Ben is the founder of The Wandering Golfers. He grew up on the links of Ayrshire in Scotland learning the game from his beloved Grandpa. He spent more than a decade covering Ryder Cups and the Majors for The Times and BBC Sport before starting his own businesses.
Hidden away on the County Wicklow coast, just south of beautiful Brittas Bay, you’ll find a links course like no other. The European Club is a one-off, a place where the rules of how to design and run a golf club haven’t applied since Pat Ruddy, the effervescent owner and designer, circled over…
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Rosslare Golf Links is bathed in sunshine as we walk up the final hole of a round that will live long in the memory. It was Walt Whitman who wrote, ‘keep your face always toward the sunshine and the shadows will fall behind you.’ That was certainly how our day on this charming,…
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Sigmund Freud once claimed all human behaviour is governed by our desire to move towards pleasure and away from pain and now the guys at deWiz believe that principle can improve your golf swing. When I was told I should try the deWiz golf watch, which delivers electric pulses or – whisper it…
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The view from our balcony at the sumptuous Links House at Royal Dornoch is one you could never grow tired of. A few yards to our left is the 1st tee of one of the world’s greatest golf courses, abuzz with greenkeepers, golfers and walkers. To our right is the conservation village of…
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For golfers the world over, Royal Dornoch Golf Club represents a unique call to adventure. It’s a pilgrimage which requires commitment, dedication and patience. After all this golfing outpost, tucked away in a stunning corner of the Scottish Highlands, sits 50 miles north of Loch Ness and just eight degrees below in the Arctic…
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Fyfe Golf unashamedly celebrate Scotland’s rich and storied manufacturing heritage. Their beautiful, handmade products and accessories already grace golf bags and golfers far and wide and each of them come proudly having been ‘Made in Scotland.’ All fabrics are sourced from the finest Scottish mills and weavers and their mission is to reconnect…
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There’s barely a cloud in the sky over Prestwick Golf Club as we turn off Links Road and into one of the game’s great cathedrals. The morning sunshine bathes the famous stone clubhouse in a golden glow and the white flags on the 14th and 18th greens, for once, hang limp in the…
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Tom Coyne has chased a golf ball around the globe for much of his adult life, embodying the essence of a true wandering golfer. In doing so, he has carved out a niche as a golf travel writer with a connection to the soul of our game and to the people who bring…
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It would be understandable if Dundonald Links felt just a little threatened by Ayrshire’s embarrassment of golfing riches. After all it sits within minutes of storied Open venues such as Royal Troon and Prestwick Golf Club. Another, Turnberry, is 30 minutes down the coast. Wonderful Western Gailes is within a wedge. Barassie, Glasgow…
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A day or two at The Machrie is all it takes to understand why so many who visit Islay leave a piece of their heart behind. The idyllic isolation from the everyday would, on its own, be the perfect tonic to the bustle of modern life. But when you combine that with the…
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We have already waxed lyrical about the stupendous golf experience at The Machrie, but that’s only part of what makes any trip special – where you eat, and drink is important too. The good news is that once you finish up your round on the 18th green overlooking Laggan Bay at The Machrie,…
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There’s a rare sense of stillness and tranquillity as you walk Woodhall Spa’s iconic Hotchkin Course. This secluded, unassuming corner of Lincolnshire may be home to one of the best inland golf courses on the planet but there’s no fuss or fanfare here. The contrary is true, in fact. From the moment you…
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There’s no escaping that the Bracken Course at Woodhall Spa Golf Club is, like many other fabulous venues the world over, will always exist in the shadow of its more celebrated big brother. The New and The Old Course, St Andrews. The Cashen Course and The Old, Ballybunion. The Castle Course and The…
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Knowledge is power, so the saying goes, and in golfing terms that has given rise to a new wave of distance measuring devices, or rangefinders, coming into the game. The PGA Championship at Kiawah Island in May was the first major where rangefinders were permitted. But it is not just the touring pros…
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You can’t visit Islay or write about this island without mentioning the peat. In days gone by it was the reason the water here ran a strange colour of brown. And for much longer it has given Islay’s many world-famous whiskies their distinctive aroma and taste, but peat is also behind the name…
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It feels almost disrespectful to describe The Petwood simply as one of the best hotels near Woodhall Spa Golf Club, because the truth is, it’s so much more. This is a place where the history of those who have walked these corridors and wiled away the hours in the stunning Edwardian gardens, lives…
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“What day is it?” asked Pooh. “It’s today,” squeaked Piglet. “My favourite day,” said Pooh.” ― A.A. Milne We know better than most; the mind of a golfer is a wandering one. On the course, golfers have a unique ability to focus on things that aren’t happening now: the putt we missed on…
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The game of golf has long been associated with art. The great masters of our game are famed for their touch and finesse, while the acclaimed architects have created golf courses that are described as works of art. For Graeme Baxter that symbiotic relationship between the two is something altogether more literal. The…
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Fescue & Dunes exists to deliver discerning golfers with something a little less ordinary. Rather than focusing on creating their own products (although they do a bit of that too), they scour the globe for other boutique golf brands and bring them to golfers wanting to take their golf set-up to the next…
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Have you ever really thought about why you play the golf ball you do? It’s a question a new U.S golf ball company are determined to get golfers to ask themselves as they look to create something truly different in the golf world. Uncommon, based in Park City, Utah, is an enterprise made…
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