Scotland: Carnoustie Golf Links & the Open

Trevor has a bucket list dream of attending all of the golf majors. We went to the US Open at Oakmont Course in Pittsburgh, PA back in 2016. Last fall when we were in Boston, I had a crazy idea to buy Trevor tickets to the Open in Carnoustie, Scotland for 2018 for his birthday. I had always wanted to go to Europe, and I knew Trevor would die at the thought of going to Scotland and watching a golf major. We basically planned our entire trip around the Open, and I can honestly say that it was probably my favorite part of our trip.

So going back to my previous post, we were staying with a wonderful family in St. Andrews. We arrived at their place on Friday, and we were scheduled to go to Carnoustie to attend the Open on Saturday and Sunday. We woke up early on Saturday and Kat made us breakfast. She had an assortment of bread, cereals, yogurt, fruit, and chocolate croissants for breakfast. She also had a fancy coffee machine that made us lattes. The breakfast was so good and it was a nice touch for an airbnb.

After breakfast, we headed to the course. Stephen and Kat drove us to the train station in a town called Dundee. From there, we boarded a train to Carnoustie. It took about 30 minutes to get there. The train was so packed that we had to stand in the hallway corridor, but we didn't mind.

It was so exciting to be at Carnoustie. As soon as we got off the train, we saw the ocean in the distance. We instantly spotted the brown high grass. Everything around was brown except the golf greens. We followed the crowd on to the course. At Carnoustie, you could bring backpacks filled with food and drinks which I thought was funny, because in America they are very strict about not bringing in any outside food or drink. In fact, that first day we didn't take any of that because we thought it wouldn't be allowed in. The second day we packed our own waters and snacks and were so glad we did.

Us at Carnoustie, Day #1 with the 18th green and Clubhouse in the back

We were there pretty early in the morning so Trevor and I grabbed some coffees and leisurely strolled around the course while watching some people play. Our game plan was to hang out until Tiger Woods started, and then we decided that we would follow him. Trevor LOVES Tiger and i'll admit, it is so much fun to watch him play. I think everyone is hoping for a Tiger Woods comeback.

We found a spot in the grass on the hill at the first tee and decided to camp out there until Tiger came around. We watched him par the first hole and then we took off. We quickly realized that hundreds of people wanted to follow Tiger, and that if we wanted to really see him we had to think smart. We decided to watch him on a hole and then we would jump forward 3 or 4 holes to get a good spot at seeing him there. We watched him birdie the sixth, and then we walked towards 9, 10, and 11. At 11 green, we noticed that literally no one was there. We decided to get right up against the ropes and wait for Tiger there. To our surprise, when Tiger finally came around to 11, he hit his ball literally right in front of us! We had front row spots at seeing him birdie #11, AND we were spotted by our friends Shane and Amber on TV!

We then kept skipping ahead holes to see Tiger play a few more. We watched him on #14 and #18.

The trademark bunkers at Carnoustie

Our view waiting for Tiger at the 18th Green

We had so much fun at Carnoustie on Saturday. Sunday was pretty much the same, but it was more crowded and more difficult to see the players. We went hole to hole that day, but then pretty much posted up on 17th green.

sitting on the hill at the 1st green

The last day since it was more crowded, Trevor and I leisurely roamed around the course and just enjoyed the energy it brought. We ate burgers and "chips", drank some UK brews, and got some ice cream from the "Mr. Whippy" ice cream trucks which were nothing like ice cream from the US. The ice cream over there isn't as sweet, and it tastes more whipped than anything. They also all come with chocolate "flakes" that are just chocolate tube things that are stuck into the cone, I honestly don't get the fascination with them at all but I can say that we opted for them each time haha.

Tiger didn't win the Open, but he put up a good fight. Overall, we had the best time at the Open. Those Scotland boys are cute, and i'm trying to get my sister and cousin Rayne to go over there to meet one ;-).

After the Open, we went back to our airbnb. Stephen and Kat have a son named Adam who is 32. We spent the rest of the evening drinking beers with him and Stephen and we talked about both of our countries, the economy, our president (ha), and the differences between Scotland and America. We talked about places we've been and places they've been, and how different our lives are, but really how we are the same as well. Adam asked for recommendations on where to go once he visits the US. I suggested Washington D.C. and NYC, and also threw a notion to head to California if possible even though I've never been there myself. I can just say that this time we spent with their family, sitting around, drinking, joking, and laughing was my absolute favorite part of my whole trip because we really got to experience what life in Scotland was like.

The next morning, Stephen dropped us off at the train station to catch a train to Edinburgh, and then ultimately catch another to Kings Cross, London. Trevor and I both agreed that we wished we could spend more time in Scotland and we would go back in a heartbeat.