Great Britain Trip – Days 2 & 3 – The Open

Monday – Day 2.

The Open, formerly known as The British Open, has been played 149 times since 1860. And it has been played a record 29 times at St. Andrews in Scotland, home of this year’s 150th Open.

When Carter threw out the idea that our next Father/Sons trip should be in Great Britain, I was able to complete one of my “bucket list” activities by securing 4 tickets to the Monday and Tuesday practice rounds of The Open, arguably the biggest golf tournament in the world. So, here we are, where the modern game of golf originated.

There were several highlights of the Monday practice round. The first included lunch with friends at The New Club, which sits on the 18th fairway of The Old Course. Elizabeth and I first met our hosts, Susan and Suthy, while on a Backroads hiking trip in Provence, France. Originally from Bermuda and retired in Fife, near St. Andrews, they had always encouraged us to look them up if we ever came to that part of Scotland. And so I did. And what a wonderful visit we had with them. While enjoying lunch with a view of the 18th fairway, our sons impressed our hosts with their knowledge of English cricket, English football, and golf.

Another highlight was Jack getting Matt Fitzpatrick, the winner of the US Open, just played in Boston, which we all attended last month, to sign Jack’s 2022 US Open golf cap, which Jack happened to be wearing. And we would see Matt on the course several more times during the next two days.

After golf, we drove back to Lower Largo and our cottage. We walked the 50 yards from our cottage to the Railway Inn, a local pub, where we enjoyed cold beers and colorful conversation with some locals. After a few beers, we walked across the street to the Crusoe Hotel and enjoyed a low-key dinner.

We had a view of the Scottish Sea and we were able to chat with the bartender and wait staff during our meal. Even the owner sat down and chatted with us for a bit. Dinner entrees included sea bass, chicken with haggis sauce, and haddock fish and chips. And all were very good.

We met so many gracious people in the quaint harbor village of Lower Largo. The boys and I agreed that we could not have picked a better spot to start our vacation in GB.

We ended our day with a one mile walk from our cottage to the Standing Stones of Lundin Links, a trio of monolithic stones jutting out of the earth, located in the middle of a golf course.

Standing Stones of Lundin Links is one of seven groups of famous clusters of stones in Scotland that spike up from the earth. Unlike England’s Stonehenge, you can walk right up to these megalithic structures and stand in their shadows. Built thousands of years ago, their purpose and significance remain a mystery. They may not transport you to 18th-century Scotland like the fictional Craigh na Dun in the Outlander series, but these seven sites still maintain their magic, making it easy to imagine the community commitment it took to erect these huge monuments.

Tuesday – Day 3.
Our second day at The Open started with breakfast that included rhubarb pastries and meat pies from a local pastry shop located a short walking distance from our cottage. My favorite was haggis with gravy.

Highlights at the Tuesday practice round of The Open included sitting in the grandstands at the 18th green as players attempted to drive the green, and following Scottie Scheffler, the number one ranked player in the world, for a few holes. I was literally a few feet from Scottie on the 12th tee box (see photo).

We left St. Andrews at 2 pm and drove 2.5 hours to our next stop – the border town of Carlyle, a World Heritage Site, located 8 miles south of the Scotland border in northwestern England. Although we drove 500 miles the first day of our vacation along the eastern side of England to get from London to St. Andrews, we will spend the next 7 days meandering down the western side of England and even into Wales to get back to London, where we will spend the final three days of our vacation.