On the morning of the fifth day, an unexpected and wonderful surprise. On this day, Saturday, April 27, we had a 2:50 p.m. tee time at Cruden Bay, about a two-hour drive, and had played the demanding Machrihanish Golf Club the day before and driven about five hours after that. So, what did we do…
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…
On the sixth day, we fear the worst … and conquer our fears. We played Carnoustie Golf Links in late afternoon, a 3:40 p.m. tee time on Sunday, April 28. In the morning, we’d walked the Old Course at St. Andrews, walked into town and past the ruins of the castle and of the cathedral….
Our seventh and final day, my favorite course in Scotland, maybe anywhere. I loved this old course south of Edinburgh when I played here in 2016; loved the views of the islands in the Firth of Forth and the view of the Kingdom of Fife beyond, and the stone walls, and the way the golf…
In advance of my 70th birthday, the gift of an April trip to the birthplace of golf I love golf, and have written about golf, and had opportunities to play some wonderful courses, but I am not a good golfer. My handicap has crawled up to 19, trending the wrong way, and my best has…
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…
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…
Opened in 2009, it’s the only course we’ll play built after the 19th century Three years ago, a writing trip brought me to Machrihanish, at the bottom of the Mull of Kintyre, traveling the long and winding road about which Paul McCartney sang. In its isolation on the shore of the North Atlantic Ocean, Machrihanish…
Fell in love with this course three years ago, thrilled to return When Old Tom Morris laid out Machrihanish Golf Club in 1879 he traveled by train, steamboat and carriage to the little village of Machrihanish, on the tip of the Mull of Kintyre, on the shore of the North Atlantic Ocean. And when he…
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…
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