We invite you to subscribe now to access the reviews of your favourite courses and over 360 pages of news and comments.
free, every 2/3 months.
Do a friend a favour and send them a FineGolf website link.
FineGolf has a 3-fold purpose:
___________________________
Used at ‘Running-Golf Day’.
___________________________
Great Golf Books
___________________________
where is this the favoured form of golf?
___________________________
Are they a pest or do they add to a golfer’s enjoyment?
READ the obituary of Dexter who holds the world golf record of the number of different golf courses walked by a dog (80).
READ interview about dogs on golf courses.
READ about some famous golfing dogs
READ about the Golf Dog hall of fame.
___________________________
A growing interest in playing with hickory shafted clubs
___________________________
about Fine Golf
FineGolf is a ‘labour of love’, independent of commercial influences, edited by Lorne Smith, with an Advisory Panel.
FineGolf’s philosophy is based on two books. Frank Pennink’s ‘Golfers Companion’ and Jim Arthur’s ‘Practical Greenkeeping’.
The reviews of Pennink’s 128 GB&I finest courses, all of which Lorne has played, are updated by this website to the GB&I’s finest 200 ‘Running-Golf’ courses.
As soon as I had read in 2000, Jim Arthur’s brilliantly written “bible of greenkeeping” the scales as it were, fell from my eyes, and I realised why I had enjoyed the courses in Pennink’s book more than the numerous lush parklands. It is the type of grass that makes up the sward that is such a determinant of my enjoyment of a golf course.
FineGolf helps golfers understand why the three-dimensional game played across firm turf gives a different enjoyment to the two dimensional target-golf game on soft lush turf and why the running-game using the conservationist greenkeeping route best fits in with wider society’s wish for less use of water, fertilisers and pesticides.
I was advised correctly back in 2008 that for a website to be successful it needs a depth of content that people want to read and secondly, a free newsletter to remind people to come back to the website!
to get free notification every 2/3 months of new reviews and articles
CLICK HERE for details of the finest ‘running-golf ‘ courses and their heritage, which is ideal for overseas visitors and roving British/Irish golfers to choose where it is most enjoyable to play to get that FineGolf “joy to be alive” feeling.
The 200 finest, firm turfed ‘running-golf ‘ courses in GB&I are listed by Area. Those below are also featured with a detailed review giving their history, design and agronomy and those with a * are accessable to all.
15 years on it comes down to the leadership at National and local Club level.
________________________________________________
New ball rule changes need to be ammended.
______________________________________________
can help The R&A’s ‘Sustainable Agronomic Policy’
______________________________________________
Updated review of 150th anniversary book and course.
________________________________________________
Lorne advises Dornoch’s juniors on playing hickory foursomes
________________________________________________
He defines the ‘original’ game and calls for a discussion on The R&A’s role
_________________________________________________
Faversham being returned to Dr Alister Mackenzie’s design and condition
_________________________________________________
Click individual course names to read reviews
______________________________________________
Neil Hampton on the original and most enjoyable game.
________________________________________________
Norbert Lischka tells how ‘non-fine grass’ courses can cope.
_________________________________________________
Great value, classic out & back flat links with mostly firm fescue greens
_________________________________________________
The invigilator of Top 100, Sec of GSGB, spills the beans on the 1600 courses he has played around the world.
___________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Britain wins first ever Hickory Golf Ashes Match at Royal North Devon
____________________________________________________
Paul Lawrence explains how inland Woodbridge has been transformed from ‘Target’ to ‘Three Dimensional Running’ golf.
____________________________________________________
Reviewed, plus a list of England’s courses with the finest greens that give golfers the best performance and pleasure.
_____________________________________________________
Jess Stiles shows puzzles invariably involve the running game and require firm surfaces.
_____________________________________________________
FineGolf and John Philp MBE analyse the latest controversy where the manufacturers are laughing all the way to the bank
_____________________________________________________
Andrew Brown’s latest book reviewed from Scotland’s East side.
_____________________________________________________
joins FineGolf’s Advisory Panel and starts a series of articles about enhancing “golfer’s enjoyment”
______________________________________________________
by Nick Jones one of the exceptional club leaders of Hollinwell
__________________________________________________________
FineGolf calls on The R&A to invest in a major marketing programme
_______________________________________________________
Was it set-up for a running course Open Championship?
_______________________________________________________
High quality Parkland Target golf with scrumptious food and wine
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Conservationist greenkeeper Eoin Riddell interviewed & reveals all.
______________________________________________________
Royal St George’s greens show how type of grass affects putting roll-out and borrow.
____________________________________________________________________
First FineGolf continental review along with Hardelot Les Pins
____________________________________________________________________
Greenkeepers can use new measure to better connect with golfers
_____________________________________________________________________
R&A ‘sustainable greenkeeping’ policy focus on golfers’ enjoyment?
______________________________________________________________________
Will SNP politics stop Coul Links again?
______________________________________________________________________
R.St.G’s Fine Grasses Triumvirate
______________________________
‘The Complete Golf Professional’
by Nick Jones: reviewed
______________________________
Andrew Brown’s third and best book
whisky and golf across the continent
______________________________
______________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
at 130 year anniversary
_________________________
____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
______________________________
______________________________
The heart of a traditional running-golf village
_______________________________
Grass selection, Soil biology, Fertiliser cost,
Ryegrass, R&A GC2030, Weather.
_____________________________
From out of the shadow
____________________________
Markham/Truett book reviewed
___________________________
Heathland and fine grass returned
____________________________
Ideal for heathland courses
___________________________
What is their role?
____________________________
Full review of fine course
___________________________
____________________________
____________________________
_____________________________
Awarded a 5 Star ‘Joy-to-be-alive’ FineGolf feeling alongside Royal Porthcawl in South Wales
_____________________________
Bernard Darwin quotes + criticism of
Natural Resources Wales activists
_____________________________
beautiful compilation of articles
_____________________________
by Baroness
_____________________________
Can it help fine grasses?
______________________________
and Dexter inducted into:
_______________________________
Pioneering family history who started
the Australian Open Championship
_______________________________
New research at Montrose.
_______________________________
Full review of changed running-golf links
______________________________
Nick Jones researches EBook
______________________________
by A.W.(Tony) Riley
______________________________
in Taba Dale’s new book
______________________________
Full review
_____________________________
Some thoughts
______________________________
West Lancashire name 7th hole ‘Muir’
______________________________
and its part in the heath.
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
_______________________________
gives conservation lead to inland courses
with return to upper echelons of golf
_______________________________
by Colin Strachan, reviewed by FineGolf
________________________________
_______________________________
Worly’s successful secretary retires
_______________________________
A new warm way of greeting?
_______________________________
by Craig Morrison & reviewed by FineGolf
______________________________
Report on R&A ‘Golf Course 2030’.
______________________________
_______________________________
John Philp MBE gives an eulogy to one of
the most accomplished greenkeepers.
________________________________
Martin Ward tells 30 year story
_____________________________
____________________________
Advice from Norbert Lischka
___________________________
on setting up a running heathland
for a R&A tournament.
__________________________
__________________________
New book on Whisky and running-golf
___________________________
Happy thoughts
__________________________
What to expect from R&A review
__________________________
__________________________
_________________________
_________________________
on the problems with UK courses
_________________________
scarifying Luffness New fairways
_________________________
Alistair Noake’s book reviewed
_________________________
New review
_________________________
Update review
_________________________
is key focus for greenkeepers
in BTME Report
_________________________
Reviewed while threatened by Quango
____________________________
new book by Andrew Brown
____________________________
____________________________
John Quinn MG’s answer to
greens performance
_____________________________
Tribute to a much loved Pro
_____________________________
fine grassed downland with views
_____________________________
Stand-out issue at British Masters
_____________________________
John Beynon at Pennard confesses
______________________________
Running clifftop downlands reviewed
______________________________
Hickory club repairer extraordinaire
_______________________________
reviewed
________________________________
Critical review of opportunity lost
________________________________
________________________________
_________________________________
The need for mutual respect between golfers and greenkeepers
_________________________________
Royal North Devon suffers from
‘Natural England’ policy.
__________________________________
autobiography reviewed
__________________________________
reviewed
_________________________________
Enville & Pennard review updates
_________________________________
Friend or foe?
___________________________________
New reviews from Aberdeenshire
__________________________________
1965 to 2018, interesting change in score-card names of club’s played
___________________________________
News on American funded course near Royal Dornoch
___________________________________
___________________________________
Cornish finest reviewed
___________________________________
Lewes joins 200 finest courses
____________________________
joins FineGolf’s Advisory Panel
____________________________
__________________________
New reviews from Dorset
__________________________
__________________________
gains greater historical importance
__________________________
Interviewwith Steve Isaac
“R&A Director – Sustainability”
_________________________
joins FineGolf Advisory Panel
_________________________
joins FineGolf Advisory Panel
& calls for 3-dimensional game
__________________________
The truthful review
__________________________
Norbert Lischka talks colour
___________________________
No.1 in the 1970s. Is it still?
____________________________
at Notts/Hollinwell, Mon Sept 4th
_____________________________
speedier rules taken up by R&A
_____________________________
Norbert Lischka helps golf clubs
_____________________________
_____________________________
Epitome of traditional running-golf
_____________________________
by Jess Stiles, disciple and expert
_____________________________
Obituary of a special gun & golf dog
______________________________
Golfers! discover where your £s go
______________________________
Fine-grassed, ‘Running-golf ‘ Parkland course reviewed.
_______________________________
______________________________
Berwick-on-Tweed, reviewed
____________________________
FineGolf 2016 Report
_____________________________
_____________________________
Interviewed by Lorne
_____________________________
by Norbert Lischka
____________________________
Why did he miss his record breaking putt?
_____________________________
___________________________
Reviewed
__________________________
evolutionary needs
_________________________
Too quick for The R&A and Geoff Ogilvy
_________________________
updated review
New review
________________________
Agronomist and low handicap golfer puts fine grass and enjoyment together
_________________________
It is not being hit ever further
_________________________
________________________
________________________
Reviewed
_______________________
is it good to have under greens?
_________________________
New south and west Midlands reviews
_______________________________
R Portrush, R County Down, The Island, Portstewart, County Louth all Reviewed
_______________________________
____________________________
interviewed by GolfClubAtlas
____________________________
updated reviews
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
____________________________
new reviews
___________________________
by Paul Gray
_________________________
new reviews
________________________
________________________
fine and weed grass identification
_________________________
_________________________
new reviews
__________________________
New updated reviews
___________________________
Royal St David’s, Conwy, Bull Bay, Prestatyn, Porthmadog, Aberdovey.
___________________________
_______________________
_______________________
Tribute to
________________________
_______________________
________________________
__________________________
to non-experts
________________________
Alistair Beggs join FineGolf
_______________________
awe inspiring
______________________
Hoylakesque
________________________
Report from Royal Holloway
________________________
______________________
explained to the ordinary golfer
_______________________
_______________________
explained to non-experts
______________________
______________________
______________________
Annual Ryegrass overseed
_____________________
_____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
Machrihanish Dunes
____________________
_____________________
____________________
____________________
One of Britain’s most enjoyable
inland courses
____________________
by Nick Park
__________________
by Alistair Beggs
_______________________
A pedigree club near-by Carnoustie, reviewed
_______________________
2013 ‘Open’ venue reviewed
_______________________
gives a lead on The Open Championship
Brilliant book by Peper/Campbell reviewed
______________________
________________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
________________________
returns from the ‘dark side’
_________________________
_______________________
Royal Lytham & St Annes
______________________
Saunton
The finest 36 holes of golf in the British Isles? READ MORE…
_______________________
______________________
Natural biodiversity fits FineGolf READ MORE…
_______________________
