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By David Brice
Golf International, Inc.

If you have never experienced the thrill of playing golf in Scotland, you are yet to learn how truly great our game is. If you are one of the procrastinators who has long been promising yourself a Scottish golf trip - one day, it's time to deliver on the promise and there may be no better time than now to turn the dream into reality and all at a super price.

Western Gailes - an unsung hero of Scottish links.

For those who choose their travel dates carefully, there are some excellent values available in 2007 that may never be repeated and are simply too tempting to resist. Making a good thing even better is that the very best values are available during the Autumn months, when most overseas visitors have gone home, peak season craziness has all but vanished and the local Scots are returning to play their courses.

Avoid the busy, peak season summer months, especially July and August when all of Europe is taking a traditional summer holiday. These days, growing numbers of residents of Continental Europe are taking summer golf vacations to Scotland, adding to the already crowded conditions created the British themselves. No less responsible are the American visitors who live under the misconception that good weather in Scotland is restricted to summer. The end result is overly busy courses, slow play and a golf trip that may fall short of expectations.

Turnberry's Ailsa Course - ranked #1 in the British Isles.

The seasoned golf traveler is more likely to look to the far less crowded Spring and Autumn months. Either is a good choice, but it's in Autumn when the best bargains are to be found, together with the most genuine Scottish golf experience. With less crowded courses and a sense of normalcy returned, the pace of golf will be more enjoyable and the other players on the course will most likely be local Scots.

Fall also bring some good weather that may surprise the uninitiated. This is when weather patterns are more settled and pleasant temperatures hover in the 60's. Yes, you can expect some rain, as you should no matter which month you visit the home of golf, but this is typically the soft, gentle variety and it seldom lasts very long. As an added temptation, Scotland at this time of year has a New England like quality, filled with the soft colors of Autumn. But the biggest temptation of all this Fall will be the exceptional values with prices tumbling by as much as 40% to 45% and sometimes even more.

The elgant Turnberry Spa & Resort - a special value this Autumn.

Try a 6-night stay at the plush Turnberry Spa & Golf Resort, one of the world's most famous 5 star hostelries. Add in 5 rounds of golf on a hand-picked selection of the very best links courses in Western Scotland plus a car rental for the week and for those who act quickly, prices this October will be almost half the amount folks taking the very same trip, even a short month earlier, will have paid.

Bear in mind, this is a complete resort, and the 800-acre Turnberry private estate is filled with plenty to keep the entire family busy, whether golf is their passion or not. The state of the art health and beauty spa is one of the most impressive in Scotland and for any outdoor enthusiast, there's a myriad of possibilities. From horseback riding and archery, to shooting, falconry, salmon and trout fishing, mountain biking, hiking, 4x4 off road driving and quad biking - the list is endless.

As spoiled as any non-golfer may be, it's the avid player who will delight at the very special October values. The golf courses included are among the very best links layouts to be found in all of Scotland, starting with Turnberry's own two championship links. The Turnberry Kintyre Course, an original Mackenzie Ross design, was the subject of a recent total makeover by Donald Steel. Reopened in 2001 to great acclaim this beauty has already worked its way onto Scotland's Top 30 list.

Royal Troon's famouse Postage Stamp Hole.

Even more impressive is Turnberry's Ailsa Course, which hosts The British Open for the 4th time in 2009. Now ranked as the number one course in the entire British Isles, The Ailsa is literally as good as links golf gets.

Royal Troon is another British Open venue included, most recently hosting in 2004, when our own Todd Hamilton came through with the honors and went home with the coveted Claret Jug. Prestwick, where The British Open had its humble beginnings in 1860, is another British Open venue included. By the time Prestwick was retired from The British Open rotation in 1925, it had hosted no less than 24 Opens in all, a record only recently exceeded by St. Andrews Old Course

The final championship course to be experienced is the less known Western Gailes. Ranked number 13 in Scotland, just one slot behind Prestwick and only five positions behind Royal Troon, Western Gailes is arguably one of Scotland's most under-rated links layouts.

Prestwick hosted 24 British Open Cahmpionships in all.

Squeezed into a strip of coastline, barely wide enough to accommodate the out and back fairways, the test presented is one of the toughest most of us will ever encounter. Unfortunately, it's this lack of real estate and Western Gailes' inability to accommodate the crowds that attend a present day Open, that prohibits the course from being considered as an Open host. Don't let this minor point deter you from experiencing one of the Scotland's great links layouts.

During the summer months, this 5 star golf package would cost around $5,400 a person, based on 4 traveling together. During the month of October, 2007, you can save over $2,200 a person, with the special October only price of just $3,170 a person. But better act quickly, super bargains like this never last very long.

This is only one of many other super values to be found in other parts of Scotland during October and November and I will cover more of these in upcoming articles. In the meantime, if you would like more information on the Special October Turnberry package, click here.

© 2007 David Brice / Golf International Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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