Golf in Angus, Scotland

If your husband is a serious golfer and a good vacation for him includes playing a lot of golf, and you don't play, stop resisting! There's a great compromise to be found in the Angus area of Scotland. He'll have St. Andrews, Carnoustie and several other great courses within a short distance so we know what's in this for the golfers. The non-golfer is in for just as much of a treat!

First, skip the big golf hotels and opt for one of the many castles or large country house stays. They are far more personal, the accommodations are luxurious at lower prices, the cooking can be superb, and you'll go home having had a real Scottish experience. Both of you! Most of the owners of these accommodations will happily make tee times for the players (they're more connected to the courses than you know!) and they will be a wealth of information for the non-golfer too.

With the smaller properties, you won't have an in-house masseuse or an over-priced boutique, but what you will get is a feeling of how people really live in Scotland. The homes are full of family antiques and paintings, dogs, stories, nooks and crannies, an AGA in the kitchen and wellies by the door. The owners will share a drink with you at night, and if you are there long enough, you will most likely meet some of their friends.

Within short drives, you can plan days of museum looking, afternoons on fabulous beaches with a good book and a packed lunch, seeing great local gardens, and doing some fine shopping. If you've dreamed of sneaking off and learning how to fly fish, shoot trap, or standing before a ruin on a windswept cliff, it's all there for you. Alternatively, walk out the front door and pick up a few tips from the resident gardener. Not only will you gain an ear for the local brogue, you may even learn some important gardening tips.

Scotland is an incredible place for thinking. There is something about the hugeness of the sky, the near endless summer light, and the smells of the country life that edge one towards a quilt on the lawn and a good ponder rather than racing off to 'see things'. You can do both.

So, if the other person in your life wants to play at the Mecca of golf, don't resist. Go! Just do some research and insist that you pick where you'll be staying! Oh …if you do want a masseuse, just ask and you'll get.