Oh, how I dream of being Irish. Not for the green beer, although that sounds fun. It’s not for the corn beef and cabbage, either, although I eat that tasty treat more than just once a year on St. Patrick’s Day. It would give me a regular excuse to visit my favorite golf destination on the planet – Ireland – more often. I’ve been three times, and each trip was better than the last. I’ve visited in the so-called shoulder months … April and October … and both were wonderful for golf. The climate was mild, high 50s, and the ... full post »

It’s always fun to discover the “next big thing” before it actually explodes into the public spotlight. The problem was “the next big thing” didn’t look like the next big thing while I was snooping around for it. I traveled to Northern Ireland in September, 2007, to catch the Walker Cup at the revered Royal County Down. A young local hero, Rory McIlroy, was all the rage. In a perfect world, the wunderkind would lead the Great Britian and Ireland team of budding stars to a trouncing victory over those hated Americans. There was one problem: McIlroy brought his ‘B’ game. ... full post »

What’s the best indicator of a good book? For me, it’s reading the book cover to cover in less than a month. And that’s exactly how I tackled “A Course called Ireland” by Tom Coyne, published by Gotham Books (www.penguin.com. A hard-cover costs $26). I’ve never finished an entire golf book in that amount of time. Most golf books I adore for the photos of those courses I’d love to play in the future. I dabble in reading them from time to time, but rarely do I finish them. Coyne’s book drew me in for two reasons: It’s an interesting story, ... full post »