before, I was amazed at two things.
     Elevation change.  It sure looks flat on TV, but it is otherwise.  While driving along Washington Road reveals little but a stark green fence, the side roads of Berckmans and Vineland really showcase the rolling terrain.  Interesting note is that while there are many houses in the immediate area, there is an open area on the NW side of Berckmans that I'm told comes from the club buying homes in the area, razing them, and then using the land for parking.
    Infrastructure.  How they host one of the countries major sporting events in this location is beyond me.  It's certainly not "Mayberry RFD" but it's far from a major metropolitan city.  Across the street is strip mall city.
    There is some road construction in the area, especially the loop around Augusta, but most people locally will tell you the many traffic delays and construction will be worth the result.

    Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, GA, is about a 90-minute ride from Augusta on easily traveled I-20.  You will find some amenities right at exit 130.  It's about an 8-mile ride to the entrance to Reynolds and, not surprisingly, you see nearby what appears to be rapid commercialization, including restaurants, retail, medical offices, entertainment.  Everything seems nicely designed but doesn't appear to have been "thrown up on a whim."
    We stayed at the Ritz Carlton on site.  There is no other lodging at Reynolds, nor much else in the general vicinity.  What's not to love about a Ritz Carlton?  It's not inexpensive, but you know you aren't staying at the Super 8 either.  Packages that include golf and meals are available, but  not cheap.  Parking is by valet which will run you $15 (plus tax) per day and a tip to the valets each time you need your car.
    There are five golf courses at Reynolds (soon to be six).  Four of them are open to outside play, two are private.  The Creek Club recently opened, and the Richland course is being built.  In addition to being members

    It's hard to compare Cedar Creek to the other communities because, to be fair, it's a different animal.  There is only one 18-hole course.  The clubhouse has only a small "grill room", and the practice facilities are rather utilitarian.  That said, Cedar Creek's real estate is 25% to 35% less expensive than anything else we saw.  Golf membership for the publicly accessible club is $2,000; at Reynolds, initiation fees run into the six figures.  The 18-hole Arthur Hills design at Cedar Creek has the bones of a masterpiece, but after drenching rains the week before, the course was not in good shape.  Some of the holes might have you say to yourself, "Boy, if this were in perfect condition, it would be really nice."  Unfortunately, it's not.
    We didn't plan on saving the best for last, but in our opinion it turned out that way.  Woodside Plantation is located in the heart of South Aiken, and yet in a world by itself.  The community has four entrances.  One takes you into the back of the Aiken Mall, two sides entrances appear that they belong in your typical gated community, and a fourth, currently on a dirt road, enters into the middle of the equestrian development.
    Woodside has 4 1/2 courses, and membership is a bit confusing.  Basically, two of the courses are managed by ClubCorp (with their own clubhouse), and two are member owned (with their own clubhouse).  The Nicklaus Design course, The Reserve Club at Woodside, was terrific in December, but I'd especially love to play it in May.  It and the Fuzzy Zoeller course, still in the process of being completed, come back to the same clubhouse, which is undergoing an expansion.
    One thing that struck us at all communities is that in this part of the country, most houses are built on piers or pilings.  If there is sufficient elevation change, you might have a walkout or lower level, but if not, that area becomes a crawl space, which gives you access to the mechanical systems.  This crawl space in some spots is four to six feet high, so moving wiring and ductwork around is easy.
     Coming from the northeast and a lifetime of two-story houses, iwalking through homes with 2,000+ square feet on one level felt massive to us, and smart.  It makes you wonder:  Why not just have everything on one floor and take the extra space to open up the kitchen/dining/living area that everybody ends up spending most of their time in anyway?

Tom Hoyt at #17 at the Lake Oconee course at Reynolds Plantation. 

-- photo by Kim Hoyt.