An encounter with an American woman on a flight into Edinburgh provided the spark for Rosie Bailey to begin researching a new kind of golf travel business. The woman was coming to Scotland on her first passport to meet a group of strangers for a holiday combining horse-riding and visits to castles. She told Ms Bailey: “I’ve not done anything for myself in so long.”
Eighteen months later, Ms Bailey and broadcaster Iona Stephen have completed the first trip operated by Tuesday Links, their golf travel company for women. The seven-night Scottish journey had eight guests, and the founders are now aiming to run six trips next year, including community departures open to individuals and private bookings for established groups.
(Image: Damian Shields)
You’ve been involved in golf throughout your life, initially as a player and later in commercial roles. At what point did you think, “I’m going to build my own business”?
I’ve always had a burning desire to do something myself and put something out into the world. My parents have their own business and my husband does too, so I’ve always been surrounded by that mentality.
I thought, if I don’t do something now, I’m not sure I ever will. I spent a few years researching and trying different ideas that never quite stuck. Then there was an inspirational moment on a flight into Edinburgh, when I sat beside a woman from Illinois who was coming to meet women she had never met for a trip to the west coast of Scotland. That triggered me to start researching group women’s golf travel.
How did Iona become involved?
Iona and I had known of each other for years. We first properly met at the British Masters in 2017, when she had just had one of her first breaks into presenting.
In March 2025, I was researching women’s golf travel when a mutual friend invited us to play in the same fourball. I told Iona what I was working on and she kept asking question after question.
We met the next day and realised we had a real alignment in our vision. We quite quickly said, “Why don’t we do it together?”
The inaugural trip covered four days in St Andrews and three nights in Dornoch (Image: Supplied)
How would you assess your first season?
It’s been incredible. It was extremely deliberate and centred on our proof of concept, which was our launch trip in Scotland: seven nights and eight guests.
We wanted to build testimonials and content, establish our first founding guests and learn as much and as quickly as possible. Every one of the eight guests rated the experience 10 out of 10 and gave it five out of five for value for money. Half have already booked a future trip with us.
Who joined the trip, and what did it involve?
Seven guests were from the US and one was an Irish woman living in London. The age range was 35 to 70.
We spent four nights in St Andrews and three in Dornoch, with five rounds of golf. We also had a complete day away from the golf course in the Highlands.
All but one of the guests were visiting Scotland for the first time. The group were at different stages of their lives, but they connected in an incredible way. Golf is a truly intergenerational game.
All but one of the guests were visiting Scotland for the first time (Image: Tuesday Links)
What did the first trip confirm about what your customers want?
Community and connection are a high priority for many women attracted to Tuesday Links. Through golf, you spend a huge amount of time together and get to know people deeply.
One guest from San Diego later travelled to San Francisco to play in another guest’s member-guest event. A couple of guests have also booked a future trip together.
That sense of community is something we’re considering in our future business model. How do we give people a sense of belonging outside the trips?
Is there a sustainable market for this?
It’s a good question, and I don’t have the answer yet, but we’re seeing increasing interest and receiving new enquiries from around the world.
We’re not chasing volume. We want to host unique, intimate experiences around the world. We’re optimistic, but we’re learning a huge amount as we go.
What distinguishes the business from a traditional golf-tour operator?
Our trips are designed with women in mind first. Traditionally, a women’s golf trip might be a standard trip with a spa treatment added.
The off-course element has equal weighting with the golf (Image: Tuesday Links)
Before launching, we spoke to hundreds of women about how they like to travel, how much golf and downtime they want, and what they enjoy away from the course.
We consider the off-course experience equally with the golf. We’re not necessarily chasing bucket-list courses. We also think about rest, recovery and bringing together people who will connect.
What’s next?
We have launched a trip to Comporta, south of Lisbon, for next April, and it is almost sold out. We have two more community trips in the pipeline.
We also take private bookings. A country club from Atlanta has booked to travel with us to East Lothian next August. We’re aiming to run six trips next year through a combination of community experiences and private bookings.
How do you grow without losing the personal element?
We’re building a network of women we know and trust to act as Tuesday Links hosts. Iona and I will be heavily involved in the first few trips, but being on every trip would not be sustainable.
It’s not the quickest route to scale, but we want to build thoughtfully. It will all be about the people, and that’s what we want to be known for.
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(Image: Damian Shields)