Saturday was Moving Day.

After Jim Malcolms musical sendoff and saying goodnight to our local guests Friday night, the group turned in relatively early in anticipation of getting on the road to Harrogate in the morning.

Departure was set for 10:30 after a brief tour of the British Golf Museum. The tour started with a nine minute tribute to Arnold Palmer which led to reflection on his impact on the game as well as the British Open. Simply put, the organizers of the British Open were indebted to Palmer when he brought his Army over to the UK for this major tournament. Increased crowds and immense popularity followed.

There were plenty of exhibits about the history of the game and the group took the obligatory photo with Old Tom.

The roughly four hour trip to Harrogate was to be broken up by a tour of the Glenkinchie Distillery in East Lothian, Scotland just outside of Edinburgh.

The production lines were closed for an extended period so they offered the group a new intimate tasting in the actual barrel warehouse. Photos inside the warehouse were restricted so trust us when we tell you it was both interesting and mildly intoxicating.

We arrived in Harrogate just after 6 PM and were greeted at our hotel by Sami Strutt, BIGGAs Head of Member Development. Sami presented the TurfNet delegation with their membership cards, pins and ties!

BIGGA Head of Member Development Sami Strutt, right, greets the group in Harrogate.

After a quick settling into the rooms it was on to find some of the NFL Playoff games. An American BBQ restaurant called The Pit filled the bill.

A special tip of the tweed cap to our driver on Friday and Saturday. Gordon Jenkins of St. Andrews Shuttle provided a luxury 8 passenger Mercedes van complete with a chiller, coffee service, and wifi. His quick wit made the trip fly by.

Gordon Jenkins © with Peter Braun and Tony Girardi.

Gordon also happens to be Scotlands biggest (only?) hockey fan so it only seemed appropriate to present him with a Team TurfNet t-shirt from the Golf Course Hockey Challenge.

Gordon Jenkins, happy hockey fan.

After three plus days of bonding and fun, it was time to get down to the business of the conference education.