The starter's box is very relevant to my story since in winter we had to take off for Gleneagles before the starter's box was manned. Consequently we were unable to determine the weather conditions. And in particular we were left wondering if the highland mist had now gained mass over the glens and it was very foggy at Gleneagles.
Leaving from the Fife coast on a clear morning gave no indication of what it would be like at Gleneagles but usually we'd have a good idea upon reaching Glen Devon, a picturesque glen on the way to Gleneagles.
A misty Glen Devon meant it was decision time. Take a chance and carry on, or turn back towards the coast for clearer weather. We always pushed on. The opportunity of playing Gleneagles for a Pound always outweighed the risk of wasting our time.
So what's the moral of my story? Just do it. Go to Gleneagles. The King's and the Queen's are as charming as ever. And as for the latest member of the royal family with the not so charming name of PGA Centenary Course, I'll just say it obviously wasn't designed by James Braid or any present-day devotee of the Braid brand of course architecture.
The Monarch, its previous name and more appropriate for a course at Gleneagles, is markedly different to the King's and Queen's and given my previously mentioned passion for The Machrie and my enjoyment of Shiskine I always recommend playing the King's course.
The Gleneagles Hotel has a marvellous selection of malts to either drink or purchase, however here's a word of advice for malt whisky lovers who are driving on to St Andrews.
I was advised by my friend who invests in malt whiskies to go south from Gleneagles on the road passing through picturesque Glen Devon and upon reaching the A91 that I should turn left. This road would take me to Cupar where I'd find Luvians Bottle Shop. And sure enough I wasn't disappointed, row upon row of malts, too many to take in. Luvians stock over 800 single malt whiskies and are the proud owners of two bottles of 70-year-old Mortlach, the world's oldest single malt whisky.
I'd like to say that upon arriving in the Auld Grey Toon nothing much had changed since my early days of playing the Old Course. But not so. On recent visits I'd got used to the size of the Old Course Hotel however seeing Hamilton Hall surrounded in scaffolding came as something of a shock.