STRATHMORE

On Thursday July 10^th, mom, Lisa, and Neal headed back to the states after a week of family fun, site seeing, and memory making.  It gave us a great feeling to know that we were able to host them and help them experience a little of the wonder and beauty of Scotland’s land and people.  We covered as much ground as we could in a week, and after they left we spent time washing clothes and working on our new normal.  The rest of the week involved some worship planning and sermon writing and a chance to play some golf.  The weather was really fantastic—sunny, warm, low humidity. 

Since I haven’t hit a ball in many weeks, I decided to venture out to the North Inch, just across the Tay River right in the heart of town.  It is a small course open to all—like many here in Scotland—and it has a really easy lay out with wide fairways and holes that are not too long.  Will went with me, and we enjoyed just warming up our swings on 4 of the 18 holes.  By the time we got there, it was late in the day so we didn’t have time for much more golf than that.  We played a few holes, met a few locals, and enjoyed just getting some fresh air.  We also learned that the North Inch course is the 4^th oldest course in the world.  That tidbit of golf history made up for the fact that the greens were like putting on shag carpet.  What was also fun about the course is that there were a lot of locals out and about walking dogs and riding bikes, rugby clubs practicing nearby, and so all of those things gave the course an added degree of energy. 

Friday was a day of sermon writing in the morning and letting the kids rest.  Sarah had some work to catch up on as well, so we just enjoyed time around the manse.  It was, yet again, a gorgeous day—low to no humidity, sunny, a light breeze blowing.  Eric Fraser had arranged a round of golf for Will and me at a place called Strathmore (about 30 minutes away).  It was a place that he and Bo recently discovered, and I have to say that our afternoon there was about as good as golf can be. 

Strathmore is in a rather remote place.  To get there we took a number of very narrow roads that wound us through farm land and fields all covered in various vegetables or wildlife.  When we reached the club, we soon discovered that we about the only ones there.  We warmed up a bit, got checked in and played our 18 holes.  The course was hilly, not too long, and the greens were very large and fast.  It was great; however, the rough was wicked.  There was a first cut that was much like many American courses, but the after about 8 to 10 yards of that, there was this wicked long grass that was about knee high.  That grass could eat golf balls in an instant, but we were fortunate to find about as many balls as we hit in there. 

Will had a banner front 9, shooting a 45!  It was his first time breaking 50, and Eric and I were so proud of him.  I came in with an 88.  It was a great way to spend an afternoon, and Eric found us a discounted rate of 30 pounds for both of us!  We walked the 18, and I learned in Scotland riding in golf carts (what they refer to as “golf buggies”) is really not what real golfers do.  The walk, the round, the conversation, and the views of the mountains were all fantastic and made us hungry to play more.  Eric treated us to a drink after the round, and it was such a wonderful afternoon.  We ended the day with a family trip to Wetherspoon’s for fish and chips, and we came home and all crashed pretty hard. 

Saturday was a bit of a cloudier day, quite a contrast to the gorgeous sunny weather of the previous few days.  I was really tight and sore from the golf the day before, but thanks to a hot shower managed to shake off most of the stiffness.  We enjoyed some breakfast together at the house, got changed, and then took a family trip to St. Andrews for a few hours.  I braved driving over there rather than taking the train or bus.  We got a little lost, and I got a little frustrated, but all in all it was a really scenic drive over to the home of the royal and ancient game.  St. Andrews was really packed with tourists, but we had a great time checking out the ancient ruins of the old cathedral, wandering by the castle, checking out some of the key sites of the university, visiting the Old Course’s 18^th green, and enjoying some local food. 

We found a wonderful little pub below ground right across from the 18^th green.  We got some soup, salad, sandwiches, and Will got a tasty burger.  I was in heaven because nearly everything all over the place had something to do with golf.  Just in the hallway near the men’s restroom at the pub there were commemorative lockers for the previous British Open champions.  So cool.  We ate, and then we walked all over town, spending the bulk of our time walking around the ruins of the cathedral—which was destroyed some years ago. It was a glorious structure and provided lots of great photos. 

We enjoyed watching a few groups come through the 18^th hole of the Old Course, and we even watched a guy shank a ball onto the road just to the right of the fairway, bouncing his ball off of a small car parked there.  Who would park there anyway?  I wandered by the starter’s hut, and I learned about all the rules of playing the old course.  (A) It is really expensive—like 165 pounds, and (B) I’d have to do a lottery to play it.  Since there are a number of other St. Andrews courses, Eric and I are planning to play one or two of them.  They cost far, far less money and so I am hoping to make that happen before we leave Scotland.  Also, after visiting the Old Course and seeing how covered with people it is, I think I’d prefer a quieter venue.

We did some shopping at the Old Course pro shop, and we got some really fantastic ice cream at Scotland’s best ice cream shop.  I got some amazing rum raisin—yum!  We even ran into the Seigling family on the street.  Holton is doing a pulpit exchange in a town not far from St. Andrews.  One of the great highlights of the town wasn’t the ice cream or the golf, it was popping into a little used book store just off the main street.  Will and Aubs found some Broons and Oor Willie books, and I found a wonderful old book from about 1930, a first edition book of church history on the Church of Scotland.  What a find! 

We headed home around 4pm and had a quiet time at the manse.  The kids played, and Sarah and I cooked fresh salmon, roasted veggies, and we had fresh strawberries for dessert.  What a good, good day.  We logged some priceless family time and made some more great memories.