Dating to 1851, site of the first Open Championship, Prestwick is more than a relic PRESTWICK, AYRSHIRE, Scotland — Old Tom Morris laid out the first 12 holes of Prestwick Golf Club in 1851, though golf had been played there even earlier. In 1860, the very first Open Championship, known in the United States as…
Whereupon the writer shoots a front-nine 39, but … MACHRIHANISH, ARGYLL, Scotland —On Sunday, the sun came out, and the wind disappeared, and you could see, very clearly now, the islands of Islay, Jura and Gigha beyond Machrihanish Bay in the North Atlantic Ocean and, to the south, much farther in the distance, Ireland. But…
A relatively new course conjures the golf of 130 years ago MACHRIHANISH, ARGYLL, Scotland — If I have ever before used the phrase “wild and woolly” to describe a links golf course, please forgive that exaggeration. I wrote too soon; that is, before playing Machrihanish Dunes Golf Club, a place where the phrase is apt….
A long journey is rewarded by an inspired, and inspiring, golf course MACHRIHANISH, ARGYLL, Scotland — We had already been on the road for 24-some hours, flying from Seattle on Wednesday morning to Dallas to London to Edinburgh, Scotland, and now it was late Thursday in a new time zone and we were three hours…
Seeking the enduring spirit of golf in Scotland, from Old Tom Morris to David McLay Kidd (and Donald Trump) Golfers don’t simply take a trip to Scotland to play courses there. They make a pilgrimage. That word conveys the historic nature of the game there, the bucket-list allure. Wrote the late James W. Finegan in…
KILLARNEY, Ireland — Wedged in a middle seat as our night flight from Philadelphia finally cleared the Atlantic Ocean and began descending over Ireland toward Shannon Airport in the early morning, I began a conversation with the guy by the window.
The No. 17 green and fairway, Royal St. David’s Golf Club, Wales. Great values, history and more than just golf HARLECH, Wales — At Royal St. David’s Golf Club, you look to the cliff above and see Harlech Castle, built by King Edward I beginning in 1283 and now considered a World Heritage Site, with…
The beloved course of Bernard Darwin is still relevant ABERDOVEY, Wales – Born in 1876, a grandson of Charles Darwin, Bernard Darwin was a gifted golfer who became the first reporter to cover golf on a regular basis, writing for The Times of London for decades starting in 1907, and serving as captain of the…
History, Harlech Castle, and a great golf course in Mid Wales HARLECH, Wales — You play Royal St. David’s Golf Club without seeing the Irish Sea, but you hear it throughout your round, the sound of the waves on Tremadog Bay delivered by the seemingly ever-present wind. The sea is just over a wide swath…
Two different worlds, heathland and links, at this North Wales course PORTHMADOG, Wales — It’s fitting that the inspiration for the classic story “Alice in Wonderland” came in North Wales, in Llandudno, about 90 minutes drive north of Porthmadog. Because there is definitely a “through the rabbit hole” feeling playing Porthmadog Golf Club, a course…
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