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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