Burnley Golf Club: hilltop wonder will make you smile
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. “Yes, the golf day. You know. The. Golf. Day,” I say. HIGH IN THE HILLS ABOVE BURNLEY There’s a moment when no one speaks. It’s quite a long moment. “Erm,” says the pro. “We don’t have a golf day today.” A smile spreads across my face. I…
West Linton Golf Club: tranquility in the Pentland Hills
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. But they are also not cheap and not always easy to play so if you are prepared to venture off the beaten track, West Linton Golf Club is a place that will give you a warm welcome, a wonderful test of golf and have you coming back…
Delightful Doonbeg a links of wild, enchanting beauty
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 of the ocean forcing its way along the coastline and tasted its rain washed air, knows what a special piece of land this is. The backdrop is Doughmore Bay and its crescent-shaped beach which clings to Doonbeg golf course like a child to its mother – 16…
Lahinch Golf Club – a wonder of the golfing world
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 called the 19th hole) and restaurants, it’s wonderfully unavoidable. Why? Well, it’s because the churches, shops, pubs and homes of this charming place of 700 or so people sits just a pitching wedge to the south of what is a truly stupendous golf course. The famous goat…