Slalom is a business technology company with its HQ in Seattle. It has over 4,500 employees across 25 offices in North America. More importantly it’s a great company to work for, being voted year after year as one of the best companies to work for in the US by Forbes and Fortune magazine.
Troy contacted us about bringing 12 mad keen golfing employees from Slalom, over to our country. The team were keen to play a lot of golf and happy to travel the miles to make that happen. We spent a lot of time on the itinerary and accommodation as there were some courses on their ‘must play’ list as well as a few ‘hidden gems’ we suggested. They would start in Aberdeen, head south to St Andrews before finishing on East Lothian’s golf coast.
The team flew into London and transferred onto an internal flight to Aberdeen. The first challenge was to find a set of golf clubs for one of the party. Eric’s clubs had not been loaded onto the flight from London to Aberdeen. No problem – we sourced a like for like set to be delivered to their hotel, Trump International.
Their first golf appointment was with the stunning links at Cruden Bay. It’s an old style links that snakes its way through the sand dunes to plateau greens. There are a few blind shots including at the 15th par 3 which always sparks a few conversations! But it is a classic of its type and provides spectacular views along the way. At the end of the day it became clear that the travelling was beginning to take its toll on the team so after a quick chat with Troy we made a few adjustments to the next day’s schedule.
We pushed the tee times back at Trump International the next day, just so everyone got a good sleep into them. With that done we then moved the bus transfers and dinner appointments back too. We also nipped back to Aberdeen airport and got Eric re-united with his clubs.
Meanwhile out on the links the well rested team were having a ball. Obviously the new Trump course is very young, but a few of the guys rated it their favourite of the week. Which is something when you see where they were playing!
The following day we moved down the coast to base ourselves in St Andrews and took on some heavyweights, playing Carnoustie, the New Course and the Old Course over three spectacular days. In our first conversations with Troy it had become clear that his group had to play the Old Course so we utilised some of our guaranteed tee times to make that happen. It wasn’t just golf courses either-the Slalom team were spotted in the Jigger, the Dunvegan, Little Italy, The Adamson and plenty others we hadn’t organised! Their warmth and generosity met in equal measure by the local welcome and hospitality.
The final part of their adventure saw us move the team to East Lothian to base themselves at the splendid Greywalls Hotel, next door to The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers (Muirfield). Three more courses were played and plenty more course were eaten! Games at The Rennaissance Club, North Berwick West and finally the Open Championship-hosting Muirfield were all arranged over the three days. It was somewhat breezy so all courses were played in the conditions they were designed for. It was interesting to hear the team talk about how different they all are, even though they lie within 3 miles of each other!
The last game was at Muirfield where big Phil won his one and only Open Championship in 2013. The whole place is quite magical and steeped in history and the lunch in the dining room between rounds is something quite special. As per usual various members of the team were seen out and about in North Berwick later that night meeting a few caddies for a beer in The Golfer’s Rest and then a meal in The Herringbone. These guys had a full on adventure and it was our pleasure to host them over here. We think they all left with fabulous memories and a much closer team for the shared experience. Which is exactly what Troy had envisaged when he had originally got in touch.
