TG Blog: Scottish golf
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They say golf was invented in Scotland. As far as I’m concerned the golf they play here is very different to the one I’m used to.
I’m spending two weeks in and around St Andrews on a golfing holiday and playing the Old Course was top of my to-do list. A 6.45am visit to the Starter secured me a tee time of 8.40 and my first experience of true links golf. It’s tough: the wind blows, the lies are tight, and the greens… oh, the greens. And more than anything, the history. I loved it.
The course is exactly how you see it on TV but this time it’s you teeing off toward the burn at the first, putting on those enormous double greens, driving over the railway sheds at the Road Hole. I walked off the famous 18th green a little disappointed with my golf but happy with life and I walked straight to the Starter at the New Course – can I play this one too, please?
Yesterday I played the Castle Course. It is a fabulous golf course; my favourite one so far in my short golfing life. I must have been lucky because although the wind blew, the sky was blue; the setting and scenery were breathtaking.
Links golf will teach me a lot about my game and how I must improve. It’s a lesson I am going to thoroughly enjoy.
My challenge is go from complete novice to scratch standard in 12 months. You can follow progress at www.novice2scratch.com
