Tom Cade

Scotland, day four: Prestwick GC, as old as golf and still feisty
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Scotland, day four: Prestwick GC, as old as golf and still feisty

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…

Scotland, day two: Machrihanish Dunes, a wild golf adventure
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Scotland, day two: Machrihanish Dunes, a wild golf adventure

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….

Scotland, day one: The charm of Machrihanish Golf Club
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Scotland, day one: The charm of Machrihanish Golf Club

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…

Previewing Scotland: A journey to the birthplace of golf
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Previewing Scotland: A journey to the birthplace of golf

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…

Wales, revisited: Looking back on six memorable golf courses
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Wales, revisited: Looking back on six memorable golf courses

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…

Wales, day six: Aberdovey Golf Club, an enduring classic
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Wales, day six: Aberdovey Golf Club, an enduring classic

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…

Wales, day five: Royal St. David’s Golf Club, royalty indeed
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Wales, day five: Royal St. David’s Golf Club, royalty indeed

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…

Wales, day four: Porthmadog Golf Club, a tale of two nines
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Wales, day four: Porthmadog Golf Club, a tale of two nines

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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