About us

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