Going to be in St.Andrews / Edinburgh in a couple of months..suggestions?

Been years since I've been there. As I recall the pubs were pretty much all the same. Like most places, if you want a taste of culture, stay away from the tourist area AKA the Royal Mile. Head to Old Town.

I enjoyed the food, actually. Utterly bland by our standards, but I certainly felt better for it.

Bar: Bramble
Food: Any place off the mile that serves haggis. Don't let the description fool you. Tastes like seasoned hamburger. Not bad at all.

It's The Open, they don't want you to call it the British Open.

I'm definitely jealous.

Went in '04 and played both areas. If you get a chance, play N. Berwick in the Edinburgh area. Played it twice. Memorable course w plenty of character, yet not so daunting as Muirfield, Carnoustie, etc.

You will find that Edinburgh and St Andrews are very different.

Ask for Willie Stewart as a caddie at St Andrews if you get a chance to play one of their courses.

Ill be there towards the end of September with the wife. We have some touristy stuff planned.

Edinburgh Castle
Dungeons of Edinburgh
Day trip to Sterling Castle
Visit Old Town

More I think about it, you really should make an effort to play N. Berwick, if you haven't. Not an expensive course and you can play w or w/o a caddy. I would suggest playing w one first round and by yourself after lunch. Great rates for 2 rounds.

Some very historic and memorable holes there. Not sure if you are familiar w what they call a Redan hole, but you can google it. It's where you have the longer par 3 guarded by traps on both sides mostly in the front. This course's number 16, I think, was the original by which all other famous holes like it were based.

Plenty of blind shots, too. But there is a hole on the back IIRC that has a stone wall built in the 16th century that runs across the fairway. It is intact and original. If your tee shot gets too close, the approach is interesting to say the least. One of my playing partners who is a single digit hdcp hit an 8 iron into it which resulted in a 7.

18 is also a hole you will never see anywhere else. Green is HUGE and multi-tiered even more so than anything St Andrews has. A variety of shots that present themselves similar to the Valley of Sin on 18 at the Old Course.

Golf in Scotland is a great handbook to pick up before going there. Written by Allan Ferguson. I emailed and spoke often w him when planning my trip. Sounds like you already have a guided trip put together, but plenty of great info still to be found in there.