The A Position

A friend recently made the amusing observation that he thought “links” golf courses were defined by holes strung one after the next like sausages.  While I’m all for sausages, the true definition of a links is that it occupies a seaside location that was once under water.  In most cases, these sandy stretches now linking salt water and inland topography consist of dunes grown over ... Read more

Remember those old Remington electric razor commercials where entrepreneur Victor Kiam used to boast that, “I liked the shaver so much I bought the company”? That is how I feel about Ballyliffin Golf Club. I like the place so much, I became a member. Just so the importance of that statement sinks in, let me make a couple of things clear. I am not rich. I am ... Read more

Most would agree that when it comes to golf notoriety, the North Island of New Zealand has hogged the Kiwi spotlight.  First, the North Island gave us Kauri Cliffs, near the top of the island, then Cape Kidnappers in the Hawke’s Bay region in the southeast.  Both have quickly emerged as must-visit venues for sojourning golfers, who in the past may have opted to ... Read more

The lake region of northern Italy conjures up many pleasing images for sophisticates seeking a respite from the demands of modern-day life:  three hundred year-old villas along sparkling Lake Como, perhaps populated by handsome celebrities like George Clooney (who does keep a home on the lake in Carate Urio); charming bistros, serving up rich risottos and lively Barbarescos, pressed from Piedmontese Nebbiola grapes; and the ... Read more

During the Age of Discovery, the Portuguese were famed for their unparalleled navigation skills, and many of the greatest explorers set sail right from Lisbon, the last major port between Continental Europe and the new world, including Vasco de Gama, Pedro Cabral and Henry the Navigator. Today monuments stand at the city’s waterfront commemorating these deeds, and a walk around Lisbon is a discovery in itself ... Read more

The Danube River flows through the heart of central Europe, coursing past Budapest, Vienna and some of the most memorable Bavarian scenery in southeastern Germany.  There are opera houses, cafes and more than a few cathedrals and monasteries. And then there’s the golf. “In the early 90s, I’d been organizing themed trips for a company that specialized in luxury cruises,” Jim Lamont began.  “One trip might have ... Read more

It would be an understatement to say that Napoleone di Buonaparte (who later changed his name to Napoleon Bonaparte to de-emphasize his Tuscan heritage among his French followers) had aggressive inclinations.  One can only wonder if some of his hostile tendencies might have been softened by an early introduction to golf on his native Corsica.  He might have come to appreciate the calming affects of ... Read more

In October 2001, the inaugural Alfred Dunhill Links Championship was played on three of the greatest links golf courses on the planet: the Old Course at St. Andrews, the Carnoustie Links, and Kingsbarns Golf Links. Kings who, you might well have asked?  How could a course that was younger than some of the golf balls in the bottom of your bag suddenly be hanging with two ... Read more

While American real estate developers hunker down and try to figure out when if ever their forlorn  industry will revive, the Chinese real estate market is booming, fueled in part by high-end golf communities that celebrate a luxurious life style.  China’s transformation from a predominately rural society with a command economy dominated by state-run heavy industries that produced no consumer goods to a manufacturing economy ... Read more

The six short weeks that Dr. Alister Mackenzie spent around the state of Victoria in 1926 had an immeasurable impact on the sport of golf in Australia.  In that short time, he and Alex Russell, a talented Australian amateur player and able assistant, routed the 18 holes at Yarra Yarra Golf Club, built bunkers at the Victoria, Kingston Heath and Metropolitan Golf Clubs—and designed the ... Read more