Mixing Hubby's Golfing and My...not golfing

Where is he playing golf?

It should easy enough to pick places you want to investigate and find golfing nearby given the number of courses in Scotland.

Try picking a place (in this case Cairngorm National Park south of Inverness) and google, the place name and "golfing."

https://visitcairngorms.com/onthetee

https://www.cairngormpark.co.uk/golf.htm

Or:

http://www.trossachs.co.uk/golfcourses.php

Also investigate when and where Highland Games will be held and check out golf courses nearby.

Choose to stay in locations that allow you to do something else while your husband golfs - take a day tour, explore a nearby town/city/museum. I'm sure there are locations that would work for both of you. Surely he won't golf every single day......?? There's got to be compromises.

I had no trouble filling my days in St. Andrews while my husband golfed. I enjoyed the golf museum and found a map with the town highlights and visited all of those. There were private gardens that were open as well for a minimal fee. You can see St. Andrews University where William and Kate went to school.

Dundee is close to St. Andrews and has some good museums/attractions--I'd say 2 days' worth.

I'm a golfer, also, but I'm too intimidated by those courses to play in Scotland, especially in wind and/or rain. So my husband plays golf without me and I entertain myself in Scotland.
I did enjoy the Sunday walking tour on the Old Course- the Old Course is closed to play on Sundays.

Some alternatives:
Take a train to Edinburgh for the day- the train takes about 1 hour 20 minutes each way.
AND/OR-
take a three-day bus trip to the Scottish Highlands.
It's a beautiful country and I know you both will have a remarkable time.
Safe travels!

My husband always has a golf schedule with tee time proposed for every day. LOL! Then we begin the negotiations and always split the difference on our trips. I walk the courses with him on the days he plays, and he goes with me on alternating days to visit the castles, sites, ruins, etc. Sometimes we have worked in a few places to see after a golf round. Sometimes the ruins are right there, next to the golf course, like Slains castle (inspiration for Dracula) at Cruden Bay. It was not on our itinerary, but we could see it from the course and drive over after his round. That same round, we were paired with another couple from the U.S. who told us about Brora. So we went, I walked the course with hubby, and it was one of my most memorable experiences ever.

There were a few times I left him to battle the course alone and drove the rental car to a local village, like the time he played Machrihanish and I drove over to Campbelltown to see the Linda McCartney memorial garden behind the library. :-). The Rough Guide to Scotland was my best travel planner for those trips because they focused on history, and Rick's book helped me round out the sightseeing.

When hubby has wanted to play golf every day in Scotland and Ireland, he has made those trips with his golf buddies.

Thank you so much!

Are there any particular golf courses that are near historic places? Gramwait had a few suggestions of situations like that (thanks!)

The map is full of golf courses - trying to decide which is a "good" one for him to play, while still close enough for me to adventure is difficult. I appreciate your help narrowing the choices down.

I think if we go for ten days he will golf St. Andrew's, plus two other courses.

My kids are out of school tomorrow, so.....Happy Weekend! :)

And I skipped Andrew's question....yes, I love to hike!

Are there any particular golf courses that are near historic places?

Depends on what type of golf courses you are looking at. Hubby mostly played links courses, all the big name ones including those with "Royal ---(whatever)---" in the name. He avoids all the new places. He's a bit particular, but with his 1 handicap, who am I to argue?

The trick, in our opinion, is to figure out the golf courses, then find the places to visit. For example, on our first trip, we stopped at Dunotter Castle (I think some of Mel Gibson's movie Hamlet was filmed there) on the way from St. Andrews to Aberdeen. On another trip, we made a little detour and visited Glamis Castle. It was lovely! I found the places after the courses were chosen. We love old ruins, too, and they are everywhere. Hubby has always enjoyed the non-golf sites we have visited.

One thing I will suggest, is to think about choosing golf courses that are in a certain area or region, and stay at as few places as possible. We learned this on our first trip there, that 2 - 3 nights in one hub would be. The second trip was easier as we chose a "hub" place to stay, and were not packing up and at a new hotel every other night like we did that first trip. Machrihanish was the exception, but he had to play it ( Bucket list, you know. ;-)) so we stayed only one night there.

Decide if you want links courses or park (inland) courses. We prefer the links courses because of the topography and scenery.
Caddy is always mandatory at links courses. Well worth the money if you get a good one because you learn a bit about local customs, why you see dogs on the golf course, etc. I'll never forget a couple playing Royal Dornoch with their dog on a leash, tethered to their trolley. And learning why everyone walks the courses with their dogs --- the courses are public property.

I hope this helps.

If you have read or watch the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon, the golf course in Nairn is a short drive from the Battle of Culloden battlefield. From there, it's a short drive to Clava Cairns. And from there, to Cawdor Castle where we enjoyed a delightful self-guided tour inside.

I also saw dogs tethered to the [walking] pull golf carts on the Old Course; everyone seemed quite happy with the arrangements.