Articles

Where in the world? “Build it and they will come”… it’s the line made famous by character ‘Shoeless Joe’ Jackson in the movie ‘Field of Dreams’ – and the adopted mantra for many modern golf course developers. – Scott ChampionRead more

Examining the origins and development of Australia’s first ‘destination golf’ venue and original Country Club. The year 1918 saw the end of World War One. Following years of wartime hardship, society experienced great change. The aspirations of both men and women were high and increasingly Australians were becoming preoccupied with sporting and outdoor activities. –Read more

Canadian golf course architect Ian Andrew finished a four-year restoration of Stanley Thompson’s unique Highlands Links course, set out in Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Nova Scotia. Here he recounts the enthralling history of this ‘Destination Golf’ venue. In the 1930s, Stanley Thompson found himself running out of opportunities to build new courses. HeRead more

The story behind Alex Russell’s Golf Links on Phillip Island Phillip Island, at the mouth of Victoria’s Western Port Bay, has long been viewed as an ideal holiday destination for Melbourne’s masses. One man alone – Melbourne consulting engineer and later the inaugural Shire President of the Phillip Island Council, Albert (A.K.T.) Sambell – didRead more

Picturesque Jura and Islay are the southernmost of Scotland’s Hebridean Isles, separated by the narrow Sound of Islay. Islay, with a somewhat softer landscape than its neighbour, is a famous destination for peaty Scotch whisky. It’s a short ferry trip across the Sound to Jura, but the change in landscape is truly dramatic. Jura wasRead more

As if there weren’t enough golf-related reasons to visit New Zealand, some recent course additions on spectacular land are leading to an increase in airline excess baggage costs. The development of new courses in recent years including Cape Kidnappers, Kinloch, Jacks Point and Kauri Cliffs, along with the older courses in the Queenstown region, haveRead more

The sun was setting as a bloke in a Holden Kingswood sedan drove up the fairway, stopped and pulled a mower off the back seat to start attending to a green. That’s what there is to love about Australian golf. Proud volunteer members rolling up their sleeves to get things done. This nine-hole course wasRead more

I first met Mike Keiser Junior 15 years ago when Barnbougle Dunes was being built. Recently I was lucky enough to catch up again at the Keiser’s first course, The Dunes Club in Michigan, as well as playing their newest venture Sand Valley in Wisconsin. Afterwards we sat down and talked a little more aboutRead more

Destination golf in the modern era has had its well-known recent success stories in Oregon (USA), Northern Tasmania and most recently on King Island in Bass Strait all delivering world-class links golf. Of a differing style, but nevertheless another successful golfing pioneering story is Danang in the developing Asian golfing nation of Vietnam, where coastalRead more

Northland’s iconic Bay of Islands is an area known for its spectacular beauty, big game fishing, dolphin watching, undeveloped beaches, native forests, history and Maori cultural artefacts. Relatively remote in the rural ‘winterless north’, an area of many more sheep and cattle than people, this splendour is also home to one of New Zealand’s mostRead more