50 Years of Greatness in Scotland

 What: A Celebration of Turning 50 Years Old

When: August 14th, 2025 to August 22nd, 2025

Where: Scotland: The Home of Golf

Who: Seven Buddies from Washington and Minnesota

Dave Parish (Normandy Park, WA)
Jeff Jiovanazzo (Eden Prairie, MN)
Ryan Neal (Bellevue, WA)
Blake Nixon (Edina, MN)
PJ Ohashi (Rancho Mirage, CA)
Eric Jensen (Victoria, MN)
Jeff Heil (Victoria, MN)

Golf Itinerary:

8/14 Royal Troon (Course Overview Video)
8/15 Dondonald (AM) (Course Overview Video)
8/15 Prestwick (PM) (Course Overview Video)
8/16 Turnberry (Course Overview Video)
8/17 Gleneagles (Course Overview Video)
8/18 Kingsbarnes (Course Overview Video))

8/18 New Course (New Course Overview Video

8/19 North Berwick (Course Overview Video)
8/20 Old Course (Course Overview Video)
8/21 Dumbarnie (Course Overview Video)
8/22 Carnoustie (Course Overview Video)

The Course Details

Day 1: Royal Troon Golf Club

Open Championships Hosted & Winners:

1923 Arhur Havers
1950 Bobby Locke
1962 Arnold Palmer
1973 Tom Weiskopf
1982 Tom Watson
1989 Mark Calcavecchia
1997 Justin Leonard
2007 Todd Hamilton
2016 Henrik Stenson
2024 Xander Schauffele

Three out of the eight players took on the challenge of Royal Troon and the notorious Postage Stamp hole. Jeff Jiovanazzo successfully navigated this difficult short par 3 with a par. Meanwhile, Ryan Neal and Dave Parrish were not as fortunate, and they are eager to return and improve their game on this tricky hole.

The Postage Stamp Hole #8

Day 2: Dundonald in AM

Fore brave souls are planning to take on 36 holes at the ripe old age of 50.  None of us have played Dundonald

Dundonald hosted the Scottish Open in 2017 as a pre-Open Championship tournament. Rafa Cabrera Bello won, with Matt Kuchar finishing in second place. Kuchar would later finish second at the following week’s Open Championship behind Jordan Spieth.

Day 2: Prestwick Golf Club in PM

Known as the birthplace of the Open Championship.  Prestwick hosted the first Open Championship in 1860 and went on to host a total of 24 from 1860-1924

Day 3: Turnberry Golf Club

Open Championships Hosted & Winners:

1977 Tom Watson
1986 Greg Norman
1994 Nick Price
2009 Steward Cink

The Turnberry Lighthouse was built in 1873 for navigational purposes.  In 2016, it was transformed to accommodate several 2-bedroom luxurious suites for golfers.  Unfortunately, we are not staying in the suites.  In 2009, Stewart Cink became the least popular Open Champion when he defeated 59 year old Tom Watson in an extra hole playoff.

Day 4: Gleneagles

In the AM we make our shuttle to travel across Scotland to go from the West Coast to the East Coast (St Andrews).  About the midway point we will take a stop and play Gleaneagles.  

Gleaneagles is most known for hosting the 2014 Ryder Cup, during which Europe defeated the US 16.5 - 11.5. This was the famous US schism between Phil Mickelson and captain Tom Watson.  This will be a course none of us have played.

Day 5: Kingsbarns

Kingsbarns was a newer course (less than 5 years old) when Jiovanazzo, Parish, and Neal played it in 2011.  It left a big impression and 14 years later the course is often listed as a top 100 course in the world.  IT hosts a DP Tour stop and also hosted the LPGA Open Championship in 2017.  If you want to see the breathtaking beauty then click on this link and take a tour of the 18 holes.

Day 6: North Berwick

A course that will be new to all eight North Berwick is known for its stone wall, you have to hit over on hole 13 named the Pit (Picture below).  Berwick is a course that many Tour professionals love to play when they are over for the Scottish Open.

North Berwick was founded in 1832 and is the 13th oldest course in the world.

Day 7: The Old Course

The Old Course is the grand cathedral of golf. It's hosted the most Open championships (30), the most recent being in 2022, when Cameron Smith won his first major. This is the hardest course to get on, and at the time of writing this blog, we only have 1 tee time secured. We lost out on 2 ballot chances and now have to wait until the day before to see if we win the ballot for our four players to play.

Day 8: Dumbarnie

Dumbarnie will be a new experience for all eight of us.  The course is 5 years old and already has a reputation as a must play if you make the journey to St Andrews.

Day 9: Carnoustie

We finish our epic trip with Carnoustie, often referred to as Carnasty because it is one of the hardest courses in the world. Carnoustie has hosted eight Open championships, the last one in 2018, where Francesco Molinari won his first major.

HOF golfer Johnny Miller once described the first fairway as "an elephant's burial ground."

This is where the epic collapse of Jean Van de Velde on the 72nd hole occurred, where he had a 3-shot lead and made a 10-footer for triple to force a playoff.  He would go onto lose to Paul Lawrie.