LD TAM LINKS GOLF

Choose your favorite village and book an Inn for a weekend or week. Royal Troon and Prestwick GC, which border each other, have hosted 24 Opens and welcome visitors to play with a member and walk their historic fairways. Classic links courses, out-and-in routing, and memorable holes—The Postage Stamp, The Railway, Cardinal, Himalaya, and Alps.

When you mention the Scottish Highlands, most people immediately think of the Whiskeys. They are indeed my favorites—Macallan, Balvenie, Glenmorangie, and Highland Park. But in recent years, more people head north to “where the polar bears gather firewood’ as Chris McBride, The Last Caddie described it. Along with the Kintyre Peninsula, it is my favorite golf destination. Why, you ask? Simply put, the village of Dornoch and one of the big four Links courses--Royal Dornoch. Add in Brora to the mix, and maybe Castle Stuart as a chaser, and you have yourself a great links golf trip. Whether you fly into Inverness, train it up from Glasgow or Edinburgh, or go old school and drive, it is a great destination. The mountains, rivers and coastline (Moray Firth) combine to make the views nothing short of spectacular. If you do not play golf, or even if you do, the fishing is incredible as well. Do yourself and your friends a favor. Don’t just go to St. Andrews and East Lothian--take dead-aim on the Village of Dornoch. -Old Tam

When you think of the city of Dublin, many things come to mind. It is a very friendly town with a vibrant cultural scene. It is old meets new. Trinity College (1592) and the Guinness Storehouse. The incredible writers it has produced--Joyce, Yeats, Becket and Shaw. Traditional Irish Folk Music, Van Morrison or U2? You would be hard-pressed to find a city as driven by its pub-culture as Dublin.