News - Golf courses

Banff Springs Golf Course Alberta Canada

If you ever see the Banff Springs golf course on a simulator option, play it. I have been fortunate enough to play the simulator and the real thing, and yes, the actual course really is that spectacular.
My day at the Banff Springs was an experience not just a round of golf. I turned up at the pro shop in the hope of getting a game and luckily enough there was a slot. Not bringing my clubs was not a problem, I hired one of the many sets of new top of the range Callaway’s which were lined up outside.
On getting my clubs the first stop was the driving range, a thing of beauty in itself. Tree lined with stunning background views of the mountains, the range tapered in to a point at about 300 yards, there were elk wandering across the range about 220 yards away, almost arrogantly daring you to try and hit them.
I got talking to a few young golf professionals who were practicing on the range. Talk about living the dream, they explained they golf all day in the summer months, taking a few lessons, and in the winter, they literally headed for the hills, rather large hills, namely the Rocky Mountains and became ski instructors during the winter months. Unfortunately, I was not good enough to do either let alone both.
I am not even going to try and describe the course, it simply needs to be seen, imagine a course with 18 signature holes, this is it…..

Pashawar PAF Golf Club Pakistan

Well if ever there was an example of millionaire golf this was it….
I discovered this little gem whilst eating and drinking in the 5 star Pearl Continental Hotel (the one recently blown up by the Taliban). My friends refuse to go anywhere in the world I have previously been, as I have drank in the night club blown up in Bali nightclub bombing quite a few years ago and also in the bar in one of the Twin Towers before the tragic events of 9/11.
Unfortunately, I only had the budget to stay in a $2 a night place in Peshawar however, I did have the fabulous buffet breakfast at the Pearl Continental and given the hotel had one of only three bars in the country where westerners could frequent, it was an obvious place to hang out of an evening.

The Peshawar golf club is adjacent to the hotel and welcomes guests. The green fees are minimal and the course is immaculate, when I played, I pretty much had the course to myself. It is a military course (PAF) which I assume is Pakistan Air Force and there were no buggies or caddies as there are in most golf clubs in Pakistan. The 3 hours walking and carrying a bag was really pleasant but tough in the heat. A fabulous experience I would certainly repeat if the situation ever allows.

The Kittocks Golf Course, Fairmont St Andrews, Fife, Scotland
Having played many great courses in Scotland this has to be one of my favourites as the scenery is simply stunning. The lesser known of the 2 courses,on the fabulous Fairmont Resort the Kittocks course is outstanding. The clubhouse is very welcoming as is the pro shop with a range of high quality merchandise. When you get onto the course and on your way down the first, its only you, the golf, and the fabulous landscape.
The views from the seventh fairway over the fife coastline are brilliant, however even this is eclipsed by the 15th green which almost hangs over the clifftop looking out to sea. The amenities at the clubhouse are superb, and this is before you step into the resort hotel with a wide range of facilities from restaurants to swimming pools.
I will certainly be back to the Fairmont St Andrews resort, and might even play the Torrance course if I have the time, after another round on the stunning Kittocks course.

Shinrinkouen Golf Club, Saitama Prefecture, Japan

Shinrinkouen Golf Club was the host of the 2016 Blind Golf World Championships which I was fortunate enough to compete in (finishing 3rd).
The welcome we received was simply phenomenal. We arrived at the clubhouse which was a huge modern affair with fantastic facilities and from there we were then taken off for a welcome reception. We were all given a locker in the immaculate locker room for the duration of the tournament whilst our clubs were put on to our golf buggies.
The course itself was in great condition however, the most interesting thing about the whole place was the buggy paths around each hole. The buggies had to stay on a stone path which took you right around the course, you were given a remote control which meant you could get off the buggy, play shots and meet your buggy further up the hole by using the remote control. On reaching the green, same thing, putt out, walk off the other end of the green towards the next tee and your driverless buggy would catch you up with a press of a button.
The golf club was simply brilliant, the course, the clubhouse and especially the staff, it really was an awesome 6 days of golf.

Pakistan Railways golf club, Lahore, Pakistan

Pakistan Railways golf club in Lahore is now known as the Royal Palms golf club after it’s redevelopment in 2001. Originally established in 1927, I played this course when it was the Railways golf club, a few years before it’s fantastic new clubhouse and all the modern facilities had arrived.
I stayed in Lahore for a few days and ended up eating and drinking in the International club, Lahore, which was situated just behind the national hockey ground where even the taxi drivers did not know of the place. It was certainly word of mouth, I only found it by chance having chatted to an American teacher whilst playing golf at the Gymkhana golf club the day before. The international club was pretty much frequented by expats from all over the world who happened to be working in Lahore and the surrounding areas, teachers working in International schools, bankers and a few engineers working on the new airport development. Effectively a private members club who met and socialised at the club, one of the few places in a strict Muslim country where westerners could get a beer. Every Sunday they all headed off to the Railway golf club for a knockabout, I got an invite to this very social event on a really nice course, a great way to spend a Sunday, away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
A very traditional golf course with some great holes, I thoroughly enjoyed my morning with the expats and it would be interesting to see what the course is like now in its new format and its new name, The Royal Palms Golf Club.

Pelican Bay Country Club Daytona FL
I discovered Pelican Bay golf and country club while visiting Daytona to watch a beach volley ball tournament. I just happened to have my golf clubs with me. The club was typical Florida golf, lots of water, fantastically well-kept and maintained, even to the extent you are greeted by a nice man who takes your clubs out the boot of your car and gets them onto a buggy for you, he even cleans them on your return from your round and places them back in your car, whilst you have a well earned beer in the fabulous clubhouse.
The course itself winds through beautiful Florida countryside, with high trees lots of water and some stunning holes. Huge boards greet you at every tee box; with a map of the hole and a nice water fountain to keep you hydrated in the Florida sun. Simply wonderful.
As it happened, I ended up watching the volleyball for two days and had a sneaky round here after the competition finished, as I enjoyed It that much. What a great place.

Morecambe Golf Club

Don’t be fooled by the course yardage, a challenging woodland course with water and hazards at every turn.
I joined Morecambe about 12 years ago and have enjoyed the golf and the company of the members. Everyone is very friendly and before I needed to play with a guide playing partners would always help me find my ball, indeed, tell me I had walked past it and it was 20 yards further back, forever the optimist.
A deceptively tricky course with stunning views of Morecambe Bay and the Lake District beyond, I often get a lift down and tee off early, as the views across the Bay in the morning sunshine are as good as any.

Lahore Gymkhana Club

The Lahore Gymkhana club is a sports club with an amazing golf course. The oldest course in Pakistan and a place reserved for Pakistan’s elite, and affluent tourists.
The course was fabulous and I had an amazing caddie who was happy to give me impromptu lessons every time I hit a bad shot, it turns out he was Sir Geoff Boycott’s caddie when he was in town. The guy suggested Sir Geoff would come out to Lahore under the guise of running cricket coaching sessions so he could play golf at this place. I have to say I don’t blame him, it really was peace and tranquillity, away from the mayhem of the city outside of the club.
The clubhouse was stunning, a huge patio with large umbrellas shading you from the blistering heat, the only thing missing was a cold beer. A cold lemonade and pretty awesome food was more than adequate, another stunning golf experience…..

Balbirnie Park GC Fife

Teeing off down the first at Balbirnie is a pretty special experience, with huge trees down either side, the stunningly maintained fairway and green sets the tone for this great course in the heart of Fife.
It brings back special memories for me as I managed my first competitive hole in one at the 192 yard par 3, off the yellow tees with a 5 iron. You can only see the top of the flag from the tee and I thought I had hit a good shot however, when we reached the green there was no sign of my yellow ball. Whilst I was looking over the back of the green, John my playing partner saw the ball in the hole. The last 4 holes were a bit of a blur however, the whiskey flowed back in the clubhouse.
The members and staff in the clubhouse were great, a committee member signed my card and I have to say my journey home was somewhat blurred.
I later found out that until only a few years prior, visitors hitting an ace were given club membership, I just missed that one. I was also soon to realise, I missed out on the Daily Record putter for an ace throughout the summer months, mine was in October.
Despite this I really enjoyed Balbirnie Park GC, a fabulous club in great condition with a warm and friendly feel, I have not been back since but I certainly will.

Celtic Manor 2010 Course

Having walked around the course watching the ISPS Handa Wales Open, a few years previous, I managed to play the course having been invited to the Specsavers Charity Golf Day.
I stayed at the resort the night before and the night after my round and I have to say, the resort is fabulous.
I arrived at the 2010 clubhouse and after a great breakfast picked up my locker key, mine was next to Tiger Woods’, or at least the one he used during the Ryder Cup. A really great idea is to leave the players names on the lockers they used for the actual event.
On a windy cold day in Wales (at least it stayed dry) the course was really difficult, it makes you realise how good the pros really are, this was probably the hardest course I have ever played. I really enjoyed the round however the iconic 18th was simply amazing, I even managed to avoid the water.
Walking off the green back to the clubhouse and remembering the scenes when Europe won the Ryder Cup a few years previously, with the players celebrating on the balcony above, wow, a truly special experience.

The Ocean Club Golf Resort, Nassau, Bahamas

The address says it all, 1 Ocean Club Drive Paradise Island….
I could really leave it at that but I certainly won’t. Just simply paradise. I was staying at the Atlantis Resort for a week with the family and made sure this was my one afternoon escape. I say afternoon, as the green fees dropped from $300 to $150 after 1pm. I got the shuttle bus from the main resort and arrived about an hour before my tee off time at 1pm.
I stretched to a coke in the amazing clubhouse (it’s on the bucket list to eat there should my lottery numbers come in) and a ridiculously priced baseball cap from the pro shop. The driving range was busy with the 1pm twilight tee off timers but it was just quality. I picked up my playing partners and buggy from the pro shop 10 minutes before my time and away we went. The pro shop pair you up so you go off in 4 balls, no wated tee times here.
I shared a buggy with a pleasant 19 year old professional baseball player from New York, he could have been a sporting superstar, but one of the great things about golf is, it does not matter, it’s a game of golf. Given it was his vacation, it was probably a relief to him I knew nothing about the sport so no tricky questions or autographs for the kids
The other 2 players were also pleasant, an IT consultant from California and a quiet guy from Las Vegas with a rather large camera, which given the stunning ocean views slowed things down a little as he constantly stopped on greens and tees to take pictures.
Being a resort course, it was quite wide but the views were stunning, hole after hole of beautiful ocean views, the guy with the camera had obviously played here before, as he told us exactly what celebrity lived at what million dollar home we drove past in the buggy.
After camera mans picture stops, we arrived back at the clubhouse just before it got dark, shook hands and headed off back to the main resort.

What a way to spend an afternoon, does it get any better than this…..

Gleneagles PGA Centenary Course

The venue for the 2014 Ryder Cup and here I was hacking up the course 2 weeks before the event….
Well not quite, I played well and managed to win the Weir Family Foundation Charitable Trust event played at this awesome golf resort.
I had the pleasure of staying for a night at the resort in a suite after playing in the competition. What an amazing experience.
The course itself was fabulous, the weather was amazing, polo shirts and sunshine does not happen that often in Scotland but what a time for the sun to appear. Despite topping my tee shot down the cart path on the first, things did get better. The rough was brutal if you managed to miss a fairway, but I guess the worlds best players don’t miss fairways that often and given they would be there in a week’s time, the reason for such brutal rough was obvious.
The four hours or so just flew by, on a sunny day in Scotland the scenery does not get much better.
After a great evening at the charity event, I headed back to my room and spent a few hours on my balcony with a bottle of wine, just taking in the realisation of where I was until silly o’clock in the morning, I certainly did not want to miss a minute of this amazing resort.
Some 2 weeks later I’m at home watching the pros on TV treading the very same fairways I had been not long before, strangely enough, despite the Ryder Cup nerves, none of them managed to top their tee shot down the cart path on the first.

Klassis Golf and Country Club Silivri Turkey

A Fabulous golf resort about an hours drive east along the coast from Istanbul Airport. I had a great 6 days here whilst playing in the 2010 Turkish Disabled Golf Open.
The resort itself is set in the Turkish countryside about 10 minutes from the coastal town of Silivri. The competitors at the golf tournament spent an amazing night in Silivri at a local traditional seafood restaurant where we were really well looked after. We had a wonderful meal which consisted of about 15 courses, what a place.
The golf course itself was great with some tight challenging fairways and great holes. An interesting addition was removing the white out of bounds stakes and replacing them with hazard stakes, meaning you could drop a wayward ball from where it crossed the hazard. Certainly, something other resort courses could do in order to speed up play. Having seen the website of the resort it has certainly been upgraded since my visit, never the less, I had a great time here.
I sadly left and headed back to Istanbul for a few days sightseeing before my flight back to the UK, only to find the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland had erupted and spread ash across Europe, grounding flights in the process. My 2 days in Istanbul ended up as a week.
I found the city quite unpleasant initially, as everyone from taxi drivers to restaurant owners seemed to take pleasure in ripping off tourists whilst the Tourist Police just shrugged their shoulders and allowed this to happen, indeed they made you pay the ridiculous taxi fares and restaurant tabs. The only bonus however, was the airline provided the additional accommodation until flights could resume.

I sought refuge in a sports bar for a day or 2 and after speaking to the friendly and helpful staff, I discovered the best places to go and tips on everything from city travel passes to fish tacos (which incidentally were amazing). After a further 4 days I ended up loving the city.
I did however travel back to the UK with very few clothes. I put most of them in a laundry with the intention of picking them up the next day however, I received a call from my airline telling me my flight would be leaving in 2 hours, otherwise I would have to stay and make my own arrangements. Tempting though it was, my laundry remained and I headed home after a great trip.

Eagle Creek Golf Club Orlando Fl

Eagle Creek epitomises Florida golf, great weather, well kept courses and fabulous facilities. I played Eagle Creek 5 times in a week whilst winning my category at the 2018 US Disabled Open. A wide course which winds its way around the fabulous houses on this Phillip Jones designed gated community.
The community is fabulous and just the sort of place I could retire too. A huge driving range and practice area and somewhat typical of Florida golf, a course with a good amount water to avoid. Some great holes, but my favourite was the 18th, despite finding the water in front of the green a few times during the week. An absolute beauty of a hole which you can sit and watch others do what I did from your seat on the clubhouse patio after a round, I love this place….

Victoria GC on the outskirts of Kandy turned out to be an amazing experience and that was nothing to do with the golf.
I was out in Sri Lanka following the England cricket team for a few of the games and I also brought my golf clubs along, for a few rounds in the Sri Lankan sunshine in between the cricket.
Back in blighty before setting off for Sri Lanka, David “Bumble” Lloyd suggested during his cricket commentary, Victoria golf club was well worth a visit. So in between games I took a rickshaw to the course from Kandy where I was staying.
I checked into the clubhouse and was asked to sign the visitor’s book, on looking at the visitors book, there were the names and signatures of cricket legends who had booked in the day before. Having resisted the temptation to remove the page from the visitors book I headed to the first tee.
On arrival at the tee there were about 12 players waiting to tee off, one of them was Sir Ian Botham. Ian Botham, one of my sporting heroes came over and suggested I go off the 10th tee, as there were about four groups in front who had already teed off. I teed off on the back nine and played 27 holes before heading back to the clubhouse.
I arrived back at the clubhouse ready for a cold beer and sitting on the patio were some of England’s finest ever cricketers, wow does it get any better than this. All really friendly and Sir Ian must have remembered suggesting I start at the 10th, as he even asked me how I got on …
I went to the restroom and who should be standing a few feet further up from me, England legend David bumble Lloyd. I got chatting as you do, standing at a urinal and explained to Bumble, I heard about the Victoria golf course from his commentary of the previous test match back in England. I sat back on the patio enjoying a beer with such amazing company all around me and Bumble said, can you just tell this lot what you told me in the toilet. It turned out to be pundit rivalry, as when I repeated what I said in the toilet, Bumble got a great deal of stick off all of the others.
It must be pretty good being a former England captain and a sky pundit, travelling the globe commentating on cricket, however, what a really nice down-to-earth group of people they all were, and what an amazing experience, one I will never forget. Oh and the golf course was pretty good also…..

Johannesburg is a pretty scary place however, Glendower golf club is an oasis away from it all. You enter via a manned security gate at the front entrance and it’s like stepping into another world. A fabulous clubhouse with a huge patio running parallel to the 18th green and the practice putting area. A great test of golf and you are treading where European tour and Sunshine tour Professionals have been before you. One can see why big events have been hosted at Glendower. A beautiful course, immaculately maintained, its long and a tough challenge. I was fortunate enough to have four rounds here, playing in the 2019 South African Bind Open, what a place, and I’m not just saying that because I won my sight category……

Nuwara Eliya GC

A fabulous course in the Sri Lankan countryside east of Colombo the capital, and a short distance south of Kandy. The course itself was in great condition and the facilities were fabulous, a traditional clubhouse overlooking the course and the aptly named par 8 cottage offering accommodation, yes for upto 8 adults. I was in Sri Lanka for the cricket series however, I also managed to bring my golf clubs. After a great round of golf, I managed to watch the cricket in the bar with a few cold beers. The people are so friendly and welcoming what a place.

Creston Golf Club, BC Canada
An absolute gem, located on the outskirts of Creston, a small town about a 1 hour drive from Cranbrook which is at the base of the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia Canada.
I was fortunate to play here for 4 days as part of the Rest of the World team competing in the 2017 Vision cup against the best golfers from North America. The scenery just blew me away, having played golf at some of the best resorts and courses in the world, this was right up there. Stunning mountain backdrops, huge tree lined fairways, par 3’s over lakes and an amazing par 5 where you tee off from the highest point on the course and make your way to the green at the bottom of the valley.
The Creston Golf Club members hosted 24 of the best blind golfers in the world and 24 guides for the 4 day competition and made us so welcome. On the first day I spotted a few members having breakfast in the sunshine on the clubhouse patio area and decided to do the same. By day 4 nearly all the competitors were having breakfast in this picturesque, stunning setting before a round of golf.

“4 days was simply not enough of this wonderful place, it does not get much better than Creston Golf Club”.