An eventful day here in northwest Ireland. A whole lotta day. The day-to-day existence of The Golf Road Warrior might sound, well, sorta cushy if viewed from a distance. But the pace is unrelentingly, if purposely, grueling. Let me give you the blow by blow of our Saturday here in County Donegal, using the 24-hour clock that pervades here
About the Author: Gordon Dalgleish is the Co-Founding Director of PerryGolf, the leading provider of international golf vacations. You can find him onGoogle+
Crail Golfing Society – which is just a short drive from St. Andrews – celebrates its 225th birthday this year. To think that this Golf Club has been in existence since before the USA’s first ever President was elected is quite an achievement. There have only been 6 other golf clubs in the world to have reached this milestone, so it’s proving to be a special year for everyone at the club; which is the home of the excellent Balcomie Links and Craighead Links courses. For anyone coming over to Scotland in search of golf at a club steeped in history, Crail fits the bill perfectly.
By Keith Baird. Keith has been with PerryGolf for over 10 years and is one of our Golf Travel Specialists.
Congratulations to The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs on being voted No.1 Lodge/Resort in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific by readers of Travel & Leisure. This is the 16th year the awards have been held and the rankings are based on rooms/facilities, location, service and restaurant food and value. Kauri Cliffs came in 11th place in the World’s Best Awards. You can see further details on the awards by clicking here.
Kauri Cliffs is owned by New Yorkers Julian & Josie Robertson who also run the fantastic Cape Kidnappers resort near Napier on the South Island which has one of the world’s best courses. In addition to this, they have recently opened the new Matakauri Lodge near Queenstown.
By Alastair Niven. Alastair has been with PerryGolf for over 10 years and looks after our South Pacific Programmes.
Further to my post in January regarding The Machrie Hotel & Golf Links entering administration, I was pleased to read that the administrators have found a buyer and the property was sold for an undisclosed sum on Thursday 30 June 2011 to Machrie Golf LLP.
Machrie Golf LLP is a partnership established by Baroness Sue Nye (former Director of Government Relations at 10 Downing Street) and her husband Gavyn Davies (Chairman of Fulcrum Asset Management). The facility will now be managed by G3k, whose CEO is Stewart Smith; a Scottish golf professional for 28 years who has been involved with some very impressive golf course developments.
The Machrie
The Machrie estate is located on Islay on the West coast of Scotland and includes the hotel with bar and restaurant, lodges, golf shop and the 71-par championship golf course. The golf course is considered one of the world’s top links courses and is rated within the UK’s 100 top golf courses. You can see further details by clicking here.
With an array of single malt distilleries on the island Islay is a great destination for any golfers looking for something a bit different. It can also work well with a trip to Scotland’s Ayrshire coast as you can fly there from Glasgow and this allows courses like Turnberry, Royal Troon and Prestwick to be included in a trip.
By Alastair Niven. Alastair has been with PerryGolf for over 10 years and is one of our Golf Travel Specialists.
Mike Reeder at St. Andrews with caddy and film crew
Tomorrow night (July 19) at 7:00 EST on ESPN’s E:60 “The Best Stories in Sports” broadcast, we encourage you to tune in for the how a Vietnam veteran who lost both of his legs shot a solid 79 last fall at the Old Course, St Andrews! It was PerryGolf’s distinct pleasure to accompany Mr Mike Reeder during his visit to Scotland when company Co-Founder Colin Dalgleish joined him for a game and a tour of the town. Not only will you see an impressive golf swing, but you’ll meet a man who has turned a “bag of hammers” (a phrase Mike borrows from Michael J. Fox) into a powerful inspiration. Mike’s visit was made possible by Challenged Athlete’s Foundation who partnered with ESPN who had seen mike interviewed by CNN. Click here if you’d like to see the CNN interview.
About the Author: Gordon Dalgleish is the Co-Founding Director of PerryGolf, the leading provider of international golf vacations. You can find him onGoogle+
