Scottish Golf with Salmon Fishing Vacation
Includes - St Andrews, North Berwick, Carnoustie, Gleneagles, Gullane No1, and Panmure with salmon fishing on the River Tay and River Tweed
Where eagles soar, birdies are bagged, and salmon leap
At Faraway Fairways we’ve grown increasingly aware of just how many golfers identify themselves as avid anglers. Well Scotland doesn’t just have a world class golf offer, we’re also renowned for our fishing on some of the most famous salmon rivers in the world. Remember, salmon have been part of Scotland’s heritage for tens of thousands of years. Whisky came later and tartan is but a mere baby. It only seemed perfectly natural flow therefore that Faraway Fairways should cast the two together and offer a Scottish salmon fishing with golf tour.
The Scottish Golf with Salmon Fishing Vacation brings together some high-quality golf with two of Scotland’s ‘big four’ salmon rivers
The Tweed combines with Edinburgh and the links of the Lothian’s. The Scottish Open venue of Gullane and the world top-50 ranked track at North Berwick. After a days break to fish, we head north to the upper Tay whilst and the Ryder Cup venue at Gleneagles, sandwiched between another day on the water. We then undertake a loop east to finish off the golf in style tackling the Tayside giants of Panmure, and the Open Championship venue of Carnoustie.
What about St Andrews you say?. Well why not? the ‘home of golf’ is in our region so we’ve scheduled a shot at it before we return to Edinburgh
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The Itinerary
Sunday – North Berwick (Edinburgh)
Monday – Gullane No.1 (Edinburgh)
Tuesday – River TWEED
Wednesday – Gleneagles (Stirling)
Thursday – River TAY
Friday – Panmure
Saturday – St Andrews New Course (St Andrews town)
Sunday – Carnoustie (Glamis Castle)
Important note – We will contest St Andrews Old Course ballots for Weds, Fri, & Sat. You can read these days as XYZ / St Andrews Old Course
We won’t be able to contest any singles ballots until Weds for subsequent play on Thurs onwards
North Berwick and Carnoustie are amongst the most difficult courses to rearrange were they to go into a clash with a successful ballot. We place both on a Sunday so as to eliminate the possibility
Sunday - North Berwick
The links of North Berwick are a traditional out and back nine. Undulating fairways, blind shots, tricky burns and even stone walls make their presence felt in the landscape. The course really is a throw back to the experiences of the game’s pioneers who had to interpret the landscape and weave the hazards nature handed them into their own personal tapestries. North Berwick has an endearing old-fashioned feel.
North Berwick also possesses the original ‘Redan’ hole, (15). Found the world over, ‘Redans’ are the most copied hole in golf.
The Redan completes a trio of holes from 13 which is rarely surpassed in Scottish golf, perhaps only Turnberry’s 9 to 11, and Carnoustie’s 16-18 has better claims for being the best consecutive 3 in a row.
North Berwick is one of those rare courses you never hear a bad word said about, and we’re always struck by the fact that it seems to be the most knowledgeable and the best judges who enthuse most about it.
It would be wrong to think that it’s a curiosity relic though. It’s a beguiling world top-50 ranked course on merit.
Monday - Gullane No1.
Gullane shares the same shoreline as the world renowned, top-10 course of Muirfield. Indeed, both Gullane’s numbers 1 & 2 courses have acted as final qualifying venues.
The course is wild, raw, very open, exposed, and windswept. When the wind decides to take a hand off the Firth of Forth, you’re sure to be in for a battle like few others. Would you want it any different?
The 7th is often regarded as the signature, played from a hight tee with commanding views of the landscape below its a deceptively difficult downhill hole where things can run away from you on the approach
Gullane is perhaps starting to step out of its blue blooded neighbour’s shadows however. For a long time it has been used as a final qualifying venue but in 2015 it began hosting the Scottish Open in rotation, utilising a composite course of numbers 1 & 2.
Tuesday - River Tweed
The River Tweed frames Scotland’s southern border with England. Internationally famous for its salmon fishing, people come from all over the world to fish it. It ranks among the very top salmon rivers in the world, excelling itself in 2012 with a record catch of over 20,000 salmon. Wonderful fish are caught by those who have the opportunity to cast a fly on the many beats. The traditions and techniques used on the River Tweed have influenced salmon fishing wherever these wonderful fish can be found. To have the chance to fish for salmon on the Tweed is a wonderful experience.
Wednesday - Gleneagles
The majestic trio of courses at Gleneagles are a masterpiece of golf course design, which has caught the imagination of both professional and amateur alike. Lee Trevino remarked whilst standing on the first, “that if this is heaven I sure hope they have some tee times available”.
The regal King’s Course is certainly one of the most beautiful and exhilarating places to play golf in the world, with the springy moorland turf underfoot, the sweeping views from the tees all around, the rock-faced mountains to the north, the green hills to the south, and the peaks of the Trossachs and Ben Vorlich on the western horizon.
Threading through high ridges on the north and west sides of the estate, the Queen’s course is the most aesthetic of the Gleneagles trinity. It presents you with lovely woodland settings, lochans and ditches as water hazards, as well as many moorland characteristics.
Having hosted the 2014 Ryder and 2019 Solheim Cups, the Centenary Course is the longest and probably the most recognisable today. It plays out towards the dark glen, sweeping up the Ochil Hills to the summit of the pass below Ben Shee, which joins it to Glendevon. Course architect, Jack Nicklaus, described it as “The finest parcel of land in the world I have ever been given to work with”
Thursday - River Tay
The largest of Scotland’s salmon rivers, the Tay drains an area of about 2500 square miles and is approximately 120 miles long. It is a big river, particularly in its middle and lower course below its confluence with the River Tummel. The Tay is one of the classic “Big Four” of Scottish Rivers and can still produce in the region of 10,000 salmon in a season making it one of the most productive salmon rivers in Europe. The Tay enjoys a reputation for quality. Excellent trout fishing, grayling magnificent scenery and a variety of fishing from big river boat to more intimate stretches and excellent tributaries such as the Lyon, offers something for every game angler.
Friday - Panmure
Panmure golf club never hosted the Open Championship but being less than 2 miles from Carnoustie it was used extensively to for final Open qualifying as well as many national and regional championships.
The name that is most synonymous with Panmure however is undoubtedly Ben Hogan. On his only visit to the Open (and victory), Hogan practised extensively at Panmure prior to the 1953 at Carnoustie. The sixth hole of the course was rated in his top 18 holes.
The greens are fairly small and the bunkers deep. Tight fairways lined with gorse demand good placement from the tee at the expense of distance. Whins and thick rough abound throughout the course and can destroy a poorly managed game. Accuracy is often more important than length and each hole should be played strategically. Approach shots also require precision and on occasion clever improvisation is necessary.
Saturday - St Andrews New Course
“New” in the context of St Andrews means 1895!
The course is often said to be the town’s favourite. It’s a tighter and more defined course than its regal neighbour, and aided by yellow gorse bushes, it tends to be more aesthetic too. The ‘New’ runs adjacent to the Old course and as a consequence has similar characteristics. The fairways are undulating but not as dipped as the Old course, leading to fewer hanging lies. A traditional out and back nine, only the 3rd and 15th share a green. The burn wends its way through a low dune system and features some particularly charismatic holes. The 464yd tenth is often cited as the pick. Think about it logically. It’s likely that the newer course that was designed for purpose, would be the better golf course than the ancient artefact. The good folk of St Andrews know!
Sunday - Carnoustie
Dubbed ‘Car-Nasty’, Carnoustie is considered by many to be the most difficult links in the Open Championship rotation
In recent years it has seen some dramatic finishes, none more so than in 1999 when Jean van de Velde took an eight at the 72nd hole to throw away the claret jug. Iconic images of him paddling in the notorious ‘Barry Burn’ have entered golfing legend. The final four holes are the hardest finish on the rotation. After the carnage of 1999 (6 over won) Sport Illustrated described it as
“a nasty antique that was brought down from the attic after 24 years …the rough was deeper; and the R&A made the fairways as narrow as an eel’s appendix scar”.
Whereas the eighteenth is the hole that has often generated the most drama. The par 3 sixteenth has the highest average scoring par 3 on the Open Championship rotation as indeed the closing four are the hardest. The Par 5, sixth ‘Hogan’s Alley’, is another famous hole with a punitive out of bounds fence running down it’s left
1999 Carnoustie reduced Sergio Garcia to tears after successive scores of 89 and 83
Non Golf Options
CLICK, button below to view non-golfers Edinburgh
CLICK, button below to view non-golfers St Andrews
CLICK, button below to view non-golfers Scotland (general)
Featured Group
What's Involved
To ‘do’ salmon fishing properly (like catch one!) it usually requires a degree of expert guidance from local ghillies and also paying a premium for some of the productive beats. The price of this is similar to a top golf course
This is otherwise a three-centred, daily ‘back-to-base’ schedule, using a ‘point-to-point’ touring structure
Experience of angling will always place you at an advantage but isn’t essential. Beginners and even ‘first timers’ can be accommodated and are welcomed. Each part has an experience ghillie assigned to them
Salmon Fishing on the River Tweed (1 day) and River Tay (1 day)
What’s Included
- Equipment supplied, rods, bait, water gear
- Permits for appropriate salmon beat
- Guide
- Tuition as appropriate or not
- River boat and boatman (on the Tay as appropriate)
What’s Not Included (and advised)
- Warm clothing
- Packed lunch
- Sunglasses and any UV protection when fishing
Scotland’s Open Championship Venues Golf Vacation is laid out as a nine night duration staying:
- 3 nights in Edinburgh
- 1 night at Gleneagles
- 4 nights in Carnoustie
Carnoustie is notably less expensive than St Andrews so we’d hope that the saving we can achieve will cross subsidise the stay at Gleneagles
At about 400 miles, the Scottish Golf with Salmon Fishing Vacation is a medium mileage intensity transport burden.
In total, this should require about 10 hrs of road time, which is an average of about 75 mins per day
This trip can support Luxury, Premier and Affordable options, but this statement needs qualifying a little bit since we have to work to an average rather than being able to roll it out across the board
In order to achieve an affordable option we’d need to abandon Gleneagles and stay at either Stirling or Perth
The Carnoustie hotel (despite what people often think) is actually a four-star. We’d regard it as ‘premier’ grade. It falls below the threshold for ‘luxury’ so there wouldn’t be a luxury option north of the Tay unless we went south to St Andrews
As ever, the scale of non-golf activity depends on whether we’re adding extra value for golfers, or building a stand alone proposal for non-golfers to run alongside a golf programme.
- Edinburgh with North Berwick, Gullane & the Tweed
- Stirling with Gleneagles
- Perthshire & Pitlochry area with the Tay
- St Andrews town with the St Andrews New Course
- Glamis Castle with Carnoustie
- Scone Palace with Panmure
We already have two days dedicated to a non-golf activity but this needn’t exclude the possibility of a non-golfer, non-angler being attendance
Our stay in Edinburgh will look after itself. The capital will provide plenty of non-golf activity for anyone accompanying a golfer/ angler whilst their primary attention is focused on North Berwick, Gullane and the River Tweed
St Andrews is a legitimate point of interest without golf. The ruined old castle and cathedral are natural focus points, whereas the town also possesses aesthetic charisma and history.
To a lesser extent Gleneagles can also keep a non-golfer occupied be it through the various activities, and facilities of the resort, or by visiting Stirling just 30 mins to the south
Carnoustie is less fertile territory for the non-golfer however, although with Glamis Castle, Scone Palace, Arbroath Abbey and Dundee in the area, we needn’t be at a loss. All of these could support a single day, but we’re staying a bit longer than that, so would be a little bit stretched, but can probably adjust by spreading the interest out a bit and reducing the touring intensity
We might also discover that unless we’ve got independent driving non-golfers (some non-golfers are prepared to do so) that we might need to use a driver guide for a couple of the days
A number of these courses operate handicap thresholds
- North Berwick (24 & 36)
- Gullane (24 & 36)
- North Berwick (24 & 36)
- Panmure (24 & 36)
- Carnoustie (28 & 36)
- St Andrews (36)
Unlike some courses who needn’t be rigid in enforcing their handicap thresholds, the St Andrews Links Trust will do. Failure to provide evidence will result in a refusal to allow us to play
The Old Course diary is available on-line to consult for availability and is dynamic in so much as it changes every season, although there are some known block outs that occur every year, notably the first week of May, the first week of June, and a run from early/ mid September to early/ mid October
There is no play on the Old Course on Sunday
North Berwick doesn’t permit visitor play on Fri, Sat or Sun morning
Gullane No.1 doesn’t allow visitor play before 10.30
Carnoustie whilst usually being open 7 days of the week, visitors will have to play afternoon tee-times at the weekend
Panmure only has a 2 hr window on Weds & Sat afternoons, and 2 hrs on Sunday lunchtime.
With all the usual disclaimers of a lottery being random, and there being no such thing as a certainty etc plus the variable factor of availability for the specific week chosen, our prospects of winning a ballot on this programme would otherwise be considered a little bit on the weaker side of average, perhaps due to the fact that we can’t really contest ballots on our river days
We should be able to contest a total of four open ballots (Mon, Weds, Fri and Sat). We can’t see any obvious opportunities for entering a ‘singles’ ballot application, although it should be possible to drive over to St Andrews on Friday (dependent on our tee-time at Panmure) to enter for Saturday
We’d crudely estimate our chance to be 1 in 3, so odds against, but hardly forlorn
Green fees need paying in advance and are always non-refundable against a certain timeline
Green fees need paying in advance and are always non-refundable against a certain timeline
A St Andrews Old Course ballot is drawn 48 hrs before play, and we can safely assume that this is outside any refund window! Any win in the ballot therefore will send us into a clash with which ever course we had booked that day, and we’ll a loss of the green fee unless we can get the tee-time rearranged. For this reason we don’t necessarily want to fill every day of the week up with a paid green fee and golf course. That would be designing a forfeit (we are after all setting up to win a ballot and play the Old Course)
Luckily the St Andrews New Course can’t be prebooked, and every other tee-time after 09.00 is offered present-pay-and-play-on-the-day. This is a great way of putting a placeholder into the itinerary without taking on the liability of a prepaid green fee
We try to schedule the New Course in any St Andrews swing to max out this position. If we win a ballot on the day we were going to try and play the New Course, we simply play the Old Course instead. If we win a ballot on another day, then we look to reschedule the affected course onto the day we had the New Course inked in and avoid a forfeit that way. We’ll usually try and put the New Course last in an itinerary then to give ourselves the maximum length of runway onto which we might land the rearranged round
Perversely perhaps, we’re actually hoping not to play the New Course. The reason we wouldn’t play it, is because we’ve won a ballot and are playing the Old Course instead
About Activities
Edinburgh
Few trips to Scotland could really be considered complete without the Scottish capital. Edinburgh is frequently regarded as one of the UK’s most charismatic cities. Most visitors prioritise the castle, Greyfriars Bobby, Holyrood Palace, the various galleries, and increasingly its Harry Potter connection
Tweed
The River Tweed is one the Scotland’s classic salmon fly fishing rivers. The salmon beats are renowned for good fishing throughout the season, and the picturesque towns of Kelso, Galashiels & Peebles attract many visitors each year.
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Tay
The River Tay in central Scotland is the nation’s largest salmon river and due to its sheer size the Tay always has sufficient water to encourage runs of fresh salmon. This famous river is known for its heavyweight salmon and is still home of the British rod caught record of 64lbs.
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St Andrews
St Andrews is a legitimate visitor draw regardless of golf. The town is home to the third oldest university in the western world, ensuring it has a lot more life than you might expect. The ruined old castle and cathedral lend it historical relevance. Above all though, it’s a charismatic town with a sense of aura and place
Testimonial
From BB Canada
“I told Alun the courses I was interested in playing and he prepared a stay and play package with 14 days of outstanding golf, but also tremendous site seeing opportunities for my wife.”
From JC Illinois
“His attention to detail is amazing--I think our travel plan booklet ran to forty-eight pages, with gorgeous descriptions of cities and sights, plus maps showing where to go to catch trains, or walk from trains to hotels, sights and golf courses, etc.”
From DF Alabama
“I will cherish the memories for a long time- especially the wonderful times spent on and off the golf course with two of my brothers and brother-in-law. None of the memories and golf would have been possible or enjoyed without your tremendous planning and logistical support.”
AS from Colorado
“Alun and Faraway Fairways created possibly the most memorable golf trip we have ever experienced. EPIC is the only word that comes to mind.”
AC, From Florida/ New York, 2025
“We were hopeful to secure a 4 ball at St. Andrews while avoiding the massive expense other operators had quoted. He was very clear about the plan for achieving a tee time at the Old Course through the ballot, including detailed instruction on how it could be done, and what our odds were. He suggested mid- to late April as the best chance of success and advised that this is also the least rainy part of the year. We took his advice and trusted the process. Well, he was right on all counts!”
From SB, Minnesota
“We wholeheartedly recommend Alun and Faraway Fairways if you’re looking for a golf trip that is effortless, enjoyable, and truly unforgettable—even for a non-golfer in the mix! My husband and I will be daydreaming about this trip for years to come. 5.5 stars!”
From JB, California
“The best part was that the service was surprisingly affordable. They were thousands of dollars below other quotes that I received, in fact the prices were very similar to what I would have paid if I would have booked everything on my own.”
From JCA, Maryland
“I would and will highly recommend your company to anyone looking to plan an unforgettable golf trip. Thank You for putting together a fantastic trip for J.C. and me”
From WF Connecticut
“I think all eight of us would agree that Alun at Faraway Fairways did an absolutely wonderful job of putting this “golf vacation of a lifetime” together for us. His focus on the details was extraordinary from the choice of courses and the timing of the tee times, the amazingly beautiful accommodations along with some excellent meal selections, and the transportation options he provided to get us from place to place.”
From DR South Carolina
“You are about to tee it up in your Major. Seek wisdom, integrity and professionalism. Alun Davies and Faraway Fairways will not disappoint you. They cannot assure a calm sunny day with temperatures in the 70’s on the Old Course.”
From MM, California
“One fantastic trip you organized, and more importantly took ownership of in terms of daily communication and stewardship during our 2+ weeks in Scotland and Ireland. The logistics were spotless…100% of the transports were on time and excellent, the lodging choices spectacular and the golf was off the charts in terms of quality and arrangements made”
DH from California
“You cannot go wrong with the support Faraway Fairways offered. I did this trip solo and all last minute but I have already begun to plan the next trip which will include my best golfing buddies.”
Enquiry
We don't need to make this an ordeal by 101 filtering questions! In reality there are probably little more than half a dozen things we need to know to build out a proposal. The guidance below might help you frame answers
Duration - usually best expressed as a range up to a maximum
Time of year - can be anything from a specific date range to a named season
Travel class - Faraway Fairways uses 'Luxury', 'Premier' or 'Affordable' for generic purposes. You might choose to reference the international 'star' rating system. We're only looking for something to help steer us into the right sector
Self drive or hired driver - In broad terms, self driving is normally less expensive, and much more flexible, but some folk just don't want to do it
Must play courses/ must do places - a few name checks is all that's needed