The History of Royal Titles in Golf
In 1833, the Perth Golfing Society, located in the heart of Scotland not far from St. Andrews, became the Royal Perth Golfing Society. King William IV conferred the title and so began a new honor system for golf clubs.
More than 180 years later, 66 clubs bear the royal title as granted by the British Royal Family (eight clubs so dubbed no longer survive). Stretching from Royal Dornoch in the Northern Hemisphere to Tasmania’s Royal Hobart in the Southern, the royal title has been conferred on some of the game’s most prestigious bastions, but also on lesser-known clubs with modest facilities and small memberships. What all these clubs have in common is a distinct history, often a direct link to the growth or spread of golf, and always a veritable royal connection.
The Top 10 Courses in the Scottish Highlands
High times in the Highlands! The Scottish Open will conclude this weekend at Royal Aberdeen, one of many splendid links that rim the shores of firths and bays in the north of Scotland. A golfer’s education is not complete until a sampling of these remote gems are explored and savored. Venerable classics dominate our list, […]
My Top 10 Courses with Peter Alliss
Peter Alliss has been the BBC’s lead commentator since 1978, but at 83 he says he is nearing the end of his illustrious career in the sport, which includes 21 professional wins and eight Ryder Cup appearances. (It was in his 1963 singles win over Arnold Palmer that his name became immortalized in golf’s lexicon when someone in the gallery yelled out, “Nice putt, Alliss,” after he badly missed a three-footer.)
A bad back has kept him off the course since November 2012, but he lives opposite Hindhead Golf Club southwest of London and is also president of nearby Old Thorns. “To many my list of favorite golf courses may appear to be rather strange,” he says. “The reason? Memories. Good company, pleasant weather, a fun day, so many facets that go to make something special. Also your golfing companions can have such an influence on choices, particularly mine.”
The Best Courses in the Original 13 Colonies
Because golf first took root in America in the 13 original colonies, there’s a preponderance of truly great courses on the Eastern Seaboard
What’s Ahead for Tiger Woods?
Tiger Woods has won, some would say, enough—61 times on the PGA Tour, and each of the four majors more than once, a feat only Jack Nicklaus has equaled. He took some of those majors by record margins: by 12 strokes at the 1997 Masters 10 years ago, opening the Tiger Epoch with a roar; by 15 at the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, breaking a mark set by Old Tom Morris in the 1862 British Open. Seeing Tiger lap the field is sweet; but also sweet, for his enormous couch-potato gallery, are his eked-out victories, as in the 1999 PGA Championship at Medinah or the 2006 British Open at Royal Liverpool.
I fondly remember, from a few years back, a Sunday round in some tournament, maybe the Bay Hill Invitational, where, on an hour’s sleep and with a stomach bug that kept sending him into the bushes, he managed to win.
How to Play Out of the Deep Rough
Mike Adams and T.J. Tomasi 2000 When you find your ball in deep rough you have to make two critical evaluations: “What score do I need to make?” and “How will the grass affect my swing?” If you’re playing match play and your opponent is next to the pin with a sure par, the shot […]
A History of Donald Ross in America
Pinehurst No. 2 is just one of the dozens of outstanding resort courses the great Scotsman designed—and anyone can play
The Greatest Golf Architect of All Time: Harry Colt
In LINKS’s Silver Anniversary issue last fall, readers may recall the surprise atop the leaderboard of the 25 greatest architects of all time. The winner of that survey was Harry S. Colt (1869–1951), a lawyer and former Cambridge University golf captain who left his position as club secretary of England’s Sunningdale Golf Club to become the pivotal figure in golf’s first truly global design firm, Colt, Alison, & Morrison. In this partnership, C.H. Alison took on projects in far-flung locales like Japan and New Zealand, while Colt worked primarily in the British Isles and Continental Europe.
The Top 10 Summer Golf Resorts in the U.S.
Summer officially starts tomorrow and, as the saying goes, the living gets easy. It can be even easier if you find yourself at a great golf resort by the beach or in the mountains with a host of other activities to get the most out of these magical months.
Portland Golf Club
Great golf in the state of Oregon is nothing new, as this frequent tournament—and Ryder Cup—host attests
