Golf Journeys & Culture

Andrew Marshall

Description

Golf Journeys & Culture is a collection of golf trips to some of the most beautiful and interesting golf courses in the world. During an 8-year period, Andrew and Paul Marshall travelled to 13 countries and played 65 golf courses – from the wild, sheep-tended links of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland, the tropical palm-fringed fairways of Jamaica to the lowest golf course on earth in Death Valley, California.

Golf Journeys & Culture is about two brothers' connection and a shared passion to combine golf with travelling and experiencing different cultures. It is a book that goes beyond playing golf in fabulous locations, it is also about the experiences the two brothers shared, the people they met and the situations they found themselves in.

From cheese-tasting in Normandy, relaxing in the surreal waters of Iceland's Blue Lagoon to observing how cigars are hand-crafted in the Dominican Republic - the off-course activities and cultural aspects of the countries they visited played an integral role in the creation of Golf Journeys & Culture.

Golf Journeys & Culture will appeal in equal measure to both the armchair and travelling golfer. Each of the 13 chapters is illustrated with Paul's superb images, and has a fact file that provides an informative guide to planning your own golf journeys to the featured countries.

Sujets

• Sport
• Autres sports
• Golf
• Recreation
• Sports

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 07 mai 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781456600099
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

GOLF JOURNEYS

& CULTURE

byAndrew Marshall

photographyPaul Marshall

Copyright © Andrew Marshall 2010

eBook Version Published by eBookIt.com

ISBN: 978-1-4566-0009-9

The right of Andrew J Marshall to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the author Andrew Marshall.

Photos: copyright © Paul Marshall

Design & Layout: Karen Bedford (nee Marshall)Front cover photo: Unloading the golf clubs at thePalmeraie Golf Palace & Resort in Marrakech.

CONTENTS

About the author & photographer / acknowledgements

Introduction toGolf Journeys & Culture

ONE - GOLF & WHISKEY - Northern Ireland

TWO - SEA TO SKY GOLF - Canada

THREE - CARIBBEAN GREENS - Jamaica

FOUR - BACK NINES & PORT WINES - Portugal

FIVE - GOLFING THE GARDEN COUNTY - England

SIX - HIGHWAYS & FAIRWAYS - USA

SEVEN - BEER & BIRDIES - Denmark

EIGHT - KINGDOM OF GOLF - Morocco

NINE - ALPINE SPAS & PARS - Austria

TEN - ISLANDS & HIGHLANDS - Scotland

ELEVEN - PARS & CIGARS - Dominican Republic

TWELVE - GOLF & THE NORMANDY SPIRIT - France

THIRTEEN - GOLF & GEYSERS -Iceland

Factfiles for each chapter

About the Author & Photographer

ANDY MARSHALL -Born in England in 1961, Andy has been a professional freelance travel writer for the past 20 years. During that time, he has travelled to over 50 countries including Sri Lanka, Solomon Islands, Barbados, Panama and Indonesia to cover a diverse range of travel-related features for various magazines around the world. He regularly works with his professional photographer brother Paul on different projects particularly golf, food and drinks features.

Andy lives in a 17th century cottage on the outskirts of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire and most weekends he can be found walking the Pennines with his partner Amanda.

www.bogey.se

andy_ [e-mail]

PAUL MARSHALL -Born in England in 1965, Paul is a professional photographer living in Stockholm with his wife, daughter and Welsh springer spaniel.

He works on a freelance basis with different kinds of reportage and portraiture work for various publications in Sweden, ranging from lifestyle and golf to travel and business magazines. Internationally he works with Andy to supply quality images to illustrate his features.

www.paulmarshall.se

[e-mail]

Acknowledgements With love and thanks to our families and partners for their continual support throughout the years and a special thanks to our sister Karen Bedford who designed this e-book.

Introduction

GOLF JOURNEYS

& CULTURE

Golf Journeys & Culturea collection of golf trips to some of the is most beautiful and interesting golf courses in the world. During an 8-year period, Andrew and Paul Marshall travelled to 13 countries and played 65 golf courses – from the wild, sheep-tended links of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland, the tropical palm-fringed fairways of Jamaica to the lowest golf course on earth in Death Valley, California.

Golf Journeys & Culture is about two brothers’ connection and a shared passion to combine golf with travelling and experiencing different cultures. It is a book that goes beyond playing golf in fabulous locations; it’s also about the experiences they shared away from the courses, people they met and the situations they found themselves in.

From cheese-tasting in Normandy, relaxing in the surreal waters of Iceland’s Blue Lagoon to observing how cigars are hand-crafted in the Dominican Republic - the off-course activities and cultural aspects of the countries they visited played an integral role in the creation ofGolf Journeys & Culture.

Golf Journeys & Cultureappeal in equal measure to both the will armchair and travelling golfer. Each of the 13 chapters is superbly illustrated with Paul’s creative images and has a fact file that provides a guide to planning your own golf journeys to the featured countries.

ONE - GOLF & WHISKEY - Northern Ireland

Heading to the next tee - Portrush Golf Club

“The light music of whiskey falling into a glass an agreeable interlude.” James Joyce

AsRoyal Portrush Golf Clubcame into view round a curve in first Northern Ireland’s County Antrim Coast Road, it provided us with an unforgettable sight with its green fairways hiding among shaggy-topped sand dunes and the great headland of Inishowen contrasting vividly with the low line of the Skerries and the sea beyond.

Royal Portrushbelongs to one of the most glorious stretches of golfing country in all of Ireland. Along withPortstewart,Castlerock and Ballycastle they comprise four of the most natural links courses you are ever likely to find so close together. Dotting the coastline they are spread like gems - created by nature and linked together to form a necklace of beauty. This is golf with a uniquely Irish flavour.

But it’s not only classic seaside golf courses that reign supreme here. It’s also home toOld Bushmills Whiskey Distillery and some wonderful pubs with legendary Irish hospitality. The Causeway Coast is a superb destination for the aficionado of challenging links golf and smooth Irish whiskey.

Royal Portrush Golf Club

“Fire away lads,” said the silver-haired starter Sid Carruthers, at the start of our Northern Ireland golf journey. I quickly studied the course guide and nervously pulled a rescue club from the bag. Glancing across at Paul I could tell by the look on his face that perhaps we had taken on too much.

Established in May 1888 and included in every list of the world’s top 100 golf courses,Royal Portrushhas long been regarded as a great test of a golfer’s skill. Had it been more suitable in other respects for the staging of a modern British Open Championship it would almost certainly have held more than the one it did in 1951, when England’s eccentric Max Faulkner won with a total of 285 and lifted the famous trophy.

This is links golf at its very best, with everything you would expect to find on a seaside course: blind shots, deep pot bunkers, running fairways, lightning fast greens, strong winds and the taste of salt in the sea air. Not golf for the fainthearted, to-be-sure, to-be -sure, to-be-sure.

There are plenty of great holes atRoyal Portrush,but there is one that was firmly etched in our memory long after we had left. This is the 210- yard 14th known asCalamity,a par 3 whose reputation has travelled far and wide. As a stiff sea breeze whipped across the tee, I lined up my ball and took one last look at a green that sat like an emerald island nestling among the dunes.

Calamitycalls for an accurate shot with a long iron or hybrid club and to slice or push the ball right will earn you an almost sure double bogey. This is because the links land falls away severely down a steep slope. Don’t be ashamed of taking a four atCalamity- threes are as rare as an unfriendly Irishman.

Locker 101 Royal Portrush

Like ourselves, most visitors to the area are inclined to stay and linger, but locals will tell of the fleeting stay of an American who arrived in the mid-1970s, paid his green fee, hired a caddy and walked straight to the 14th tee-box. Once there, he playedCalamityand then returned to his car before travelling toRoyal County

Down Golf Clubto play the ninth hole. He had read of the top eighteen holes in Europe, and had set out to play them all.

We departed the 18th green feeling shattered and low on golf balls. Yet the 19th hole beckoned - that sacred place in a warm clubhouse with the bewitching spell of an Irish welcome. “I’ve got something I really want to show you,” said friendly Irishman Sam Moore, a member at the club for over thirty years. “Come inside the locker room for a drink.”

Locker 101 inside the clubhouse was no ordinary locker. Old golfing photographs and jokes adorned the door and stored inside was all the paraphernalia Sam needed for making his own special 19th hole brew. A large bottle of Bushmills whiskey with a piece of plastic pipe and tap apparatus was fixed into position. Sam removed a secret trap door to