Prestwick Golf Club — Local services in Scotland

Average clubhouse!? I was fortunate enough to play Prestwick last May. What an experience! Sure the clubhouse is not TPC Sawgrass , but that's the beauty of it. Spic and Span polished and Cozy. I'll bet you a dollar to a donut that even Augusta National doesn't have a signed Old Tom Morris scorecard or a signed photo of Princess Di in the sitting/smoking room. The layout, topography and bunkering are like nothing this old Florida boy has seen. Goes without saying that my scoring was poor, no fault of my accommodating caddy, go off the 2nd cut and I have no experience base for escaping that rough, not to mention the pot bunkers. It was the rare near perfect day! A caddy is a must. At least for the first go around, great entertaining men! They won't hesitate applying a good natured needling when appropriate, enhanced the enjoyment once I had interpreted what he said, the brogue was brutal sometimes to my deep south ears. Oh, never use yellow balls there! I thought perhaps they'd stand out better, not realizing the off fairway areas were littered with pretty little buttercups, the same color as my Bridgestones! I took a bit of caddy guff for...

We arrived in March after 'the beast from the east' passed through. Still cold we were warmly welcomed. Caddymaster Andrew and Head Pro David were fantastic. Very helpful and relaxed. Unfortunately the kitchen wasn't open for breakfast until 10am and our tee time was 10am which was disappointing however they opened especially for us to have a bacon sandwich and coffee which I though was great. Clubs hired were decent quality (Taylormade M4). Course was in expected condition for time of year but can see it would be a serious challenge during summer peak. Caddymaster Andrew gave a great run down of the tougher holes and it's highly recommended you take the course guide from the pro shop to get the full experience if not taking a caddy. Otherwise you will have NO idea where to go. Was given a picture as a takeaway from the club (in photo) which was a very nice touch. Even had a random local member asking if we enjoyed the day after the round. Very nice club....

I agree with the 5-star reviews about the course. It is historic; regardless of St. Andrews, here is where the Open began. The course itself is fascinating -- half is very old, with some surprising holes (that convinced me that the Scots never meant golf to be 'fair', that it was really a test of how you could persevere when your ball entered a pot bunker or bounced wildly because of a hump in the fairway), half was modernized just before the war (WW2). Some holes you cannot forget, from #1 with the train tracks as the right out-of-bounds, to the Cardinal bunkers. When I played years ago, a plane took off just as my playing partner was swinging on Himalayas -- the ball flew up as the 747 flew up -- a long and blind par 3 (again: the Scots' view of gold: why should you be able to see where your ball has to go?) I would expect Prestwick to be a stirring experience and a fun golf course for anyone...