Margot, a member of Golf South Ayrshire Hoteliers Association, and can help with t-times at most courses or arrange 6 round or 3 day passes at local courses Please see http://www.golfsouthayrshire.com/ for details.

Golf in the Troon area
By David Wishart

Visitors heading for the Open at Royal Troon in July can do more than watch the championship. The West of Scotland is rich in good courses and golfers will get a warm welcome from club secretaries and members alike. Needless to say, it will be a busy time and reservations for golf, hotels and transportation should be made as soon as possible. A sound alternative is to go beforehand and then stay home to watch the Open on television. Scotland often has fine weather in May and June. Royal Troon is right next to Prestwick airport, well served by Ryanair and other carriers from many parts of Europe. Glasgow airport is only 40 minutes away. We should point out that stiff competition between these airports has made them adopt confusing names - Prestwick Glasgow airport and Glasgow International airport. The former is the one you really want. Aim to stay in Troon, Prestwick or Ayr. Details follow. Rent a car, but beware the route from Glasgow International is tortuous. First-time visitors flying into Glasgow International should take a taxi to Prestwick and rent a car there. Details to follow. Now, where to play. A good place to warm up is Kilmarnock (Barassie) Golf Club, known simply as Barassie, which is just north of Troon. Barassie's mature links have been delighting golfers for more than 100 years and have hosted many top events as well as featuring as an Open qualifying course. Barassie's main track is tough but fair, and there is a challenging 9holer as well, plus the best clubhouse restaurant in the area. Prestwick Golf Club is famous for its long table, but that is for members and guests only. Green fees are a reasonable £50 midweek and £60 weekend. Check http://www.kbgc.co.uk/, 01292 313920. It also offers a midweek package with neighbouring Glasgow Gailes and Irvine Bogside (also Open qualifiers) for £105. Call 01383 861321. One not to miss is Prestwick Golf Club, which has the distinction of being the founder of the Open in 1860. It is a superb links course sharing the same beach as Royal Troon. Famous holes include the Cardinal third, with its massive sleepered bunker, and the blind 17th, the latter unchanged in 150 years. Prestwick has a handsome clubhouse, and look out too for the stone cairn nearby which marks the first tee of the original 12-hole course. Seven of these greens are still in use. The upstairs restaurant has excellent food and friendly service. Green fees are £90, caddies £30. Check http://www.prestwickgc.co.uk/, 01292 671020. Forty minutes south of Troon, and at the end of a superb, scenic drive, is Turnberry Hotel, Golf Courses and Spa. There are two courses, the Ailsa, where the Open was played in 1977, and the new Kintyre, fast becoming a favourite. Add to that the Colin Montgomerie teaching academy and you've got one of the best places in Scotland to experience links golf. Both courses have spectacular ocean holes and the views from the hotel across the links to the famous, signature lighthouse and the Isle of Arran are unforgettable. It's well worth staying at the hotel to capture the full flavour of the setting, the elegant lounges and restaurant and the traditional billiards room. Every night a piper plays at the front of the hotel - this is Scotland at its best. The Ailsa is a great test of golf, particularly if the wind blows, and everyone wants to do well on the links where Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson did battle in the duel in the sun in 1977. The pair were back last year for the British Seniors Open, when Tom Watson took the honours again. Arnold Palmer was there as well, for this is a place that draws you back. The Kintyre, selected as one of the five best new UK courses by Golf World, is a qualifying course for this year's Open. Green fees are £130, £175 weekends (£105 for residents) for the Ailsa and £105 (£90 for residents) for the Kintyre. Check http://www.turnberry.co.uk/, 01695-334032. There are no buggies at Turnberry, but if you want to ride, Brunston Castle nearby is for you. This good-value, parklands course was designed by top architect Donald Steel. Green fees are £26, £40 on weekends. Tel 01465 811471. While you're in this area don't miss Wildings seafood restaurant at Maidens, but you must book in advance. When Arnold Palmer was here for the British Seniors Open he got a table by the skin of his teeth; the name probably helped. Back in the Troon area, the Loch Lomond Golf Club has acquired a new course near Troon called Dundonald. It was about to open as Southern Gailes, which would have been apt as it is next to Western Gailes and Glasgow Golf Club's Gailes links. Dundonald was designed by Kyle Phillips, who did the splendid Kingsbarns near St Andrews. Pro is Guy Redford, a popular figure when he was at Turnberry. Last summer, two times were available every day to the public at £100. It closed at the end of October and reopens in April. Dundonald will then stay open all year, a bonus for Loch Lomond members as their parklands course closes in the winter.. There has been speculation that the Scottish Open will relocate to Dundonald, which would be welcomed by many pros as the Scottish Open precedes the Open and they would rather warm up on another links course. Dundonald is 7300 yards and very promising. As one local pro said, it will take two years to get into top condition, and when it does the players will be lining up. The layout is superb, with challenging long holes and testing par threes. There are also caddies and Loch Lomond's special service from the moment players arrive. Security is tight as well - you can't get near the course unless you are a member or have a tee-time. Check http://www.lochlomond.com/, 01436 655555. On the other side of the railway tracks, literally, is Western Gailes. Founded in 1897, it is a majestic links course with a warm welcome. It has been the venue for the Curtis Cup, PGA championship and is an Open qualifying course. Everyone loves Western Gailes. As the late Sam McKinlay said, "Western Gailes occupies a place in the affections of Scottish golfers that cannot be explained solely on the grounds of its undoubted quality, its superb situation, or the creature comforts which it furnishes. Indeed, its claim to renown cannot be limited to Scotland. In other parts of these islands, and in the US, my mention of Western Gailes has brought a faroff look into the eyes of the listener, who has invariably remarked - `Ah, Western Gailes!' For Gailes represents to the true golfer, to the connoisseur of the game, something approaching the ideal in golf." Green fees are 90 pounds including lunch. Check http://www.westerngailes.com/, 01294-311649. If all this is too much for your game, head to nearby Northern Gailes for its range, 9-hole course and lessons from Bill Lockie. The health club offers massages, a big gym and aerobics area, spa, the tea room has the best Empire biscuits this side of Bombay, and largest golf shop in the area. Contact 01294-222712. Then, of course, there's Royal Troon, never an easy course to get on at the best of times, and with the Open coming up it will be well nigh impossible. Green fees are £170 for a round on the old course, a round on the Portland (also a good track) and buffet lunch. Two rounds on Portland costs £100. Check http://www.royaltroon.co.uk/, 01292 311555. Accommodation will be tough to get this summer so book as soon as you can. If you want a golf tour company to make arrangements, including tee-times, hotels, hire cars and flights, I've had nothing but good reports about the husband and wife team of Duncan and Marie Dewar. They are located at Upper Largo, near St.Andrews. Contact them at Best of Scotland Holidays, marie@best-of-scotland.co.uk , tel: +44 1333 360395. One of the best places to stay in Troon is the Piersland House Hotel, close to Royal Troon and the former seaside home of the Johnny Walker whisky family. Check www.piersland.co.uk, 01292 314747. Bed and breakfast fans will enjoy Craggallan in Ayr, run by awardwinning landlady (and raconteur) Margot McLaughan. Check www.craggallan.com, 01292 264998. Good restaurants in the Troon area include the Piersland, McCallum's Oyster Bar, Highgrove and the Wheatsheaf at Symington, the latter an old pub (and diner) with bags of atmosphere. The Piersland also does good bar lunches and suppers. If it's a pub you're after, try the Anchorage, the Caddyshack or McIntyre's (good for TV). Finally, we'd be remiss not to mention that Scotland has many superb public golf courses - three in Troon alone, as well as the excellent Belleisle in Ayr. Check out http://www.golfsouthayrshire.com/ Open Ticket Office Open David Wishart is Member of British Guild of Travel Writers, The Society of American Travel Writers and the International Association of Golf Travel Writers.