Streamsong interviews

As a journalist, I interview lots of people. Some can be wary or shy, while others feel uncomfortable talking about themselves. It's my job to get the best out of them, which hopefully I do.

Yesterday and today I interviewed Ben Crenshaw and his business partner Bill Coore at the official launch of the new 36-hole Streamsong resort in Florida. Both were generous with their time and gave me some revealing insights into the way they approach their jobs and their views on golf course architecture. Despite the legion of media vying for a few words, both were kind and respectful, and even posed for a few portraits.

The courses at Streamsong are phenomenal. After playing Streamsong Red (a wonderful layout by Tom Doak, who I will interview next week), I immediately went back out on the course and was lucky enough to take some photos that will hopefully capture the beauty of the place.

The pics will be processed when I get back to Scotland - stay tuned!

Long-haul travel

Long-haul travel has its perks. These days, the choice available to passengers through the on-board entertainment systems is so vast, you barely have time to scroll through the options before its time to touch down. I just got off a flight from Edinburgh to New York during which I opted for the longest film available – Lincoln. A little slow and a tad drawn out but it passed the time.

Before I knew it, I was checking the options for film number two – I had already watched a couple sitcoms, played a terrible game of chess and checked out the extensive music archive.

More importantly, this level of choice can reveal much about your fellow passengers. The two old dolls in front of me, for example, made no attempt to search through the options. Dressed in bright, primary colours as if to draw attention to their vacationing status, they spent the entire flight transfixed to their screens; gambling. I’m no expert, but it looked like they could play a mean hand and were even willing to play during a fairly bumpy landing. I couldn’t tell if they broke even, but they certainly had a good time, cackling and chirping at their online antics.

I stuck to emancipation, and the time flew by.

PGA Show - a first time for everything

Without doubt, the PGA show is one of the most important golf expos of the year. It is enormous, attracting an array of golf equipment manufacturers and clothing companies. This year, the show celebrates its 60th anniversary, and I will be there to witness it all.

I am heading out to Florida to cover the show for some magazines and then visit four golf courses in Polk County. The latter stages of the trip will be all early mornings, late evenings, polarizer filters and tripods - it's what must be done to get the best light. The start of the trip will be all handshakes, business-card swaps and walking the isles bumping into old clients and perhaps meeting some new ones.

It should be good. If you're going, give me a shout and we can meet up for a well-earned beer!

Pass it on

Following a well-timed request from one of my readers, I have added Facebook and Twitter buttons to the right-hand side of my blog. I have also included icons at the bottom of each post, including this one!

This functionality should enable those of you so inclined to share my thoughts and ramblings with the wider world. So, if you feel the urge, please share or tweet without mercy!

THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE

Being the first golf course ever has a certain ring to it. It’s a title with added pizzazz and status. So significance is it, you would think it would be easy pick a winner. But it ain’t. Please find below an excerpt from my Golf Illustrated article on Musselburgh. Enjoy.

Some birthdays pass by in a blink of an eye while others stay with you forever. Reg Dean celebrated his big day by going into the record books as the undisputed oldest man in Britain. He celebrated his birthday from his bed safe in the knowledge he had reached the top.

At 110, he had every right to take it easy while the national papers and news channels pounced at the opportunity to celebrate his landmark age. It is, after all, human nature to mark the achievements of others, especially when those achievements are unsurpassed. Reg celebrated his record in style. It’s a pity the same can’t be said for the World’s oldest golf course.

Until recently this title resided in the ancient, free-draining turf of the Old Course at Musselburgh, which is located just six miles east of Edinburgh. The unassuming links, which is encircled snugly by a horse-racing track, was home to some of the greats of the game. Legends like Wille Park Sr and Jr, Mungo Park, David Brown and Bob Ferguson all made a name for themselves here. It is believed the game-transforming Guttie ball was developed in the club-making shops that surrounded the course and, as significantly, six Open Championships were decided at Musselburgh which eventually got its full complement of nine holes in 1870.

During a golden era when the tentative green shoots of the modern game were first emerging, Musselburgh was, without question, at the centre of it all.

To find out more about this story, visit www.golfillustrated.co.uk

A year in review

2012 will be remembered for many sporting triumphs, not least the heroic efforts at the Olympics and the amazing European team victory at the Ryder Cup in the US. From my perspective, I was grateful to be at The Curtis Cup in Nairn and the Irish Open in Royal Portrush to witness the passion of the crowds and some incredible outcomes.

More significantly, I was proud so see my images being used by Nairn and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board in the run-up to these events. Similarly, one of this year’s highlights was being taken into the impressive dining hall at Royal Lytham & St Annes during the Open Championship to inspect my images which are now hanging in this magnificent room. Those images were also used by the club and the R&A during the build-up to the event.

It was also gratifying to fulfil special commissions for Glenmorangie and Ralph Lauren during what was to be a busy week in July.

Later in the year, I headed out to Spain to shoot La Manga’s three courses which proved to be a special treat, as was the news that my 2013 St Andrews Links Trust calendar sold out two months before the end of 2012. Adding to my portfolio with entries from Portugal, France, Germany, Ireland, England and Scotland and visits to Turkey, Holland and Sweden, it was a busy but fulfilling year.

Most of all, I will remember 2012 as a year in which I was able to travel the world doing something I love and contributing (either pictorially, editorially or both) to some very fine magazines.

Here’s hoping 2013 will be as much fun.