Most recent plays

The game of golf has the ability to take you on amazing journeys to the most wondrous places where you meet such interesting people.

It was an impulsive, crazy… and some would say utterly ridiculous… decision that took me to The Machrie in the Spring of 2018.

I concluded a six-day, 14-course trip to Ireland with a round at Warren Municipal. Why?... you might ask. And rightly so.

The remote and rocky landscape at Connemara is both unique and beautiful. It really is a truly stunning location for golf.

I have been fortunate enough to play golf in many stunning locations throughout Great Britain & Ireland and Connemara Isles is right up there with the best of them.

Achill Island is located off the west coast of Ireland in County Mayo and reached by a small bridge. Civilisation doesn’t quite end but it's very remote. Barren and beautiful.

Mulranny is simply joyous, a place where you could learn all the lessons of the links.

Ever since I was young Narin & Portnoo has held a certain mystique. Maybe it is just the name or the fact it is located on the wild west Atlantic coast of Ireland I’m not sure.

Bundoran is not your typical Irish Links. It is played along the clifftops and has more of a holiday-golf feel to it. The big-wheel that you can see from the first tee gives you an idea of the surrounding area.

The Scurmore nine at Enniscrone is a nine-hole relief course located adjacent to the main course but on flatter ground away from the dunes.

The Bomore layout at County Sligo is a nine-hole relief course located a short drive away from the main clubhouse.

Gweedore sounds more like a character out of Harry Potter than a small, remote Irish speaking district perched along the Wild Atlantic Way.

When a new golf course debuts so highly in all the various rankings my ears usually prick up pretty quickly and this was especially the case with St. Patrick’s and the lofty positions it received.

Not many golfers will know that the Rosapenna Resort also has a nine hole course in addition to the more famous Sandyhills, Old Tom Morris and now St. Patrick’s.

Dunfanaghy is one of Donegal and Ireland’s lesser known links and home to professional golfer Paul McGinley.

Buncrana is a brilliantly bonkers nine-hole links golf course at the gateway to the Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal with superb views overlooking Loch Swilly.

Sunningdale is a great golf club with two fantastic heathland golf courses.

Sunningdale is a great golf club with two fantastic heathland golf courses.

After a couple of false starts earlier this year it was fabulous to finally get to see Dumbarnie Links. It is easy to see why it proves to be a big hit with many golfers and has debuted so high in all the rankings.

Golf doesn't get any closer to the North Sea than at Dunbar.

Some golf clubs hit you with a 'wow' factor the moment you drive through their gates. Woodsome Hall is certainly one of those.

Eyemouth is an easy-going, golf course with many different sections but mostly plays along the clifftops of the beautiful coastline close to the England-Scotland border.

There is something about Elie that puts you under a spell. It is a truly magical links that, after just one round, has won a place in my heart and mind forever.

Bruntsfield Links is not just one of many fine parkland golf courses around Edinburgh, it is arguably the best.

The SCHLOSS Roxburghe is a golf course that probably gets a little overlooked when discussing the best of golf in Scotland. It's away from the sea and not particularly close to any of the main popular Scottish destinations.

The Jubilee course carries on in much the same vein as the New. It is slightly longer at 6,742 yards but has a par of 72 so in reality plays about the same length.

After nine holes I was wondering if the Eden links would be my favourite of all the courses at St. Andrews and, despite a run of blander holes on the back-nine, it is still more than worth seeing.

There’s no doubting that the Castle course doesn’t fit easily into the collection of courses that are administered by the St. Andrews Links Trust.

The New course, albeit built back in 1895 by Old Tom Morris, is a championship links in its own right; par is 71 and the maximum yardage is 6,625.

I had wanted to play Lundin Golf Club for a number of years, ever since I glimpsed across from neighbouring Leven Links in the summer of 2001.

If anyone dare claim there is a better 36 holes of links golf at one golf club in England than at Saunton I'm pretty sure I could make an unquestionable case for this wonderful piece of linksland.

If anyone dare claim there is a better 36 holes of links golf at one golf club in England than at Saunton I'm pretty sure I could make an unquestionable case for this wonderful piece of linksland.

Royal North Devon, or Westward Ho! as it is often fondly referred to, is a very special place. Perhaps it should be called Royal North Heaven!

Muirfield is one of the most historically important golfing venues in the world.

If Muirfield is regarded as the King of East Lothian then North Berwick is undoubtedly Queen.

The Links at Rush Golf Club is a wonderful little golf course played over some terrific terrain and is somewhere I'd strongly advise any links-lover to seek out if in the vicinity.

After reading Pat Ruddy's brilliant welcome, titled "A Primeval Golf Challenge" at the front of the course guide of The European Club I so desperately wanted to fall in love with this golf course and consider it (as touted by the owner and creator) one of the "great golf links of the world".

There is so much good things happening at Rosslare it is a mystery why it doesn't get talked about amongst more esteemed company.

The Burrow Links is not a patch on the Old course but caters for a different type of golfer.

Arriving in the car park at Arklow Golf Club on a beautifully warm and sunny Spring afternoon with the sun low in the sky my mouth dropped at the view down below in front of me.

I'd previously spied Seapoint Golf Links on a visit to Ireland a couple of years ago when I had teed it up at the excellent and neighbouring Baltray.

I arrived at Laytown & Bettystown Golf Club on the back of a morning round at Seapoint and a lap of St. Anne's the day before.

I arrived at St. Anne's Golf Club, less than five minutes before my tee-time, in a state of high stress.

Seacroft is a golf course for those who like their links golf pure and undiluted.

Finding good quality heathland golf north of the Surrey sand-belt is no easy task.

It's a long time since I've walked off a golf course and been as impressed and surprised, compared to what I was expecting, than at Newbiggin.

A family holiday brought me to Whitby Golf Club. After stuffing myself with fish & chips, losing most of my money on the penny slots and catching umpteen crabs in the harbour it was time for a round of golf!

Planning a round of golf in late October can be a dicey affair, especially in my home county of Yorkshire where the vast majority of courses are built on heavy soil or clay, so it was very refreshing to discover when venturing down south how well East Berkshire played at this time of year.

Located close to Darlington in County Durham Rockliffe Hall has all the assets you would expect of a modern, luxury golf resort with first-class facilities.

Copt Heath is a very fine parkland golf course that requires precision, plotting and a deft touch around the slick greens.

The Blue is a mix of American-style design and traditional English parkland. It's an unusual combination which makes the most of the terrain available. It was designed by Simon Gidman and opened in 1994.

Beaconsfield is an enamouring wooded, parkland course situated in Buckinghamshire with a largely intact Harry Colt routing from 1913.

Following a 4:00am alarm call we’d already driven for more than six hours and covered over 350 road miles before boarding a ferry at Oban sailing to Lochboisdale.

The Halifax Golf Club, often better known as Ogden, is a course that divides opinion.

The Dunskey course at Portpatrick is one of the most fun and enjoyable I have played in Scotland.

Since my last visit in 2017 when the second course here was called the Kintyre much has changed.

Not many people know but there is also a third course at Turnberry and this is the nine hole Arran course.

The Hillhouse loop, formerly part of the main course but now a standalone nine hole layout, is an absolute treat.

The Fullarton links is one of three courses emanating from the starters office at the Troon Municipal golf complex which is owned, managed and run by South Ayrshire Council.

Girvan is very much a tale of two halves although mathematically speaking it is actually a story of 8/18's (or should that be four-ninths?) and 10/18's.

Stranraer is not a great course but it is certainly a very good one with no two holes the same and boasts lots of varied and interesting shots.

East Sussex National is a big hotel, spa and golf complex near Uckfield in, er... well as you might be able to guess.... East Sussex.

East Sussex National is a big hotel, spa and golf complex near Uckfield in, er... well as you might be able to guess.... East Sussex.

Located just outside leafy Ottershaw in Surrey the Foxhills resort is a high class venue with three golf courses. The Club has staged a number of prestigious tournaments since it opened in 1975, including the European Tour’s Tournament Players Championship and the Qualifying School.

Located just outside leafy Ottershaw in Surrey the Foxhills resort is a high class venue with three golf courses. The Club has staged a number of prestigious tournaments since it opened in 1975, including the European Tour’s Tournament Players Championship and the Qualifying School.

There's a wonderful sense of scale and grandeur to the 18 holes at North Foreland Golf Club that adorn the clifftops at Kingsgate in the North-East corner of Kent.

Flempton is a lovely, tucked away, nine-holer close to the market town of Bury St. Edmunds in the sleepy Suffolk countryside.

Prince's is a truly superb 27-hole links complex that makes for a great play & stay venue but the emphasis is certainly more on the play side of things, it's all about the golf here.

Prince's is a truly superb 27-hole links complex that makes for a great play & stay venue but the emphasis is certainly more on the play side of things, it's all about the golf here.

Wildernesse is a real Kentish treat located just outside the M25 near Sevenoaks.

A bit like a coin there are two sides to Thurlestone.

An unusual creature called Mullion Golf Club lies on the southern Cornish coast.

Looking out from the clubhouse at Berwick upon Tweed Golf Club you would be forgiven for thinking that the course wasn’t really up to a great deal. You would be wrong. Very wrong.

Every now and again you stumble across a golf course that takes your breath away.

I’ve been keen to play both courses at the Fairmont Resort on the outskirts of St. Andrews for some time and finally made that a reality in October 2020 just a matter of days after the Torrance course had played host to a European Tour event.

I’ve been keen to play both courses at the Fairmont Resort on the outskirts of St. Andrews for some time and finally made that a reality in October 2020 just a matter of days after the Torrance course had played host to a European Tour event.

The Craighead course at Crail is a very different challenge to the links of Balcomie, but no less memorable.

The Strabathie course at Murcar is a little nine-hole relief course that has two sets of tees and plays to 5,364 yards if you are to go round twice, par is 70.

The Silverburn course, home of Aberdeen Ladies Golf Club, and offers a great deal but sadly doesn’t quite live up to its excellent early billing.

It’s a long time since I have walked off a golf course with as big of a smile on my face as I did at Rosehearty!

Strathlene was the final Scottish golf course I played that features in the True Links book by George Peper and Malcolm Campbell – a publication that details all the genuine links golf courses in the world.

Established in 1890 Grantown-on-Spey Golf Club is a picturesque and varied course situated in the heart of the beautiful Cairngorm National Park.

Portmahomack Golf Club, sometimes known as Tarbat, is situated above the quaint seaside village of the same name on the Southern shores of the Dornoch Firth.

Delamere Forest must go down as the biggest surprise of the year for me, and a very pleasant one at that.

As you would expect from a club that has seen the Claret Jug contested over its links on no less than eleven occasions Royal Lytham & St. Annes didn't disappoint.

During a recent family holiday to Edinburgh an afternoon pass from the wife gave my son and I the opportunity to drive 90 minutes north to Tayport for a round of golf.

Writing a golf course review for Dewsbury District Golf Club should be a piece of cake for me.

It’s not until you are willing to venture a little bit off the beaten path that you are able to discover such golfing gems as Dunnerholme.

Located in the very heart of the Lake District, Windermere Golf Club must be one of the most adventurous golf courses I know and I make no apology for loving bamboozling layouts like this.

Powfoot is a no-nonsense golf course close to the Solway Firth just over the English-Scottish Border in Dumfries & Galloway.