Highlights from our first group trip
The full crew poses on the 18th green of Gullane no. 2.
This fall we hosted our first group event, The Ryder Cup at Gullane.
In mid-September, 12 golfers from across North America and the UK met at the Craigielaw Lodge in Aberlady, Scotland for the 3-day, 4-round event. An exceptionally fun week, with an awesome group of people, makes picking favourites hard.
But here are a few of our top takeaways from our first group trip.
Three women in our group wait to tee off on Gullane no. 2.
A majority female group
This wasn’t a learning from our time in Scotland, but rather something we were looking forward to for a few months once the trip sold out: out of 12 golfers, 7 were female.
Having a 60% female group wasn’t necessarily a set goal, but it’s a statistic we’re proud of. When we see photos from other group golf trips, the demographic is typically the same—primarily men aged 35–65.
We strongly believe that everyone belongs in Scotland, so we were thrilled that women felt comfortable and keen to sign up for our event. And not just to claim a statistic.
There are two main results of having a wide variety of demographics (including gender, age, and golf profile) that we love. First, everyone gets to make connections that they might not make if it weren’t for a shared passion for golf. And second, people get to learn how different types of golfers play the game. Seeing how people generate more or less spin, choose different short game shots, and have completely unique course management approaches can help all of us add some creativity to our own golf games.
A group celebrates a birdie putt on Kilspindie.
Short courses that hit different
When most North Americans hear that they’re playing a “short” course for the first time, they picture a pitch & putt calibre layout with a bunch of repetition. But in Scotland, just because the total yardage is short, doesn’t mean you have flip wedges into every green.
On our trip we played two courses with shorter total yardages:
Our warm-up round was at Kilspindie (5494 yards)
Our first round on a 36-hole day was at Gullane no. 3 (5134 yards)
Sure, these courses feature some driveable holes, but they also include 400+ yard Par 4s that play directly into the predominant wind and the odd Par 3 that requires a mid- to long-iron. There’s tons of variety that creates equal interest and strategy to the beefier championship tracks—and when you finish, it doesn’t feel like you played an easy golf course.
A player gets out of the bunker from his knees, en route to a career best.
Watching others get it
One of our favourite things about links golf in Scotland is that it can simultaneously be insanely difficult and very advantageous.
Staring down a 420+ yard Par 4 into a 3-club wind is harder than most things you can face on a North American golf course. But with firm conditions, where the ball rolls forever, links golf can also give every golfer an avenue to play better than—or at least achieve things they can’t—back home.
Our 11-handicap friend shot a career best 77 on Gullane no. 1, beating a 2-handicap straight up (not to mention winning their match handedly, where he was given 10 strokes). Watching him go from fighting the conditions the first few days, to embracing the Scottish links golf style, and coming off the golf course on a high was one of the coolest parts of the week.
(Even for Nick, the said 2-handicap who got absolutely smoked.)
“I just wanted to reach out to both of you and say how incredibly thankful we are that we got to join you on this amazing trip to Scotland! I know for me this was a once in a lifetime experience. As someone whose love of golf is just beginning to blossom I couldn’t have dreamt of ever doing a trip like that and you guys made it possible. I will cherish every moment and will not soon forget it.”
Our week in East Lothian confirmed what we’ve said all along: there’s nothing quite like experiencing it all for the first time—but the next best thing is reliving it through you.
We’re so thankful to the 10 golfers who trusted us to deliver on our first group trip and met us across the pond with open minds and good attitudes. Our final takeaway from this trip? We can’t wait for the next one.
Can’t wait either? We’re taking early interest for the 2026 Walker Cup Tour in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
