INTRODUCING SCOTLAND
“The origins of golf are unclear and much debated. However, it is generally accepted that modern golf developed in Scotland from the Middle Ages onwards.” – Wikipedia. While the Dutch may claim to have invented the game, their 'kolf' was played with a leather ball on any open space including frozen lakes and canals. And despite similar claims by the Chinese (influenced by some ancient tapestry), modern golf, as we know it, was invented in Scotland with its first set of rules formulated by The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.
Scotland is simply The Home of Golf. And while there is much is to explore in this ancient country with its proud heritage, for golfers, it would almost be sacrilege to not play one of the traditional links courses that true aficionados swear by. Accentuated by glorious game history and tradition, visiting Scotland is nothing short of a pilgrimege for any golfer; although playing just those listed in the world’s top 100 would require more than two weeks at the very least. Thus, it is always advisable to divide and conquer the regional clusters in multiple installments.
Broadly speaking, the key clusters are Fife, boasting some of the most famous courses in the world including St Andrews, East Lothain near the gorgeous capital of Edinburgh, the South West Coast including Kintyre
and finally the utterly romantic Highlands and Aberdeen. Each of these regions are also loaded with their unique tradition and character and there are numerous off the course activities such as castle watching, pub crawling or simply exploring the gorgeous countryside.
For such a relatively small country, one of the most surprising things about the Scottish climate is just how much it varies from one region to another. The western part has some of the wettest and windiest places in Europe, while the eastern coast from Aberdeenshire all the way down to Fife and the Lothians enjoy less than average monsoons. Scotland’s high latitude means that although winter days are short, during the summer months, the days are very long, often with an extended twilight.
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