First, in general, this was a first-class golf trip. My 3 sons and I couldn't be more pleased with the way this trip started and ended. It met all of our expectations. One of the most amazing (and unexpected) parts of the trip was the weather! Other than a severe thunderstorm and heavy rain the lasted for only about 20 minutes on our first golf day at Castle Stuart, the weather was mostly sunny, warm, and very little wind (though I am glad that we experienced a little bit of all of the types of weather that Scottish golf is famous for). This just added to the excitement and enjoyment of this trip, and was definitely NOT what we were anticipating.
The golf courses that we selected, many of which were also recommended by Anna and Adrian, were outstanding. The ability to get guaranteed tee times at places like Carnoustie and the Old Course was a big selling point for me, and you didn't disappoint. Also, being flexible and tailoring our trip to our specific needs was also a great feature.
The lodgings that were offered, based on the Silver Package, were fantastic. Both the Golf View Hotel and the Rusacks were outstanding. I'm so happy that we chose that package over the Gold Package, specifically because the Golf View and Rusacks Hotels were exactly as I had envisioned an historic Scottish/English manor to be. Plus the location of the Rusacks is so much better (in our humble opinion) than the Old Course Hotel, with its view of 1 and 18 and the beach; its proximity to downtown St. Andrews; and the restaurant/lounge on top of the hotel.
The food in the hotels and the restaurants that you booked for us were excellent, as well as those that we booked ourselves or walked into on the spur of the moment.
I am also glad that we opted for a private driver/mini-van. You couldn't have provided us with a better guide that Jeff Grant. We can't say enough good things about Jeff. He was always available to us 24/7; was a great conversationalist who provided us with some historical in-sight into Scotland, Scottish/English golf; had a great sense of humor; and fit right in with our group.
Lastly, our opinion of the Scottish people transcended our golf experience. Everyone that we came into contact with was so friendly and genuinely interested in knowing about us; they almost treated us like family, which made this trip so special.
The only downside that we had (which is our own fault) was the amount of time we spent traveling in the van. We all kind of agreed that doing a Highlands golf trip that included both the Highlands as well as the St. Andrews area, given the hours upon hours of travel, is probably something we wouldn't opt for again. Doing separate trips to the Highlands, and to St. Andrews area, would give us a little more down-time to sightsee and relax. However, that being said, that does not take away from the experience that we had. I couldn't think of a better way to spend a special and memorable time with my sons.
To close, I can definitely say that were we to plan another golf trip to Scotland (hopefully the west coast next time), Ireland, or England, that we would assuredly opt to plan it with AGS Golf Vacations. Thank you again for helping me make this bucket-list trip come true.
