Letter from St. Andrews: One-Line Wonders
Our columnist speaks his mind on the topics that have been occupying his brain
Letter from St. Andrews: The 10 Golden Fools
The article in the Fall issue on the 10 Golden Rules of Golf got me thinking—are those really the 10 most important things my golf life? Hardly. I have my own standards and they don’t have much to do with written regulations.
Letter from St. Andrews: Shinnecockemamie
It’s a cold, grey day in the old grey town, so my thoughts stray happily across the Pond toward posh, breezy Southampton, N.Y., to the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club and the approaching 104th U.S. Open. And there’s a goofy smile on my face. To paraphrase our favorite son, Bobby Jones, you could take out of […]
Letter from St. Andrews: Head, Heart, Hands, Health
In the mind of any clear-thinking golf aficionado, surely there is no longer a question of whether Tiger Woods is the greatest player of all time. All you Jones Junkies, Hogan Huggers and Nicklaus Nuts can put your placards down, because your boys just aren’t part of the conversation anymore. And please don’t try to […]
Letter from St. Andrews: Out of Left Field
Very seldom do I stray from my beloved St. Andrews nest to other parts of Scotland, but when I do, I invariably discover something interesting—or odd. Case in point, a recent lost weekend in the Highlands wherein I took a counterclockwise route that included stops at the Trump property near Aberdeen (a truly spectacular site, […]
Letter from St. Andrews: Ladies First
Unlike in America, where the U.S. Golf Association runs the women’s national championship, the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews has no official role in the British version, which is conducted by the Ladies’ Golf Union. However, virtually the moment the Old Course was announced as the 2007 venue, the R&A offered all […]
Letter from St. Andrews: A Glimpse of Seven
I’m sitting in a little trailer, high atop a hill precisely two miles east of the center of St. Andrews. The trailer is unfurnished except for a simple table and three chairs occupied by me and two gentlemen with whom I’ve come to chat. Our conversation has barely begun when one gets a call on […]
Letter from St. Andrews: The Auld Grey Toon
Well, we’ve made it to the Auld Grey Toon, but not to our auld grey hoose. Renovation of our apartment—sorry, our “flat”—proceeds apace, which is to say thoroughly behind schedule and riotously over budget. As I write this, the place is uninhabitable—a grim, hollowed-out hovel from which you might expect a grizzled G.I. to emerge, […]
Letter from St. Andrews: Is Eight Enough?
Earlier this year, the St. Andrews Links Trust announced that its No. 7 course, currently under construction on a clifftop two miles southeast of town, would be named the Castle, in recognition of the fact that a medieval stronghold had occupied the approximate site of the intended 9th and 18th greens. The name was one […]
Letter from St. Andrews: Blessings of Eighth Place
Two hundred yards or so behind the 18th green of the Old Course, on a broad street called the Scores, sits a sturdy stone townhouse with a brass plaque at its entrance. Inscribed on the plaque are the words “The Old Course Experience.” “Could this possibly be what it suggests?” I wondered on the day […]