Our pre-trip excursion was back on track with two planned visits on Friday... until we woke up to three inches of snow and ice that fell overnight.

Our driver for Friday and Saturday was well-equipped for the weather with winter "tyres" so he arrived as scheduled. We took a quick spin for a view of St. Andrews Links under snow cover and proceeded down the road to Open venue Carnoustie.

Carnoustie

Our hosts for the morning were Carnoustie Links Superintendent Sandy Reid and Craig Boath, the Head Greenkeeper of the Championship Course. We enjoyed tea and coffee in the staff canteen and learned about the unique challenges of hosting The Open at Carnoustie.

After touring their maintenance facility we took a walk down the 17^th and 18^th fairways. Carnoustie is home to French golfer

The Royal & Ancient Golf Club

Gordon brought us back to St. Andrews and it was time to dress up (coat and tie) for our pre-arranged tour of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club.

Steve Isaac, the R&A's Director of Sustainability took us through the trophy room, the main members room, the balcony overlooking the first tee, and finally a stop to view the original Claret Jug trophy. As you can appreciate, photographs were restricted, but trust us when we say it was a once in a lifetime experience to have such access.

Andy Campbell invited us to join him at his club, The St. Andrews Club. We had a quick tour there before returning to the house for dinner.

We were joined by Andy and his wife Claire, Neil and Susan Ballingall (Billy was holding down the homefront), and Graeme Lennie and his wife Katie. One of the benefits of staying at the St. Andrews Golf House is the availability of the house kitchen. A chef was brought in to prepare a four course meal which we all enjoyed.

The entertainment on the night was provided by Jim Malcolm from nearby Perth. Jim is a friend of mine and has performed a number of times in Atlanta. In addition to singing many popular songs, he provided background stories on all aspects of the music. Jim enlisted the TurfNet delegation for one push down the ice to get him on his way. After such an entertaining night, we were happy to oblige.

The side trip to St. Andrews was a great way to spend a few days together before the main event at BTME in Harrogate. With our members taking their own set of classes we could very well be separated for most of our days at the conference.

Saturday morning we checked out of the St. Andrews Golf House and are on our way to Harrogate