Up early on Saturday to a superb breakfast, the weather did not look promising. Fraserburgh was the first challenge, an insider tip on a course in a beautiful coastal location, but without the astronomical fees demanded by some of its more famous neighbours. Golf is first documented as having been played at Fraserburgh in 1613 when the Parish Kirk Session records refer to a young lad named John Burnett who was chastised for "playing at the gouff" on a Sunday instead of going to church. He was ordered by the Session to be sent to the "maister's stool for correction".

According to the display boards in the British Golf Museum, St Andrews, Fraserburgh Golf Club is the 5th oldest club in Scotland and the 7th oldest in the world. The course was redesigned in 1922 by the five times Open Champion James Braid and much of his design remains to this day.

The club seems a little unfortunate: the original club house burned down completely in 2004 and had to be rebuilt. On our arrival we found that some "malcontent" had deliberately and maliciously doused around 14 greens with a toxic fluid that had left permanent damage. This was only a slight blemish on an otherwise superb course - we hope the greens recover soon, but it was at least a good excuse for those of us who can't seem to shake the habit of three putting.