The 'wealth' of Scottish links courses overlooked by golfers
Where do your customers come from?
While we get business from all over the world, predominantly our clients are travelling from North America which makes up more than 80% of our groups.
This year we also have guests joining us from other markets such as South Africa, Australia, Norway and Malaysia. We also have a high volume of repeat clients that come back every couple of years to experience other parts of Scotland, England or Ireland that they haven't managed to explore yet.
Most people assume that every overseas golf tourist is coming to Scotland to hit up the 'bucket list' destinations – in your experience, is this true?
I think initially there is definitely an element of this and first-time or one-time visitors to Scotland will always want to play the bucket list courses. Our courses are world-renowned, and for good reason. There are now multiple websites and publications that rank the best courses and it's never been easier for our clients to research where they "should" play.
However, it's our job to educate them and gain their trust so that we can curate the best itineraries that offer great value for money and incredible experiences. Yes, we create trips that play all of the Open venues and the most expensive courses, but we also push clients to include other lesser-known venues where we know they will have a unique and memorable experience.
The Surber group teeing off at the Old Course in May of this year (Image: Scotland Golf Tours) Can you give us an example?
All of our trips are completely bespoke and are perfectly tailored to what our clients are looking for.
There was one in late 2024 which wanted to mix whisky and golf. It made perfect sense for them to start in Ayrshire and head over to Campbeltown and Islay, but the reduced CalMac service to Campbeltown made it near impossible to get there without wasting a full day travelling. So we chartered the Kintyre Express fast rib from Turnberry to Campbeltown and they spent the afternoon whisky tasting in the Springbank Distillery before spending the rest of the week playing golf at Machrihanish, Mach Dunes and The Machrie on Islay.
It was a great trip and something that the group will remember for a long time, and thankfully the weather was kind to them for the crossing!
What other golfing destinations in Scotland are generally being overlooked by visitors from abroad?
I grew up in the northeast of Scotland and for me the Moray Firth Coastline is probably the most under-utilised bank of courses in the country. From Fraserburgh in the east to Fortrose & Rosemarkie north of Inverness, there is a wealth of great links courses that don't get as much visitor play as they deserve.
The challenge is always that guests want to play Royal Dornoch, Cabot Highlands and Nairn before maybe shooting off to play Cruden Bay and Royal Aberdeen. In doing so they miss the opportunity to play historic links like Moray Old, Nairn Dunbar and the quirky Covesea Links and Cullen, all relatively cheap in comparison to their illustrious neighbours, but just as much fun in my book.
Ronnie Pook (left) and Angus Watson (Image: Scotland Golf Tours) With the amount of coverage online and on social media nowadays, I think it makes it easier to convince our clients to try something that they maybe wouldn't have considered in the past. Influencers and golf journalists have started to cover some of these amazing courses and hopefully that helps drive traffic and enquiries.
It's our job to convince these visitors that it's OK to play The Old Course one day and then head off to play nine holes at Anstruther the next.
How is demand holding up in the current season?
2025 has started strongly for us and we have certainly found getting availability at the top venues to be very challenging.
2026 is also setting up to be another good year and we are already getting enquiries for 2027, so the demand is definitely there. We will have The Open returning to St Andrews in 2027 so that will give us another opportunity to showcase our product to the world.
The 12th at Machrihanish Dunes (Image: Contributed)
The overall golf travel industry in Scotland is in a fantastic place. All of our partners from golf courses, accommodation providers, transport providers, bars and restaurants and caddies understand the level of service we must provide in order to continue to be taken seriously as the best golf destination in the world.
I would just warn against everyone becoming complacent and to hold back on the fairly ludicrous price rises we have witnessed over the last couple of years. We don't need to gouge these visitors, because they will definitely come back and explore more of Scotland than just the top courses if we get the pricing and the experience right.
Access the entire series of Around the Greens here.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- The Herald Scotland
CalMac Glen Sannox's ferry - will it help Arran bounce back?
This is not to declare the decision in the procurement process, led by Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited, that it should be a dual-fuel ferry capable of operating on marine diesel and liquefied natural gas did not add unnecessary and lamentable complexity. Rather, it is to observe the scale of the vessel, including its capacity, and the passenger experience. The mood on the packed vessel was no doubt helped by the fact that the sailing was on a Saturday at the peak of the recent long sunny spell, arguably a heatwave by Scottish standards. The stillness of the water was a lot more reminiscent of the Greek islands than the west of Scotland, and its colour, while not quite as vivid as the Aegean perhaps, was as impressive as it was uncharacteristic. There were seals swimming close to a buoy as the ferry departed. And the water in the distance at the base of Arran appeared almost white. CalMac's roll and bacon and potato scone was of the usual high standard. Memories of the coffee from the days when I travelled on CalMac ferries regularly when working for The Oban Times were of a large mug of strong black coffee. These days, you can purchase a latte in a takeaway cup featuring CalMac's yellow and red logo. The boat is very well fitted out, and the passenger experience is undoubtedly a good one, comparing it with some very pleasant ferry crossings throughout Europe. It was impossible, even in the relaxed atmosphere and glorious sunshine, not to contemplate briefly the effect on Arran of the Glen Sannox at last being in service. In this context, it is worth bearing in mind that the Glen Sannox is for now sailing between Troon and Brodick. And the Troon experience is quite different for a foot passenger arriving by rail from the arrangements at Ardrossan, where the train station is right next to the ferry terminal. CalMac will be operating the returning Caledonian Isles between Ardrossan and Brodick during its summer timetable, while the Glen Sannox will continue sailing between Troon and Arran. Clearly, residents on Arran have had to get used to a lot of upheaval in recent years, and the island has undoubtedly been hit hard by the unreliability of ferry services as it waited for the Glen Sannox. The Glen Sannox started sailing on the Troon to Brodick route in January (Image: Ian McConnell) Years late too is the Glen Rosa, which is also being built at Ferguson Marine and is now not expected to be in service on the Troon to Arran route until the second quarter of next year. Colin Morrison, finance director and company secretary of Auchrannie Resort, highlighted in an interview with The Herald in January the effect of the lack of reliability of ferry services in recent winters, and crucially also the publicity around this, in making people less confident about visiting. Mr Morrison, noting the new vessel's greater capacity and ability to operate in weather conditions in which the smaller Isle of Arran ferry could not, said then: 'It is good to see it in service. Certainly in the first couple of weeks it has been sailing in winds which would have prevented the Isle of Arran from sailing.' Read more It has been difficult to escape the impression that some politically motivated observers who have delighted in what has become known as Scotland's 'ferry fiasco' might almost have been hoping the arrival of the Glen Sannox on the route would be less smooth than has been the case. That said, minor issues have generated huge headlines. This is perhaps not surprising, given the high profile of the vessel caused in large part by the monumental cost overruns and delays in the building of it as well as the effect of this woe on CalMac services. However, what is surely important now is that Arran recovers from the troubles caused by ferry service disruption in recent years, and that tourism providers and others on the island can benefit from the arrival of the Glen Sannox, and eventually also the Glen Rosa when it turns up. It was interesting to catch up with the management of Auchrannie this week to find out about the resort's experience of the Glen Sannox, now that the vessel has been operating on the Troon to Brodick route for more than four months. And it was good to hear this experience has generally been positive. Auchrannie is obviously a business which relies so much on the CalMac ferry services. It has over the decades worked closely with the ferry operator, including offering packages inclusive of CalMac sailings. Tom Jessop, head of finance at the employee-owned Auchrannie Resort, said this week that 'ferry reliability has improved significantly since Glen Sannox entered service'. He did note that 'the weather since then has also been comparatively favourable'. Mr Jessop revealed that '2025 occupancy and forward bookings at the resort are up 5% on last year'. He added: 'We believe this is due to improved ferry reliability and capacity, better weather conditions, and less negative press coverage, which translates to an increase in customer confidence. With all of that said, signs look good that the Glen Sannox can sail in more challenging conditions than older ferries, and this bodes well for the future.' While there are obviously lessons to be learned from the delays and cost overruns in building the Glen Sannox and the Glen Rosa, what matters for people and businesses on Arran is what happens from here. In this regard it is most heartening to hear Auchrannie, a major employer on Arran which works closely with other businesses on the island and plays a big part in attracting visitors, express positive sentiments about the experience so far of the Glen Sannox sailing on the route and the outlook.
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- The Herald Scotland
The 'wealth' of Scottish links courses overlooked by golfers
Where do your customers come from? While we get business from all over the world, predominantly our clients are travelling from North America which makes up more than 80% of our groups. This year we also have guests joining us from other markets such as South Africa, Australia, Norway and Malaysia. We also have a high volume of repeat clients that come back every couple of years to experience other parts of Scotland, England or Ireland that they haven't managed to explore yet. Most people assume that every overseas golf tourist is coming to Scotland to hit up the 'bucket list' destinations – in your experience, is this true? I think initially there is definitely an element of this and first-time or one-time visitors to Scotland will always want to play the bucket list courses. Our courses are world-renowned, and for good reason. There are now multiple websites and publications that rank the best courses and it's never been easier for our clients to research where they "should" play. However, it's our job to educate them and gain their trust so that we can curate the best itineraries that offer great value for money and incredible experiences. Yes, we create trips that play all of the Open venues and the most expensive courses, but we also push clients to include other lesser-known venues where we know they will have a unique and memorable experience. The Surber group teeing off at the Old Course in May of this year (Image: Scotland Golf Tours) Can you give us an example? All of our trips are completely bespoke and are perfectly tailored to what our clients are looking for. There was one in late 2024 which wanted to mix whisky and golf. It made perfect sense for them to start in Ayrshire and head over to Campbeltown and Islay, but the reduced CalMac service to Campbeltown made it near impossible to get there without wasting a full day travelling. So we chartered the Kintyre Express fast rib from Turnberry to Campbeltown and they spent the afternoon whisky tasting in the Springbank Distillery before spending the rest of the week playing golf at Machrihanish, Mach Dunes and The Machrie on Islay. It was a great trip and something that the group will remember for a long time, and thankfully the weather was kind to them for the crossing! What other golfing destinations in Scotland are generally being overlooked by visitors from abroad? I grew up in the northeast of Scotland and for me the Moray Firth Coastline is probably the most under-utilised bank of courses in the country. From Fraserburgh in the east to Fortrose & Rosemarkie north of Inverness, there is a wealth of great links courses that don't get as much visitor play as they deserve. The challenge is always that guests want to play Royal Dornoch, Cabot Highlands and Nairn before maybe shooting off to play Cruden Bay and Royal Aberdeen. In doing so they miss the opportunity to play historic links like Moray Old, Nairn Dunbar and the quirky Covesea Links and Cullen, all relatively cheap in comparison to their illustrious neighbours, but just as much fun in my book. Ronnie Pook (left) and Angus Watson (Image: Scotland Golf Tours) With the amount of coverage online and on social media nowadays, I think it makes it easier to convince our clients to try something that they maybe wouldn't have considered in the past. Influencers and golf journalists have started to cover some of these amazing courses and hopefully that helps drive traffic and enquiries. It's our job to convince these visitors that it's OK to play The Old Course one day and then head off to play nine holes at Anstruther the next. How is demand holding up in the current season? 2025 has started strongly for us and we have certainly found getting availability at the top venues to be very challenging. 2026 is also setting up to be another good year and we are already getting enquiries for 2027, so the demand is definitely there. We will have The Open returning to St Andrews in 2027 so that will give us another opportunity to showcase our product to the world. The 12th at Machrihanish Dunes (Image: Contributed) The overall golf travel industry in Scotland is in a fantastic place. All of our partners from golf courses, accommodation providers, transport providers, bars and restaurants and caddies understand the level of service we must provide in order to continue to be taken seriously as the best golf destination in the world. I would just warn against everyone becoming complacent and to hold back on the fairly ludicrous price rises we have witnessed over the last couple of years. We don't need to gouge these visitors, because they will definitely come back and explore more of Scotland than just the top courses if we get the pricing and the experience right. Access the entire series of Around the Greens here.
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- The Herald Scotland
Look at how Norway does ferries, Scotland. Not so hard, is it?
The CalMac timetable takes up a full page, with six different schedules. The Norwegian one consists of regular clock-face departures, but if you consult the webpage at busy times it just says "every 15 mins" (sic). The Norwegian arrangements quite routinely turn round a 245-car ferry in 15 minutes, while CalMac seemingly needs 55 to do the same with a boat half that size. I also counted 15 shore staff at Troon, two in the office and the rest rope-wrestlers and car herders – this for a basic six services per day. NorLed's service can, when pressed, handle up to 1,250 cars and 4,000 passengers per hour, with fewer shoreside staff than CalMac needs at Troon. Vehicle fares are charged by scanning a windscreen Autopass, and pre-booking is not required. All passengers go free. So how do they do it? Well, Norwegian ferries are specifically designed for the job, and not as small cruise vessels which also can carry cars. They can berth without the need for ropes, and with azimuth thrusters for propulsion have far superior manoeuvring to CalMac's vessels. They also employ bi-directional vessels for crossings of less than an hour's duration, which obviates swinging the ship twice per round trip. Norway's ferries operate on the shortest possible crossing and not on traditional steamer routes. Thirty years ago there was little but rock and the occasional sheep at Mortavika and Arsvaagen, while today they are on a major trunk route (with a whole series of tunnels and bridges). No CalMac route requires the capacity of the Mortavika one, but we could do with application of the same operating principles. Why this hasn't been done is a central question. Arthur Blue, South Queensferry. Read more letters SNP Reform plan failed Another cunning SNP plan has bitten the dust. John Swinney appears to have made another in a long line of blunders, stretching back way over a decade. His special – and very expensive – gathering to attempt to have all the non-Reform parties gang up to beat up the new kids on the block has proven to have been an abject failure. Like so many of Mr Swinney's other plans over the years, it had the opposite effect: Reform continues to storm ahead in the polls. In any case, there was something deeply wrong about his anti-Reform gathering. Should we, in 2025, be holding meetings at taxpayers' expense to gang up on or wound one perfectly legal party the SNP does not like? I am not a supporter of Reform I may add. Alexander McKay, Edinburgh. • John Swinney has taken up the unusual position of defending Anas Sarwar in the Hamilton by-election tussle. I should point out that Mr Swinney did not complain when Humza Yousaf delivered a speech, echoed by Anas Sarwar, over the lack of ethnic minorities in high office in Scotland despite this being seen at the time by some as potentially racist. Mr Swinney is complaining now over the "racist" Reform UK advert concerning Anas Sarwar ("Swinney condemns Reform ad on Sarwar as 'racist'", The Herald, May 27). This strongly suggests both the SNP and Labour are running scared of Reform UK. Could we be about to witness another earthquake in Scottish politics just like Winnie Ewing's 1967 victory in the very same constituency? Lightning can strike twice. Dr Gerald Edwards, Glasgow. Appearance before substance Another day, another reminder that appearance is more important to our SNP Government than actually delivering improved services. The BBC reports today (May 27) on Tracey Meechan's situation. With an ovarian cyst, she is unable to work and suffers severe pain. She has been on an "urgent" NHS waiting list for surgery for 100 weeks. Asked to comment, Women's Health Minister Jenni Minto boasted that, in August 2021, Scotland was the first country in the UK to publish a Women's Health Plan and that "timely access to gynaecology services will be a priority in the next phase of our plan". I am sure that will be a great comfort to Mrs Meechan as she continues to wait. George Rennie, Inverness. Will Falklands be another Chagos? James Scott (Letters, May 27) describes the Chagos deal as 'decolonisation'. But transferring Chagossian sovereignty to Mauritius over 1,000 miles away – with which the islands have almost no historical, cultural or ethnic links (apart from the UK's administrative convenience in the years of Empire) and disgracefully, without even any proper consultation with the Chagossians, who clearly oppose it in large numbers, maybe by a majority – is by no means decolonisation but constitutes a new colonisation of which one would expect any UK government in 2025 and indeed the UN to robustly disapprove. Also, to ignore the very credible security concerns of China's current influence in Mauritius, and our paying billions for a partial 99-year lease-back instead of the new owner paying us for the privilege, merely emphasise the literally incredible nature of this deal, which, maybe not surprisingly considering his so-called 'negotiations' with Vladimir Putin, President Trump oddly seems to accept. The UN and its International Court already wrongly consider the Falkland Islands a colony rather than a settlement as there were no indigenous inhabitants. If, or more likely when, they rule that Argentina is the 'legitimate' owner, will Sir Keir Starmer accept that too? John Birkett, St Andrews. We must sanction Israel now For what passes as the latest example of Trump diplomacy, the American President has branded President Putin as "crazy" ("President Donald Trump says Vladimir Putin 'has gone absolutely crazy'", heraldscotland, May 26). Whether this is a genuine "road to Damascus" conversion remains to be seen as given Donald Trump's track record it is highly unlikely that America will apply new sanctions against Russia. What is shameful however is Trump's continued silence over the apocalyptic scenes from Gaza being played out daily on our TV screens. To his credit the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has now slammed Israel's recent Gaza offensive, calling the civilian toll 'no longer justified'. Will this though be enough to at last move the civilised world to take decisive actions to stop the slaughter by the IDF of so many innocent people? We have the usual pathetic responses from the Israeli government. These though should be exposed as false. Schools and hospitals in Gaza are not being used as headquarters by Hamas; nor, according to the UN relief agencies, is Hamas stealing aid to fund its campaign. Critics of Israel's barbarity are not antisemitic. Nor was the war started by the horrors of October 7. Since its creation in 1948, Israel has been engaged in a hostile campaign of aggression and occupation against the Palestinians. For decades Israel has ignored successive UN resolutions and deliberately refused to take forward the two-state settlement which might have seen peaceful relations between the two neighbouring peoples. Instead, Israel continues to occupy Palestinian land. Palestinian villages and farms continue to be bulldozed to build yet more illegal settlements, often peopled by religious zealots armed to the teeth convinced that the Old Testament gives them the right to evict the Palestinians living there to join the thousands already displaced. Benjamin Netanyahu with Donald Trump (Image: Getty) It is now absolutely clear that Benjamin Netanyahu has embarked on a campaign to occupy the whole of Gaza and the West Bank, thus forcing the surviving Palestinians out of their own country. It is hard not to believe that this is part of President Trump's nightmarish dream of Gaza becoming a holiday resort for wealthy Americans. This horrible war was never really about self-defence but rather the naked enlargement of the state of Israel. That this crime is being committed in full sight shames the world. Words of condemnation are routinely ignored by Prime Minister Netanyahu and indeed are turned into insults against those prepared to call out the horrors being committed. Yet this aggression could be quickly halted with the application of global sanctions. Israel should be banned from all international sporting and cultural events. Invitations to participate in international conferences should be withdrawn and critically, the International Criminal Court should now, as in the Balkan War, issue arrest warrants for the political and military leader of the Israeli war machine. The UK Government should immediately halt arms sales and end the supply of military intelligence to Israel. Tragically, though, the merciless slaughter of innocent women and children continues. Eric Melvin, Edinburgh.
