The A Position

“There are MANY great golf courses around the world,” Gary Player declared.  “When you try to think of a course that’s a must-play, you look for something COMPLETELY different.  Most people will agree that Leopard Creek gives visitors something very different, something most golfers have never experienced before.” That something is the chance to interact—at times, quite closely—with the wild animals of the bushveld—while experiencing a ... Read more

If I get one more press release from a hotel offering an Eat, Pray, Love package, I am going to shoot myself. I have nothing against Elizabeth Gilbert’s bestseller of the same name – my wife read it and liked it. In fact, I have some helpful advice for Gilbert: if these big name hotels are actively selling packages, and presumably making a profit, by invoking ... Read more

The anxieties that have struck countless golfers approaching the first tee at Durban Country Club were struck home for Gordon Turner at the tender age of nine, before he’d even lifted a club. “Growing up in a farming community outside of the city, it was always the greatest treat to be invited for Sunday lunch at Durban Country Club,” Gordon began. “As guests of my great ... Read more

Except for the early recordings of Led Zeppelin, I was never much of a heavy metal fan. Spinal Tap yes, heavy metal no. However, a news item just crossed my desk that may have me rethinking my feelings about the perpetrators of thrash rock. Roll Over, Beethoven? The time may have come. Historically, rockers have long been drawn to the game of golf. Golf needs rhythm. ... Read more

IF, AS THEY SAY, MEMORIES OF SOUTH AFRICA STAY WITH YOU ALWAYS, THE MEMORY THAT STAYS WITH ME MOST from my voyage around this glorious country is of hitting range balls on a Sunday morning in Swaziland. My caddie, Shakespeare, is standing in the middle of the Ezulwini Valley surrounded by a horseshoe in the form of the Lubombo Mountains, retrieving the balls I hit from ... Read more

It's a rainy day in Harlech, along the Welsh coast, and I'm supposed to be teeing off at the venerable Royal St. David's Golf Club at this very moment. Luckily, it's quiet--there's a boys' championship in a few minutes, but two ladies gave it up and a foursome at 8:20 played six holes, came in soaking wet, and left. The forecast is for a nice ... Read more

Played it for the first time last weekend, and I couldn’t wait to write about Nefyn & District Golf Club (Clwb Golff Nefyn A’r Cylch, in Welsh), which is now among my favorite courses in the world. Remember that first time you saw a truly great course? Perhaps your first round at Bandon Dunes? Or one of the Long Island heavyweights—Shinnecock, National, and Maidstone? Definitely Pebble Beach, ... Read more

The haggis was brought into the room, lifted above the head of its carrier and preceded by its chef, a bagpiper, and a barman. It was the barman who gripped the bottle of Glenfiddich single-malt Scotch and lifted it into the air as if to purify the atmosphere in advance of the haggis's arrival. Robert Burns would have been proud. In fact, the spirit of Scotland's ... Read more

“I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree…” -Trees, Joyce Kilmer With apologies to Joyce Kilmer, I’m having some issues with trees. Over the last few years, I’ve noticed too many courses, including some championship venues, are neglecting and putting a blind eye to how their trees are impacting play. It’s not uncommon to find one’s shot on a par-three to be partially blocked ... Read more

Every golfer alive has stood on a tee waiting for the group in front of them. The six hour round at Bethpage Black is legendary. The amount of time that is takes to complete a round is a problem that plagues the game and keeps participation rates abnormally low. Every course struggles with how to implement the correct measures that will speed up play and ... Read more