In 1920 Walter Hagen and Jim Barnes treated Deal, Sandwich and Prince's as though they were a single golf course. Once a year the Hagen 54 does the same thing on purpose, starting at twenty to six in the morning. We went along, and made the mistake of playing with hickories.

Three Open venues sit within half an hour of Formby, and every visiting golfer books them first. Formby has never staged The Open and very likely never will. It is also, for a great many who make the trip, the round they talk about afterwards. Pine trees, revetted sand, a course wrapped entirely around another golf club, and a hippopotamus with a steel tooth.

A first-hand round at Sunningdale Old, the 1901 Willie Park Jr heathland design where Bobby Jones shot his perfect 66 in Open qualifying, Harry Colt made his name as an architect, and the great oak still stands watch behind the eighteenth green. A hot summer visit to the course Bernard Darwin called “incredible and indecent” and Bobby Jones simply wanted to take home.

A round at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, the Pete and Alice Dye design that hosted the 1991 Ryder Cup, the 2012 and 2021 PGA Championships, and which will host its third PGA in 2031. The course carries the highest slope rating in the United States, and on a 30mph day it earns every point of it.

A first-hand round at Harbour Town, the Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus collaboration that opened in November 1969 with Arnold Palmer winning the inaugural Heritage. The course set among the live oaks and the Spanish moss, finishing beside the lighthouse on Calibogue Sound, that taught American golf course architecture how to think small again.

Scotland’s oldest golf brand brings fine knitwear and quiet craftsmanship to golf's most historic championship, beginning with a curated collection for The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale.

Open Licensee Day at Royal Birkdale, weeks before the championship returns to Southport. Thirty-eight miles per hour of Irish Sea wind, a brand new par five, a new par three, the Arnold Palmer plaque, the halfway-house sausage rolls, and a caddie called Andy who promised that a well struck ball does not move in the wind.

Two of Scotland’s most significant cultural exports, born a generation apart and intertwined ever since. The history, the hip flask tradition, the distillery trails worth a detour, and what makes a good dram for the course.

Nobody will shout at you for breaking them. But observing Scotland’s unwritten rules of golf etiquette, from letting faster groups through to removing your hat in the clubhouse, makes the difference between being a welcome guest and the kind of visitor that the members discuss after you have left.

No carts. No cart girls. Nobody telling you what tee to play from. Scottish golf operates by a different set of rules, and overseas visitors who arrive prepared for the differences will have the trip of a lifetime. Those who do not may spend the first three holes wondering where the drinks cart is.

Founded in 1892, Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken, South Carolina is the second oldest 18-hole golf course in America on its original site. Designed in part by Alister MacKenzie immediately after he completed Augusta National, Palmetto opens its gates to visitors for a single week each year. That week is Masters week.

The Masters Tournament is one of the hardest sporting events in the world to obtain tickets for. Volunteering remains one of the few legitimate routes inside Augusta National’s gates, with the added reward of an opportunity to play the course on appreciation day. Here is everything you need to know for the 2027 tournament.

In April 2026, I went to The Masters for the first time. Travelling with my brother Abhishek and uncles Sunil and Amit, following in the footsteps of my late grandparents who first made the pilgrimage in 1997. Find out why “There really is nothing like The Masters”.

While the USA boasts opulent halfway houses as a norm, the UK’s approach blends tradition with quiet innovation. From a converted lighthouse on the Ayrshire coast to an unmanned bothy in the Highlands serving Baileys hot chocolate, here is a curated journey through the finest halfway houses in British golf, and the unwritten etiquette that makes them work.

Every golfer visiting Scotland dreams of the famous names. But the courses next door, the ones the locals quietly prefer, might just be where the real magic happens.

Golf and railways have been inseparable in Scotland since the very first sleeper was laid. From holes named after the tracks that border them to an entire coastline of courses born because Glaswegians could take the train to the seaside, here is the story of Scotland's railway golf trail.

Learn more about links golf, which is golf played on coastal courses.

Historic Wykagyl Country Club delivered my best round in ten years. The secret? World-class caddies, Tillinghast's strategic design, and the kind of quiet prestige you rarely find anymore. From dress code essentials to hole-by-hole strategy, here's your complete guide to playing this East Coast treasure.

Spring golf begins with preparation. Clean your clubs, refresh your golf sweaters, inspect your shoes, and rediscover your swing. Our comprehensive guide covers six essential pre-season rituals that blend practical maintenance with the romance of golf's return. The fairways are waiting.

Discover the world’s finest 19th holes span from Portugal’s award-winning Palmares to California’s iconic Pebble Beach, each offering distinctive post-round experiences. These five legendary clubhouses combine architectural excellence with golfing heritage.