Can you separate a golf course from his surroundings?
Some purists of architecture will argue that you can, and that, in fact, you must: for a course to be appreciated only in its design merits, no matter what stands beyond its foundations.
But this is not how most players experience a round. Most of us – when we are not busy with cutting or searching for lost balls – take time to appreciate the world around us. We pause, that is, to admire the spaces. The mountains. Rivers. The oceans. Valley. Golf’s Global Canvas has them all, with eye candy almost wherever you come back, some of them especially sweet.
In a last episode of Golf Podcast, my co-worker Simon Holt and I got into a discussion on this issue: What are the biggest views in the game?
Simon started with a note up, turning his gaze down: Southern New Zealand InstallerA coastal stunner, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, that anyone can play. As the least imaginary of both of them, I went with something visible and closer to the house: bypass from the backyard of Spanish Cypresswho looks through a tree forest with cypress in the famous PAR-3 16. A exclusive place, for sure. But my other choice was the public approach, a municipal course, in fact, and a great reason to visit our neighbor in the north: Highland Links, in Nova Scotia, a Stanley Thompson design that ranks in my most stage walks in Golf.
Simon opposed with other beauties, including nine forward in Royal County down in northern Ireland (“is like something from a crazy golf dream,” Simon said); the whole of Waterville in Ireland; And Cabot Point Hardy in St. Lucia, a site that is almost seen to be believed.
Surely, we were missing some. The old head, for example, did not make our list short. Surely, you have your own suggestions. Feel free to email us your thoughts at destinationolfpodcast@gmail.com. And to listen to the latest episode of the Golf Destination, click here.
