Having just visited this fine peninsula town and not having played its namesake and finest golfing track, I thought best to revisit my archives from mid-decade and relive post facto some of the pleasure that is San Francisco Golf Club. This would be Tillinghast’s most notable ‘best-coast’ effort of course, with a little love from Renaissance Golf over the years to reclaim, renew, and reuse. This particular vantage is up the valley that includes the 7th and 8th holes, and was of course the site for the famous Terry-Broderick bout of ‘59, America’s final pistol duel. Ironically, the short seventh hole calls for what Senator Broderick was apparently lacking–a decisive and accurate shot to a small target. He died, and at the hands of a state Supreme Court Justice no less. I thought Congress was the check/balance to the judiciary, but not in this case. I fortunately had terrific company on my round, although tensions briefly rose as we went in-pocket to repair our pitch marks on the green. The short par-4 8th up the way is no slouch either, I love this place. Recent revisions have brought back the Tarantula bunker, but I have yet to make its acquaintance.

Welcome to Golf House Club at Elie, you are on the south coast of Fife in Scotland, a stiff forty-five minute drive south from the home of the sport. The spectacle bunkers at that awkward bunker shot distance from the 12th green seem a fitting vantage to view this spectacular yet unheralded links. The two shot 13th in the distance wriggles away from the rocky coast to its green nestled at the base of the cliff, before the routing heads inland and upland.

A truly hospitable links for those who enjoy missing crowds, and reasonably fared to boot. One of the few courses to feature a parascope–a necessary modern addition to safely navigate the rocky crag at the first tee and potential litigation thereafter. Also, the town sports one of the finest restaurants in country–Sangster’s–for you foodies.

With Australia’s central bank being the first globally to muster some audacity and raise interest rates since the credit crisis began, perhaps the Antipodeans can also be the leaders in recapitalizing some of the world’s wonderful golf terrain. In Australia, that is first and foremost greater Melbourne, where the quality of the Sand Belt collection is easily expandable. This modern example of the region is the Ranfurlie course at Amstel Golf Club, an honest and thoughtful layout with representative firm turf and lipless, greenside hazards from Mike Clayton and his design team. The modest property doesn’t have a ton of elevation change, but the blessed sand and many charismatic trees have been used to full advantage, making for a beautiful setting and ideal member course. If all cities could be so lucky as to boast a course such as Ranfurlie or a dozen others as fantastically fun alternatives to all-world tracks like Kingston Heath and Royal Melbourne…ah, me. Don’t miss out on ’surely the finest ‘flaming’ links in the Southern Hemisphere’ at Barnbougle if you get this close, a majestic effort on which Mr. Clayton’s team collaborated with Renaissance.

My most recent quest brought me to the seventh installment at the St.Andrews Links Trust, which is David Kidd’s Castle Course, an effort that brings some of the prominent aspects of modern golf design to the outskirts of golf’s home.  While it is not perfect, in many spots it is quite beautiful, and it certainly garners strong responses from those who have visited. It no doubt adds to the variety of the Trust’s offering.  The course has some aggressive contouring around the greens (which I love) and some nasty and unplayable rough spots (which I don’t).  The adjacent coastline is one of the best in the world for vistas, and many holes take excellent advantage of the scenic terrain.  Unfortunately, the treatment plant and maintenance compound on site draw the eye on occasion as well, and any competition for supremacy with the Old Course et al is bound to be a futile match.  In the face of these headwinds, the Castle is still worth a visit when you come to town, so long as expectations are tempered and an open mind is employed when opining on the greens contouring.

Oh, Turnberry, you are pretty, and the tee shot here at the Ninth from the tips rivals any in the world for spendour and heroism.  Should be an excellent test for the Open lads, despite not being in my personal top ten for links layouts.  Ignoring the plethora of obvious and renowned merits of the course, I maybe just wish the hotel wasn’t quite so ‘honkin’ and the somehow the Ailsa course fractures in my mind as six holes of ‘holy crap cool,’ six holes of ’darn good, particularly in a breeze,’ and six holes of ‘was this one of the ones that was mangled in the war?’  I look forward to detailed post-round highlights from the pub in St. Andrews.

At Loch Lomond, Jay Morrish and Tom Weiskopf bring modestly-thoughtful American golf architecture to a bog in Scotland, adjacent to a beautiful lake.  And they eat it up, despite the moistness!  Here is the final short hole on the course (the 17th)and the best view.  Worth a trip if you are nearby and can’t catch an inland game at the King’s or Queen’s–my linksy needs would force me to endure 7 rounds at Prestwick for every game at the Loch, if pressed.

So I haven’t been to Brancaster or Birkdale, but Rye gets my vote as coolest course in England, despite some snootiness, the blind shots (like here at the par-4 13th), and those crazy and singular ankle-breaker, sleeper-built, modified ha-ha walls to be found around about a third of the greens.  A particularly fine playing surface means the grounds are legitimately suitable for a famous winter tourney between the country’s top schools, and make the task of approaching the par of 69 in the summer time a minor miracle.  Seems like every other shot is an epic challenge and beautiful to boot, a must-see.