Golf Made Simple in Scotland - Golf Tours

05/05/2024

Golf break in Scotland?
Drop us a message, happy to help ⛳️🏌‍♂️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

26/04/2024

Wonderful repeat clients from Newbury 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 who had a great trip in East Lothian this week.
See their story below......worth a read.

With hopes and expectations as high as a Dave Middlemass 9 iron, 8 of Newbury’s membership hit the road north for the third running of the chateaubriand classic tour. Given its name a few years ago when sometime painter, most-time-golfer Paul Walden, ordered an entire cut of fillet mignon for himself in one of St Andrews swanky steak restaurants. He’s never quite lived this meaty extravagance down.

Day one was held at the base venue of Craigielaw. Benign conditions saw some very competitive golf. Touring secretary Laurie Berry ensured the group scoring algorithm remained tight. Sometimes by hook. Mainly by crook. Day one winner Mr Berry took the spoils from Phil Allen, only to face a three shot cut at the next venue for his efforts. craigielaw offers superb accommodation and facilities as a base to explore East Lothian courses. One to keep in mind. The golfing world was put to rights at the Old Aberlady inn that evening. Kevin Rowe, ever the witty raconteur, in fine form.

Tuesday arrived and the collective was greeted by wall to wall sunshine. A short trip around the coast led to one of East Lothians most under-rated and best kept secrets. The Glen. Staggeringly good. Beautiful views and a stern test of golf at times. Some jaw droppingly beautiful holes that in form Laurie Berry made light work of. One over par gross gave him the winners points for the second day running. Rich Johnson boomed, Andrew Johnston nurdled, Stuart Errington chipped. All to good effect at times. matches remained keenly contested affairs with no quarter given.
The Glen. Remember it folks. Play it if you get the chance. Game changer.

Just when you thought course standards couldn’t get better, course number 1 at Gullane arrives and kicks you in the pants. Unbelievably good track. Firm fast greens tested abilities. Stu Errington topped the daily leaderboard with 37 points, just shading Phil Allen and Dave Middlemass on 36 apiece. Rowe and Johnson somehow beating the aforementioned pair in the match with combined scores of 66 points. All about dovetailing when you have the shots in the bag I guess eh?
High-end course price-wise granted, but if you pick your time and remain within ‘shoulder season’ theres still value golf to be had. Worthy of a mention is the fact that sun block was applied liberally on the top of Gullane hill. The sun always shines north of the border you know.

The penultimate day of the tour saw the group make the short trip around the coast to the West Links at North Berwick. Its reputation goes before it. Fabulous welcome, a real must for any history buffs, and a course that tests the skill, patience and sanity of anyone that chooses to play it. The traditional 9 holes out and 9 back against the wind are quirky, frustrating, and utterly fun. Middlemass and Rowe both played shots that disturbed dog-walkers from the beach. Rich johnson remained steady, Andrew Johnson remained in good spirits, Paul Walden remained the real threat on moving day and took the spoils.
Bucket list course duly ticked off.
Would we pay the full price to pay it in the main season… jury still out.
Rich Johnson wrote himself into tour folklore at dinner that evening. Making light work of a Tomahawk steak that would have fed the entire town of Musselburgh. The big fella still made room for ice cream too. Healthy appetite those golfers. Stu Errington was put on medical stand-by just in case..

All good things come to an end. The photos are testimony to 5 days of wonderful sunshine and fine golf. Longniddry may not be a familiar name to many, but rest assured you would be unwise to drive past it. Amazing course. Great welcome, cosy clubhouse. Reiterates the point that you don’t have to be seduced by high fee ‘signature’ courses in order to have a great time on tour in Scotland.
Andrew Johnstons putter was on fire, Kevin Rowe shot his socks off for 39 points. Rich johnson and Phil Allen drew applause on the 18th for fine shots. Eventual tour Winner Laurie Berry did what he needed to do to get over the line. Claret jug 2024 belongs to him.

Special thanks to Martin Strain of Golf Made Simple in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿.
Hassle free golfing tours. Get in touch. Roll on 2025.

12/04/2024

🏌‍♂️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Carnoustie, Scotland 🪣📝
HOTEL - Carnoustie Golf Hotel & Spa 🏢
GOLF - Carnoustie Championship ⛳ Carnoustie Burnside ⛳
Carnoustie Buddon ⛳
Contact for further details.
[email protected]

11/04/2024

Beautiful ⛳️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏌‍♂️

05/04/2024

05/04/2024

Fancy golfing in Scotland?
📧 [email protected]
Let us discuss and arrange your perfect trip.

Traditionally, the first weekend in April marks the beginning of the golf season here in Scotland.

Good luck to all of the clubs and courses across the country who will be welcoming golfers from around the world through their doors this year.

Play well and enjoy the 2024 season 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿!

31/03/2024

❤️ Love golf in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
Packages include golf⛳️, accommodation 🛌 and local transport 🚘.
Please contact below for details.

17/03/2024

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏌‍♀️⛳️Golf Tours Scotland ⛳️🏌️‍♂️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
📧 [email protected]

11/03/2024

GLENEAGLES, SCOTLAND 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🪣📝
(Ryder Cup venue 2014).
Three world class courses
Kings⛳ Queens⛳ PGA⛳

Contact below for further details

07/03/2024

Sorry in advance, couldn't help it 😉

My neighbour knocked on my door at 2:30am this morning.
Can you believe that, 2:30am?!
Luckily for him I was still up playing my bagpipes ;0)

04/03/2024

❤️ Love golf ❤️ Love golf in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
Packages include golf⛳️, accommodation 🛌 and local transport 🚘.
Please contact below for details.

18/02/2024

Golf trip to Ayrshire, Scotland? ⛳️
Turnberry, Royal Troon, Prestwick, Western Gailes, Gailes Links, Dundonald Links, Barassie, St Nicholas, Irvine to name but a few.
Links golf at its finest 🏌‍♂️⛳🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

We offer packages including golf, accommodation and local transport.

We do the hard part, you just relax and enjoy 😁.

Contact to discuss your requirements please 👍

[email protected]

06/02/2024

Fancy a golf break in Scotland?
Packages include golf, accommodation and local transport ⛳️🏌️‍♂️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
Contact below to discuss further 👍🏻

01/01/2024

Happy New Year everyone 🎊🍾
Have a wonderful 2024 and we hope to hear from you again soon.

16/10/2023

Just got back from a four day three night trip to Scotland all arranged by Martin Strain from 'Golf Made Simple in Scotland', everyone on the trip commented on how good it was, we played Irvine bogside on day one, fantastic clubhouse and course steeped in history, the weather was not in our favour but the course certainly was, a great day one, day two just wow, Gailes links some 236 years old, tees greens and fairways were superb, the pro, staff and members went out of their way to make us feel welcome, a really good links test, windy but bright sunshine kept us all smiling, day three was Kilmarnock Barrassie, fantastic course links but with a parkland feel in areas, huge greens but don’t let that fool you, fast as hell, another real quality course opened in 1887, every course looked after us very well, especially Gailes Links, our tour organiser Martin was top draw, sorted everything including the hotel also good and close to the venues, well defo be using Martin again, a real golfing wow weekend.

23/08/2023

Put your applications in now for play on the Old Course in 2024.
If successful we can create a full itinerary including additional golf courses, accommodation and local transport around your dates.
Good luck 👍🏻 ⛳️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Experience The Home of Golf in 2024

For over 600 years, the Old Course at St Andrews has played host to the best golfers in the world. Now is your opportunity to follow in their footsteps and create your own history.

Our private advance tee time window is now open - enter the ballot now to secure your tee-time for 2024.

Enter here: https://play.standrews.com/?_ga=2.241682818.1668804940.1692606194-1057730305.1687773712

Good luck! We look forward to welcoming you to St Andrews next year.

21/08/2023

Great form, just in time for the Ryder Cup.

A course record 61, featuring a back nine 28, from Viktor Hovland to win his fifth PGA Tour title at the BMW Championship 👏🏆

16/07/2023

Surely Bob will be in the Ryder Cup Team now?
Wonderful performance under real pressure.
Congratulations to Rory, World class finish.

Thank you for a wonderful show, Bob ❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

05/06/2023

One for your next trip? ⛳️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

11/05/2023

Wonderful links course on the beautiful Ayrshire coast ⛳️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🌞
Contact us to add to your next itinerary
📧 [email protected]

Another fabulous day at Prestwick St Nicholas Golf Club. The club was founded in 1851 and the picture shows the first green and the iconic Salt Pan Houses. Built around 1760, they have been around just a little longer than us.

07/05/2023

A course not to be missed on the beautiful Ayrshire coast 🌞⛳️🏌😎🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

May golf 💙

03/05/2023

Finland on tour in East Lothian, near Edinburgh ⛳️🏌🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇫🇮

Hi Martin. We liked all 4 courses, but our opinion which was the best one differed. Arrangements were the best quality again, thanks. And weather was excellent as it nearly always has been in these golf trips at Scotland 😎

28/04/2023

Don't forget to add Rowallan Castle to your Ayrshire itinerary.
Great course with a warm welcome.

28/04/2023

Great bunch of repeat clients from England who enjoyed some of Ayrshire's finest.
Please take a minute to read their golfing diary....

Scotland Tour 2023
With the hope of dry weather and sinking the occasional putt for par, 8 of Newbury and Crookham’s members headed for the west coast of Scotland. A weeks golf on some fine links courses awaited.

Much whatsapp bluff and banter proceeded the round at Irvine GC. A charming welcome, well presented course, and some impressive scoring saw Stuart Errington top the early leaderboard. Outright handicap management and, at times, criminal fraud by tour competition manager Laurie Berry, generally ensures that the pack remains tight over the course of the 5 rounds. Long established raconteur Kevin Rowe was responsible for gales of laughter at dinner. Good food, fine wine, great company. Keep it simple.

Wall to wall sunshine (no artistic license required honestly) greeted us at Kilmarnock Barassie on tour day 2. Some fantastic banter with the club professional and a handful of members set the tone for the day. Its long been said that residents of Scotlands west coast are easy to get a smile and a laugh out of. A test of golf ensured handicaps were kept honest and Kevin Rowe narrowly edged out Laurie Berry to take the spoils in the clubhouse. One for the ‘mental notes’ this course. A real gem that epitomises scottish links golf. The usual bluff and bluster of missed putts and blocked drives kept conversations lively in the Italian restaurant in the evening.

Day 3 saw the collective driving through the gates of the much talked about Dundonald links. A recent entrant into the top 100 list of top UK courses is very much justified. A warm welcome by staff clearly happy to show off their beautiful new clubhouse and facilities really did set the scene for a club on the up.
Beautifully manicured fairways and greens caught the eye of us all. One of those rounds you hope you never get to the end of.
Part time/partially retired painter and decorator of sorts Paul Walden took the honours with a respectable 35 points. Dave Middlemass cut a dejected figure having lost 8 straight tour matches despite some reasonable scoring. Golf can be a cruel mistress. Ask Andrew johnson who faced a tour cut of 1 shot for his score of 33 points and second place on the day. Special mention to Mrs Suzanne Berry who shipped hubby Laurie’s tour polo shirt to Ayr. Ruthless wags managed to intercept said package. Photo evidence points to something far more feminine being opened much to the surprise of the newly appointed committee member.

The signature course of this years tour saw us heading down the hallowed links at Royal Troon. You could literally feel the history in every stroke. Extra points were awarded to those who managed to score on the famous postage stamp par 3 8th. Some made troon look easier than others and a special mention must go to the days winner Andrew Johnston who carded a superb 37 points in windy conditions. Tales of horrible unwieldy bunkers and glass-quick greens were told over a lovely steak dinner and some beautiful malbec. This is the life.

The last hurrah took us to Glasgow Gailes. Absolute gem of a place. The west coast of Scotland can always be a gamble weather wise but yet again the round threw nothing but a touch of sea mist at us. Benign winds were prelude to some very respectable scores.
Berry, Middlemass, Walden and Rowe shooting handicap scores or better. Phil Allen kept up his steady rounds of golf all week and kept leaders honest with his trusty putter. Removal of trees a few years back made gailes a pure links experience. One we were all keen to repeat. In the clubhouse afterwards overall tour winner Paul Walden took the claret jug and the promise of a free meal at dinner in the evening courtesy of his peer group.
A superb end to a fantastic tour. Top tour tip. Don’t always be seduced by the top PGA courses when heading north. There is equally good golf to be had on courses often used for final open qualifiers at a fraction of the cost. Scotland welcomes golfers of all abilities. We are already planning next years trip.

For further information and tour planning we highly recommend Martin Strain at ‘Golf Made Simple in Scotland’
Having used him over the last couple of years he really does what it says on the tin.
Call Martin on
+447870410607

Dave Middlemass

17/04/2023

The dream team from Norway 🇳🇴 ⛳️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
Just completed another fantastic golf trip with 12 others to Fife in Scotland, with the help from "Golf Made Simple in Scotland".
Yet again a super well organised trip, transport, accommodation and golf were all top class, and great value, I have now used Martin and Golf Made Simple in Scotland for over 10 years to arrange my golf trips with groups of Norwegian golfers, and can highly recommend his company's services. He has managed to get us the best tee times, comfortable affordable accommodation, and on time transport. He has also provided late minute changes due to weather problems when needed, and has been super quick to answer any questions I have had.
Thanks Martin, I look forward already to the next trip with Golf Made Simple in Scotland.
Simon Page PGA professional Hauger GK, Oslo Norway.

17/04/2023

Great group of repeat clients from Finland 🇫🇮 who enjoyed playing at Carnoustie and Fairmont Torrance, St Andrews.

Hi Martin.
All were happy and satisfied. Drivers were every time in schedule and we got good service from them.
Weather especially 2 latest days were better than could imagine and 2 first days were quite OK with a little bit rain.

14/04/2023

West coast of Scotland 🌞😎⛳️🏌🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿