The A Position

Everyone who plays golf is familiar with the clubhouse of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, which sits proudly overlooking the first tee and final green of the Old Course. But very few people know the building next to the R&A, that large, red edifice with the white turret. That is Hamilton Hall, which in its 115 years has been a hotel, ... Read more

Thirty minutes from both Heathrow Airport and Big Ben, The Grove Hotel, in Hertfordshire, imparts a modern twirl to the former longtime home of the Earls of Clarendon.  The first house was built on the 300-acre wooded estate during Elizabethan times.  In the 18th century, one particular Earl essentially created the notion of the “country weekend” house party on the property.  Guests included all manner ... Read more

Very few people know that Portugal has pousadas. That is a real shame. Pousadas are a very special hospitality option unique to the Iberian Peninsula (Spain has the same thing, but they are called paradores). Back in the 1940s, the Portuguese government faced two challenges: to increase tourism, and to rescue and preserve many of its ancient and historic wonders. By creating pousadas, they solved both ... Read more

It’s the end of December and everyone else is doing it, so why not me? And given that there are only a few days left in the year and I’m at home in Manhattan and unlikely to be taking the clubs out for a few months at best, it’s unlikely I’ll be adding to my course list for 2009. So here are my most memorable ... Read more

The morning was cold and a cutting wind blew over the Old Course like a knee in the groin.  As my friend and fellow golf writer Tom Harack and I watched a couple of guys we knew teeing off on the first hole of the most famous golf layout on the planet-- a gorgeous, rugged place of power and pilgrimage, a sacred place of homecoming ... Read more

Surely it’s more than mere happenstance that the game of golf and the drinkable artwork that is Scotch whisky were both created in the gorgeously green, wind-swept, salty-aired duneslands of Scotland. Although the origins of golf are slightly shrouded in mist, many believe the game was invented as early as the 14th century by fishermen returning from beach to village across rolling links.  If one fisherman ... Read more

You must remember this: There’s more to golf in France than chasing a little white ball around. The game as it’s played in Gaul is not a card-and-pencil affair. In fact, it would be criminal to plan a buddy trip to this venerable nation where the five senses, not just the desire to crack a drive or hole a putt, are fully engaged and satisfied. ... Read more

Move over Pine Valley. Augusta, what’s that? What could impress your golfing friends more than finding out you are a member of the world’s oldest golf course? Of course, it would help if they knew what that course was. Hint, it’s not the Old Course at St. Andrews. It’s not venerable Muirfield either, but it is in Scotland. How about Musselburgh Old Course? The course can be ... Read more

Dale Concannon has a favorite quote about Swinley Forest:  “‘If Augusta National is the cathedral in the pines, Swinley is the holy grail.’  The quote comes from Henry Cotton.” Swinley Forest is a lovely ‘heath and heather’ course in the town of Ascot, county Berkshire, 25-odd miles west of London.  It was designed by the venerable Harry S. Colt in 1910 and stands among Colt’s great ... Read more

Sure you can smoke a 460cc driver off the tee, but do you know the intricate fundamentals of smoking a good cigar? I've had all the golf lessons I could ever want (no, they didn’t help).  But for a primer on choosing the best cigar to enjoy between lousy shots I turned to Bill Shindler, manager of downtown Portland, Oregon’s Rich’s Cigar Store, who has been ... Read more