Golf on the Links of England
Golf
on the Links of England
ISBN: Hardcover: 978-1-4257-4472-4
Softcover: 978-1-4257-4471-7
Library of Congress: 2006910301
Pages: 217
Graphics: 25 photos of courses
Binding: Perfect. Four-color cover and dust jacket.
Published in 2007
Foreword:
Donald Steel, international golf course architect, esteemed golf writer, president of The English Golf Union in 2006, and former amateur scratch player and Open competitor. “England can boast four current homes of the Open championship but the real delights are the journeys to out of the way spots where lesser staging grounds are to be found. You need to travel hopefully, with more than a whiff of perseverance, to find Seacroft, Brancaster, Rye, Hayling, West Cornwall at Lelant, St. Enodoc, Saunton or Royal North Devon at Westward Ho! – the oldest of the English links – not forgetting Silloth which looks towards Scotland. … Golf is a lifelong voyage of discovery and I have no doubt that Robert Kroeger’s compilation of such a comprehensive list was as educational as it was pleasurable.”
Highlights:
Synopsis: Golf on the Links of England features courses found along the spectacular coastline of England. The author and several friends played matches – over the span of three years – often with members of local English clubs. These matches fostered international camaraderie: they laughed at each other’s jokes while walking down fairways, empathized when opponents’ balls lodged in the gorse or deep, revetted pot bunkers, and shook hands whether they won or lost.
While most of these courses will never host an Open, they offer good golf, a round under three hours, and a chance to play with English golfers and make friendships. These hidden gems reveal the essence of links golf: simple elegance and thrifty maintenance. Like a well-kept secret, many of these links have some of the most breathtaking scenery in England. From the clifftop links of Axe Cliff, the deep bunkers of Royal Lytham & St. Annes, the charming antiquity of the humps and hollows of Rye, the solitude of Brancaster, the wild adventures of Perranporth, the scenic Silloth on Solway to the reverence of St. Enodoc, it’s easy to become enchanted with the five star scenery of England. For golfers dreaming of a trip to sample English golf, this book is a must.
In memoriam: Sparki Kroeger, Doug Price, Grahame Yule, John Armitage, all of whom played a part in this book. We miss them.
Excerpt:
Royal West Norfolk Golf Club: Foursome golf also thrives at Royal West Norfolk, known simply as Brancaster. I must admit I was a bit skeptical that we would play a match here, especially after the frosty letter sent by the club secretary who said he doubted if he could “raise any members to play,” although he granted us permission for a round. But perhaps he underestimated himself. We met assistant secretary Patrick Stewart upon arrival and were delighted when he said that a match had been set up for us, although he advised that we would have to play alternate shot again, which seemed fitting on this authentic links. Patrick allowed us to sit on the airy veranda and use the powerful telescope to look for miles down the sandy beach. Saw some adventuresome surfers braving the cold water, a sight that made me feel even warmer inside this comfortable room.
Patrick also told us that the tide would be in today between 4 PM and 6 PM, which meant that the narrow causeway (the road that connects this club nestled out on the salt marsh) would be flooded during that time. Of course, that wouldn’t affect us since we would still be playing our match then.
After meeting our two opponents, Ted Greey, the green chairman with a handicap of 12, and Martin Price, off 9, a fascinating gentleman who spent 25 years in the West Indies, we adjoined to the “smoke room” for coffee – certainly a step back in time in view of today’s anti-cancer smoking restrictions. The room met every requirement of a man’s club: wooden walls, weathered by Father Time, competition boards dating back to the 1890s when the early golf writer, Horace Hutchinson, was club captain from 1892 to 1900, the era when he wrote British Golf Links, a prize treasured by golf bibliophiles. …
Truthfully, I was surprised at the quality of Hunstanton and Brancaster, located in such a remote region and virtually unheard of in the American tourist industry that focuses so much on the courses of Scotland and Ireland. These two gems offer links golf that compares well with any tour. In fact, Brancaster is a photographer’s dream, offering panoramic shots in almost any direction – where every sleepered bunker has an identity of its own, along with offering a challenge.
We left defeated, but happy with these two discoveries, and chatted as we drove over the causeway, now dry enough for us to leave this romantic island. Tim said that the wind was the most severe he had ever played in: such strong wind rarely affects us in Cincinnati but it’s a hazard that these club members face almost every day.
For information on purchase and shipping, please visit our ordering page.
ISBN: Hardcover: 978-1-4257-4472-4
Softcover: 978-1-4257-4471-7
Library of Congress: 2006910301
Pages: 217
Graphics: 25 photos of courses
Binding: Perfect. Four-color cover and dust jacket.
Published in 2007
Foreword:
Donald Steel, international golf course architect, esteemed golf writer, president of The English Golf Union in 2006, and former amateur scratch player and Open competitor. “England can boast four current homes of the Open championship but the real delights are the journeys to out of the way spots where lesser staging grounds are to be found. You need to travel hopefully, with more than a whiff of perseverance, to find Seacroft, Brancaster, Rye, Hayling, West Cornwall at Lelant, St. Enodoc, Saunton or Royal North Devon at Westward Ho! – the oldest of the English links – not forgetting Silloth which looks towards Scotland. … Golf is a lifelong voyage of discovery and I have no doubt that Robert Kroeger’s compilation of such a comprehensive list was as educational as it was pleasurable.”
Highlights:
- A short history on England
- Details on how golf evlved in England
- Information on the golf course
architecture of England, including work by Old Tom Morris, Tom Dunn, Willie
Park, Jr., Harry Colt, Alister Mackenzie, Tom Simpson, Fred Hawtree, Frank
Pennink, and Donald Steel
- 51 courses described
- Blow by blow descriptions of “mini-Ryder
Cups” with club members
- How to arrange a game with English club
members
- Tips on travel and accommodations
- Course ratings and addresses of English
golf clubs
- A list of websites on accommodations and
golf in England
- Numerous photographs
Synopsis: Golf on the Links of England features courses found along the spectacular coastline of England. The author and several friends played matches – over the span of three years – often with members of local English clubs. These matches fostered international camaraderie: they laughed at each other’s jokes while walking down fairways, empathized when opponents’ balls lodged in the gorse or deep, revetted pot bunkers, and shook hands whether they won or lost.
While most of these courses will never host an Open, they offer good golf, a round under three hours, and a chance to play with English golfers and make friendships. These hidden gems reveal the essence of links golf: simple elegance and thrifty maintenance. Like a well-kept secret, many of these links have some of the most breathtaking scenery in England. From the clifftop links of Axe Cliff, the deep bunkers of Royal Lytham & St. Annes, the charming antiquity of the humps and hollows of Rye, the solitude of Brancaster, the wild adventures of Perranporth, the scenic Silloth on Solway to the reverence of St. Enodoc, it’s easy to become enchanted with the five star scenery of England. For golfers dreaming of a trip to sample English golf, this book is a must.
In memoriam: Sparki Kroeger, Doug Price, Grahame Yule, John Armitage, all of whom played a part in this book. We miss them.
Excerpt:
Royal West Norfolk Golf Club: Foursome golf also thrives at Royal West Norfolk, known simply as Brancaster. I must admit I was a bit skeptical that we would play a match here, especially after the frosty letter sent by the club secretary who said he doubted if he could “raise any members to play,” although he granted us permission for a round. But perhaps he underestimated himself. We met assistant secretary Patrick Stewart upon arrival and were delighted when he said that a match had been set up for us, although he advised that we would have to play alternate shot again, which seemed fitting on this authentic links. Patrick allowed us to sit on the airy veranda and use the powerful telescope to look for miles down the sandy beach. Saw some adventuresome surfers braving the cold water, a sight that made me feel even warmer inside this comfortable room.
Patrick also told us that the tide would be in today between 4 PM and 6 PM, which meant that the narrow causeway (the road that connects this club nestled out on the salt marsh) would be flooded during that time. Of course, that wouldn’t affect us since we would still be playing our match then.
After meeting our two opponents, Ted Greey, the green chairman with a handicap of 12, and Martin Price, off 9, a fascinating gentleman who spent 25 years in the West Indies, we adjoined to the “smoke room” for coffee – certainly a step back in time in view of today’s anti-cancer smoking restrictions. The room met every requirement of a man’s club: wooden walls, weathered by Father Time, competition boards dating back to the 1890s when the early golf writer, Horace Hutchinson, was club captain from 1892 to 1900, the era when he wrote British Golf Links, a prize treasured by golf bibliophiles. …
Truthfully, I was surprised at the quality of Hunstanton and Brancaster, located in such a remote region and virtually unheard of in the American tourist industry that focuses so much on the courses of Scotland and Ireland. These two gems offer links golf that compares well with any tour. In fact, Brancaster is a photographer’s dream, offering panoramic shots in almost any direction – where every sleepered bunker has an identity of its own, along with offering a challenge.
We left defeated, but happy with these two discoveries, and chatted as we drove over the causeway, now dry enough for us to leave this romantic island. Tim said that the wind was the most severe he had ever played in: such strong wind rarely affects us in Cincinnati but it’s a hazard that these club members face almost every day.
For information on purchase and shipping, please visit our ordering page.