Gallser

The pubs and bars in Carnoustie are something else. Walk into the Station Hotel and the walls are covered in Carnoustie history. All sorts you will not see anywhere else. Including this, the 18th flag from the 2018 Open, signed by 27 of the players who fought it out here that week. Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith, Lee Westwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Justin Rose, the lot. That flag is just hanging on the wall of a bar in my town. You can walk in, order a pint, and stand and look at it. This is what people miss. They play the course, jump back on the bus, and they are in St Andrews by dinner. They never cross the railway line into the town, and the town is full of this stuff. So here is the ask. If you are planning a golf trip to Scotland, tell your tour operator you want a night in Carnoustie. Not just the round and straight back on the bus. A night, or at least a few hours before or after you play. Walk the High Street, have a pint in the Station Hotel, and go and find that flag.

In the 1953 Open, Ben Hogan was playing the 9th hole at Carnoustie. One of the tightest driving holes on the course. The railway line runs about 20 yards off the back of the green. Hence why the hole is called Railway. He had navigated up to the green in regulation. Hogan had surveyed his 4 ft par putt. Stands over the ball. And as he's about to putt, a steam train trundles by. Hogan made the putt and moved on. An official approached Mr Hogan to apologise for all the noise while he was putting. "I apologise for the train going past while you were putting, Mr Hogan." Hogan turned to the official and asked. "What train? I never heard a train." This is a story confirmed by Sidney Lanfield, who was with Hogan for his trip to Scotland. I've seen guys get annoyed because an ant was crawling too loudly, and here's Hogan making pars with a steam train trundling by.

Let's talk about Carnoustie. The town, not the golf course. There's a saying here that we're a town divided by the railway tracks. On one side you've got the golf course, a few houses and the Carnoustie Golf Hotel. On the other side you've got the actual town, where we all live, eat, shop and drink. The course sees triple digit thousands of visitor rounds a year. I'd say 95% of them never set foot in the actual town. St Andrews is a beautiful old town. A university town, and the home of golf. But it isn't a typical Scottish town. When you're in St Andrews you're living in a bubble for the week. It's a great bubble, and Carnoustie simply can't compete with that. What you do get here is authenticity. A small Scottish town of just under 12,000 people. Historically, Carnoustie was a holiday town. The railway brought people here to play golf and enjoy the local amenities, whether for the day or for a longer stay. Then package holidays came along. Suddenly it was cheaper to fly to Europe and get nice weather. The town went into a slow decline. The Open returning in 1999 was a massive boon for Carnoustie. What Carnoustie offers you is the chance to meet ordinary Scottish people who aren't involved in the tourism industry. People who work regular Scottish jobs, live regular Scottish lives and call this place home. Carnoustie has the best course caddies in the world. It's genuinely something I get told all the time on here. My post replies are full of pictures of my colleagues, with golfers asking for them by name years after they played here. And nearly all of us grew up in or around the town. The others have been here for decades. We take great pride in the golf course, its history and its heritage. It's a course of the people, owned by the people, played by the people and loved by the people. And if you enjoy your time with your caddie, you'll enjoy your time in the town. Because your caddie is of the town. So come and stay. Spend time at the Carnoustie Golf Hotel and the Rookery. But don't let your visit end there. Come to the pubs the locals drink in. You'll find us a very welcoming people. Try our local restaurants. Have a walk along our High Street, Main Street you guys would call it. Buy some sweets and candy from our local sweet shop and take the kids home some proper Scottish treats. There are many independent mom and pop shops. Visit Carnoustie Golf Club, just across from the hotel. Discover the story of how this little Scottish town was absolutely foundational in making golf a global game, and foundational in American golf becoming what it is today. Carnoustie is America's home course. And Australia's. Now, here's something I'd really like you to consider. If you're planning a golf trip to Scotland, tell your tour operator you want to spend a night in Carnoustie. Not just play the course and get straight back on the bus to St Andrews. Stay here. Have your dinner in town. Go for a few pints in the local pubs. Meet the people. Have your breakfast here the next morning. Take a walk along the High Street. If you can't manage a night, at least ask your tour operator to give you a few hours in Carnoustie before or after your round. Because the reality is that most of these itineraries are already arranged. The bus drivers have their schedules and they're getting you back to St Andrews. Unless you ask, you'll probably never see the town. And I think that's a shame. You've travelled thousands of miles to play one of the greatest golf courses in the world, in a town that has given an extraordinary amount to the game. Why not spend a bit of time getting to know the place and the people? It's a proper Scottish town, full of proper Scottish people. I'd love to see more of you on our side of the railway tracks. My tip would be to spend a night in Carnoustie. Live with the Scots for a night.