ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND – It’s come to my attention on my second trip, more than once, that the old school Scots aren’t very keen on the USGA’s handicap system. A local Gullane legend, Archie Baird (who is in his 80s and still plays quite often on Gullane’s courses), went as far as telling me it’s hurting the game in America. Those sentiments have been echoed by other Scots in the last eight days here. From what I can gather, the main difference between the R & A handicap system and the USGA system is that over in the U.K., only ...

ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND – There are those out there (and you knucklehead golf writers know who you are), who don’t think there’s anything to the Old Course at St. Andrews. They call it overrated and a glorified pasture. Moderately organized chaos, more or less. Sure, it’s not the prettiest links course in the world aside from the town skyline (for incredibly scenic, championship golf, head to knockouts like Royal County Down or Royal Dornoch). But the Old Course’s real beauty is the bunkering and massive green complexes, and how they come to life based on what the heavens decide to ...

GULLANE, SCOTLAND – Of all the recent golf course projects in Scotland, from the St. Andrews Castle Course to Machrihanish Dunes, Castle Stuart and of course, Donald Trump’s Aberdeen resort, there is one project that’s flown a bit under the radar, but it won’t for long: The Renaissance Club outside Gullane, just down the road from Gullane Golf Club and Muirfield, with North Berwick just a few miles to the east. I did a brief Q & A with architect Tom Doak about his firm’s project before it opened on GolfEurope.com back in 2007, and ever since have been keeping ...

NORTH BERWICK, SCOTLAND – Muirfield is unquestionably the most well-known golf course in Scotland’s golf-rich East Lothian region just east of Edinburgh, thanks to its Open Championship pedigree. But for the traveling golfer, it might not be the area’s great “must play.” That title could go to it’s neighbor to the east, North Berwick Golf Club (also called the “West Links” by locals, while the nearby Glen Golf Club is the “East Links"). North Berwick is a traditional nine-out/nine-in links that boasts a collection of holes that are as exciting, unique and scenic as you’ll find in links golf over ...

MUSSELBURGH, SCOTLAND – St. Andrews and Musselburgh in East Lothian are separated, as the crow flies, by little more than about 30 miles on Scotland’s eastern side. And both have their own very legitimate claims of “firsts” in golf. St. Andrews of course, lays claim to being the birthplace of “gawf” sometime dating back to the 1400s. Musselburgh Links’ Old Course, on the other hand claims to be the world’s oldest playing course, dating back to 1672 and is recognized as such by Guinness. The rivalry, as I learned today while visiting the Musselburgh Links, became intensified back in the ...

NORTH BERWICK, SCOTLAND - When a Scottish golf club’s historian pulls a chair up to your table in the dining room, be sure to sip your pint a little slower and soak in the knowledge. That was the case today following a round at Dunbar Golf Club in East Lothian, Scotland. The course is steeped in history, like so many of the clubs around Edinburgh. In the clubhouse following my round with one of the assistant pros, I had a historical question. He noticed a few tables over the club historian, John Harris, enjoying some afternoon tea and asked him ...

NORTH BERWICK - The first time I went to Scotland in 2006, I arrived during the second half of the October shoulder season. The “shoulder season” is the two transitional months between the summer season and off-season, usually April and October for most of the clubs that recognize one. There are some benefits to a shoulder season golf vacation (click here for my full feature on it). For starters, you won’t have to book your golf so far in advance (which can mean over a year in advance to play Scotland’s most coveted links), the hotels should have more deals ...

It’s been just over two years since I was last in Scotland for a golf trip. I’ve been to the British Isles and Ireland numerous times since then, but I’m finally getting back to the good ol’ home of golf, where the spirit of the game pours out of every pub and B & B. Here’s a few particular things I’m especially looking forward to on this trip, which will put me in East Lothian for a week, followed by a couple bonus days in St. Andrews: - On my first trip, I played mostly “name” courses like the Old ...

Maybe I’m not taking my pills - or this coffee’s gone bad. I just wrote a column proclaiming Augusta National (and every other private club) should offer small blocks of daily public tee times. Click here to read it. Now, I’m announcing another long-standing belief of mine that might be considered off the deep end in the conservative golf world: Female golfers’ green fees shouldn’t be the same as men. They should get a discount. The first reason is simple and rational. How long of a golf course do they play compared to the Y-Chromosome? Men play 6,000-7,000 yards of ...

It looks like the Golf Channel was able to get to Sergio Garcia (my idiotic pick to win the Masters and every major for the rest of our lives until he wins one) following his Sunday round at exactly the right time, because they got a golden nugget of a pissy-sounding bite from him regarding his thoughts on Augusta National following his T38 finish at the 2009 Masters: “I don’t like it to tell you the truth,” he said. “I don’t think it’s fair. It’s too tricky. Even when it’s dry you still get mud balls in the middle of ...

So I think I found something more annoying than the regular season PGA Tour events with its endless stream of sexual dysfunction and prostate enlargement drugs: The same three sponsors peddling the same spots over, and over, and over, and over, and over again for four straight days. I’ll be the first to commend the Masters for their limited commercial interruption. Just four minutes out of every hour is an advert. Not only is it refreshing, it’s smart, because it becomes practically impossible to get off the couch at all. I was on the couch paralyzed all Sunday. Part of ...

I don’t think anyone is really going to have many lingering memories about Angel Cabrera’s 2009 Masters victory, other than perhaps his ridiculously lucky tree shot that found himself in the fairway (followed by a great up-and-down - we have to give him his props for that, taking advantage of a fortunate carom off bark from the golf gods). But this Masters was all about Phil Mickelson, who stole the show in his pairing with Tiger Woods. He’s not going home with his third jacket but is going to be the water cooler champion this week. For the TV viewer, ...

More than any year I can remember in recent memory, the 2009 Masters has a slew of story lines to watch for as they tee it up tomorrow morning at Augusta National. Why it feels like a bigger deal than normal to this year, and why I’m going to be on the couch all weekend watching the action: Phil Mickelson is coming off a big win at the World Golf Championships at Doral, giving him two wins already this season. I have a gut feeling like he’ll either win or miss the cut. We all know Lefty has no middle ...

The Masters does online coverage at Masters.org better than anyone, thanks to their online streams of Amen Corner and No. 15 and 16. But this is the year that “Tweeting” of the Masters on Twitter will be in seriously high gear - from a wide variety of angles. For starters, The Masters has it’s official feed. Click here to follow. Also, Golf Channel will be tweeting live coverage from it’s panel of onsite experts at The Masters. Click here for their feed. Here’s what the Golf Channel is promising with their new Twitter coverage for 2009: Golf Channel will feature ...

Golf season is almost painfully around the corner in northern Michigan (my favorite golf destination in the entire world when looking for the unbeatable mix of quantity, scenery and value), and this summer golf package that just came across my desk should get a lot of golfers’ motors running to Michigan. The Boyne resorts in northern Michigan, owners of several resorts and 162 holes of golf at several locations throughout the north, have put a great package together for those who love unlimited golf during Michigan’s long, summer days that extend well past 9 p.m. I’ve played 54 holes in ...

To some, seeing the Old Course in St. Andrews covered in a blanket of snow could feel like something out of the surreal. To others, it would be a worst nightmare if you actually had a tee time on this particular February day. But thanks to Andy Brown and the Home of Golf TV, you can get a sneak peak of what St. Andrews looks like under a few inches of snow. Click here for the video. “I’ve never seen it snowing like this,” said Andy, standing on a nearly covered Swilcan Bridge. And for those of you who actually ...

AUSTIN, Texas - Admittedly, I’ve eaten more BBQ and been to more happy hours than I’ve actually golfed around Austin since I moved here in the fall. But this city, as you’d expect with anywhere in Texas, does BBQ right. What’s great for golfers here is the best meals aren’t at expensive, fancy-schmancy restaurants, they’re at casual BBQ and Tex Mex joints where you eat like a king for $10-20. And after a round of golf, nothing hits the spot like a cold Fireman’s 4 Blonde Ale and some delicious baby back ribs or brisket. I don’t think I’ve eaten ...