The Middle East, led by Dubai, is becoming increasingly influential in global golf. While there are no golfers of note from the region, there is, however, plenty of money.
And much of this cash has gone into the greening of the desert and the recognition of golf as a vital tool to lure tourists.
There are several […]
To Dumfries and Galloway on Scotland’s south west coast for the first golfing trip of the year. Another area of Scotland where golf courses abound, our choice for the one day of proper “competition” was an emotional one.
I’ve been playing Colvend Golf Club for as long as I can remember. Back in the day, brother […]
Where do we seek comfort and reassurance when the certainties of life crumble underneath us? For the award winning Scottish poet and novelist Andrew Greig this was the question he faced as he recovered from a potentially fatal brain condition.
The answer for Greig was to take to the golf courses of Scotland. He charts his […]
Why golf? I can’t answer that question, it only throws up more unanswerable questions. Why should golf, a game whose true intricacies I will probably never master, exert such a hold over me?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently. The winter and a new career in the voluntary sector have conspired to keep me […]
The clubhouses at Royal St George’s and Royal Lytham have no doubt been deafening dens of clinking sherry glasses and stiff upper lipped “here, here’s” this week.
But amid the madcap celebrations of their confirmation on the Open rota in 2011 and 2012 the good members of those to esteemed golfing institutions may well have heard […]
Sports and marketing. The curse of the modern era. The English Premiership is the “Greatest Show on Earth!” Lewis Hamilton is the “British Tiger Woods.” So it was inevitable that the last month would be Scotland’s “Summer of Golf!”
No matter that any use of the word “summer” is somewhat ironic with the weather pretty much […]
The names were big enough for a Major tournament. Tom Watson, Mark O’Meara and Nick Faldo were among the star elements who took on Muirfield in the Senior Open Championship.
Faldo, at 50, was making his debut and was the co-leader after the first round. In the end, it was American links ace Watson who triumphed, […]
History will be made next week when professional female golfers are allowed into the clubhouse of the Home of Golf, St Andrews, for the first time as competitors.
It has been a long time in coming, but as golf gradually sheds its image as a stuffy pastime for elite gentlemen, yet another male bastion is being […]
The emotions stirred by Major tournaments in golf can be intense to the extreme. How a pro performs under pressure can not only change his life but also his character.
Such was the weight of a three-foot bogey putt in the British Open play-off that Irishman Padraig Harrington faced on the 18th at Carnoustie, a course […]
Frenchman Gregory Havret emerged triumphant at Loch Lomond, the final tune-up before the British Open, by defeating Phil Mickelson in a sudden-death play-off and winning the Scottish Open.
With Ernie Els and Luke Donald finishing strongly but unable to challenge, world number three Mickelson and Havret took up the mantle. Havret eventually drained the par putt […]
Spencer Robinson is managing editor of Asian Golf Monthly. Every year, the Singapore-based journalist travels to Britain to cover the British Open. Here is a Q&A with Spencer on some of his experiences at past Opens and his hopes for the future. You can read his daily reports from the 2007 Open Championship on the […]
We’re a competitive lot us Scots. Proud as well. On the course wagers to “liven” things up lead to feuds, gamesmanship and, in extreme cases, divorce. Off the course we fall over each other as we claim “firsts” and “oldests.” Oldest course, first links course, oldest club, oldest tea lady. It’s all up for grabs.
Now […]
It always happens, doesn’t it? Things keep getting in the way of starting the spring golf season.
Food needs to be bought, deadlines need to be made, golf on the TV has to be watched. The list stacks up and actually getting out on the course always seems to find itself at the bottom.
Until you find […]
Do greenkeepers dream of anything other than divots and bad weather? If they do then Gordon Mckie is surely living the greenkeeper’s equivalent of winning the Masters and the Open on the same day.
Because Gordon has just been appointed head greenkeeper at the Old Course in St. Andrews – giving him control of the most […]
A golf trip to the British Isles can be something of a puzzle. Which courses accept visitor play and when? What options are available for playing the Old Course? Where should you stay? What can you do when you’re not playing? How much will it cost?
Thus if you are serious […]