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Faraway Fairways describe our ‘par 3’ tour as the best golf break in Scotland and Ireland … because …. well because it is. In fact, we wouldn’t be certain that we aren’t under-selling it? This six night short break has claims to be best in the world! Surely a hyped claim you might think? well…. yes we’d certainly concede it would be theoretically possible to play a combination of similar world ranked courses in the United States, but you’d need a racing car for course transfers, a personal fast jet to get to them, and the ability to go without sleep, to do so. That’s before you consider you’d also need influence in very high places to get access to them, and to do so in a single week?. By contrast the Faraway Fairways ‘par 3’ package is both accessible and brought to you at a Scottish price. Imagine how much six different tee times would cost to play some of America’s top-20 courses through a charity auction?
Make no mistake, the golf is world class. Six courses, rated by Golf.Com or Golf Digest to be inside the world’s top-30 speaks for itself. Royal County Down #1 and Royal Portrush #15 provide the beguiling Irish magic. Turnberry, #16 ensures drama and beauty. St Andrews #3 and Muirfield #9 lend the best short golf break in the world a quintessential element of class, whilst Carnoustie #26, introduces an essential uncompromising brutality.
Faraway Fairways suggest it doesn’t get much better than this. Why? Well, to be perfectly honest, because it can’t! It’s an incredible six night explosion of splendour which combines to produce the very best golf break Scotland and Ireland. Even if you needn’t be persuaded that it’s best golf break in the world, we’d still settle for something a bit more modest, and suggest that it’s the best package golf break that many of us are ever likely to be able to play! So where is the down-side? Well opportunities to play these giants of the game sequentially tend to be limited. We will probably need to begin the process 18 months beforehand.
6 Nights
Ireland & UK
Transport
Self drive works best. Involves a car ferry. A flight is possible if you prefer, but means processing a second vehicle hireLogistics
Point-to-point tour with multiple short stop-oversNon-Golf Offer
Weak - Edinburgh, Belfast & the Antrim coast are strong, but the tour requires you keep movingMileage
Medium - Approx 650 miles Approx 15 hours Includes 2.5 hours ferryTravel Class
Supports - Luxury, Premier & AffordableOld Course
Low chance of play through the ballot, (circa 25%) Walk-Up-Rule should succeedMonday - Royal County Down
Royal County Down is the world’s highest rated golf course according to Golf Digest on their 2016 rankings. It is framed in one of the most stunningly natural links settings. The Murlough Nature Reserve provides the stage, the magnificent Mourne mountains the backdrop. The narrowest ribbons of fairways thread their way through as impressive a set of sand dunes as could be imagined. The fairways are surrounded by purple heather and golden gorse, so beautiful to look at, but so punishing for any who may stray from the prescribed path. The ‘bearded’ bunkers are world famous, featuring overhanging lips of marram, red fescue and heather. The greens are fast and many are domed, rejecting any shot lacking conviction.
Tuesday - Royal Portrush
Portrush is constructed on an area of natural dune land framed by limestone cliffs. The Open was held here in 1951, and won by Max Faulkner. In 2019 it returned, Shane Lowry playing the elements best of all to prove a popular local(ish) winner. The fifth is an iconic short par 4, that taunts you into over clubbing. Get it wrong and you plunge down the cliff onto the beach below. The sixteenth is arguably even more famous, an intimidating par 3 that involves driving across a valley of no recovery onto a surface in another dune system that falls sharply away on all sides. With out of bounds down both sides, Rory McIlroy’s first hole quadruple has probably entered folklore too. It’s difficult to imagine that the Open has a tougher opening assignment
Wednesday - Turnberry
The iconic Stevenson lighthouse sitting on its craggy headland in amongst the ruins of Turnberry castle, and with views of Ailsa Craig and the Isle of Arran out to sea, plus a tendency to put on spectacular sunsets, Turnberry is the most aesthetic of all the Open venues. In modern golfing legend Turnberry is forever etched in the pages of history as the location for the ‘duel in the sun’ from 1977 when Tom Watson narrowly prevailed over Jack Nicklaus with the rest nowhere. Myths are made in moments, but legends last a lifetime. In 2016 the course finished it’s stunning redevelopment. The new holes 9-11, look set to become the signature stretch. Not so much Amen Corner, as perhaps a Rocky Horror! The fifth is the hardest on the course and has been toughened up further. The fourteenth, an infinity hole out to sea might become the most awe inspiring.
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Wednesday - Prestwick
Prestwick is the home of the first ever Open Championship of Golf, and therefore the genesis of all such modern variants played since. This is your chance to tackle the original ‘Open’ undulations, the narrowest fairway in Europe, and the continents ‘biggest bunker’. Today’s course remains surprisingly faithful. Unreasonable fairway ricochets, and a plethora of ‘blind shots’ abound. Six of the original greens played from 1860 are still in use. A number of holes, including the famous par 5, ‘Cardinal’ have only received the absolute minimal alteration over the decades. The opening ‘Railway hole’ is another timeless links classic. Prestwick’s quirky and charismatic. To play here, really is to step back in time. No where is quite like it, nor can it be.
Thursday - Muirfield
Frequently ranked inside the world’s top 10, Muirfield is always immaculately maintained and doesn’t have any weak holes. So impressed was Jack he went back to Ohio he built Muirfield Village in homage to the original. Muirfield embraces all three paradigms of golf design penal, heroic and strategic. It tests all aspects of your game. The prestigious roll call of Muirfield Open championship winners is perhaps its best testimonial. Player, Nicklaus, Trevino, Watson, Faldo, Els & most recently of course, Mickelson. It offers golfers choices and then requires you to execute. It is a golfers, golf course. Muirfield is notoriously exclusive however, access is limited. Booking early isn’t just advised, it’s pretty well essential.
Thursday - North Berwick
The links of North Berwick are a traditional out and back nine. Undulating fairways, blind shots, tricky burns and even stone walls make their presence felt in the landscape. The course really is a throw back to the experiences of the game’s pioneers. They had to interpret the landscape and weave the hazards nature handed them into their own personal tapestries. The courses were handcrafted, and North Berwick has an endearing old-fashioned feel. It also possesses the original ‘Redan’ hole, (15). Found the world over, ‘Redans’ are the most copied hole in golf. With an eerie similarity to Turnberry’s Ailsa Craig, Bass Rock rears out the ocean, and lends North Berwick further personality. It would be wrong to think that it’s a curiosity relic though. It’s a beguiling world top-50 ranked course on merit.
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Friday - Carnoustie
American media commentators wasted no time dubbing the Tayside course ‘Car-Nasty’. Few would deny the claims of Carnoustie to the crown of toughest Open venue of them all. Carnoustie is long and menacing. It has a number of challenging holes, particularly the par fives. The Spectacles’ (14) and ‘Hogan’s Alley’ (6) are the two toughest assignments on the stroke index. The par 3 sixteenth is another shocker. It’s the enduring image from the 1999 Open of Jean van de Velde paddling in the Barry Burn however, that cemented Carnoustie’s legend. Sports Illustrated described the course as “a nasty old antique brought down from the attic by the R&A after 24 years” as scoring soared. Carnoustie revels in such notoriety. If the wind gets up you’re unlikely to ever play a tougher assignment.
SATURDAY - St Andrews Old Course
St Andrews, the home of golf, needs little introduction nor hype from us. The first surviving record of the game being played here dates to 1522. The town oozes atmosphere and the course is soaked in heritage. The view from the iconic Swilcan Bridge looking back up the final fairway to the magnificent R&A headquarters and red bricked Hamilton Hall is one of the most instantly recognisable in world sport, never mind golf. ‘The Road Hole’, the 17th, is the signature assignment. No hole yields more bogeys in the Open than this one. Another unique feature are the massive double greens. The secret? don’t be over-awed. Keep out the 112 bunkers, especially so ‘Hell Bunker’ at the 14th. Then attack the course! St Andrews is actually one of the more obliging links, so don’t leave wondering what might have been. It can be tamed!
Saturday - St Andrews New Course
“New” in the context of St Andrews means 1895! The course is often said to be the town’s favourite. It’s a tighter and more defined course than its regal neighbour, and aided by yellow gorse bushes, it tends to be more aesthetic too. The ‘New’ runs adjacent to the Old course and as a consequence has similar characteristics. The fairways are undulating but not as dipped as the Old course, leading to fewer hanging lies. A traditional out and back nine, only the 3rd and 15th share a green. The burn wends its way through a low dune system and features some particularly charismatic holes. The 464yd tenth is often cited as the pick. Think about it logically. It’s likely that the newer course that was designed for purpose, would be the better golf course than the ancient artefact. The good folk of St Andrews know!
The St Andrews Links Trust don't publish ballot strike-rates. Faraway Fairways do occasionally succeed in extracting an off the record opinion however. In addition to this, we’re also able to draw on our own evidence, and that which we’re able to extract from credible co-operative partners (usually hotels) plus what other tour operators might tell us. We have a good guideline idea of strike rates by month of the year and by day of the week
It needs to be stressed that these are indicative averages only. Different parts of a month will behave differently dependent on any end of factors. The ballot is quixotic and unpredictable, Extended runs of good or bad luck can, and do, happen. They are provided in good faith, but can of course fail, and can't therefore be used as a basis for compensation
Multiply by the number of days you are available to give you a guideline
Ballot Strike-Rates
MONTH OF THE YEAR
| APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT |
| 59% | 21% | 20% | 16% | 14% | 17% | 19% |
DAY OF THE WEEK
| MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN |
| 20% | 21% | 16% | 23% | 15% | 30% | n/a |
St Andrews 'Guaranteed' Tee Times
There is a heavy price premium on a guarantee a tee-time. Plus they usually involve a minimum hotel stay in St Andrews of at least three nights, playing an additional St Andrews course is mandatory, and normally a minimum food & drink spend in a specified hotel. Faraway Fairways wouldn't be convinced a guaranteed tee-time is worth pursuing for this tour, especially as they aren't sold for weekends anyway. You'd be more likely to destabilise the programme
An aggressive and determined application of the walk-up rule, allied to a normal ballot application or two, should tilt the odds in your favour
Handicap requirements
Muirfield applies a handicap threshold of 18. This is the lowest we'll encounter. So long as we can meet this, we'll be alright every where else
Royal Portrush applies a handicap threshold of 18 for gentlemen, and 24 for ladies respectively.
North Berwick applies a handicap threshold of 24 for gentlemen, and 36 for ladies respectively.
Carnoustie applies a handicap threshold of 28 for gentlemen, and 36 for ladies respectively.
Prestwick applies a handicap threshold of 24 for gentlemen, and 28 for ladies respectively.
St Andrews advise the following for the Old Course. “A current official handicap card (Golf Club affiliated to a Golf Union/Association) record or certificate must be presented to the starter prior to play. Maximum handicaps – 36 for both gentlemen and ladies. St Andrews will not accept letters of introduction from a local Club Professional”.
Some known issues to consider
Muirfield open their diary at the end of March for play the following. Something like a 12-18 month lead time. The popular times sell-out within weeks. If you wish to include Muirfield, this is the planning timeline we'll need to observe
Royal County Down (RCD) normally open their diary in the third week of May for play the following year. Again, their popular tee-times sell-out within a week
Royal Portrush normally shadow RCD, although they can sometimes operate an advance 'wait list'. We tend to advise making an enquiry in February for play the following year
St Andrews, Carnoustie, and Kingsbarns jointly host the Dunhill Links challenge in the first week of October
St Andrews university's graduation week takes place in mid-June for a full week. This causes a price spike in hotels and sold-outs about 9 months before. It does however improve your prospects of playing through the ballot by about 5% each day as there are less golfers in St Andrews
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