On 10th October a group of Legals headed north for a tour of some of the many golf courses of Edinburgh and surrounds. The early arrivals, having made their way there variously by car, train and air, were in time to enjoy a very convivial evening at Browns in George Street.
The following morning, fuelled by the very extensive breakfast provided at the Holiday Inn Express West, the ladies headed East to Kilspindie Golf Course at Aberlady - one of 21 golf courses on Scotland's "Golf Coast". With wonderful views along the Firth to Edinburgh and up the coast to Gullane Hill the ladies enjoyed a challenging round in fair but moderately windy conditions. There were a few shots which found the beach but the teams all enjoyed the course.
The golf was both an individual and team stableford but with only ten players due to last minute illnesses a "wild card" was chosen each day to supplement the scores of the two three balls. Prizegiving took place daily after the round with team prizes sourced very imaginatively by Chris Galloway on his travels around Edinburgh whilst the ladies were playing golf.
On Wednesday the destination was a five minute drive away from the hotel - Murrayfield Golf Club. This is a very tricky, hilly parkland course with some resulting blind shots and stunning views over the city by way of reward for the climb. It was particularly beautiful with the spectacular autumn colours.
The ladies agreed that is was just as well it was not a match as local knowledge must be a huge plus for the home team. The Club welcomed the ladies warmly and provided a delicious lunch after the golf.
The final day's golf was at The Bruntsfield Links. The members of The Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society celebrated the society's 250th anniversary in 2011and it is the fourth oldest golfing body in the world. The course was originally laid out in1898 by Willie Park Jr. and following recent remodelling it is in beautiful condition although annual maintenance meant that the ladies had to contend with some fairly sandy greens. It is another lovely parkland course which, with no blind shots, the ladies managed to navigate with more success.
The team format meant that by the end of the three days most people had played with everyone else at some point. It also revealed that to be on the winning team you had to play with Marian Raybone. Marian played consistently below her handicap and was delighted with the resulting reduction in her handicap. She was the clear tour champion, winning the individual prize all three days. Despite missing out on Chris's prizes everyone was delighted for her.
On the last night Sarah Brownlee and her husband, Fergus, very kindly hosted us for pre-dinner drinks at their flat in the city before the final tour dinner at Fishers in the City.
With so much golf there was little time to explore the city but the intrepid few made it to Stockbridge and did not return empty handed!
There was much laughter all week and new friendships were formed. The group WhatsApp was filled with memorable photos and there is already talk of another such tour in the UK so watch this space.
Huge thanks to Gillie Galloway and Sarah Brownlee for all the organisation that went into such a successful tour. All ran without a hitch and Sarah had booked some lovely restaurants in the city which made for thoroughly enjoyable evenings without breaking the bank. Roll on the next tour!