Ayr City Centre, Ayrshire, Scotland (10 minutes from Prestwick International Airport, 45 minutes from Glasgow).

Ayr is the heart of Robbie Burns country surrounded by ancient castles, magnificent stately homes and dramatic Scottish coastline. Ayrshire's hidden secrets include some of the finest sailing waters in the UK and a wide range of country pursuits from equestrian to shooting and fishing.

Ramada Ayr Hotel 3* The Ramada Ayr Hotel is a stylish modern 3* hotel based in the centre of town with views of the Isle of Arran and Mull of Kintyre, and is only a few minutes walk from the high street and the night spots of Ayr. The hotel's own Art's Bar and Grill provides a lively place to meet and offers a great selection of local produce and fine wines. Guests can also relax in the Sebastian Coe Health Club which includes a swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna, steam room, solarium, gym and aerobics studio.

South Beach Hotel The South Beach is a privately owned and run hotel. Facing the seafront, with it's sandy beach, many of the 34 bedrooms have outstanding sea views, with Arran and Ailsa Craig on the horizon. Guests can enjoy dining in the delightful conservatory which faces the beach, and in the summer months the garden is a great spot to enjoy a drink.

Within a short drive of Ayr you can play at the following golf courses:

Royal Troon Golf Club has held The Open Championship seven times. It is one of the great links courses in Scotland and with the wind to contend with, and deep rough interspersed with gorse and broom, accurate shot making is essential.

Turnberry Resort has the Ailsa and Kintyre courses that were rescued from near extinction and redesigned by golf architect Mackenzie Ross in the 1950's. Since then it has hosted many amateur and professional championships including the Open Championship.

Prestwick Golf Course hosted the first ever Open Championship in 1860, and was developed under the stewardship of the legendary Old Tom Morris. When Musselburgh's Willie Park won three successive titles at Prestwick from 1868, the original trophy was awarded to him personally, and the now famous Claret Jug was bought to replace it.

Western Gailes Golf Club is one of Scotland's most challenging links courses. Wedged between the railway and the rugged shoreline, this is widely regarded to be one of the purest tests of seaside golf to be found anywhere.

Glasgow Gailes is the world's 9th-oldest golf club. The course itself was designed by Claret Jug winner, Willie Park Junior, and has repeatedly been selected by the Royal & Ancient to host Open Championship qualifying.

Kilmarnock Barassie Golf Course is renowned for its slick putting surfaces, which are guarded by some devilish pot bunkers. The course has been recognised as a tournament host, welcoming some of the best for Open Championship qualifying and the 2001 Amateur Championship.

Irvine Bogside has not changed a great deal since the revered James Braid devised it in 1926, and while it is not as long a some of its Ayrshire neighbours, the combination of heather, gorse and pot bunkers make the penalties for straying off line extremely severe.

Lochgreen Golf Course is home to a traditional links course, where Jack Nicklaus qualified for his first Open Championship in 1962.

Belleisle Golf Course is widely regarded to be Scotland's best public course outside St. Andrews and Carnoustie. James Braid's 1927 design is characterised by the demanding par-4s, most of which measure well in excess of 400 yards.

Darley Golf Course is a short but exacting links course, where the narrow fairways are lined with banks of treacherous heather and gorse.

Dundonald Golf Course was formerly known as Southern Gailes, and having been designed by the esteemed Kyle Phillips, it is already drawing comparisons with the fantastic Kingsbarns to the East.