James W. Finegan

A postcard from Brora Golf Club
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A postcard from Brora Golf Club

On the first day, we play on the shore of the North Sea. It is a windy afternoon on the North Sea in northeastern Scotland. It has taken us 24 hours to get here, four flights from Washington, D.C., and ninety minutes of left-side driving. This was the beginning of the trip to celebrate my…

A postcard from Cruden Bay
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A postcard from Cruden Bay

A gray, rainy afternoon on day 5 at spectacular Cruden Bay Amazing, how the weather can change, on the North Sea, over the space of a few hours, and just over 100 miles. In the morning we’d played Craighead Links near Crail in shirtsleeves. And in the afternoon, Cruden Bay Golf Club was shrouded in…

A bonus round at Brora?
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A bonus round at Brora?

Are the flights on time? Do we get lost in a roundabout? Is there enough daylight left? Our flight from Washington D.C. through Detroit and Amsterdam is scheduled to arrive in Inverness, Scotland, at 12:40 p.m. on April 23. Hey, what can go wrong? Can son Jason and I get luggage, clear customs, get our…

Anticipating Royal Dornoch
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Anticipating Royal Dornoch

An original links course, regarded among the very best in the world Herbert Warren Wind called it “the most natural golf course in the world.” Tom Watson described it as the most fun he’d had playing golf. Donald Ross, the great American golf architect, learned his trade there. Golf Digest ranks it the No. 2…

Previewing Cruden Bay Golf Club
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Previewing Cruden Bay Golf Club

What Old Tom Morris and Bram Stoker have in common …. I knew Cruden Bay Golf Club only by reputation, not that kind that comes out of a world ranking, though Golf Digest rates it No. 56 on that score, but from the recommendations of golf journalists like Blaine Newnham and Tom Cade, who have…

Carnoustie looms
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Carnoustie looms

It was once dubbed “Car-nasty.” Should I be worried? (I am). As Jason and I developed our plan for Scotland, evolving into six courses in six days, this was the course I think he really wanted to play — beyond the Old Course, which was not available to us — from his own sense of…

Previewing North Berwick
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Previewing North Berwick

Our trip in Scotland ends at a wonderful, favorite golf course I fell in love with North Berwick Golf Club when I was lucky enough to play it three years ago, on a trip with good friends and colleagues Blaine Newnham, Tom Cade and Rob Perry, courtesy of Visit Scotland. I loved the history of…

Scotland, revisted: Where all roads lead home, to golf
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Scotland, revisted: Where all roads lead home, to golf

In a place with courses that are spectacular, historic and fun, North Berwick GC is special EDINBURGH, Scotland — The flights have been long, but now you are here. You collect your golf clubs, find the rental van, remember that in the United Kingdom they drive on the left side of the road and plug…

Scotland, day ten: North Berwick GC, thanks for the memories
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Scotland, day ten: North Berwick GC, thanks for the memories

A grand (if bittersweet) finale as our trip ends at an historic, highly regarded course that delivers memorable holes, memorable beauty and memorable hospitality NORTH BERWICK, EAST LOTHIAN, Scotland — Martyn Huish, the head PGA professional at North Berwick Golf Club (West Links), is 47 and was born here, in this town in East Lothian, …

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