GLENEAGLES

Spa, falconry

and casual glamour

The Harris hawk is a peculiarity -- a social bird of prey, whose long tail, long legs and big feet allow him to swoop down and snatch anything from a scorpion to a cheeseburger. This bit of wisdom comes from William Duncan, a falconer at Gleneagles, who relates the fine points of hunting by bird. And though hunting comes just below golf on my personal list of ways to spend an afternoon, I'm captivated.

Peregrine falcons are fast, zooming at 200 mph. Golden eagles are slow, clumsy and moody, best used for hares, jack rabbits, deer and wolves, I learn.

Priming a bird for the hunt requires constant monitoring of its weight and food, Duncan explains. If the birds aren't hungry, they fall asleep; if they're too hungry, they don't have enough energy to fly. In a Harris hawk, the difference can be a mere quarter-ounce.

We pull on thick hide gloves and lift Victor, my hawk for this flying lesson. A falcon will go to the highest perch -- which is why I must keep my arm canted upward, the thumb on top.

I open my glove and cast a pitch -- and he flies off, just as he's been taught, to a nearby perch, then soars immediately back. The lure: a steak tartar reward.

The falconry program is one of several country sports available at Gleneagles, an estate hotel built by the railroad in the early 1920s. Before I give up the glories of its gardens, spa, indoor pool and gourmet dining, I'll watch a tyke drive a miniature Land Rover along the wooded path and help train a gun dog, using whistle blasts to tell the Labrador retriever to stay, go or leap into the lake after our dummy rabbit.

Gleneagles is the manor to which you wish you were born. No traditional chintz here; Art Deco drama rules from sitting rooms to piano bar. The wine list includes '93 Petrus, '64 Talbot and a '78 LaTour, and it's no wonder that the G8 leaders chose to meet here in 2005.

Thanks to its location -- less than an hour from Edinburgh or Glasgow -- plus baby-sitting and extensive children's programs, the 850-acres are popular with families. But for those seeking adult company, there are places aplenty to hide, including the two-star Michelin restaurant by one of Scotland's top chefs, Andrew Fairlie. The menu degustation promises to burst the waistband -- foie gras, turbot, squab; the a la carte offerings including lamb, artichoke and veal seem a bit more judicious -- even with the raspberry shortcake.

Golf -- oh yes, they've got it, on the manicured PGA Century course designed by Jack Nicklaus, which will host the 2014 Ryder Cup; and the original Kings Course and Queens Course, designed by James Braid.

ST. ANDREWS

Place of devotion

to wisdom, God and golf

The sea crashes relentlessly against a crag crowned by the skeletal remains of a medieval tower. St. Andrews, town of 14,000, is a broody place, haunted by a history of pilgrimage and religious insurrection.

First came Christians, who prayed before the bones of Andrew the apostle (brought here by St. Rule, it's said) -- for whom the town was named. Then came those in search of higher learning at St. Andrews College, the 600-year-old university from which Prince William graduated.

Now, of course, the devout come for golf. But if the greens are all they visit, they're missing out.

The cobbled streets bubble with college kids -- about 4,000 of them -- wandering between classes in their crimson college robes and, come evening, filling the seemingly endless coffee shops and bars and ethnic restaurants. Museums and an aquarium and a ruined castle that once housed medieval bishops beckon tourists; fishing trawlers hug the stone bulwarks of the cozy harbor. Looming above are the ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral, toppled in the 1550s after reformationist John Knox incited the masses.

The beach called the West Sands -- scene of the 1981 film Chariots of Fire -- edges the 600-year-old Old Course. This, it is said, was the first place golf was played as it is today, with small balls knocked into what sometimes seem even smaller holes.

It's not the only game in town. The St. Andrews Links Trust manages six courses currently -- for players from children to the pros -- and will open a seventh this year. But for most Americans -- like Bob Armstrong of Houston -- The Old Course is the mecca.

Armstrong, the former assistant secretary of the interior under President Clinton, came to play with wife Linda Aaker and son Will as a combo 75th birthday present for Bob and college graduation present for Will.

For Aaker, the trip provided a rare opportunity for family bonding. ``When you're the mother of a 23-year-old son, there are only so many things you can do together that everyone enjoys.''

But it wasn't just the game that made the trip memorable, it was the setting. ''It took Scotland to make me fall in love with golf,'' Aaker said.

Gazing across the greens to the crashing sea, I could understand. That sensation of taking club in my hands as I stared out to the Turnberry lighthouse returned, and for a moment, I suspected golf was a game I could learn to enjoy -- if only it took less time.

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