Even when you see the picture you just simply cannot understand it. Stop. Take a few seconds. Look at it some more. Then again. Still.

Where does your mind wander? Are you trying to count the number of bags in the heaping pile? Are you trying to see if there’s a bag there that looks similar to yours even though you weren’t in Scotland? Are you contacting friends who were recently in Scotland and asking them if they have their clubs?

At any rate, this photo from the Caddie Network’s Twitter feed, which originally was posted on Reddit, says it comes from the Edinburgh Airport, which is the biggest airport in Scotland and is just 50 miles from the Old Course in St Andrews. You know, the place that just hosted the 150th Open Championship.

Horror scenes at Edinburgh Airport ?
(?: Reddit) pic.twitter.com/Xux6v3ZVCz

— Caddie Network (@CaddieNetwork) July 19, 2022

If you think it’s difficult to look at, then imagine working at the airport and having to deal with all the angry customers. Which brings us to this bit of related news.

Fortune.com reports that the Edinburgh Airport shut down its customer service hotline on Monday because agents have reported an increase of abusive phone calls from people unhappy about their lost luggage. Roughly 90 per cent of all calls were about lost luggage, promoting us to wonder what the other 10 per cent of the calls were about …

“Unfortunately, we have seen a rise in the amount of abuse our teams are facing from passengers and although we appreciate the frustration they are facing, it is not acceptable and there is no excuse for abuse,” an Edinburgh Airport spokesperson told Fortune.

We bet Cameron Smith is glad he kept the Claret Jug by his side when he flew out of Edinburgh on a commercial flight to Florida…

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The post LOOK: Golf bag chaos at Scotland airport after Open Championship at St Andrews appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Vietnam’s fabled natural beauty can be sampled at maximum visual voltage in Cam Ranh, an emerging resort destination in the south-central portion of the Southeast Asian country.

Here, jungle-clad mountains pour down to an azure ocean dotted with traditional fishing boats and lush, green islands. A long and gently curving sweep of exquisite white sand is fast becoming the setting for some of the country’s top luxury hotels.

About an hour’s drive further north is the coastal city of Nha Trang – replete with restaurants, bars and local culinary and cultural riches.

For golfers, though, the crowning attraction of this paradisiacal smorgasbord lies at the southernmost end of the bay, where KN Golf Links is staking its claim as one of the region’s finest new layouts.

Having debuted in late October, when designer Greg Norman jetted in to inaugurate his latest creation in Vietnam – his third course in the country – KN Golf Links is fast making its way into talk about the best golf experiences in the country, if not Asia.

“I would put KN Golf Links up there in the top 10 in terms of unique properties I’ve ever been able to work with,” said Norman, who has over 100 designs to his name. “I’m looking forward to the world actually getting to experience playing this fantastic golf course.”

KN Golf Links features 27 holes altogether when the 9-hole, garden-style Oasis Course that runs inland from the clubhouse is factored in.

But most of the conversations so far have revolved around the Links Course, which maximises the rolling contours of the land exemplified by spectacular sand dunes.

It boasts firm fast-releasing fairways, ample run-off areas around the greens and massive boulders, some of which form a striking backdrop to the par-5 17th hole.

“It’s not an Irish-style golf course. It’s not an Australian-style golf course. It’s not a Scottish-style golf course. It’s just a damn good links golf course,” said Norman, who won his two majors — the 1986 Open Championship and 1993 Open Championship — on links courses.

KN Golf Links occupies 90 of the 800 hectares slated to be developed at KN Paradise, an ambitious integrated resort that will also feature at least three 5-star hotels, an array of luxury real estate opportunities, a marina, and a beach club among other entertainment facilities.

Now that the club is officially open for play, it is already making a strong impression. Indeed, it scooped the title of Best New Golf Course in Asia Pacific at the 2018 Asian Golf Awards less than a fortnight after its official opening.

The course itself dips and dives through wild, undulating terrain and offers a series of remarkable viewpoints.

“The scale and topography of the property here lend itself beautifully to a great variety of golf holes,” Norman said during a site visit in March 2018. “There’s a lot of up and down and natural contouring to the course, so you get these sensational visuals from tee boxes especially and really cool run-off areas where the ball can roll and turn.”

Playing highlights of the course are myriad.  The layout is devoid of trees, accentuating its resemblance to one of the classic links courses in the United Kingdom. The rolling topography of the dunes, meanwhile, have resulted in some 50 metres of elevation change from highest to lowest point.

There are numerous fine holes on the golf course. The par-3 2nd is a fiendishly tricky short hole played uphill to a cunningly guarded putting surface. Other crackers include the 10th and 15th, a pair of par-4s that play downhill towards the glittering sea.

Norman’s other two creations in Vietnam — The Bluffs at Ho Tram Strip and The Dunes Course at BRG Da Nang Golf Resort — are widely considered the nation’s top two courses.

“We wanted ‘The Shark’ from day one,” Mr. Le Van Kiem, chairman of KN Cam Ranh Company Limited, the course’s developer, said, using the nickname Norman earned during his playing days. “Given the linksy nature of this site, and the fact Mr. Norman has designed some of the world’s great links-style courses, he was the ideal man for the job.”

The Links Course at KN Golf Links is reminiscent of both The Bluffs and The Dunes in that it weaves through rugged coastal terrain and offers spectacular sea views from various spots.

The Oasis Course offers a contrasting but also compelling test, with a plethora of water features making for some challenging play.

“The goal is to set a standard here by which all other projects to come will be measured by,” said Mr. Kiem, whose company also owns Long Thanh Golf Club, an award-winning, 36-hole venture on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City. “Having 27 holes in Cam Ranh by one of the game’s all-time greats is a major step in that direction.”

Located less than an hour by air from Ho Chi Minh City and a five-minute drive from the recently expanded Cam Ranh International Airport, KN Golf Links is the first golf course in Cam Ranh and the third in the greater Nha Trang area.

Amenities include a secluded driving range with an instruction studio and 24 bays that face another eye-catching collection of gigantic rocks, and a three-story clubhouse that overlooks the ocean and three small islands about 10 kilometres offshore.

KN Golf Links is being managed by former Al Hamra general manager Simon Mees in consultation with IMG, a leading sports, events and media brand that operates some of the finest golf clubs in the world including China’s Sheshan GC, site of the annual WGC-HSBC Champions tournament.

Prestigious company indeed, but KN Golf Links is well worthy of a place among the world golf course elite according to those who should know: including the course’s legendary designer.

“If this quality of course keeps coming online (in Vietnam), I think you are going to see people salivating at the prospect of coming here to play,” said Norman.

The post Travel: Vietnam’s new KN Golf Links is an award winner already appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Monterey Peninsula (Dunes)
The original course at Monterey Peninsula Country Club, just up 17 Mile Drive from Pebble Beach, has a pedigree most clubs would cherish. Originally routed by Seth Raynor in the mid-1920s, it was completed after his death by Robert Hunter and Alister MacKenzie. In the late 1990s, it was refashioned by Rees Jones, who moved the par-3 10th green (above) to a spot right above the crashing Pacific surf. Yet the Dunes lacked the sex appeal of its much-younger sister, the Shore Course, founded in 1961 and reinvented by the late Mike Strantz, who made it his artistic masterpiece in 2004. To remedy that, the club hired Tom Fazio (Strantz’s former mentor), who teamed with his son, Logan, longtime associate Andy Banfield and former associates Tim Jackson and David Kahn on a plan that integrates holes into the peninsula’s unique environment. Sandscape zones now frame most holes, ranging from hillsides of exposed sand to large, reconstituted ocean dunes. Once-straight fairways now zig and zag around jagged bunkers. Nearly all the greens are diagonal to lines of play, with the fourth green a dogleg wrapped around a sand hill. Drainage channels serve as prominent hazards along some holes, and trees were removed to open vistas of the sea. The Dunes Course now lives up to its name and is a worthy companion to The Shore.

Courtesy of Streamsong/LC Lambrecht

Streamsong (Black)
Streamsong Resort in Central Florida already has a dynamic duo: the Tom Doak-designed Blue course and the Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw-designed Red both are in the top 25 of Golf Digest’s America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses. That’s a tough lead-in for Streamsong’s third act, the new Black course (par-3 fifth, above), one mile southeast on reclaimed land not nearly as dramatic as the massive dunes created by phosphate-mining operations. Still, architect Gil Hanse was enthused by the opportunities of the low-plateau site. “It’s as good a golf ground as we’ve ever worked with,” he says. “It’s also the largest piece of land we’ve ever had.” The routing changes direction frequently—wide fairways twist and turn, with several playing uphill to greens perched on the horizon. The par-5 fourth encounters a meandering stream, and 18 edges a vast, attractive wetlands savannah. To further distinguish the Black, Hanse gave it a “Royal Melbourne treatment,” with vertical-edged bunkers similar to those he used at the Rio Olympic Golf Course. You’ll find crisp edges, abrupt slopes and a couple of the deepest bunkers on the property. The Black will open late in September 2017, with advance tee times available now with a room reservation. Says Hanse: “I hope people put the Black right alongside the Red and Blue.”

Courtesy of Mark Degnan/Torrey Pines

Torrey Pines (North)
Phil Mickelson campaigned for years to have La Jolla, Calif., upgrade its North Course at Torrey Pines to complement the championship South Course. His lobbying, under state law, prevented Mickelson from bidding on the redesign. Tom Weiskopf, who won his first PGA Tour event at Torrey Pines in 1968, got the bid over a field that included Robert Trent Jones Jr. and (surprise!) LPGA player Natalie Gulbis. To provide more challenge to tour players, but not frustrate the 80,000 average golfers who flock to the North each year, Weiskopf enlarged and flattened the greens (so they can be sped up when needed), surrounded many with chipping areas, relocated and reshaped all bunkers and improved irrigation. He also reversed the nines, so golfers finish in glorious coastal scenery, and created two new closing holes, the par-5 17th, with a canyon along its left, and the long par-4 18th. The North is now perfectly balanced, with all the par 3s (15th, pictured) and par 5s facing different directions. Each nine also has 21 bunkers (down from a total of 58). Though the South is still the showcase draw—it’ll host its second U.S. Open in 2021—a round at the North Course is no longer an afterthought.

Main image Courtesy of Chip Henderson/Monterey Peninsula Country Club

The post Three Of The Best <br> New Sister Courses appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Robbie Greenfield

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he great Bobby Jones was right. When you spend a day at Sunningdale Golf Club, it’s extremely difficult to leave the place. “I liked [the Old course] so much I wished I could carry it around with me. It suited my game so delightfully,” Jones recalled after carding historic rounds of 66 and 68 in the 1926 Open Championship qualifying  that are generally considered to be among the finest ever played.

If golf is in your blood, you don’t need to be possessed with Jones’ unique genius for playing it to feel the same kind of affection. Today, Sunningdale – host of the 2015 Senior Open Championship and no less than four Women’s British Opens – remains one of golf’s greatest delights.

The mere name itself conjures images of rolling fairways meandering between swathes of heather, clumps of gorse and sandy scrub. Aesthetically, Willie Park Junior’s creation (later updated by the club’s secretary – and arguably the greatest of all the course architects – Harry Colt) has few rivals. Each hole seems to deliver a unique and equally perfect configuration of vivid green turf, wispy golden fescue punctuated by bursts of flowering purple heather, against a backdrop of pine, oak and silver birch.

As with all the truly classic courses, the bunkering flows with the terrain; a concealed scoop in the ground here, a cavernous trap at the base of a natural depression there. Each bunker is immaculately presented and positioned just so.

A panoramic view of the par 4 17th hole (left) and the opening par 5 hole (right) on Sunningdale’s Old course

Sunningdale Old’s brilliant par 4 fifth hole features the first ever manmade water hazard to appear on a golf course

Deep into a round at Sunningdale, you reach a state of such tranquility that only the rarest golfing gems can boast, lost in your own private battle with the course and cut off from the rest of the world by the silent wall of trees on either side. And this magic does not only apply to the celebrated Old course. Colt’s New course is perhaps not quite so charming, but it brings a different set of strategic challenges to a more traditional open heathland setting, making the playing of both courses on the same day an unbeatable combination.

Together, the Old and New courses at Sunningdale comprise the best 36-hole golfing experience in the UK

So good, in fact, that 36 holes don’t seem like enough. As we sat on the clubhouse terrace having played the Old and then the New on a warm, sunny day in mid-July, even the club’s famous afternoon tea couldn’t entirely persuade us that the day’s golfing action was over.

“Do you think they would mind if we snuck out for another nine?” asked my rambunctious American playing partner, Mike, ruminating on a mouthful of scones and jam, before adding: “I’m a heathland guy now. Don’t ever take me to one of your so-called ‘championship’ links courses again.”

Harry Colt’s New course at Sunningdale is more open and traditionally heathland in style than it’s sister course the Old. This is a view from the fairway of the long par 4 12th hole

THE FINEST FORM OF GOLF

Sunningdale was the headliner on our trip to play the five clubs the recently established Golf Tourism England refers to as the heathland classics, but the truly staggering thing about this collection is their depth in quality. In a combined 108 holes at Sunningdale, The Berkshire Golf Club and Walton Heath, a further 27 at St. George’s Hill and 18 at Swinley Forest Golf Club, you would be hard pressed to pick out a single forgettable shot. We also played Worplesdon Golf Club near Guildford, which provided yet more evidence of the extraordinary volume of great heathland golf in the Surrey-Berkshire area. It was one of those trips where my favourite hole, and even my favourite course, changed on an hourly basis. By the time we reached the magical Swinley Forest (more on that particular gem later) I was ready to join Mike and swear a solemn allegiance only to the courses that possessed this magical combination of springy turf, heather and pine.

The six clubs we visited are all located on the famous Surrey-Berkshire sandbelt to the southwest of London and are within a 25 minute drive of one another

You might wonder why Sunningdale’s famous neighbour Wentworth is not included in the cluster. Well, the West course originally designed by Colt but subsequently transformed by Ernie Els and his design team to cater to the requirements of hosting the European Tour’s BMW PGA Championship, no longer exhibits the hallmarks of a quintessential heathland track.

Contrastingly, the courses we played have remained largely unchanged since they were first laid out by the legendary triumvirate of classic course architects between 1901 and 1928: Park Jr, Colt and Herbert Fowler. Indeed, the proliferation of pine trees at several of these clubs has prompted strategic thinning designed to restore some of the open, rolling vistas on the original layouts.

When you visit any of these five clubs you feel like you are stepping back in time, and I mean that in a good way. The very best parts of the game have been carefully preserved together with a serene ambience, but what was notable on our trip was the total absence of pretentiousness.

The Old course at Walton Heath is the closest thing you will find to an inland links. This is a view of the par 4 fourth

Positioning the heathland classics as a halfway house between parkland and links golf is probably as good a starting point as any, and the experience that most closely resembles the latter is to be found at Walton Heath Golf Club. Founded just two years after Sunningdale in 1903 and featuring two courses designed by Herbert Fowler, famed golf writer Bernard Darwin once said: “If there is something golfers want and do not get at Walton Heath, I do not know what it can be.” Sir Nick Faldo has called this the ‘finest, and most authentic’ of all the heathland courses, and it’s got a history to match.

The courses we played have remained largely unchanged since they were first laid out between 1901 and 1928

Walton Heath hosted the 1981 Ryder Cup (a contest that an American team featuring no less than 11 major champions won by a landslide), and the Senior Open Championship in 2011. Furthermore, it has been the USGA’s choice of international U.S. Open qualifying venue for the past 11 years. Comprising the Old and New courses (New being a relative term – it opened in 1907), 35 of the holes are located on a vast expanse of open land across the road from the clubhouse, practice area, and the first hole of the Old, which happens to be a rather intimidating 235-yard par 3.

The New course at Walton Heath occupies the same expanse of open land as the Old and is a firm, fast course with plenty of heather

It goes without saying that Walton Heath has bundles of charm, prompting Mike to comment on arrival (this time between mouthfuls of bacon roll) that the view across the putting green from the clubhouse patio was ‘impossibly quaint’. Allowing for the fact that being American, Mike tends to describe anything built before 1983 as quaint, he had an inarguable point. Like many old links courses, Walton Heath feels like it has been there forever. The greens flow seamlessly to the next tees just like an old links, and there is an abundance of short par 4s, a type of hole that has been criminally phased out by the modern obsession with 7,000-plus yard courses.

At 286 yards, the first on the New is one such example, and when Mike’s 3-wood scampered onto the green and came to rest 15 feet from the pin, he turned to me with one of those unbearably smug grins that suggested the next few hours in his company would be challenging. He may have also said: “Yeah, baby.”

I needn’t have worried. Walton Heath hosts U.S. Open qualifying for a reason – it is tricky. Two holes later, we were given a sharp reality check when a pair of drives we had been quite happy with were eventually discovered in ankle-deep heather. By the turn, Mike’s smug grin had turned into a perplexed grimace. “I don’t feel like I’m playing badly at all,” he muttered, while tapping in for another double-bogey on the long par 4 12th.

A suggestion for the gents when you play at Walton Heath: don’t do what we did and blindly cling to your ego from one of the longer sets of tees. This exposed, breezy heath can beat you up if you’re just a little wayward off the tee, and this form of the game is too much fun to be played from the heather (which as pretty as it is, is no fun whatsoever).    

The brilliant Berkshire Red course features six par 3s, six par 4s and six par 5s in its par 72 layout. This image shows the par 3 fifth green (left) and the dogleg par 4 sixth fairway (right)

While members at The Berkshire and even Sunningdale are often torn between which of their courses is the better, at Walton Heath there is no doubt that the Old is the superior layout. It occupies the more interesting terrain and has a greater variety of holes, together with more unusual quirks.

From one Herbert Fowler classic to another, our next stop was the majestic Berkshire Golf Club near Ascot. Maybe it was the stag emblem on the front gate, or the sight of a member walking up the first accompanied by his dog, but either way we knew instantly that we had arrived at a special, unique club.

Playing the Red and Blue courses at The Berkshire either side of its famous carvery lunch amounts to one of the most enjoyable days of golf you can have in the UK – or anywhere for that matter. Like Sunningdale, the courses compliment one another. Both wander off deep into the heart of a dense pine forest lined with bracken and rhododendron bushes, but the Red course takes you across higher, more undulating ground. Its unusual configuration of six par 3s, six par 4s and six par 5s is a delightful riposte to the standard par 72 layout, and we were soon wondering why more courses hadn’t copied the formula. “Six outside birdie chances in one round?!” exclaimed Mike rapturously. “That’s more than I have in a year.”

The second hole at The Berkshire’s Red course is a short, uphill par 3. Away to the right the par 5 third hole’s fairway plunges downhill

By the exquisite par 3 fifth hole, we were in mutual agreement that the Red course had blown us away. Sliding doglegs, uphill approach shots, fairways that plunged between avenues of pine trees and exhilirating par 3s playing across valleys of heather – this course is an assault on the senses and every hole seemingly announces itself as a candidate for the best one you’ve played yet.

A day playing both courses at The Berkshire convinced us that we had stumbled upon some profound golfing secret

“The Blue cannot live up to that. No way,” asserted Mike at lunch, dividing his attention between this premature course review and a slice of medium-rare roast beef. Well, it did. Ok, I think we’d both pick the Red as a marginal favourite, but it’s mighty close. The Blue opens up with another par 3 and the first few holes are slightly more parkland in style, but we were soon gazing in admiration from every new tee box as the familiar blend of fescue and heather gave way to pulpit greens popping up like islands surrounded by artisitically contoured bunkers.

The par 3 13th – one of my favourite holes on either course – was a great example of this style, with the raised green extending on a platform above a large bunker sporting a full beard of purple heather, and giving way to a steep drop-off to the left. On the rare occasion that we did hit an accurate iron shot, we watched with immense satisfaction as the ball flew above these sensationally picturesque short holes.

The par 3 13th hole on The Berkshire’s Blue course was one of our favourite short holes on the entire trip

It was during our day at The Berkshire when we realised that a trip to play the heathland classics could hold its own against any other golfing itinerary on the planet. We knew Sunningdale was going to be sensational, and Walton Heath’s reputation precedes it. But to visit a club where the golf is this good, and where no one there takes themselves remotely seriously, convinced us that we had stumbled upon some profound secret barely 15 miles from one of the world’s busiest airports.

THE GREATNESS OF HARRY COLT

After playing 72 holes of Fowler’s finest work, it was time to return to our old friend Harry Colt, first to St. George’s Hill and then finally to Swinley Forest. I’ll say this, the man was a genius. It is amazing to think that he designed these courses over a century ago and they are still just as strategic, just as clever and just as downright enjoyable today. From hickory clubs to the very latest titanium composites, manufacturers have poured every last drop of technological know-how into modern club design, and a Harry Colt par 3 still has the ability to make you go weak at the knees.

You could find plenty of avid golfers in Surrey who would argue that St George’s Hill occupies the finest site Colt was given to work his magic on. As the name suggests, the topography here on this opulent estate on the outskirts of Weybridge, is varied and sweeping. Featuring three nines of Red, Blue (which together make the championship 18-hole course) and Green, the first and 10th holes tumble away in opposite directions from the clubhouse, perched imperiously on the top of the hill.

The view from the clubhouse looking up the par 4 first hole at St. George’s Hill Golf Club

St. George’s Hill has the most impressive clubhouse I’ve seen in the UK and I invite anyone to suggest an alternative. It’s a magnificent red-brick building with a terrace that offers panoramic views across the property. As you come up the ninth and 18th holes, the clubhouse, with its giant red and white flag fluttering above, dominates the backdrop.

While I realise this feature is in danger of sounding like a broken record, the golf here is as fun as the holes are pretty. Colt’s legendary eye for a par 3 was as sharp as ever when he went to work here in 1911, because the third, eighth, 11th and 14th holes are all superb. There isn’t a single flat hole on the course, but the only semi-blind tee shots you face all day are at the 10th and 12th par 4s.

Every so often during the round, a giant mansion will loom up from behind the pine trees like some towering Himalayan peak, and these range from the more attractive old English red-brick style houses to hulking continental structures where presumably the oligarchs go to unwind.

Harry Colt is renowned for his par 3s, and the four at St. George’s Hill are all excellent – perhaps topped by the eighth

Having played there several times now I have become a huge fan of St. George’s Hill, from its brilliant layout to its friendly and welcoming members. But on a personal note, my favourite of all has to be our final port of call, Swinley Forest. This beautifully eccentric club right next to The Berkshire was Colt’s own favourite too, a design he modestly referred to as ‘my least-bad course’, which is another way of saying it’s one of the best examples of golf course design on the planet.

Back in the early 20th century, the 17th Earl of Derby commissioned Colt to build the course at Swinley under the strict proviso that lady members would be admitted from the start – the first of so many refreshingly unusual statistics that illuminate the history of the club. The links-like burn that snakes its way across the first and 18th holes had to be moved from its original spot when it was revealed that Lady Derby had trouble carrying it on her opening drive, and so began the culture of a course, and a club, that has dedicated itself to the simple pleasures of the game, with none of the accompanying stuffiness.

Swinley Forest is a stunningly beautiful course which makes use of the tremendous natural green sites – here showing the short par 4 11th hole (foreground) and the par 4 14th holes

For many decades, Swinley Forest existed in its own bubble, detached from the rest of the world. It has always been a highly private club, but until quite recently, the place was shrouded in mystery. Few knew much about it, and even fewer got to play it. But thanks to the progressive attitudes of current secretary George Ritchie, Swinley has opened its doors – albeit to the discerning golfer who wants to pay homage to Colt’s greatest masterpiece.

Ritchie has also worked tirelessly to improve the condition of the course. “It deserves to be recognised as one of the best courses in the world, and with that, it deserves to be in the best possible condition,” he told us during our visit.

A truly outstanding collection of par 3s at Swinley Forest are completed with the 17th hole and its pulpit green

Ritchie knows Swinley will never have the star power of Sunningdale or Walton Heath, but he and everyone at the club are happy in the knowledge that what they have is something unique. “We don’t take many new members because those that join stay here for life,” he told us. “Once you become a member here, it’s very difficult to go somewhere else and experience something better.” It was said so matter-of-factly, but he’s right. The members at Swinley don’t carry handicaps and they don’t hold competitions. Ever. Such administrative affairs merely interrupt the joy of just playing.

And what a joy this course is. If Colt is known for his par 3s (among many other things), it’s here that he discovered the greatest collection – and such is their quality that he identified the sites for the five short holes first, before building the rest of the layout around them. I haven’t been lucky enough to play New Jersey’s Pine Valley (another course in which Colt had a considerable hand) but if it really does have a better bunch of short holes than Swinley, I truly hope I one day get to see them.

A view looking back down the par 3 fourth hole at Swinley Forest, with the par 5 fifth fairway in the background

When you stand on the tee of the fourth, you will ask yourself if you’ve ever played a better looking par 3. You’ll be posing the same question on the 10th. The 17th caps an outrageous collection of one-shotters with a hole that must surely have inspired A.W. Tillinghast’s effort on the 10th at Winged Foot West. A pulpit green dares you to hit an accurate shot in the full knowledge that left or right is likely to result in bogey being a good score.

Elsewhere, the layout’s endless sequence of majestic pars 4s and its two par 5s frequently cause you to lose focus and just stand there, gazing awestruck at nothing in particular. I did that on the fifth, seventh and ninth tee boxes alone, to say nothing of the occasional fleeting glimpse of other holes you’ve yet to reach, stretching out beyond a row of pines towards yet another perfectly formed crowned green.

In his playing days, Harry Colt used to talk about ‘a craving for my usual game around the Swinley Forest course’. Craving. It’s an apt word for Swinley, and it’s an apt word for the heathland classics in general. Colt’s affection for his favourite course was no different from Bobby Jones’ wish to carry Sunningdale back home with him. These two great courses, together with the others on this trip, are about more than just a rewarding golfing experience. As Mike will happily testify, once you’re bitten by the heathland bug, one visit is nowhere near enough. We’ve already started scouring dates for 2017.

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 Special thanks to Golf Tourism England and the featured golf clubs
Golf Tourism England has set out to put England’s incredible golfing offering on the map for visiting golfers from around the world, grouping clusters of great courses together. For more information on golf in Surrey and Berkshire, email: info@golftourismengland.com
or visit golftourismengland.com

The post Travel: Add England’s heathland classics to your bucket list appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The golf around Ireland’s capital city is staggeringly good and packed with variety. From epic trophy links to little-known gems, here’s why you can’t overlook the Dublin area when you plan a golf trip to the Emerald Isle.

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The first thing you have to accept when preparing to tackle an Irish links course is that it can play really, really hard. And by that I mean forget about trying to keep score hard. If you can make peace with this simple truth, you’re ready for a golfing experience like no other. You are indeed ready to play the European Club. This magnificent links on windswept Brittas Bay is designer Pat Ruddy’s home and his masterpiece. Eccentric and brilliant, it’s a fitting reflection of the man himself.

The par 4 10th hole at the European Club looks out over Brittas Bay

I’ve played tough courses that have made me want to give up the game by the fifth hole. The sadistic obsession some private clubs have with thick rough and marble greens can leave you seriously questioning how golf can be considered recreational.

But the European Club isn’t like that. The carnage here is unpredictable, and always enjoyable. It’s not some unrelenting slog featuring one near-impossible hole after another. In fact, if you get into a rhythm, pars and even birdies are not hard to come by. But then all of a sudden you’ll take a nine on an innocuous looking par 4 and wonder what the hell just happened. The only certainty is that you’ll play all 20 holes with a broad grin on your face.

No, that isn’t a misprint. When constructing the course by his own hand, Ruddy believed a mere 18 holes would be an insufficient tribute to the site he bought in County Wicklow, so he built 20 instead.

Rory McIlroy calls the European Club: ‘Unbelievable’

Call it Irish logic. The ‘spare’ holes, 7a and 12a, are two of the best par 3s you will ever play, and since keeping score is unlikely to still be a priority after you’ve made it past the truly terrifying par 4 seventh, there is no excuse to skip them.

On our visit during the week of May’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, we were welcomed by Ruddy’s son, Gerry, who has inherited all of his father’s warmth and humour. “We get guys coming in after a round, scratching their heads and saying, ‘man, that was a real struggle’,” he chuckles. “And I want to say to them: ‘Just out of interest, when was the last time you played golf where it wasn’t a struggle? Have you been shooting 71 at every other course on this trip?’ But of course I just smile and say ‘that’s what happens when the wind blows’.”

Playing into the prevailing wind, the par 4 seventh hole at the European Club is a terrifying prospect from the back tee

The wind is the primary defense of any links course, and indeed some tracks can be rather straightforward on the rare day when it drops to a gentle breeze. This doesn’t apply to the European Club, whose considerable challenge is only magnified by the gusts that whip in off the Irish Sea. Tiger Woods spoke of the ‘optical illusions’ that greet you on many of the tee boxes, and by that he meant most par 4s look like par 5s. Rory McIlroy calls the course ‘unbelievable’.

Don’t be fooled by an innocuous clubhouse and a name that lacks the gravitas of Ballybunion or Royal Portrush. For me, the European Club is among the three or four best courses I have played in my life (including most of the classics in both Ireland and Scotland).

This treasure, an hour south of Dublin, is just one of many compelling reasons why Ireland’s capital city and its surrounding area is worthy of far more than just your passing attention. If it’s your first time in Ireland and you want to squeeze some golf into a broader itinerary, the Dublin area presents arguably the strongest case. If you’re planning a more extensive and dedicated golf trip, don’t overlook it. The European Club is not the only gem on this stretch of coast.

But it is not just the links courses for which Ireland is famed. Our base for the week was the magnificent K Club, host venue for the 2016 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open and a layout that is every bit as parkland in style as the European Club is a links. Tournament host Rory McIlroy told us that from 2017, he wants to move this rejuvenated event to an exclusively links rota, but his thrilling victory on the K Club’s Palmer course, not to mention title sponsor Dubai Duty Free’s affinity for the venue, means the future direction the tournament will take remains unclear for now.

Dubai Duty Free Irish Open host Rory McIlroy won his first home title at the K Club in May, but has been an advocate of playing the tournament on a rota of the country’s classic links courses

There is talk that the European Tour might move the DDF Irish Open to a slot in July, directly before the Scottish Open, creating an unprecedented ‘links swing’ that culminates with The Open Championship and serves as a tempting proposition for the PGA Tour’s biggest stars to play more golf in Europe during the build up to the season’s third major. This seems like an excellent idea in theory, given that the likes of Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler already play the Scottish, and there’s no doubt that Ireland’s national open could benefit from some more favourable weather.

They talk about having all four seasons in a day here, but May is an even more temperamental month, and during my trip, the appropriate time frame for this curiously Irish phenomenon felt more like 15 minutes. Following Rafael Cabrera Bello’s group down the 10th hole on Sunday’s final round, I had just peeled off my sweater for about the 12th time that afternoon when the sky abruptly turned black and from nowhere, hail stones the size of ball markers were thundering down on stranded spectators who shuffled hurriedly beneath a bobbing mass of umbrellas towards the safety of the spectator village. Rain, wind, sun, thunder, lightning, and now hail. We’d had it all in the time it takes to walk from tee box to green.    

I am a diehard fan of links golf, so was not expecting to love the K Club, but our stay here quickly put paid to that false assumption. The hotel is simply stunning, with an extraordinary level of service that is as attentive as it is cheerful. The lawns that overlook the peaceful River Liffey show there is more to Ireland’s natural beauty than its rugged coastline. The river is a prominent feature of the Palmer golf course, particularly on the 16th and 17th holes. You might recall McIlroy’s amazing 3-wood from 270 yards that found the green on 16 and turned the tide in the World No.4’s favour. Well, having dumped my own approach shot into the Liffey with just a wedge in my hands, I have a new appreciation for what will surely rank as one of the shots of the year.

The location of the K Club in County Kildare is a big part of its appeal. It’s only 40 minutes from Dublin’s city centre, but occupies a vast estate of rolling countryside that feels tranquil even in the presence of 25,000 Irish golf fans. It’s much easier to get around in the Dublin area than it is in the more remote parts of the country (like the southwest and far north) and most of your prime golfing targets can be reached in less than an hour by car.

Our first stop was Portmarnock Golf Club, Dublin’s most famous links course situated on an exposed peninsula just a short drive north of the city. A crumpled piece of land dotted with numerous clumps of yellow gorse, the championship course here is revered, and for good reason. Padraig Harrington calls it ‘the fairest links in Ireland’, and sure enough, this is a course for the purist. Hidden trickery is an accepted part of most links golf, but the challenges of Portmarnock unfold in clear view, leaving you in no doubt as to the varied demands of each and every shot. It’s firm and boy is it tough.

The short par 3 12th on Portmarnock’s championship course nevertheless demands a precise tee shot

The par 5 fifth hole at Portmarnock features the subtle terrain for which this classic links is famed

There are three nines at the club, but it’s the red and blue nines that comprise the championship links. When you’re not used to this style of course, the first thing you must do is recalibrate your distances. The greens here are firm, and they’re quick, which means you have to get used to landing the ball short and bouncing it in. Skilled links players will seldom play a full shot, instead opting for a variety of punches, bunts, three-quarter swings and low stingers. It takes some getting used to, but this is golf at its most creative and most fun.

Portmarnock is one of the most famous historical clubs in the world, but our next port of call fell firmly into the hidden gem category. The Island Golf Club, just a few kilometres north of its acclaimed neighbour, is not a regular on Ireland’s must-play list. But here’s the thing: it should be. As well as taking in the classics, a golf trip to Ireland should also be a journey of discovery, and this charming club near the small town of Malahide fits that bill.   

Quirky and bursting with character, the course weaves amongst impressive sand dunes dressed in fescue, its fairways and greens peppered with well-placed sand traps. The Island is one of the country’s oldest clubs, but its reputation as a world class links has been growing of late. Ranked 13th on Golf Digest Ireland’s Top 100 list this year, the club plays host to regional qualifying for The Open Championship.

The Island Golf Club just north of the Malahide features fast-running turf and dramatic sand dunes

Killeen Castle is a picturesque Jack Nicklaus designed parkland course that hosted the 2011 Solheim Cup

The final course we visited is also no stranger to hosting big events. Killeen Castle is a parkland course designed by Jack Nicklaus and set in the grounds of a wooded country estate in County Meath, 40 minutes northwest of Dublin. Best known for staging the Solheim Cup in 2011, it’s a young course in a historic setting and if you need a break from the links, this picturesque estate is the place to head. Ireland and its capital city truly is the golf destination that has it all.

www.kclub.ie
www.ireland.com
www.visitdublin.com

The post Travel: Why Dublin should be an essential part of any golf trip to Ireland appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Bunkers are considered an integral feature on any golf course, but on the beautiful island of Langkawi, an award-winning Ernie Els design has shown that in the right location, you can easily do without them. And that location is a dramatic Malaysian rainforest.

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A trip to the Datai entails a short night flight to Kuala Lumpur followed by a 45-minute hop to Malaysia’s northerly island of Langkawi. It feels like it should be harder to reach than that. More remote; more spectacularly removed from the glinting metropolises of the UAE. From an urban jungle to the real McCoy, complete with inquisitive monkeys and prehistoric-looking bird life, this is a dramatic assault on the senses. And then of course, there’s the small matter of an award-winning golf course.

Ernie Els’ Teluk Datai course is carved out of a mature rainforest in the northwest corner of Malaysia’s Langkawi island

Bunkers? Who needs ‘em? Not the Els Club Teluk Datai, apparently. I have to confess, when I first heard that this renovated golf course had entirely foregone arguably the game’s most essential hazard, I was initially skeptical.

I expected to be wowed by the scenery and surroundings, but underwhelmed by a layout that must surely suffer aesthetically from this omission. On the world’s greatest golf courses, the bunkers are a work of art in themselves – from the traps at Royal County Down that look like someone took a giant ice cream scoop to the turf, to the famous walled pots at St Andrews that have names like ‘Hell Bunker’ and the flawless curves and crushed white marble eye-poppers of Augusta National. Unless your name is Luke Donald you never enjoy venturing into bunkers, but they sure are pleasing to the eye, not to mention a valuable distance gauge.

Well, after playing just three holes of the Els Club Teluk Datai with Troon’s resident golf operations manager, Steven Outlaw, I had already forgotten this supposed bone of contention. A course with no sand is certainly unique, but then nothing about this layout could even remotely be placed in a bracket marked ‘standard’. Located in the north-west corner of Langkawi, the terrain is rugged, mountainous and covered by a rainforest that is many centuries old. With the far reaches of the golf course running up the coast to meet the calm waters of the Andaman Sea, Thailand’s southernmost island, the uninhabited Ko Tarutao, looms with a pale sunlit halo just five kilometres across the Strait of Malacca. In short, it is a spectacular spot to play golf.

The par 5 seventh hole, with the distinctive peak of Mat Cincang looming in the background

Four of the holes on Ernie Els’ design run right along the calm waters of the Andaman Sea

The Datai Langkawi hotel occupies a hillside setting deep in the heart of a spectacular rainforest and just a short work from its stunning beach

Carved through the rainforests that lie beneath the distinctive rocky peak of Mat Cincang (which serves as a useful alignment guide on several tee shots), the holes plunge through thick jungle and skirt the coastline on both the front and back nines. Originally over 20 years old, four-time major winner Els was tasked with the job of renovating and improving the course, which reopened for play just under two years ago.

The South African’s decision to make the new layout bunker-free was rooted in practicality. Although our visit fortunately coincided with one of Langkawi’s driest spells on record, when it rains here, they are the kind of deluges that would prompt Noah to gather supplies for a new Ark.

The distinctive peak of Mat Cincang serves as a useful alignment aid

Els was told that in this volatile climate, keeping the bunkers water-free was a logistical nightmare, so he decided instead to make the jungle the star of the show. And boy, does it deliver.

You would naturally assume that if you keep your ball out of the trees, the guarantee of always playing from the grass would make the game considerably easier. If that is true, it wasn’t reflected by our scorecard.

Many of the greens are protected by the kind of swales and run-offs that characterise the Els Club’s sister venue in Dubai, and the rough can be knarly and difficult to get a clean contact from. If you start spraying it off the tee you can really rack up a number, because the walls of jungle that flank many holes have a ‘don’t bother looking for your ball’ vibe to them. Even Bear Grylls would have to think twice before wading in to recover his Pro V1.

The holes themselves contain plenty of variety, with changes in elevation and a number of doglegs keeping you on your toes. A stirring finish is highlighted by two cracking par 3s, the dramatically downhill 15th protected by a large pond – one of the few water hazards on the golf course, and the 17th, which runs right alongside a shoreline coincidentally known as ‘pebble beach’.

There are no bunkers on the 18-hole course, with the rainforest acting as the layout’s chief protection on almost every hole

The Datai Langkawi’s beachside pool and restaurant

The Teluk Datai has more in common with California’s famous venue than you might think, having joined it for the first time in Golf Digest U.S.’s compilation of the 100 greatest courses on the planet (entering at an impressive No.83 earlier this year). There is an unmistakable resort-type feel to it that may offend the type of golf snob who shuns all bar the championship courses, but for fun-factor alone, the Els Club Teluk Datai is hard to beat. It’s also in extremely good condition, even if the greens aren’t quite as fast and pure as those that we’re used to in the UAE.

But just as crucial to the overall package on Langkawi is the Datai Hotel itself, which is easily among Malaysia’s finest. Nestled on an elevated perch in the densest part of the forest, you can choose from canopy or beach accommodation, take guided nature walks or relax in surely one of the best locations for a spa in Asia. The jungle is alive with a vivid array of bird and animal life, brought into even sharper focus when we joined a small huddle of nature lovers in the lobby for a guided walk led by Malaysia’s answer to David Attenborough.

Such was this gentleman’s enthusiasm and depth of knowledge for every single inhabitant of the natural world – plant and animal, that after an hour of rushing, gesticulating and insightful anecdotes, we had barely made it past the swimming pool. Everything from the resident eagles to snakes, predatory fig trees and the problems with Darwin’s Theory of Evolution were tackled over the course of a hugely educational, if extremely truncated walk.

If it’s an exhilarating escape from the real world and a golf course to match that you’re seeking, then this is a place you simply have to visit.

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By Luke Joy

“Hello everyone, it has been a few weeks since I last posted a blog, but before I get into the golf I wanted to say how excited I am to be able to share my experiences through Golf Digest Middle East.

I will be documenting my movements on the Asian and MENA Tours throughout the 2016 season, but also covering other golf events from across the world and looking at who is making headlines for the right and (probably more entertainingly), the wrong reasons. I will still be posting after each round but on the final day of play I will give a little more of a summary of the event I have been playing in and then touch on some stories from across the world of golf.

Luke Joy is a two-time MENA Tour winner

So, back to my golf. After my exploits playing in Bangladesh on the Asian Tour back in February, I’ve had some time off from tournament golf, but that’s not to say it hasn’t been productive. Forget days at the beach, I have basically been working my a** off in the gym and on the range, building a structured routine with my coach, Mat Parker.

I have been using my gym-time to focus on the areas in my swing where I was physically weak, and am just now starting to see the benefits. This past weekend I had the pleasure of winning the Abu Dhabi Men’s Open at Al Ghazal Golf Club. It was a completely new experience for me as the entire course is sand (with browns instead of greens) and it made for a very fun weekend. You have to play so many different shots during the round and it takes you out of your comfort zone. If you have not played the course I would very much recommend it, not only is it completely different to anything else you would play in the Middle East but it’s a challenging test of golf as well.

The last month has all been focused towards my preparation for three weeks on the road with the MENA Golf Tour. I was confident about getting an invite into the first Challenge Tour event in Kenya last week but unfortunately it didn’t come off so I arrived in Morocco early on Monday morning for two events, then it’s off to Spain for the third week in Sotogrande.

As I arrived nice and early I was able to play nine holes at the Royal Golf Mohammedia Golf Club today ahead of the official practice round tomorrow. The course itself is fairly short in places but being by the coast, there is always a very gusty wind to contend with and today was no exception. I think the course suits someone who can get it out there off the tee and take advantage of some wedges into the very small greens, as I feel if you’re hitting mid-irons into these greens with all the cross wind shots you will face, birdies will be pretty tough to come by.

The MENA Tour this year has an international feel to it and this week is no exception. What was a tour predominately filled with the up-and-coming young talent is now an eclectic mix of new and seasoned campaigners. This week has a strong field with several past European Tour players, which goes to show just how far the tour has come since its launch in 2011.

I’m very much looking forward to getting back out there and getting the competitive juices flowing again. It has been a good mini-break but it is one thing working hard in the gym and on the practice ground, and quite another when you take that work to a competitive environment. The competition is what I miss most when I’m not on the road and this is what gets me up in the morning – I can’t wait to get started.”

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THE TALK AT THE TOP

“This week in the world of golf we saw a possible sign of things to come, especially stateside, as the Florida Swing came to a close with the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He may have stepped away from ceremonial first shot duties at the Masters, but The King was holding court at Bay Hill as usual, making sure the players were never short of his signature drink: iced tea and lemonade.

Jason Day followed some advice from Tiger Woods and ran out the first wire-to-wire winner at Bay Hill and finished the event on 17-under, one shot ahead of Kevin Chappell. This was Day’s first win of the season and I can’t help but think that he will again be pushing for more silverware at the majors this year after that breakthrough success last August at the PGA Championship.

Arnold Palmer with Jason Day and family after the Aussie won Sunday at Bay Hill

Over the last few months we have been reminded that there is far more to the upper echelons of golf than Jordan and Rory, who have both struggled for consistency. With the likes of Adam Scott finding great form recently and winning twice already, not to mention past Masters winner Charl Schwartzel winning last week, it gives people plenty more storylines to focus on as we approach the Masters.

Over on the European and Asian Tours, all the players were walking in single file around the dangerously tight Delhi Golf Club for the Hero Indian Open. It was no surprise to me to see some familiar names up on the top of the leaderboard, with Anirban Lahiri coming close to defending his title. However, it was the man who had finished runner-up four times in the event S.S.P Chawrasia, who took home the title, winning by two shots at 15-under.

SSP Chawrasia on his way to winning the Hero Indian Open at Delhi Golf Club

That is enough from me this week and I will keep you all updated on lukejoygolf.com on how my time in Morocco pans out. I hope you all enjoy following along this year and if you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to message me via the contact page on my website.

Have a good week and happy golfing.”

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Follow Luke here:
Twitter: @joyboy59
Instagram: @lukejoygolf
Online: www.lukejoygolf.com

The post Luke Joy blog: Back in Action appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

There are few better places on the planet to play golf than Northern Ireland. Home to breathtaking links courses and countryside made famous by ‘Game of Thrones’, the weather may be changeable but the welcome is always first class here
By Robbie Greenfield

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’m generally o.k. when it comes to first tee jitters, but on a bright, chilly morning at Royal Portrush Golf Club in early June, mild panic had officially set in. The bigger the golf course, the more desperately you want to get that first shot safely away, and when it comes to links courses, few come bigger than Portrush.

For my impending first drive, the devil was in the details. Portrush’s first hole is not tight by any means, but somewhat uncharitably, it has ominous white out-of-bounds posts lining not one but both of its perimeters, in sweat-inducing symmetry. Reluctantly, I drew a mental line through ‘cowardly bail-out’ as one of my possible opening shot selections.

Furthermore, my playing partner was head professional Gary McNeill, a mighty fine player who used to tussle with the likes of Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley in his youth as one of Ireland’s top amateurs. Gary had given me a typically warm Northern Irish welcome, but I still didn’t fancy embarrassing myself in front of him.

Then there was the crowd of onlookers and fellow golfers shuffling around in my peripheral vision. This happens a lot on famous links courses. Starters, caddies and overly eager players congregate on the first tee well ahead of their designated slot to take in the atmosphere and pick the brains of the locals. On this particular morning, a small army of players had assembled to play a practice round for the famous Causeway Coast golf tournament. Most of them were watching me go about my pre-shot routine like rubberneckers at the scene of an accident.

As I took the club back, I realised I was no longer in control of my own body. I just had to hope the golfing gods took pity on me, because this ball was heading wherever they decided it should go. With an enormous surge of relief, I watched it scamper down the fairway. The shot was thinner than a professional marathon runner, but the dreaded first tee reload had been avoided. “Nice shot,” said Gary, very generously, before ripping his own piercing drive down the left side of the hole.  As if sensing that I hadn’t drawn a breath in almost a minute, he added: “Don’t worry, we’ll take plenty of mulligans.”

And so began one of the most enjoyable and exhilarating rounds of golf I’ve ever played.

Welcome to Northern Ireland, where you’ll make more friends on a golf trip (and probably bogeys) than anywhere else. Later that afternoon, I joined a threeball at nearby Castlerock Golf Club who were competing in the Causeway Coast event. Consisting of an Irishman, an Englishman and a Canadian, it was fitting that this sounds like the set-up to an old gag because all they did was laugh and joke the entire way around. The Irishman, Mick, who was approaching 70 but had clearly been a great player in his younger days, told me: “I play twice as much golf as I used to, but with only half the number of hips.” If his swing had begun to desert him, his sense of humour was going nowhere.

This was my second visit to Northern Ireland, having played some links golf here in 2008 and after falling in love with it back then, I returned to find a country that is riding the crest of a wave. Timing is everything of course, and having put The Troubles that plagued the nation for the best part of 40 years up to the turn of the century well behind them, Northern Ireland is booming. And so is its golf.

Welcome to Northern Ireland, where you’ll make more friends on a golf trip (and probably bogeys) than anywhere else in the world.

My first port of call was to head to the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Royal County Down, my favourite golf course on the planet and surely the most spectacular piece of linksland you will ever set eyes on. The Irish Open had been in peril as recently as five years ago, with the downturn in the economy threatening to force it off the European Tour schedule, but it’s now hard to think of a tournament on the global circuit in ruder health. Hosted by World No.1 Rory McIlroy and his Rory Foundation, attracting a superb field that included Players Champion Rickie Fowler and former World No.1s Ernie Els, Luke Donald and Martin Kaymer, and welcoming a new headline sponsor in Dubai Duty Free, the fact that it was staged on one of the best (and most difficult) courses in the world was the icing on the cake.

The greatest defence of any links course is the weather and in this respect, County Down was armed to the teeth. Three weeks short of the summer solstice and this exposed stretch of land beneath the Mourne Mountains was doing a good impression of mid-February. Pro golfers waddled the fairways in several layers of clothing and full-body rain suits, like logoed Michelin men.

The wind tends to whip across County Down, making its numerous blind tee shots and approaches into greens like upturned saucers even more challenging. The best players in the world were having to aim balls over the rough to ensure they landed on fairway or green, often misjudging this horribly. No putt outside two feet looked routine, even for these brilliant putters.

As I watched Soren Kjeldsen, Bernd Wiesberger and Tommy Fleetwood battle their way into a playoff that was eventually won in thrilling style by the determined Dane, I couldn’t help thinking: If these guys are making hard work of this, how on earth are the rest of us going to fare? The very next day I got my answer.

After enjoying a typically hearty cooked Irish breakfast and checking out of the magnificent Slieve Donard hotel early in the morning, I was headed for the north Antrim coast and a date with the links at Portstewart, stopping off at some of Northern Ireland’s world famous attractions along the way. The countryside here is breathtaking, and it has found extra fame as one of the main filming locations in HBO’s fantasy drama Game of Thrones. Ever the entrepreneurs, it hasn’t taken the locals long to cater to the show’s army of diehard fans.

You can now book the full ‘Game of Thrones experience’ through a number of tour operators, which takes visitors to the heart of Winterfell and then up into the Iron Islands. Tourism Northern Ireland’s Lucia King assured me that no one had yet been ambushed by an army of Lannisters, or chased by a dire wolf.

The countryside here is breathtakingly beautiful, and it has found extra fame as one of the filming locations for Game of Thrones.

As you circumnavigate the grand city of Belfast, you pass a sign at the start of the Antrim coast road that informs drivers they are entering an ‘area of outstanding natural beauty’. This would be an understatement. After winding along a road that skirts right up against the rugged coastline, you pass over a high moor and arrive at the star attractions on this stretch of coast, the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge and the jaw-droppingly stunning Giant’s Causeway. This rock feature was formed when molten lava thrust up through the earth’s crust and was cooled by the (freezing) waters of the sea, or as the result of a disagreement between two mythical giants, Finn McCool and Benandonner (depending on who you listen to).

By the time I left the visitors centre it had started to rain, and when I pulled into the carpark at Portstewart, the film Noah was springing to mind. A 40mph wind was delivering pelting rain horizontally into my face as golfers from all corners of the course were beating a hasty retreat.

They don’t shy away from a bit of weather in this part of the world, but even the lady in the pro shop regarded me with sympathy. “You’re welcome to give it a try,” she offered tentatively. Despite the lure of a Guinness and a steak and kidney pie in the clubhouse, I ventured to the first tee, bent double against the howling wind and attracting double-takes from a large group of Americans who had finished their round.

Portstewart is a spectacular golf course, with sweeping holes that bisect the towering dunes on either side, but sadly this was no day to enjoy the views. My first shot squirted into the thick rough, and eight lost balls later (I was only on the fourth tee) I decided to admit defeat.

They say Northen Ireland gets four seasons in a day, and by the time I drove back to the Bushmills Inn – a gorgeous boutique hotel that is geared towards the needs of golfers – a gentle evening sun was casting long shadows across the crumpled landscape.

A famous topic in these parts demands that golfers elect a preference either for County Down or the Dunluce course at Portrush. I have always been a County Down man, but Portrush – home to Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell and the site of Rory McIlroy’s course record 61, is closing the gap fast. The major news is that The Open is heading back here to Northen Ireland, for the first time since Portrush last hosted the championship in 1951.

The announcement was made by the R&A last year following a long and tireless campaign led by the likes of Clarke to bring The Open back to his home course, with a likely year set either for 2019 or 2020. And what a venue this grand old course will be. It is a stunning links, let down only slightly by a closing pair of holes out of character with the rest of the layout. But that is the first item on the Open Championship agenda, Gary explained.

“We’re incorporating the far corner of the Valley course and adding two brand new holes there, which will be in the seventh and eighth during The Open. So the current sixteenth, which is a cracking dogleg par 4, will become the finishing hole,” he explains. Further tweaks and changes are planned to elevate Portrush to an even greater level of perfection, with the ‘Big Nellie’ bunker currently on 17 scheduled to be recreated on the new seventh. Additional bunkers and new tee placements will make Portrush an exacting test when it hosts the game’s oldest and grandest tournament.

But for now, I was left to admire a true links player in action, as Gary peppered one flagstick after another with a succession of precision iron shots. This is golf at its most challenging, where bogeys can feel like pars and one crooked bounce can be the difference between fairway and knee-high rough. But it is also golf at its most artistic and exhilirating. You will attempt shots you never knew you had in you. You will envisage lines and angles you’ve never thought of before.

On the windswept links of Northern Ireland, your scorecard is secondary to the thrill of battling the elements. This is golf in its purest form and for this thriving little country, it promises to get even better still.

www.discovernorthernireland.com

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Greg Norman’s stunning new creation on the southern coast of Vietnam may be called The Bluffs, but it’s a layout that holds all the aces

By Robbie Greenfield

To be precise my initial glimpse of the sprawling golf course from the bay window of a 21st floor room in The Grand resort hotel elicited more of a “woaaah”. The sight that greeted me was enough to spur even the most recreational golfer to dive theatrically for his clubs and sprint to the nearest elevator.

If Chambers Bay is America’s archetypal modern links on steroids, then The Bluffs is undoubtedly Asia’s answer to it. The course has been carved out of a rugged site sandwiched between a sweeping coastline and an impenetrable Vietnamese jungle. From high up in the hotel you can make out nearly all 18 holes as they tumble and weave dramatically from elevated vantage points to pristine fairways that bisect the towering sand dunes on either side.

Bathed in the warm glow of an early morning sun, it was some first impression.

Given the scope of the entire development, The Bluff s was always destined to be a big golf course with a personality to match. Its accompanying hotel, The Grand Ho Tram, looks like it has been airlifted directly from the Las Vegas Strip. Described as Vietnam’s fi rst ‘beachfront integrated luxury resort’, it’s a massive property with over 500 rooms, a nightclub, cigar lounge and naturally, a sizeable casino. The Grand is the trailblazer for a number of neighbouring resorts in the pipeline that will transform this stretch of coast into a mini-Macau over the next few years. To arrive at such a venue after a 90-minute drive from Ho Chi Minh City through small rural towns and fairly nondescript countryside is disorienting to say the least. What is quickly apparent though from the second you leave the airport is that Vietnam doesn’t do mundane.

The bluffs Ho Tram strip – The clubhouse includes a well-appointed pro shop and below: the view from the hotel is spectacular

As soon as The Grand’s luxury shuttle (complete with reclining leather seats and WiFi) emerged from the terminal, we were engulfed by a dense swarm of mopeds. It was like being caught up in some vast motorised migration, with each vehicle intent on aggressively changing lanes without depositing.

There are allegedly four million mopeds in Ho Chi Minh (or put another way, one per every person over the age of 12), and most of them seemed to be fl anking us as we sped past bustling side streets, crowded neon-lit bars and street food stalls serving everything from meat skewers to fried octopus. Southeast Asia buzzes with an energy that’s unique to this part of the world, and in few cities is this as palpable as Ho Chi Minh.

Vietnam’s potent mix of both ancient and modern history, jaw-dropping geography (just Google Ha Long Bay and you’ll get the idea) and famous cuisine has long established it as a favourite among travellers, and now you can add world class golf to that list of attractions. For several years now the country has been quietly emerging as a strong alternative to Thailand (the reigning champion of Asian golf tourism), and while it can’t compete in terms of volume, Vietnam has done a great job carving its own compelling niche.

In just fi ve years, the central Danang region has become a golfi ng hotspot, off ering courses designed by Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie and Norman himself. The Australian legend’s Danang Golf Club was widely considered to be the fi nest layout in the country, until he was given an even better opportunity to showcase his design prowess at Ho Tram.

The Bluff s is one of those projects that even the top designers only get a crack at once or twice in their careers. Most modern sites require the architect to sculpt interesting topography out of nothing, or at least fi nd a way of fi tting the layout into restrictive corridors of real estate, but on the Ho Tram strip, Norman was given a rugged canvass of rare potential. The former World No.1 now has 77 golf courses in his growing worldwide portfolio, and ranks The Bluffs alongside Doonbeg on the west coast of Ireland as the best site he’s ever been given to work with. Before I had even hit a shot it was easy to see why.

The Bluff s may be a purist’s golf course, but those who want a luxury experience to match the grandeur of the layout won’t be disappointed. This truly is fi ve star fare that begins with a short shuttle ride from The Grand and continues with a welcoming committee at the clubhouse that includes your designated caddie.

My only complaint about the caddies at The Bluffs was the fact that my next round would have to be endured without one; like being unceremoniously dumped in Economy directly after flying Business. Through no fault of her own, my caddie also kept my score a little too studiously for my liking (I told her I wasn’t ‘marking a card’ right after watching a provisional tee shot disappear into a bush on the 10th, but undeterred, I caught her scribbling down an 8 less than 15 minutes later). Thankfully, this unerring accuracy extended to club selection and green reading.

Like an experienced tailor sizing up a generous waistline, the limitations in my game were silently accounted for. Prudent lay-ups were politely advised, a putter was handed to me when any golfer with a crumb of belief in his short game would have grabbed a wedge, and full-blooded sevenirons were gently talked down into regular sixes. In short, my caddie prevented disaster on at least eight holes, all the while maintaining a steady flow of refreshments. The Bluffs has clearly gone to great lengths to recruit the most knowledgeable caddies in the region, and it all adds up to visiting golfers shooting lower scores and having a better time doing it.

I played the course with head teaching professional Patrick Kelly and course superintendent Alistair MacFadyen – one of those golfers who tells you he plays off six with a wink, then unfurls a drive off the first tee that hangs in the air for eight seconds and lands on mown grass 300 yards away. On a lesser course this routine might have started to get to me, but anyone who tees it up here will be having far too much fun to worry about being shamed by their playing partners. Right from the short par 4 first hole, which shares a fairway with nine (in a nod to the classic links courses), The Bluffs is a non-stop thrill ride.

It is every inch a modern beast, and despite drawing much of its inspiration from the crumpled links of Scotland, any efforts to make a direct comparison would be off the mark. But why go for subtle nuances when the terrain and its accompanying features are so visually dramatic? There is no weak hole that makes up the numbers here, no tee box that doesn’t prompt a sharp intake of breath. The front nine par 3s – two, four and seven – are three of the best short holes you’ll ever play one after the other. Eight is a majestic par 4 that plays downhill from a high tee to a giant double-fairway and then up again to a green hidden among the dunes.

Incredibly, the back nine is even more striking than the front. While the opening holes skirt right up against the forest (epitomised by the par 3 fourth green, which pops up like an island among a carpet of trees), from the 10th hole onwards the course ascends to higher ground, where the vistas are superb. Norman has been generous with the landing areas, which is just as well given how exposed some of the holes are. As you might expect with a links-like course, it can get pretty windy here, and the capricious Vietnamese weather can turn in an instant.

After climbing back up to the clubhouse for the final time and escaping The Bluffs’ brutal par 4 closer with a respectable bogey, my immediate conclusion was that I had played a course destined for superstar status. With The Bluffs set to host its first Asian Tour event – the $1.5 million Ho Tram Open in early December – that reputation is unlikely to be a long time in coming.

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