The A Position

The five candidates for the three captain’s picks for the European Ryder Cup team had cases that were so close to being equal that Colin Montgomerie could just as well have thrown darts to determine his selections. No matter which trio he picked, he couldn’t really lose—he would have been getting three very good players in any case. But he also couldn’t really win—he was ... Read more

Battling the Elements on Ireland’s Wild West Coast “That’s not a golf course, it’s a bloody battlefield,” remarked by husband Bill as we stepped up to the first tee on the Old Course at Lahinch. Indeed, with pot bunkers the depth of graves, tall marram grass and fescue waiting to snag your Titleist and a savage wind, we were about to embark on a glorious battle against ... Read more

Just in case you need another example of golfers' general lack of imagination (and if you are wearing khakis right now this especially applies to you), consider the marks most players put on their golf balls to help identify them in case of a tournament mishap: these marks generally run the entire gamut from one dot all the way to two dots.  Okay, some players ... Read more

Maybe, maybe not. But even though it is brand new, just released, I will go out on a limb and say the first edition of “The Rolex World’s Top 1000 Golf Courses” is a pretty safe addition to any avid golf traveler’s library. As for lineage, it is spawned by the folks who have long produced my favorite golf course rating tome, The Peugeot Golf Guide, ... Read more

Why go on a deluxe trip to play the very best courses of Scotland, the birthplace of golf, with a high-end tour operator like Perry Golf or Haversham and Baker, when you just read about the courses instead?  For the same price. I kid you not. If you thought you seen it all, buckle up, because you have not seen what is being touted by its publisher ... Read more

“The spirit of golf is very much alive in this splendid Rolex book. Your duck hook or soaring slice can’t possibly spoil it for you.” --Dan Jenkins, Golf Digest Last month, I received an advance copy of The Rolex World's Top 1000 Golf Courses. This 1,335-page compendium was sent to me because I was one of the undercover munchkins tapped to evaluate a pair of U.S. courses ... Read more

Royal Porthcawl is the big one, the course against which all others in Wales are measured. And for good reason. Porthcawl is, simply, a class act. Read about my adventure there on my VisitWales blog. Then enjoy the photos. Read more

As noted in my blog for VisitWales about Pennard Golf Club, despite the gray rainy weather that hung around for most of the round, I couldn't stop taking photos of the course and especially the ruins of Pennard Castle on the grounds. (And as the sunny photos prove, imagine what it looks like when it's nice!) The VisitWales blog used two photos of the course, ... Read more

The PGA Championship is underway, and so this should begin the run-up to the Ryder Cup Matches in September. The two events are inextricably linked, after all, not just by their proximity on the golf calendar but also by the fact that all but the at-large Ryder Cup places are etched in stone, for the U.S. team anyway, based money list standings immediately post-PGA. But as ... Read more

By Sam Baker In July the Open Championship, which began at Prestwick Golf Club in 1860, returned to St. Andrews for its 150th Anniversary edition.  Most golfers can only dream about a pilgrimage to St. Andrews. I was one of the lucky ones when that dream became a reality for me nearly 30 years ago and now I have the good fortune to spend some time ... Read more