In these parts, the story goes that during the 1950s Huddersfield was home to the highest number of Rolls-Royces per capita than anywhere else on the planet, save Beverley Hills. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the wool trade meant there was extraordinary wealth, prestige and opulence here. None of that is…
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Despite its remote location, some 30 miles north of Inverness, Royal Dornoch has been an established fixture in the top 10 of the world’s best courses for decades…
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This global pandemic has been difficult enough for golf clubs which have been around for centuries. Imagine, then, trying to open a new one. That was the reality facing the team at the breathtakingly beautiful Dumbarnie Links, on the Fife coast, and it was a challenge they embraced wholeheartedly. “It’s been harder than…
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Very little about our world feels normal these days. Spending a few hours walking the fairways of your local golf club with friends is, let’s face it, about as close as it gets. This Covid-19 pandemic is not a disaster in a traditional sense, even if the trauma is comparable. It is not…
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St Andrews and Chariots of Fire: the association immediately brings to mind the evocative opening moments of the celebrated Oscar-winning film, a sequence which has long since taken its place in cinematic history. The iconic images of young British athletes striding out across a windswept beach in slow-motion are set to one of…
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There it was, staring back at me: an invitation to play Augusta National the following day. The man who had presented me with the envelope was standing there, arm outstretched. "Congratulations, you're playing the course tomorrow." I shook his hand, but still no words. …
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During its celebrated history, Moortown Golf Club has grown accustomed to hosting the greats of the game and providing the backdrop for significant moments in golf history. Everyone from Walter Hagen to Peter Thomson, Tom Watson, Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo have played here, each chapter helping to build the story of this…
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Lindrick Golf Club saved the Ryder Cup. By the time 1957 came around, the event was on its knees. The US had won every match dating back 24 years. Interest was waning. No one wanted to sponsor it and with only months to go before the Ryder Cup was due to be played, the…
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Ganton Golf Club is a truly extraordinary place. There is a stillness to it, a timeless elegance. It’s as if when you leave the busy main road that flanks it and turn down a long narrow drive you are transported to a place of calm and serenity. Even in the fierce and frequent…
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It’s not often golf can reach beyond the sport and capture the imagination of a new audience. The Ryder Cup, however, carries that power. It is an event built on prestige, not prize money, one that conjures up vivid, enduring memories and brings to mind the names of the courses on which the…
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Funny story: Burnley Golf Club – 10am. The clubhouse is quieter than it should be for a big golf day. No welcoming party. No bacon butties. None of those banner things. No people. We walk into the clubhouse. “Hi, we’re here for the golf day,” I say. “The golf day?’ says the pro.…
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West Linton Golf Club may not spring immediately to mind when you’re planning an golf trip to this part of Scotland. Edinburgh and the wider East Lothian region boasts an embarrassment of riches when it comes to golf. The likes of Muirfield, Gullane, Royal Musselburgh and North Berwick are world-famous and understandably popular.…
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Doonbeg is a study in contrasts: the rugged and quintessentially Irish beauty of the Clare coastline with the 2006 American-built stone castle that overlooks it. The flat farmland which stretches for miles around and the towering sand dunes which dominate this stunning links. And yet anyone who has stood here, felt the power…
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Even at first glance, it is obvious Lahinch is not just another seaside town. Golf is woven into the fabric of this otherwise unprepossessing village on the County Clare coast. It feels like it’s on the lips of a everyone in town, in the craic. It’s in the pubs (one of which is…
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Hebden Bridge Golf Club is a place wonderfully untroubled by the march of time. Golf, at times, feels barely recognisable: where once it was played with wooden clubs, now it’s played by super athletes, capable of reducing 600-yard par 5s to a thunderous drive and an easy 7-iron. Golf courses are changing too…
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There will always be a special place in my heart for Celtic Manor. It was here that I covered my first and most memorable Ryder Cup for The Times newspaper, where I stood on the 18th green, soaked in champagne, as Team Europe danced with delight after another epic battle against their American…
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The voice on the other end of the line went quiet while I took it all in – “we want you to come and play in the Irish Open Pro-Am at Killarney Golf Club.” “Some big names are playing this year and if you’re open to it, we’ll try and get you a…
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Bobby Jones hit the nail on the head when he said of Sunningdale Old Course, “I wish I could take it home with me.” It may be the only thing he and I have in common but I certainly share that sentiment as I step off the 18th green after a round I’d…
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It was an iconic image which travelled around the world: Bernhard Langer, with a shock of blonde hair, at Fulford Golf Club playing from a tree 10ft off the ground. It was a moment in time. A moment of golf history that put this Yorkshire club firmly on the map and ensured it would…
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It’s early on another stunning summer morning at Woburn Golf Club. Having finished a hotel breakfast overlooking the pitch at MK Dons, surrounded by mechanics from Ferrari, in town for the British Grand Prix along the road at Silverstone, I have driven the short distance to the beautiful Woburn Estate. Woburn Golf Club…
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