Morton Golf Holidays : Golf and Whisky Packages

For many years before buying Morton Golf Holidays owner Peter Craigon worked in the drinks' industry in Scotland and looked after some of the world’s most famous whisky brands. 

Proud to have been made a Keeper of the Quaich, Peter still enjoys offering his golfing clients wonderful whisky experiences when they are not playing some of the world’s most famous golf courses.

Peter is in a unique position in the golf travel business as no-one else in the trade can combine such a high level of knowledge and expertise in both golf and whisky.  For years Peter enlisted the services of whisky expert Iain Stothard and they jointly hosted some wonderful “ whisky dinners “ for Morton Golf Holidays’ clients.

As Peter says “After our clients had played a round on the Old Course we arranged a private dinner in a section of Rocca Restaurant in Rusacks Hotel overlooking the 18th fairway.  Iain would then give a talk all about whisky then with the sun setting and casting long shadows over the most famous view in golf Iain would match a malt whisky to each course of dinner – over the years we must have used over 50 of the top malts including Highland Park 18yo (Iain’s personal favourite), Macallan, Balvenie and Glenfiddich 15yo.

Peter is particularly excited with the opening of the Kingsbarns Distillery which is only a good 3 wood away from the 12th hole of the world famous golf links.  Douglas Clement one of the Founders of the distillery and Visitor Centre Manager has done a brilliant job in setting up such a superb distillery so close to St Andrews.

Already Peter has included a visit to the Kingsbarns Distillery into many of his itineraries.  And for very special groups he is delighted to arrange not only a tour of the distillery after a round on the nearby Kingsbarns Golf Links but he will also arrange for Doug to conduct a VIP tasting.

“ We are very lucky in Scotland to be not only the Home of Golf but also we produce the world’s most aspirational drink in scotch whisky.  I am delighted to have gained so much knowledge over the years not only about golf but also whisky and I know from our clients’ feedback over the years they like nothing better than for me to combine iconic golf links such as the Old Course and Carnoustie in their itineraries with VIP tours of whisky distilleries such as Kingsbarns, Tullibardine (near Gleneagles) and Glenmorangie not far from Royal Dornoch.

Ask Peter to send you a bespoke itinerary combining the very best golf courses and whisky experiences Scotland has to offer.

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Kingsbarns Distillery Site

Peter Craigon from Caddie to Golf Tour Operator

Peter Craigon the owner of the long established golf tour operator Morton Golf Holidays attended the SIGTOA meeting at Gleneagles earlier this week and reflected that every time he visits the hotel and golf resort, whether to see clients, have meetings with the management team or occasionally to play, he is reminded of when he was a caddie there in the 1970s.

"That was a great time in my life and really enhanced my golfing experience" said Peter. "I was brought up in Auchterarder so could cycle the 2 miles to Gleneagles to caddie. There were a bunch of my pals who were all good golfers and we loved working at Gleneagles as caddies.  In those days most of the golfers were from the USA and they all seemed to want to take a caddie !  As well as giving yardages and reading greens when the golfers found out we were all good players we often ended up coaching them to help them get round in the lowest score possible.  The highlight of my caddying career at Gleneagles was when I caddied for the Ryder Cup player Eamon Darcy in the Double Diamond Internationals.  I was with him all week and as well as beating Bruce Devlin amongst others we played with Howard Clark and none other than Lee Trevino – I have never been so nervous on a golf course but I can remember that time as if it was yesterday !"

Now that Peter owns a successful golf tour operator business he likes nothing better than to book caddie rounds for his clients.

"Each year we book around 1200 to 1300 caddie rounds whether at St Andrews, Gleneagles, Kingsbarns or any of the other courses on our tours. We receive so much positive feedback from our golfers it is one of the most satisfying aspects of what we do.  Of course it is not obligatory for a golfer to take a caddie when playing in Scotland but as our clients tell us regularly a caddie can save them maybe 10 shots in one round – and of course a good caddie will tell a few irreverent stories along the way !!"

When you book your next trip to Scotland with Morton Golf Holidays be sure to ask Peter to request caddies for some or all of your rounds.

Contact Peter today by email or visit Morton Golf's website

Dundonald Links Clubhouse Taking Shape

After many false dawns, Dundonald Links in Ayrshire is to have its permanent clubhouse built starting in April of this year.

The course which is owned by Loch Lomond has been a tremendous boon for golfers visiting Ayrshire by being so accessible seven days a week and offering such a high quality layout. And whilst the temporary facilities were better than many permanent clubhouses there was still a sense that it was after all a series of posh portacabins.

The new facility has been designed, perhaps, with half an eye to enticing The Scottish Open to the area and there is no doubt that the design shown below in the architect's drawings is a bold statement. It is sure to delight some and perhaps not others!

Dundonald Links sits within a few miles of Royal Troon and Prestwick and less than forty minutes fro Turnberry. It shares very similar land to Western Gailes to its immedaite west, Gailes Links to the north (Glasgow) and Barassie LInks to the south.

It truly is a wodnerful plot of golfing real estate and offers some trememndous holes and perhaps the best collection of par threes anywhere in Scotland. If you'r visiting Troon for The Open in July ask your tour operator about Dundonald.

In the meantime - what do you think of the artist impressions?

Architects Cove Burgess Portfolio Page

Edinburgh Golf Breaks with Wilkinson Travel Services

Edinburgh is not perhaps the first thought you have when it comes to golfing destinations but in reality it can be a wonderfully deiffernt location from which to base yourself for a golfing trip with friends or family.

Almost equidistant to both Fife and East Lothian's courses it has the addition of world famous histroy and heritage and uear round arts, culture and entertainment.

Gary Wilkinson from Fife based golf operator Wilkinson Travel Services showcases a sample itinerary below.

City centre based golf has become more prevalent in recent years for specific types of groups. Short breaks with  a few nights offers the opportunity to combine theatre and culture visits for example with championship golf. Glasgow gives easy access to Ayrshire whilst Edinburgh offers easy access to fife, East Lothiana and even Gleneagles.

Contact Wilkinson Travel Services for more information or download the PDF.

Wilkinson Travel promoting new 2016 programmes

Wilkinson Travel Services offer golfing holiday packages to Scotland's traditional and well know golf courses and also give the visitor the chance to explore the lesser know courses within Scotland which are well worth a visit.

Like all members of SIGTOA they tailor golf tours to best suit size of group, budget and playing ability. Just tell them what's on your wish list and they'll do the rest.

Open Championship 2016

Take time to browse through a selection of itineraries that will allow you to watch the Open Championship at Royal Troon and play on some of Scotland’s iconic Championship courses.As with everything they do it is tailor made to suit your exact requirements please get in touch with them if there are other options you would like quoted.

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Carnoustie Country

Enjoy great golf and accommodation on Scotland's East Coast

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Find out more about Wilkinson Travel Services on the SIGTOA website.

Two New Tours from Morton Golf Holidays

SIGTOA member Morton Golf Holidays are promoting two new golf and whisky tours for 2016 on their website. This is definitely one is for the golfers out there who also enjoy a dram combining the Home of Golf with  Uisge beatha, the Water of Life!

Director Peter Craigon explained further,

“Having worked for a long time in the whisky industry, and being fortunate enough to be made a ‘Keeper of the Quaich’, I am in a unique position to combine the finest golf courses across Scotland with the most prestigious and renowned whisky distilleries to create the perfect bespoke Golf and Whisky Tour for our clients in 2016.” 

 

The two exciting additions feature both wonderful golf and classic malts. 

New Morton Golf Holidays Whisky and Golf Tour

• Day 1 – Arrive – stay in Gleneagles for 3 nights 
• Day 2 – Gleneagles Kings + Tullibardine Distillery VIP tour
• Day 3 – Deanston Distillery VIP Tour and visit the Trossachs
• Day 4 – Gleneagles PGA + Famous Grouse VIP Tour - Stay in St Andrews for 4 nights
• Day 5 – Kingsbarns + VIP Distillery Tour
• Day 6 – Edinburgh City Tour + Scotch Whisky Experience Tour
• Day 7 – Old Course + whisky tasting
• Day 8 – Depart

Slightly different is the new Golf and History Tour too, back to Peter again,

"This one is for the golfers out there who want to find out why Scotland attracts people from all over the world to savour our national heritage. The trip typically combines great golf with a flavour of some of Scotland's most historic venues. The old Tom Morris talk is great fun too and highly informative"

New Morton Golf Holidays Golf and History Tour

• Day 1 – Arrive – stay in Gleneagles for 3 nights 
• Day 2 – Gleneagles Kings + Scone Palace accompanied tour
• Day 3 – Accompanied tours of Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument 
• Day 4 – Gleneagles Queens Course and local history talk - Stay in St Andrews for 4 nights
• Day 5 – Crail Balcomie and Golf History talk
• Day 6 – Accompanied Edinburgh City Tour 
• Day 7 – Old Course + Old Tom Morris Talk
• Day 8 – Depart

As ever all bookings subject to availability. 

For more information on these two Tours please con us direct at info@mortongolf.com or find out more about Morton Golf Holidays on the SIGTOA website.

European Golf Team Championships 2018

A unifying and vibrant brand has been launched by the participating sports to promote the new European Championships which will be staged for the first time in Glasgow and Berlin between the 1st and 12th August 2018 but the interesting part of this is the inclusion of golf for the first time.

A new golf team championship will be part of the multi-sport event, joining the existing European Championships of athletics, aquatics, cycling, gymnastics, rowing and triathlon.

The European Golf Team Championships will take place at the Gleneagles PGA Centenary Course. The Golf event will be staged over 5 days and include men’s team, women’s team and mixed team competition. Two male and female athletes per nation will participate, with the top 16 European nations included.

Keith Waters, The European Tour’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “It is very exciting for Golf Europe to be invited to join some of Europe’s leading sports in the inaugural European Sports Championships, with three new European Golf Team Championships for female, male and mixed teams.

“This is part of our vision of encouraging all European nations to participate in golf, and it is fitting that Gleneagles will host the first staging of this event, having been the venue for last year’s Ryder Cup, when Europe memorably united through team golf.”

The new European Championships logo was unveiled at an event in Glasgow, attended by Great Britain swimmer Ross Murdoch, who spoke of his “golden moment” when he won Commonwealth Games gold in the pool in 2014 in Glasgow and said he could not wait for the prospect of another chance to be a champion as part of a multi-sport event in front of a home crowd.

The dynamic Mark of a Champion is the star-like logo representing the vision at the heart of the multi-sport championships brand – to create a must-attend, must-watch experience that elevates the status of European Champions.

Jamie Hepburn, Scottish Government Minister for Sport, said: “I’m delighted that the Scottish Government has been able to support the 2018 European Championships. This is a totally new concept in European sport, so it’s tremendous that we can be at the forefront of that, welcoming all these world class athletes to Glasgow, and other venues across Scotland. We have a growing reputation when it comes to hosting major events like this, and I’m sure the people of Scotland will embrace these championships as only they can.”

It will be interesting