Bermuda golf by pouring cold water on Scotland's courses and climate.

Now the Scottish media have taken a swing at the campaign -- and insisted Scotland is strokes ahead when it comes to golfing holidays.

The Herald -- Scotland's biggest-selling quality newspaper with nearly 100,000 copies sold a day -- used the story as their Page Three lead under the headline: "Bermuda goes out of bounds.'' And it featured a photograph of the clubhouse at the top-rated Loch Lomond Club to underline Scotland is golfing perfection -- to a tee.

But the other photo turned the water tables by claiming Bermuda golf was handicapped by the weather -- it showed a picture of a road wrecked after Hurricane Felix rocked the Island in 1995.

And the story rubbished claims that it rains more in Scotland than Bermuda, said to have about the same annual rainfall as London, and that Scotland's holiday accommodation leaves a lot to be desired.

The story was also picked up by the Scottish edition of the top-selling tabloid The Sun, which sells around four million copies a day across the UK.

Tourism Minister David Allen could not be contacted for comment last night.

But Shadow Tourism Minister David Dodwell -- who recently attended a gathering of US tourism insiders overseas -- said the ads had been badly received.

"I didn't find any favourable comments at all -- they asked if Bermuda really needed to advertise like that.

"The notion of comparision by criticism.. if it had been a lot more even-handed, it wouldn't have been so bad... I wonder if it will backfire.'' And Mr. Dodwell called for the ads to be withdrawn or "an effective communications study'' to be carried out as soon as possible to gauge the effect of the new ads.

Scottish media take aim at Bermuda quality and climate The radio ad -- dreamed up a by a US firm -- bunkered Scottish weather and claimed the country was full of "damp castles and mediaeval B&Bs.'' And it added that Bermuda, which has eight golf courses, has "ocean views'' while Scotland's 500 are handicapped because "most Scottish courses have a view of a bog.'' But a spokeswoman for the Scottish Tourist Board, responsible for attracting more than 13 million tourists to Scotland last year, ruled the ad out of bounds.

She said Scotland -- where golf was invented -- was the "undisputed'' home of the game and that Bermuda must just be green with envy.

And she added that the country -- which boasts a host of five-star resorts -- Bermuda has none -- had top-rated accommodation from budget to best, including luxurious castles.

A spokesman for the Weather Centre in Glasgow said Fife, where the ruling body of golf, the Royal & Ancient Golf Club, is located, had less than half the annual rainfall of Bermuda.

And he added atmospheric mist and rain of the spectacular Highlands was part of the draw for tourists -- especially from hot countries.