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Golf By Continent
by Belli Roudles
http://www.figagolf.com
Any world tour of golf should set out where golf began. Do
not listen to those pedants who think that the Roman game
paganica was the origin or golf, or those who argue that
the Dutch got there first - we are talking Scotland, where
they were playing it in the fifteenth century.
Founded in 1754 the Royal and Ancient Golf Club still has a
role in the rule making of the game. It is situated in a
Scottish University town which lies between Dundee and
Edinburgh. Here you will find many fantastic courses but
make sure you take some wet weather gear with you.
If you are visiting Europe you can fly a few short hours to
a much sunnier location - that of Valencia on the coast of
Spain where you will find El Saler golf course. It looks
out onto the Mediterranean sea, however be prepared - the
course is not easy and it has many bunkers.
Tracing our steps for a few hundred miles north will allow
us to pay our respects to one further living relic of
golfing history. In Northern Ireland we find the courses of
County Down running between the Mountains or Mourne and the
open sea. Booking is essential to play either the Annesley
or the Championship links.
A much longer trip but well worth it is to journey to the
tip of Africa and visit the courses on offer in
Johannesburg where Ernie Els cultivated his talents and
Gary Player learned the ropes.
>From Africa you can try the Asian continent and visit a
country where the popularity of golf has grown at an
astonishing rate - Japan. It is a very beautiful country
and offers many first-class courses. In Kobe the course at
Hirono always gets a mention. Charles Alison designed it
in 1932 and its location is stunning set in beautiful
gorges surrounded by pines.
Still within Australasia - not so far from Japan in New
Zealand, we can visit Paraparaumu Beach, the course where
many may recall watching Tiger Woods win back in 2002.
Based on the North Island you can play on this course if
you book a few weeks in advance.
Heading towards the USA it is a good idea to stop off at
some of the fine examples on offer on the Caribbean islands
or alternatively you could try some of the courses in
Mexico. Cabo del Sol in Los Cabos would probably get the
thumbs up from Jack Nicklaus (since he designed it!). It
is a windy course being situated on the coast but you will
have fine tuned your skills in New Zealand for this so give
it a go. Here you can choose between two courses on offer
a desert course or one by the ocean.
Taking the plane northwards to the USA, we are in the
golfers paradise. So now where? Clementon, Palm Springs,
Augusta....
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