Augustana Women's Golf Scotland Trip 2022
Follow along with the team during their stay in Scotland on Instagram at @augustanawgolf
Day 1
4112 miles traveled from Augustana to Edinburgh Scotland. The trip started in 90+ degree weather at O'Hare International Airport. Going through security was a breeze and the flight to JFK in New York was smooth. A 4-hour layover there gave us time to rest and eat before we departed on a 7 hour flight to Edinburgh. We left at 10 pm and with the 6-hour time difference we arrived in Scotland at 9:25 am. This was the longest plane flight I've ever had. The plane had nice individual TV's with movies and games. The TV also showed us our flight path and speed which was 525 mph. We enjoyed dinner and breakfast on the plane.
The temperature when we landed in Edinburgh was 65 degrees. We are thankful to get away from the looming heatwave in Illinois and enjoy a week of cool weather and awesome adventures.
- Brooke Dean '22
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Day 2
Our first day in Scotland was quite eventful considering many of us were experiencing the unfortunate symptom of exhaustion that comes along with traveling abroad. We start
ed our day getting off the plane and meeting our tour guide for the trip, Stan. Along with our coach bus driver, Dave, they caught our attention right away and made us all so excited to see what Scotland has to offer.
After landing we spent the day traveling to Edinburgh to see all the amazing sites. We met up with another tour guide, Sarah, who gave us more in depth information about the city and its history such as castles, churches, and many more. We walked up and down the Royal Mile (actually 1.8 miles) - the Edinburgh Castle at the top and the Queen's Palace (The Palace of Holyroodhouse) at the bottom. We also saw the site of Scotland's Folly (picture below). The tour was approximately an hour and a half walking around the city which at the time was quite the taxing activity for a bunch of tired, jet lagged golfers, but nonetheless it was a great experience.
We wrapped up our day driving to our hotel in East Lothian where we got to decompress and then enjoy an amazing dinner at the hotel. Our hotel sits on the Firth of Forth and has breathtaking views of the islands of Bass Rock, Craigleith, Lamb and Fidra. We are so grateful to be here and cannot wait for the rest of our trip.
- Grace Loverde '23
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Day 3
We started the day with breakfast at the hotel. It consisted of amazing coffee, pastries, and a breakfast sandwich. We got onto our bus for an hour ride to the falconry experience. We saw lots of falcons and owls. To see them fly people put gloves on ans held food. The birds would fly from the trees down to the hand with the food on it. We walked through a huge, old castle that holds weddings and has hotel rooms. There was a dungeon that is now a restaurant that was very cool. We left the castle and drove to Dunbar which was about 45 minutes. We found a small Italian place filled with locals and grabbed sandwiches for lunch in Dunbar. We played Dunbar golf club and played preferred ball. This course was absolutely gorgeous and I like it better than kilspindie. We stopped in town on our way back to get dinner and got to bed early for our early morning wake up of 5:45 of Saturday.
- Avery Frick
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Day 4
Waking up in the wonderful cloud-like beds after a long day of travel was a much needed treat. We headed downstairs for breakfast around 9 a.m. and were greeted with smiles alongside pastries, coffee, tea, toast and so many more delicious dishes. After breakfast, we got ready for our first round of golf of the trip! We played at Kilspindie Golf Club and were lucky to have beautiful, clear weather with incredible views of the North sea, and even saw some seals! We played preferred ball and the teams shot 7-under, 6-under, 2-under and 2-under. We ended the night with walking the nearby town in North Berwick and had amazing pasta to top the day off.
- Paige Breslin '24
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Day 5
Sunday morning 5:15 am wakeup call! Beautiful weather and croissants awaiting in the lobby made it easier. We took a two hour ride through Edinburgh and over the famous Forth Bridge. From Ansthruther we took a boat ride onto the North Sea to the Isle of May. There were more birds there than I have ever seen. Beautiful nature, sunny but really windy (lots of volume in the h
air). It was a wonderful adventure. We took a bus tour of St. Andrews before checking into our hotel and had a great evening meal at Adamsons. Our hotel, the Ardgowan is just two blocks from the Old Course. Can't wait to walk the course tomorrow!
- Jennnifer Larsson '25
This was a crazy cool day, we went to an island called the Isle of May. During the month of June and July the Isle of May is the home of birds and their babies. We got to see Arctic Terns, Seagulls, and Puffins caring for and pro
tecting their babies. We even got pecked a few times for being too close. This island isn’t only home to birds though, we saw tons of seals sunbathing then cooling off with a dip into the bay. The island is also home to many buildings, including lighthouses, castles, and sound horns. This was a thrilling experience and one that is very unique to Scotland.
After the hour boat ride back to the mainland we went to our hotel, it was right on a main road in St. Andrews. Our bus driver Dave was so nice and gave us a tour of the town including a road view of the old course. Dave also got the whole team reservations at the Adamson a very prestigious restaurant in St. Andrews. It was very good. After dinner we explored the town for a while and had an amazing time looking at the architecture. St. Andrews is definitely a unique place to be, and proudly represents its title of “Home of Golf”.
- Isabella Olalde '25
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Day 6
We started off with breakfast in our hotel. I tried the scrambled eggs and salmon, which turned out pretty good. After breakfast we got ready for a historic walking tour around St. Andrews with a guide. I loved seeing the
University and different remaining structures while hearing about the interesting stories that went along with them. Our tour ended at the 18th hole of the old St. Andrews course, where The Open is going to be held in July. We were then free to roam around for a little bit. We finally got our picture with the famous bridge on the 18th hole. It was very funny of coach to hop in the creek, that runs along the fairway! Me, my parents, Brooke, Jillian, Donna, and Coach all walked the entire old course to look at how big the bunkers were and how incredibly hilly each of the greens were.
We then headed to the stores along the 18th hole to explore The Open 150th collection items. There was a restaurant that we stopped by to try their chili, which was very good, but I think coaches chili wins! We then explored the town with streets full of stores. At around 5:30 we played the Himalayas mini golf course, that was quite a challenge. After we all headed back to the hotel before going to get some food and ice cream. Overall it was a fun and successful day.
- Karli Borsch '25
Happy Father's Day! This morning a few of us woke up early for a walk on the beach where we were able to see the beautiful skyline of St. Andrews. After eating breakfast we all went on a walking tour where we explored the University’s campus, cathedrals, castle ruins, and the history of golf. Today was the day everyone had been waiting for… walking the Old Course at St. Andrews. It was so cool to walk every hole and see it all in person. Afterwards, my dad and I got so lucky as we were able to get a reservation at the rooftop bar and restaurant called 18 that overlooked the 1st and 18th hole of the Old Course. Later in the evening we all went to the Himalayas, an 18 hole putting course. A few of us had dinner at the One Under Bar which was also really cool. We finished the night with ice cream from Jannetta’s, a fan favorite in St. Andrews. I’m so grateful to be here, especially with my dad, and to have the opportunity to experience all of these things.
- Kelsey O'Connor '25
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Day 7
We started out our day by having a great Scottish breakfast. Then it was off to the golf course. We walked across the Old Course at St Andrews to get to the Eden Course to 
play. The Eden is the fourth oldest golf course in St. Andrews. It was incredibly fun to play. It was especially cool because as you're playing you can see over to the Old Course where the Open Championship will be played in a few weeks. The conditions were great. It was a beautiful 70 and sunny day. I shot an 89. After the round, we went shopping at some of the local shops. I bought a bunch of golf stuff for myself and my family. Afterwards, we headed out on the hunt for a place to eat dinner. We chose a pizza and pasta place. I had Bolognese and cheesy bread. It was excellent. Then we walked around St. Andrews and took some pictures in a quad of St. Andrews University. While we did this we got some gelato from a famous place called Jannetta's. I had a scoop of chocolate fudge brownie and one scoop of caramel fudge. Both were fantastic.
- Neleigh Rush '25
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Day 8
We woke up at the mystic crack of dawn from our slumber. We had a Scottish breakfast in the hotel, then drove 15 minutes to play a beautiful golf course in Crail called Balcomie Links. Two of our foursomes shot 11 and 10 under respectively. After golf we had some time before our farewell dinner, so we spent it at The Dunvegan a golf restaurant right by the Old Course. The Farewell Dinner was a three course meal at the Doll House, famous for their fish and steak. After dinner we took our final stroll around St Andrews. Another early wake-up call awaits us tomorrow as we head to the airport for our return flight.
- Ellie Jahn ‘25
