The "Drive it Home" promotion offers golfers the opportunity for free tee times at Scotland golf courses such as Gleneagles, Fairmont St. Andrews, Gullane and Cruden Bay.
2009 may be the best year yet to visit the home of golf.
Not only is the British pound weaker against the U.S. dollar and euro than it's been in years, Scotland's golf courses are giving away up to £2 million in free golf - from South Ayrshire to the Highlands and everywhere in between.
Scotland's official tourist board's 2009 "Drive it Home" promotion is aimed at bringing golfers back to the "home of golf." It's part of the larger "Homecoming 2009" national campaign in conjunction with the 250th anniversary of poet Robert Burns' birth.
Phase one of the giveaway closed recently, filling up more than 2,000 slots in just one week. Phase two is slated to kick off in mid-March, and a third phase has been considered as well, possibly coming after the Open Championship at Turnberry in July.
The giveaway, co-sponsored by the Scottish Golf Union and Golf Tourism Scotland, is simple and easy to enter: Go to DriveItHomeScotland.com and fill out the application. Once you've entered, you will soon receive an e-mail with the date and time of your free round and will be asked to refer three golf buddies who will play along. You must reply to this e-mail, which makes a provisional booking and is held for three months. Then your golf buddies will receive an e-mail asking to confirm that they plan to come to Scotland and redeem their free four ball.
More than 100 courses are currently participating (and the list is growing), so you could play both links and parkland layouts, including revered resort designs such as Gleneagles' King's Course, Fairmont St. Andrews' Kittocks and Torrance golf courses and the Old Course Hotel's Duke's Course.
More traditional Scottish clubs are also entered in the giveaway. Gullane No. 2 in East Lothian and the famous links Cruden Bay north of Aberdeen are just two.
You could also have a chance to play an Open Championship venue like the Old Course at Royal Troon Golf Club or Carnoustie Championship Links. Or win a foursome on the 2014 Ryder Cup host, the PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles.
Since it's assumed you won't be making the trip to Scotland for one round, participants in the giveaway will also have access to exclusive travel deals and golf packages, from $200 off packages from participating companies to free rental car upgrades and discounts on hotels and travel.
A few ground rules: those who are referred as golfing buddies on an awarded foursome can't claim their own foursome. Also, golfers who live in the United Kingdom are not eligible. There are currently 18 participating countries, including the United States, Canada, Sweden, France and Germany.
If you don't want to miss out on the next phase, go to DriveItHomeScotland.com right now and enter your e-mail address. You'll then be notified when the giveaway has reopened and you can apply.
For more information on Homecoming Scotland and the Drive it Home campaign, visit DriveItHomeScotland.com or VisitScotland.com.
