The Birthplace of Golf

We have had such a fun day! We started off the day with the buffet breakfast at the hotel. File that under Meals of an Ancestor Collector. This was the first time we’ve actually seen haggis. My English family all ribs me about it, since it’s so Scottish, but it’s decidedly disgusting. Haggis is the blood of sheep cooked up in a sheep’s stomach or intestines. Today it looked like dark brown hash of some sort. Ick! There are also two kinds of bacon, back bacon, which we would call Canadian bacon and streaky bacon which is what we all call bacon. At home, at a hotel breakfast buffet you’d be able to get an omelet made to order. Here, the chef makes fried or poached eggs, not an omelet. There are also fried tomatoes and mushrooms on the buffet, which of course doesn’t surprise me since I have British parents, but it might not be something all of you expect to find. The pastries are also quite small, causing Jim to take four!!

After breakfast, we headed off to St. Andrews and our day of golf. We have been blessed by the golf gods and the day was sunny, warm and so pleasant. The skies were completely bright blue. It was a might windy, but we really couldn’t have asked for a nicer day. Did any of you see the British Women’s Open last month at St. Andrews? It rained and was so cold. A salesgirl in the shops here told us that it never gets much warmer than this here so we feel really blessed.

This part of my post will be dedicated to Andrea, who is my golfing partner at home and who always builds me up, “Great shot”, “nice putt”, “great distance”, and “wow, awesome drive”. I wish she could have been here to play St. Andrews today. First, let me tell you all, it was amazing to play here, a place where Tiger has played and where the game of golf was born. Golf dates back at least six hundred years and Mary, Queen of Scots, was decried for going out to play golf right after the death of her second husband. At the clubhouse, we saw the trophies and the ancient clubs and balls. When we checked in, they gave us wonderful Calloway clubs, and Jim got a rental pair of shoes, but they didn’t have any to fit my feet, so thankfully, the shoes I was wearing weren’t too bad for playing in. The people in the clubhouse we so kind and helpful, and once we were done, we headed out to the starter. We hired pull trolleys (rented a pull cart) and walked the 18 holes. They had a limited number of golf buggies (golf carts) but they may only be
used by the elderly and people with a medical certificate of necessity. On the Old Course, pull trolleys are not allowed before noon. You either carry your clubs or hire a caddy for 40 GBP. I was happy to have the pull trolley because it felt good to get out and get some exercise. We saw men in knickers and also people from all over the world: other Americans, Germans, Japanese, and certainly English and Scottish. We chose to play the Strathtyrum course, one designed for high handicappers like us. There are actually seven courses at St. Andrews Links. There are no water hazards on the course but the fairways and greens are like concrete….balls bounce high and roll forever. The fairways are lined with tall grass and a plant called gorse, a nasty bush with pretty purple flowers but covered large stinging thorns. Ouch!!


I lost two balls, and Hubby lost four, mostly under gorse bushes. It was hard to play with a full set of clubs, because Andrea knows that I have a limited set. I really loved the Big Bertha driver and the pitching wedge, and I only needed the sand wedge once. The bunkers here are "pot" bunkers....very deep, round sand traps which are just a pain to get out of. I got into one bunker, but poor Hubby got into one and once he hit his ball out of it, the ball landed in the pot bunker right next to it! Our scores? Well, I shot a 113 and Hubby shot a 115. Yes, I beat him. But we each won six holes, and tied six holes. Really sort of amazing. Here are a bunch of photos of our day but let's keep in mind that it was very windy and a particularly bad hair day:

The bunker shots:

The famous bridge from the 17th green to the 18th tee and the 18th green:

The tee marker and a collection of signs:


After our round of golf, we went to the lounge and had a bite to eat. Hubby had a G&T (gin and tonic) and I had a Juice2O (a fruit juice beverage in a bottle) with a little vodka in it. He had a burger and I had a ham, cheddar, and tomato sandwich. After eating, we drove into the town of St. Andrews and walked up to the Old Course, which is the course famous and you would see on television. There is a bridge, Swilcan Bridge, which crosses from the 17th green to the 18th tee that is quite famous and everyone wants to have their picture taken there. To play the Old Course, you must enter a lottery a least a year ahead of time, and then perhaps you will be chosen to be able to play there. The course is wide open and undulating. The 18th green comes up to the town centre and is lined with hotels and shops. Of course, we stopped in the shops and bought a few things. We each got a new shirt and some golf tees. And it’s all so terribly over-priced. On our walk from the car park (parking lot) we passed a sign for the ladies putting green, and under the sign a beautiful golden retriever was lying just waiting for his master or mistress to return from a little golf. He was still there an hour later and I couldn't resist taking his picture. He just looked at me with those big brown eyes and probably thought I was quite a nuisance. But I thought my sister would just love his, so this picture is here for her.

Now for some other things about the day. Going out of Edinburgh, we drove over a beautiful bridge over the river. At the far end, we had to pay a toll, but no where did it say that until we were upon it and we didn’t know the cost of the toll. Luckily we were in a lane that had an attendant, because we had to ask the cost…..1 GBP, thank you very much. Pounds are in coin only. The smallest bill here is a 5 Pound note. Perhaps more on money in another post.



We had to travel north to St. Andrews and it took just a little over an hour to get there from our hotel. Some of it was Motorway, but a lot of it was dual carriageway (a four-lane road, with two lanes in either direction). Predominantly, intersections are done with roundabouts (rotaries) instead of traffic lights. Everyone is very polite, and the car on the roundabout has the right of way. Directions will say, “go through four roundabouts, and then at the next roundabout, take the third exit”. You do have to keep your head glued on straight. There are often little roads that run parallel to the dual carriageways which are called “slip roads” here but we would call them service roads. They tend to service homes and businesses along the side of the dual carriageway. Tow trucks are called “recovery vehicles” and it appears that towing is free if you break down in a road construction area. There are traffic cameras everywhere here. If you go over the speed limit, the cameras take a photo of your license plate and you are sent a ticket in the mail. I’ve sort of wondered if we will get any tickets on our journey. A couple of times the electronic sign on the side of the road has flashed “ slow down” at us!

When we got back to the hotel tonight, we went down to the bar and I had wine while Hubby had a Boddingtons beer (thought of you, Brad!!) and we shared some onion rings and chicken quesadillas. It was really nice to just sit and talk about the day, and we also chatted with a young family with two small boys 3 and 4, who were visiting Edinburgh for the weekend from Barnard’s Castle in Worcestershire, England. They own a farm and can only take vacation in September when no cows are calving and the hay is mown. They are going to the Edinburgh zoo tomorrow and the littlest one told me they are going to go see the cheeky monkeys. So cute!!

One other thing I’d like to gripe about is the bathtubs here. All of them seem to have two metal handles on the sides (see the photo) and the tub is quite high off the floor. Can I just tell you that I’ve stubbed my toes on this handle several times getting out of the tub?!! It’s not pleasant. Also, most faucets are two-handled faucets, so you can’t just get one warm stream of water to wash your hands, it’s either hot or cold. When you want to find the ladies room, you have to ask for the toilet.....not the rest room, bathroom, or ladies room, just the toilet. These things aren't new to me, but they are a funny British peculiarity that I thought you might enjoy.




Today’s interesting town names:
Markinch
Ladybank
Kingsbarns
Pitscottie
Pitlessie
And Mandy, I really looked for Pitsawnie!! ;-)

Tomorrow we head north again, this time to Inverness. On the way we’ll make a few little stops to sight-see, then we’ll check into our hotel and head out to Culloden and the battle exhibit there. I’m really looking forward to that. Having read Diana Gabaldon’s first two books, Outlander and Dragonfly in Amber, I’m ready to see this place that figures so highly into Claire and Jamie’s lives. Some of you will remember me reading passages of the first book to you on the beach at Calumet. Hahaha!

We have had so much fun and can't believe our vacation is almost half over. I suppose if everyday was a holiday we wouldn't appreciate the happiness it brings us, but perhaps that will be what retirement is all about. Just one great day after another, full of things that make us happy and none of the stuff that brings us down.

Oh, and PS: thanks to everybody who's been leaving comments. They come to my email address and it's fun to turn on my computer and know that so many of you are reading. Also, have you figured out that you can click on any of the photos and blow them up so you can see the detail better? Some of the photos need that for you to really appreciate their image.