Nineteenth Holes

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Pub Crawl

A day of golf in Scotland isn’t complete when the final putt is holed, as a round or two of a different sort await at the local pub. While in Troon, try the Postage Stamp, where the walls are adorned with Open memorabilia, or the Anchorage Hotel, the oldest establishment in town. In Prestwick, the Red Lion is where in 1851 a group of gentlemen formed Prestwick Golf Club; the nearby Golf Inn is another popular haunt. Turnberry’s best bets are decidedly more upscale: the resort’s Ailsa Lounge, with commanding views of the links, and its Whisky Bar, open Friday and Saturday evenings and offering a fine selection of single malts.

A Wee Dram

During its heyday as a shipping hub a century ago, Campbeltown was home to more than thirty distilleries. In the decades that followed, its whisky industry declined, owing in part to the rise of road transport and to Prohibition in the States. Today the town’s three distilleries are thriving again. Leading the renaissance is Springbank (springbankdistillers.com), which offers daily tours of its works and can arrange tastings and tours at the Glen Scotia and Mitchell’s Glengyle distilleries.

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