We are releasing a new format docupod series tomorrow which will take a deep dive into golf in the Netherlands. This snippet was too good to leave out so I have included here as sneak peak of my recent chat with Mike Clayton...sage advice as to why you should consider a golf trip to the Netherlands, Belgium & France.

I hope you enjoy tomorrows release.

Special Guest: Mike Clayton.

A recent trip to Walton Heath afforded me an opportunity to meet with Philip Truett at his home at Walton on the Hill. Philip recently co-authored a biography on William Herbert Fowler, entitled 'A Matter of Course'. The book paints a brilliant picture of a life well lived, not without a modicum of drama. Fowler by all accounts was a by-product of his time and social standing, who undoubteldy left an indelible mark on golf both in the UK and the USA.

We mainly stay on topic or at the very least always return to the vicinity of where we meandered away from it.... please enjoy the chat, it was great fun to put it together for our collective enjoyment, engaging with someone as knowledgable as Philip has been a real treat.

Episode music used under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guest: Philip Truett.

Leo Barber the GM and Course Manager at Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club on the Kapiti Coast of the North Island of New Zealand joins us for this episode.

I have had the great pleasure of playing the links at Paraparaumu Beach on a number of occasions, over the course of 4 rounds there, thus far, the washboard fairways and associated dunescapes really resonated with this self confessed links junkie.

Leo recently marked the 75th anniversary of Alex Russell's arrival at Paraparaumu with a presentation to the members of the club and joins us today to recount both the story of the links and his own journey which began a mere 15 minutes down the road from the club in Pukerua Bay.

We hope you enjoy our chat!

Please check out the following links for some additional supporting content

Leo Barber's pictorial history of PBGC

Ran Morisset's course tour of PBGC on Golf Club Atlas

Christian Cullen best try's link

Clyde Johnson website - Book on North Island Country Golf in NZ

Intro and outro music - _Shoreline Serenade by Dye O _- under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guest: Leo Barber.

In this final instalment of my chat with Pat Ruddy we take a look at his work in County Donegal - revising Eddie Hackett's work at both Murvagh and Ballyliffin, revising Morris, Vardon and Colt at Rosapenna, creating muscular modern links courses at Ballyliifin (Glashedy) and Rosapenna (Sandy Hills) and a revitalisation project at the Colt and Alison designed County Sligo Golf Club.

Apologies for the, at times, slightly stratchy audio, we hope it doesn't detract too much from the conversation.

We hope you enjoyed this series, many thanks to Pat for his time and to you for listening.

Intro and outro music - _Shoreline Serenade by Dye O _- under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guest: Pat Ruddy.

This is part two of my chat with Pat Ruddy (final part due in a few weeks), we hope you enjoy our conversation!

In this episode we focus on the origin story of The European Club which is located in Brittas Bay in County Wicklow - how the site was eventually found, the opening day, a course of 20 holes, sleeper shod bunkers and a 127 yard green..... it's a cracking story.... well told!

Apologies for some scratchy audio throughout, we hope it doesn't detract too much from the content.

Intro and outro music - _Shoreline Serenade by Dye O _- under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guest: Pat Ruddy.

Pat Ruddy may be known to many of you as the owner and course designer of The European Club located at Brittas Bay, Co. Wicklow.

That association is central to his story, however, it does not tell the full tale. In addition to course design Mr Ruddy is a Golf Journalist, Author, Bibliophile, Historian and Magazine publisher.

A native of Ballymote, Co. Mayo, Ruddy would often cycle 20 miles from his home in Ballymote to play the great coastal links of County Sligo Golf Club at Rosses Point, where he was a member.

His early days in Ballymote fueled his love of the game of golf and those that wrote about it like Longhurst, Warren-Wind and Darwin.

He completed his first design for Castlecomer GC in 1969 and would go on to make revisions at Ballyliffin (Old), Rosapenna (OTM), County Sligo (Championship) and Donegal (Murvagh) in addition to new courses at Rosapenna (Sandy Hills), Ballyliffin (Glashedy), Druids Glen, Druids Heath, St Margarets and 36 at Club de Golf de l'Île de Montréal in Canada.

This is part one of the Pat Ruddy story, we hope you enjoy our chat!

Intro and outro music - _Shoreline Serenade by Dye O _- under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guest: Pat Ruddy.

Mike DeVries joins us from a wintery Michigan in advance of what may be his final construction visit to the 7 Mile Beach Golf Development that he is currently building for Mat Goggin in Hobart, Tasmania.

We discuss his early influences at Crystal Downs in Michigan, restoration work at the Meadow Club, The Addington & Royal Dublin. We take a quick look at both the Addington in London and the 7MB project, get an elevator pitch for golf in Michigan and finally Mike shares some of his bucket list golf courses and golf book recommendations.

We hope you enjoy our chat.

Please find a few links below relating to some of the book recommendations mentioned towards the end of the episode:

The MacKenzie Reader - edited by Joshua Pettit

Paul Daley's series, entitled Golf Architecture : A Worldwide Perspective , now extends to 7 Volumes, some of which are available through Fine Golf Books. Volume 7 can also be purchased directly form Paul Daley (email him at : fswing@bigpond.net.au).

Earlier editions can also often be found through pre-owned book resellers such as Abebooks, World of Books or Thrift Books.

Intro and outro music - _Shoreline Serenade by Dye O _- under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guest: Mike DeVries.

Gordon Hobson joins us in this episode to focus upon a story, arguably unprecedented in the world of golf.

Calvin Peete was born into to a family of migrant laborers in 1943, dropping out of school in the eighth grade he went to work picking crops....not a familiar springboard for PGA Tour success, particularly when you realise that he played his first game of golf at the age of 23!

Dedication and hard work contributed to Peete's rise to the top of worldwide golf throughout the 1980's. His success was very much an extension of the golfing legacies of men such as boxing champion Joe Louis and forebears such as Spiller, Rhodes, Sifford and Elder the real pioneers of the UGA and the struggle aginst the PGA Tour's caucasian only policy.

Gordon's biography of Calvin Peete, entitled - Golf's Forgotten Star - will be published by Rowman & Littlefield on the 6th of February 2024. Please click on the link below should you wish to place an order

Amazon Order Link

Links to some additional background reading and information on Peete and his can be found by following the links below:

Joe Louis - from World Heavyweight Boxing Champion to socking it to the PGA Tour

Laz Versailles' Fire Pit Collective Article on Spiller & Rhodes Case v PGA Tour

Luke Kerr-Dineen's Golf Digest Article on Calvin Peete

Intro and outro music - _Shoreline Serenade by Dye O _- under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guest: Gordon Hobson.

Ally McIntosh joins us for a slightly delayed review of our respective 2023 golfing years.

We catch up on renovations at Strandhill and Ally's plans at Carne Golf Links in 2024. Take a look at some of the Irish golfing highlights to come over the year to come and compare notes on various courses that we have visited over the course of the past year and locations we are eyeing up for the year to come.

Many thanks to you, for returning to the show throughout 2023. Here's to great golf in 2024.

Intro music - Wait Up Sundown by Arch Tremors (Instrumental) - published under license from Epidemic Sound.

Special Guest: Ally McIntosh.

Over the course of researching the history of golf in the Netherlands two golf related stories have really resonated with me.

In this episode we are joined by Stephen Zivin and to investigate the initial history of a Charles Hugh Alison design at De Wildhoeve in The Hague, now the home of the Royal Hague Golf Club. The story is intertwined by its' original owner, a gentleman by the name of Daniel Wolf

Robin Bargmann makes one final cameo to tell us the story of Kennemer Golf & Country Club during and after WW2.

We also take a quick look at the effects of WW2 on Domburgsche and Noordwijkse.

Stephen has written a great article on this subject matter for McKellar Magazine #7.

Featured music by Victor Lundberg, under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guests: Robin Bargmann and Steve Zivin.

Robin Bargmann joins us for the final time, as we explore how the game of golf in the Netherlands started on the private estates of the aristocratic and mercantile families of Holland. We take a look at some of these early pioneers, that brought the game to the dunescape and heathland of the lowlands.

Over time the custodians of the first clubs, engaged notable names such as Harry Colt, Hugh Alison and John Morrison to revise, extend and design some of the countries best courses. In future episodes we will catch up with some of the modern day custodians to see how history and heritage is still harnessed to the benefit of members and guests at these golfing institutions.

A number of pre-loved copies of Robin's book, The Serendipity of Early Golf, appear to be available from the link below for those that may be interested.

https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/f/serendipity-of-early-golf/9200000049113765/

The book of writings by John Sutherland, Golf Causerie, mentioned in the episode, can be purchased directly from the Royal Dornoch proshop - link here

Featured music by Victor Lundberg, under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guest: Robin Bargmann.

'I think you always have to go to the context, to understand something' R. Bargmann.

Robin Bargmann joins us for the second instalment on the back story to dutch golf.

Today we touch on some Dutch history including the Spanish Armada, the fall of Antwerp and subsequent rise of Amsterdam, the Dutch masters and the Burghers, the demise of the game of colf, not to forget the foundation of the Dutch Republic, Waterloo, the Dutch East India Company and much more.

Thanks for tuning in, we hope you enjoy the journey!

Links to a few of Robin's articles published in the British Golf Collectors Societies periodical Through the Green can be found below

Golf in Holland
Bobby Boreel
More than a Textbook

The Serendipity book is now out of print, however, used copies can often be found on Abebooks if you are interested in augmenting your golfing library.

Featured music by Victor Lundberg, under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guest: Robin Bargmann.

Recorded 1/5/2024

Nathan Bennett comes from counrty Victorian farming stock, so he's not afraid of hard yakka ('hard work' for non Australians). His can do approach has seen him on a green keeping journey which started in Murray Downs and would go on to include Metropolitan, Moonah Legends, The Sands and finally Royal Adelaide Golf Club.

We take a look at Nathan's journey while also lingering upon the Royal Adelaide story, since the clubs foundation back in 1892. The clubs centenary book is a great read (if you can get your hands on it.... its out of print for many years btw but there are a limited number of copies available from Abe Books - see link below) and through its auspices we tease out some of the ongoing historical and modern challenges that maintaining a world class golf course in a dry and arid climate, such as Adelaide, represents.

Nathan is a great guest and I really enjoyed my time with him. We hope you enjoy the conversation!

The Royal Adelaide Golf Club - By Michael Cudmore - 1892 to 1992

Please feel free to check out an article on our Substack account that profiles Royal Adelaide Golf Club and the delights of Adelaide

Firm & Fast Links
Twitter/X
Instagram
Youtube
The Firm & Fast Golf Podcast Occasional Newsletter on Substack

Music used under license from Epidemic Sound

Episode Imagery - credit Gary Lisbon (provided through RAGC)

Special Guest: Nathan Bennett.

Robin Bargmann joins us on this episode to begin an exploration of early golf and the influence that the European lowlands had on the modern game of golf, founded in Scotland in the 15th century.

Robin is widley recognised as one of the leading golf scholars in The Netherlands and has written a number of books including Serendipity of Early Golf which traces the many connections between Holland and Scotland.

The breadth of his research as impressive as it is extensive, we trust that you enjoy what is the first of three instalments with Mr. Bargmann.

The Serendipity book is now out of print, however, used copies can often be found on Abebooks if you are interested in augmenting your golfing library.

Links to one of Robin's articles published in the British Golf Collectors Societies periodical Through the Green can be found below

Golf in Holland

Featured music by Victor Lundberg, under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guest: Robin Bargmann.

In this second installment of our docupod series we take a look at the creation of the grounds for golf in the Netherlands. Stepping into a geological time machine with the help of Robert Hack we take a look at the geography, geology and underlying history of the low countries and how natural forces and the hand of man have conspired to create a dunescape, sandy interior and polderland that is utilised in its' myriad forms for the 250 Dutch golf courses.

We also get a sneak peek of episode 3 in this series with a short cameo appearance from the Robin Bargmann the golf historian and author of the Serendipity of Early Golf. Robin's book follows on, in a contrapuntal direction, from Steven van Hengels book from the 1980's entitled Early Golf.

Please see a youtube link below for some more information on a few of the topics covered in this episode

A dry southern north sea - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DECwfQQqRzo

The Sandmotor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1H-58W7QDk

An interesting read in advance of the next episode - https://www.golfcollectors.co.uk/u/cms/ttg_106_2013_september.pdf#page=28

Featured music by Victor Lundberg, under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guests: Robert Hack and Robin Bargmann.

Inspired by a relatively recent golf trip to the Netherlands, this is episode #1 trying something slightly different. In this episode we take an introductory look at golf in Holland getting a feel for what you might expect in a golfing sense with assistance from some of our friends, namely Mike Clayton, Frank Pont, George Waters & Jasper Miners.

We also take a sneak peak at what to expect to from the remainder of the docupod series.... please be mindful that most of it is as yet unrecorded (but I do know who I need to talk to).... I will get it published .... however, it may take some time (if putting this relatively short episode is anything to go by!).

Thanks for tuning in, I hope you enjoy the different format!

Featured music by Victor Lundberg, under license from Epedemic Sound.

Special Guests: Frank Pont, George Waters, Jasper Miners, and Mike Clayton.

Jeff Mingay joins us from Nova Scotia for a varied discussion on the life and times of Arthur Vernon Macan (1882-1964).

Macan was born in Ireland but is better known in his adopted homeland of Canada. An accomplished amateur golfer, AV was a qualified lawyer who became a prolific golf course architect throughout the Pacific Northwest of Canada and the USA. We explore Macan's back story, his influences and notable courses which include the original iteration of The California Club in San Francisco.

Jeff also gives us a flavour of his restoration work on Macan courses, his design/build philosophy, some commentary on why the setup at LACC was right on the money and an assessment of the recent PGA Tour Commissioners repudiation of the Model Local Rule ball related proposal from the R&A/USGA.

We hope you enjoy the show!

Please find some links below of items mentioned in the show

Concerning Golf (1903) by John J. Low

Score Golf Article by Jeff Mingay on LACC

Anatomy of a Golf Course by Tom Doak

The Links by Robert Hunter

Just Call me Mac - by Mike Riste

History of Essex Golf & Country Club - by Jeff Mingay

Classics of Golf Library

Intro and outro music - _Shoreline Serenade by Dye O _- under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guest: Jeff Mingay.

With the Open Championship quickly approaching Joe McDonnell, member of RLGC for over 30 years, joins us to explore the seemigly ever changing faces of Hoylake. Many thanks to Joe for his time and expertise.... this should whet your appetite in advance of the 151st staging of golfs' original and greatest major.

Links mentioned in the episode

Richard Latham's golf history books

The Updated version of Scott MacPherson's Evolution of the Old Course

Joe McDonnell's Time Machine

Please click here to see some imagery from Joe's bucket list, time machine - Royal Birkdale, St. Andrews Old Course and Royal Liverpool

Please check out a video of Brancaster at high tide and Elgar's_ Nimrod _as the sound track.... wonderful!

Episode imagery credits - Joe McDonnell, Simon Haines, Royal Liverpool Golf Club & Kevin Murray

Intro and outro music - _Shoreline Serenade by Dye O _- under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guest: Joe McDonnell.

Richard Pennell makes a long overdue return to the pod, I am honoured that he decided to favour F&F as the medium to announce the imminent publication of his new book - Grass Routes - a collection of some of his @pitchmarks pieces.

[Grass Routes Website](pitchmarks.bigcartel.com)

Richard has launched a new [website](pitchmarks.bigcartel.com) to launch his book, the first edition has a limited run and will undoubtedly be a collectors item in the years to come. Through the medium of words, Richard, has an unrivalled ability to tanatlise the senses in transporting you to first tees, final greens and matchplay battles throughout the golf courses of England, Wales, Scotland and beyond. This is an opus worth investing in.

Competition

In celebration of Grass Routes publication, Richard has kindly agreed to provide a lucky winner with a signed copy of his new book. All you have to do is to follow either of the links below to Twitter or Instagram, follow the F&F accounts and then successfully name the course where the hole in question is located.

F&F Twitter Link
F&F Instagram Link

*Grant Books *

Grant Books are publishing [Grass Routes](pitchmarks.bigcartel.com) for Richard Pennell, Grant Books has been publishing the finest golf books since 1971. Their portfolio includes architectural, historical and club-specific volumes, all produced to the highest standards. Click here for more details of their extensive range.

The Smell of Rain

Towards the end of this episode I completely lost the run of myself :) and challenged RP to write a piece for the F&F listeners on the smell of rain. Alas as the pod dropped the creative juices are still flowing so you will have to wait a little longer to see what he comes up with, as soon as he sends it to me, a link will be posted here to the F&F substack blog!

Richard Pennell Esq

Richard's First Blog Post via Cookie Jar Golf - Rank Outsiders

Richard Pennell's @pitchmarks Substack Blog

Alistair Cooke

Letter from America - Alistair Cooke on BBC Sounds

Harry Rountree Watercolour Prints

A link to the sumptuous Harry Rountree Prints from Darwin's Golf Courses of the British Isles can be found here

F&F Blog - Netherlands pieces

#1 - Initial Observations on Dutch Golf

#2 - The Links Valley - a Reversible 9

Further pieces are currently being developed (slowly :)) on Utrecht de Pan, Royal Hague, Kennemer, Noordwijk and Hilversum will be released over the coming weeks.

If you so desire, you can subscribe to the Firm & Fast Occasional Newsletter at the bottom of all posts.

Other content well worth exploring

McKellar Journal

The Golfers Journal

Contours Golf - Will Watt formerly of Caddie Mag

The Quadrilateral - Geoff Shackleford

The Albatross - Bill Fields

The Duffers Literary Companion - Podcast with Stephen Proctor & Jim Hartsell

Links for below to some favourite writers, a few of whom are also friends of the F&F pod

John Low

Concerning Golf

Bernard Darwin

The Golf Courses of the British Isles

Playing the Like

Alistair Cooke

The Marvellous Mania

Geoff Shackleford

Golf Architecture for Normal People

Mike Clayton

Preferred Lies
Golf from The Inside

Stephen Proctor
Monarch of the Green
The Long Golden Afternoon

Jim Hartsell

When Revelation Comes

Roger McStravick

All of Rogers' books can be purchased from Fine Golf Books

Many thanks for including us on your playlist - if you get a chance, please leave us a review on apple itunes, it would really be appreciated!

Happy Golfing!

Intro and outro music - _Shoreline Serenade by Dye O _- under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guest: Richard Pennell.

Firstly, please excuse the somewhat spotty audio - there were gremlins in the system which were beyond my control - must do better Mr. Zoom...grrrrr.

Jasper Miners from Evalu18 is back by popular demand - to say that the Evalu18 story has picked up pace of late would be somewhat of an undersell. Jasper shares the recently announced news that Evalu18, in association with Renaissance Golf Design, have been appointed to prepare a masterplan to restore both courses at St Georges Hill Golf Club in Webridge, Surrey.

We then take a magical mystery tour through Jaspers travels in Ireland, USA, Australia and New Zealand. We could have gone on for a few more hours - and actually did another 45 minutes or so when the record button was depressed.

It's always great to catch up with him and this episode was no different, we hope you enjoy the blether!

Please find a selection of links below that we mentioned in this episode:

Geoff Shackleford's new book - Golf Architecture for Normal People

McKellar Journal

Olde Glen Bar - Glen Village, Co. Donegal

Torbreck Winery, Barossa Valley, South Australia

Special Guest: Jasper Miners.

Ally McIntosh joins us on this episode to take a dive into the golf course design career of Eddie Hackett. A name synonymous with golf course design in Ireland from the mid 1960's until his death in 1996.

Over the course of his career, Hackett would hold many roles within the golf space - apprentice, golf club maker, teacher and head professional - he even owned a tobacconist in the 1950's before he was reincarnated as a course designer through the auspices of an invitation from Bill Menton, the President of the Golfing Union of Ireland, to consider offering course design services to member clubs.

For the final 35 years of his life, Eddie Hackett extended and revised well over 100 golf courses, many of which were on virginal linksland on the West Coast of Ireland.

Over the course of the episode we will take a look at his approach to design and commonalities between projects. We also linger on some of Hackett's better known course, exploring how they started and how they are going now.

Please find a link a number of videos below, introducing you, should you need an intro, to some of the courses that we discuss

Connemara Golf Links
Enniscrone Golf Club
Waterville Golf Links
Donegal Golf Club
Carne Golf Links

Many thanks for tuning in, we hope that you might consider adding some of Hackett's course to your bucket list - you definitely will not be disappointed!

Special Guest: Ally McIntosh.

In November 2019 The Royal Dublin Golf Club appointed the design firm Clayton DeVries & Pont to undertake a bunker study in an effort to reconnect with their Harry Colt design heritage.

Since the Colt revisions in 1920 Royal Dublin has been revised, lengthened, toughened and tinkered with by some of the great and good - including Eddie Hackett and Dr. Martin Hawtree.

CDP initially developed a proposal for member consideration revisiting Colt's original design principles while focussing on positioning that contributes to the overall aesthetic. Once member approval had been granted, CDP, under the auspices of Frank Pont and his colleague Hendrik Hilgert, coordinated the renovation of a significant number of bunkers returning their style to one more in keeping with the clubs' design heritage. CDP also restored elements of Colt’s asymmetric design which had been lost over time.

The Royal Dublin bunker project commenced in November 2022 and is now fully complete..... the members are very happy and cannot wait for the full reopening of the new bunkers and surrounds which is currently planned for May 2023...

Over the course of this episode we initially take a look at Frank's circuitous route to golf course design, we take an in depth look at the renovation process at Royal Dublin and further possible areas for consideration. We also get an update on the renovation works at The Addington, we find out more about Frank's Links Valley project in The Netherlands and get an elevator pitch for a golf trip to Amsterdam or Utrecht.

Additional Resources
For your further enjoyment please find a link below (to my googledrive) the folder includes some additional pieces of content (historical aerials, course imagery, before/afters and how the specific CDP propsals developed over time) that will allow you to follow the conversation in some greater detail ..... should you so wish.

Episode #23 - Royal Dublin Additional Content Link

Many thanks for tuning in!

Special Guest: Frank Pont.

Rod Morri is a multi award winning Australian golf journo, serial podcast presenter and head honcho at Sydney Podcast Studios.

Over the course of the episode we take a look behind the scenes of his fascination with Golf Course Architecture and how that origin story that can be traced to a holiday to Ireland and the UK in the late 1990's.

We highlight some of the individuals that Rod podcasts with.... characters such as Mike Clayton and Adrian Logue.....why Geoff Shackleford hasn't provided him with an advance copy of his new book Golf Architecture for Normal People (available for preorder via that big online book reseller), the genesis of the State of the Game Podcast and ongoing colaborations with that fantastic award winning curmudgeon John Huggan..... we also get to the bottom of why Mr. Morri no longer plays golf.

Happy St Patricks Day and thanks for tuning in!

Podcast recorded 3/3/23 prior to R&A and USGA press conference on Model Local Rule (MLR) regarding ball testing etc

Keep an eye out for the next State of the Game podcast over the next few days (https://stateofthegame.fireside.fm/) with Rod Morri, Mike Clayton and Geoff Shackleford for indepth analysis and discussion on the MLR announcement.

Special Guest: Rod Morri.

The stars finally aligned recently in providing me with an opportunity to spend some time with Angela Moser - golf course architect, shaper and world traveller!

There was no sign of either a dozer or a digger.... although I am absolutely sure that one of those is undoubtedly in her immediate future.

In this episode we take a deep dive on Renaissance's only current Irish course, St Patricks Links @ The Rosapenna Golf Resort, where Angela, Tom Doak, Eric Iverson, Clyde Johnson, Brian Schneider, Brian Slawnik, Blake Conant, Don Placek & Co. have created what in all likelihood will probably be the last great links to be built in Ireland.

We take a look Angela's back story in golf, which started by chance when her parents enrolled her in a three day golf summer camp for kids in her home town of Augsburg, Germany.

The golf bug bit, ultimately leading her towards a degree in Landscape Architecture at the Munich Univeristy of Applied Sciences, followed by a year long Erasmus scholarship in Sheffield. This UK sojourn, afforded Angela both the encouragement and opportunity to immerse herself in disciphering the myriad puzzles that many of the great UK courses afford golfers.

After graduation, Angela worked in Greenkeeping and Golf Course Design in Germany and Austria.

An internship with Renaissance Golf Design would follow in 2011 and the rest as they say is history.

We take a look at some of this history, while also looking at a few of the upcoming projects that are on the drawing board and one that our interview subject might be inclined to put there, should the opportunity every arise.

Many thanks to Angela for graciously affording me the time to speak with her. We both very much hope you enjoy our chat.

If you want to find out more about The Olde Glen Bar, Glen Village, Co. Donegal, please click on the following link

Additional details on the Rosapenna Golf Resort stay and play packages can be found by clicking on the following link

Angela mentions Norderney Golf Club during the course of the episode, you can visit the Norderney Golf Club website by clicking here, alternatively you can read a little more about it on the Good Sundays Website.

Angela Moser Socials

[Moser Golf Website](moseronadozer.com)
Instagram
Twitter/X

F&F Podcast Socials

Twitter/X
Instagram

The Firm & Fast Golf Podcast Occasional Newsletter on Substack

Episode Music provided under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guest: Angela Moser.

Graeme Beatt joins us today from Royal Portrush to chat about his career journey so far throughout Scotland, Australia and Ireland. We also take a sneak peak behind the job of works that went into preparing Royal Portrush to host the 148th Open Championshps, we also look forward to the scheduled 2025 return to the Causeway Coast.

Many thanks for tuning in, we hope you enjoy our chat!

MacKenzie & Ebert resources mentioned during the episode:

Major redevelopment (2014 onwards)
M&E 2022 annual report

Special Guest: Graeme Beatt.

Neil Crafter is a golf course designer, historian and author who is based in Adelaide South Australia. Neil is a second generation golf course architect, following in the footsteps of his father Brian. Neil has long been influenced and interested by Alister MacKenzie's career and has been centrally involved in the documentation of the MacKenzie Chronology for the Alister MacKenzie Society.

Today we take a look at Dr Mac's life as a golf course architect, his influences and collaborators, a number of his projects and his lasting legacy.

We thank Neil for his time and trust that you will enjoy our conversation.

The Alister MacKenzie Chronology

https://alistermackenzie.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/20th_Revision_Mackenzie_Chronology_Final_Oct_2018.pdf

Links to the referenced Tommy Naccarato's tweets (pictures illustrating MacKenzie's use of the theory of camouflague in golf course design):

https://twitter.com/tommynacc/status/1614808357520703489

https://twitter.com/tommynacc/status/1619940316102144001

Neil's book recommendations

Golf Architecture by Alister MacKenzie

The Architectural Side of Golf by H.N. Wethered & T. Simpson

Special Guest: Neil Crafter.

Andrew Thomson joins us for a chat about his dad Peter from the early days in Melbourne, to the influence of Von Nida. A playing career that encompassed 98 professional career wins around the world including 5 Open Championships - three of which were won in succession.

Peter was also a dab hand at writing on golf, broadcasting and course desiging.

We also take a look at a very special, final journey that Andrew made on Peter's behalf in July 2022.

Many thanks to Andrew for his time, we hope you enjoy the episode.

https://books.slatterymedia.com/ are the publisher of My Life in Golf which was referenced during the episode, the book includes a collection of some of Peter's most inciteful writing over the years.

Link below to Peter Mitchell's biography of Peter Thomson:
https://petermitchellmedia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Complete-Golfer-compressed.pdf

Link below to Stephen Proctor's book - The Long Golden Afternoon, which Andrew mentioned as a recommendation:
https://birlinn.co.uk/product/the-long-golden-afternoon/

You can also download Andrew's recent article on his 2022 UK trip for the Golf Society of Australia's Newsletter by following the link to my google drive folder for episode 19 below:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1uRoOgXKLfhEz-sqlWRNC1-MF7aNH--5n?usp=share_link

Finally, I have a quick favour to ask - if you like what you hear on the podcast - you might consider recommending it to one of your friends or alternatively leaving a review through your preferred podcast app.... it really is appreciated!

Many thanks for listening!

Shane

Special Guest: Andrew Thomson.

Professor Paul Rouse from University College Dublin joins us on this episode to trace the origin story of Irish golf.

Commentators often erroneously pair the games' development in Ireland to that of Scotland - in this episode we explore how its' development in Ireland has more commonalities with the development trajectory in England than that exhibited in Bonnie Scotland.

From Elias de Butts documented efforts in 1762 on common land in Bray, Co. Wicklow, to the Scottish/Military influence through the Curragh Camp in Kildare, the Royal Clubs of Belfast, Dublin, Down and Portrush and onwards to the real golf boom in the late 1890's and onwards into the next few decades.

How the Great War, 1916 Rising and the Irish civil war changed Ireland and its' golf clubs forever, not to mention the more recent new club boom and the democratisation of golf that accompanied the rise and subsequent economic fall of the Celtic Tiger, Floridian resort golf 'Irish Style', the Ryder Cup and where the game goes from here.

Many thanks for tuning in, we hope you enjoy the show!

Special Guest: Professor Paul Rouse.

Matt Mollica is Co-host of the Australian Golf Passport Podcast and co-founder of the Rollback Alliance.

In this episode we explore various topics including the aforementioned new podcast, some advice for inbound golf travellers to Australia, Sydney v Adelaide, the golfing rise of Tasmania, the distance debate/the evolution of technology and a brief L1V focussed soliloquoy which doesn't disappoint.

Links to the Fried Egg episodes on the evolution of the golf ball can be found below:

https://thefriedegg.com/fried-egg-podcast/fried-egg-stories-the-ball-part-1-gutty/

https://thefriedegg.com/fried-egg-podcast/fried-egg-stories-the-ball-part-2-wound/

https://thefriedegg.com/fried-egg-podcast/fried-egg-stories-the-ball-part-3-better/

Links to the Australian Golf Passport Podcast and Rollback Alliance can be found below:

https://anchor.fm/matthew-mollica

https://www.rollbackalliance.org/

Many thanks for tuning in!

Special Guest: Matt Mollica.

Adrian Logue is a self confessed golf tragic who co-hosts the Good Good Golf Podcast with Rod Morri.

Adrian has managed to facilitate a career in golf using computer programming and development as his professional vehicle, an unusual combination for sure, however, Adrian is not your usual software developer!

In this episode we explore a little on the World Handicapping System thanks to a few questions from one of my fourball playing partners, Adrian's theory on 'eyes up golf', podcasting, golf writing, course ratings, golf paths, websites and logos and a cool trip to Barnbougle in May 2022 with the Golfers Alliance.

Please find some links below to some of our favourite Good Good Golf Podcasts referenced in the episiode:

GGGP #21 The World Atlas of Golf - https://good-good.fireside.fm/21
GGGP #25 - Seve Ballesteros - https://good-good.fireside.fm/25
GGGP #32 - Reviewing the Spirit of St Andrews - https://good-good.fireside.fm/32
GGGP #38 Meg McLaren https://good-good.fireside.fm/38

Many thanks for tuning in, we hope you enjoy the show!

Special Guest: Adrian Logue.

In this episode we are joined by golf journalist and consultant Adam Lawrence. Despite attending the same school as Dr Alistair MacKenzie, Adam is currently writing a biograpahy on Harry Shapland Colt, the father of modern golf course architecture.

We explore Colt's early golfing days at Cambridge and his early influences, R&A membership and the formation of the Oxford & Cambridge Golf Society.

We then take a look at some of Colts' designs at Rye, Sunningdale, St. Andrews, Swinley Forest, St Georges Hill, Rosapenna, Royal Dublin, Royal County Down, County Sligo, Royal Portrush and Royal Liverpool.

We also consider how Colt's style evolved through time and what sort of legacy has he left to the game.

You can find additional information on both Golf Course Architecture Magazine and Oxford Golf Consulting below:

www.golfcoursearchitecture.net

www.oxfordgolfconsulting.com

Special Guest: Adam Lawrence.

It took a while to track him down, however, Mike Cocking from OCM Golf in Melbourne joins me on this episode to take a magical mystery tour through his design back catalogue including RACV Healesville, St Andrews Beach, Victoria, Peninsula Kingswood, Sandy Links and Shady Oaks.

I also manage to prise some exciting news from him on a number of new Australian and US projects.

Links to the excuisite Harris Kalinka course renderings, mentioned in the pod, can be found below

[Medinah #3](www.harriskalinka.com/work/medinah)

[Kingston Heath ](www.harriskalinka.com/work/kingston-heath)

A very tasty Air Swing Media video of Victoria GC can be found [here](www.airswing.com.au/project/victoria-golf-club-australia-2/)

The link below highlights the new OCM development in Minnesota, USA
Tepetonka Minnesota Development

If you're interested in Ben Hogan, I would recommend Connor T. Lewis' podcast on the 'The Wee Ice Mon'. It answers Mike's question as to whether Hogan should have an additional major title added to his resumé.
Talkin Golf History podcast - Did Ben Hogan win 4 or 5 US Opens?

Special Guest: Mike Cocking.

Nick Edmund is the founder of Global Golf 4 Cancer, a genuinely global campaign with a mission to inspire the golfing community to ‘fly the flag’ and support cancer fighters worldwide.

The goal is to fly the Global Golf 4 Cancer flag on the 4th hole of 400 high profile courses around the world. Since launching the campaign with a 2000km jaunt along the Wild Atlantic Way in 2017, Edmund has continued his walks and awareness raising visits through Scotland, Northern Ireland, a Camino de Santiago with a difference and other trips to the USA, Continental Europe, Australia and the Middle East.

Nick's professional career path began in criminal law, however, more experienced listeners will remember Nick's series of annual publications entitled Following the Fairways, which were essay focussed publications featuring many of the best courses from Great Britain & Ireland.

Edmund also served as Managing Director of Faldo Design for 15 years from 1997, we discuss Nick's input level and design philosophy, some of the projects that he's most proud of, this is tempered with one or two that got away and that age old question 'what's Nick Faldo really like?'.

A four time cancer survivor, Nick is an inspirational character with an indefatigueable spirit who we could all learn something from, we hope you enjoy the conversation.

The Global Golf 4 Cancer website can be found [here](www.globalgolf4cancer.org)

Global Golf 4 Cancer Videos
GG4C Wild Atlantic Way 2017
Turnberry to Royal Dornoch 2018
Portrush 2019

Bartragh Island - Nick Faldo Video

Introduction to Ballyliffin

Special Guest: Nick Edmund.

‘With his beautiful use of language, Proctor has Bernard Darwin’s gift of bringing a moment to life. Delightful and insightful, capturing the very spirit of the age. The Long Golden Afternoon is an instant classic’ - Roger McStravick - Author & Historian

Stephen Proctor joins us today to chat about his second book, a followup to Monarch of the Green and the golfing feats of Young Tommy Morris.

The Long Golden Afternoon tells the story of the transformative generation of golf that followed the rise of Young Tom Morris - an era of sweeping change that saw Scotland's national pastime become one of the rare games played around the world.

It begins with the first epochal performance after Tommy - John Ball's victory at Prestwick in 1890 as the first Englishman and the first amateur to win the Open Championship - and continues through to the outbreak of the Great War. If Tommy ignited the flame of golf in England, Ball's breakthrough turned that smoldering fire into a conflagration.

The generation that followed would witness the game's coming of age. It would see an explosion in golf's popularity, the invention of revolutionary new balls and clubs, the emergence of professional tours, the organization of the game and its rules, a renaissance in writing and thinking about golf, and the decision that the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews must always remain the sport's guiding light.

Stephen's books can be purchased from the book publishers' website links below:

https://birlinn.co.uk/product/the-long-golden-afternoon/

https://birlinn.co.uk/product/monarch-of-the-green-3/

The Classics of Golf library website can be viewed here

Tony Jacklin & Dave Marr recreate the 1860 Open Championships at Prestwick

Askernish - the 'Lost' Old Tom Morris Golf Course | Scotland From The Sky | BBC Scotland

Special Guest: Stephen Proctor.

Angela Moser has just completed the #10 Course at Pinehurst for Tom Doak's Renaissance Golf Design - she joined me recently for golf at St Patricks Links (no surprise, she's a baller) and a number of conversations, one of which we recorded for your enjoyment.

Our full conversation takes a look at Angela's career to date, which includes significant involvement at St Patricks @ Rosapenna, The Renaissance Club in Edinburgh, The Loop at Forest Dunes, Pinehurst #10 and much much more...

Editing is still in the works, however, this piece is too good not to share immediately as a wee teaser for what's to come next week.

Music supplied under license from Epidemic Sound

Track - Neutron Skies by Roots & Recognition

Special Guest: Angela Moser.

George Waters is originally from Long Island, NY - his first tentative steps into the business of golf were at St. George's Country Club on Long Island where he worked on the greens team during summer breaks. George would go on to work on the maintenance teams at Royal Dornoch, Merion and The California Club.

While studying an economics undergraduate degree, George contacted Tom Doak of Renaissance Golf Design who urged him, over an number of years, to travel as widely as possible, gain on-course experience and consider post-graduate study of landscape architecture.

While at the University of Guelph George was accepted as an intern with Renaissance Golf Design, this move would ultimately mean exposure to restoration and design/build projects such as Yeaman's Hall, Mid-Ocean, Pasatiempo, Barnbougle Dunes, Rock Creek Cattle Company, Sebonak, The Renaissance Club and the Strand 9 at Rosapenna.

George would go on to work on the Coore and Crenshaw restoration at Pinehurst #2, Kyle Philips' historical renovation at The Cal Club and on the reimagining of Mid Pines in conjunction with Kyle Franz.

George now works for the USGA Green Section as Education Manager - given the scope of his expereinces to date he is the ideal guest to explore the intersection of golf course design and maintenance.

www.georgewatersgolf.com

Special Guest: George Waters.

The Pure Golf 2010 story begins with an end of hockey season trip to Cape Kidnappers, it is here that Michael Goldstein and his mate Jamie Patton cook up a whopper of an Overseas Experience scheme - 'how about we play golf every day for a year and travel around the world while we're at it'.

It seemed like a pipedream initially, however, as these two trainee solicitors scratched away at the initial kernel of an idea they received some positive reinforcement from clubs in New Zealand and Australia. The project was green lighted and would eventually include an eye watering volume of bucket list venues throughout NZ, Oz, USA, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UAE.

The fratenity of golf worldwide reached out to our two intrepid travellers facilitating private club access, accommodation (sometimes), home cooked meals, clothing and apparel.

Along the way they were helped and entertained by characters such as Jack Newton, Phil Tautarangi, Steve Williams, Sean Fitzpatrick, Henrik Stenson, John Ashworth, John Sabino and many more.

Over the course of their travels they successfully raised over NZ$40k for the First Tee of New Zealand.

This is the ripping story of PureGolf2010, we hope you enjoy the episode.

PureGolf2010 Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/user/puregolf2010/videos

Special Guest: Michael Goldstein.

Sandy Jamieson has been a PGA professional for more than 30 years, over the course of his career he has coached both elite amateurs through the auspices of the Victorian Institute of Sport and has travelled the world tending to the coaching requirements of players such as Robert Allenby, Jarrod Lyle and major winner Y.E. Yang.

Family life would intervene and Sandy was ultimately drawn back to his hometown of Melbourne, where he took up the head professional position at Commenwealth Golf Club. Over the next number of years Sandy noticed golf was changing - many of the high profile courses in Melbourne no longer had waiting lists or indeed full membership compliments and playing numbers at the public access facilities were nose diving.

A man of action, he resolved to do something that many others in his position might not have. He wanted to create an additional pathway to the game of golf that would be fun, affordable, accessible and inclusive - one that wouldn't compete with existing pathways but support and augment the efforts of his PGA brethern.

Sandy left his head pro position - created the 1Club Golf program and brought it initially to the Oakleigh Public Golf Course. The program has gone from strength to strength since its launch - this is Sandy's story - a complimentary model towards the further growth of the game.

We hope you enjoy the conversation!

www.1club.golf

Special Guest: Sandy Jamieson.

Jasper Miners from Evalu18.com joins us on this episode to conduct a whistle stop tour through the first golden age of golf course architecture - how this period and its' protagonists transformed the penal Victorian school of architecture that characterised the first inland courses. How this movement was catapulted towards something much more strategic though the intercession of John Low and Stuart Patton in their course revisions at Woking GC.

We look at a few of Jasper's favourite golden age architects before casting our eyes over more contemporary characters in the design world and how Pete and Alice Dye spawned a second golden age of course design.

Jasper then shares an epic 3 week golfing trip throughout France, England and Scotland and an Emerald Isle bucket list to die for.

We hope you enjoy listening to the episode in equal measure to the enjoment we had in recording it!

Jasper's website can be found here : www.Evalu18.com

Remember to subscribe and comment, your support is very much appreciated!

Web: www.firmandfast.golf

Twitter: @firmandfastgolf

Special Guest: Jasper Miners.

Roger McStravick is a man from Northern Ireland who has been based in St Andrews for over twenty years, he has, so far, won the USGA Herbert Warren Wind Book Award on two occasions, for books focussed on Old Tom Morris and the St.Andrews Road War in 1879 (a war that involved a title dispute regarding potential encroachment onto the fabled turf of the old course).

I cannot think of many other people that know as much about St Andrews, Allan Robertson, Hugh Lyon Playfair, The Open Championship, the Morris', the Park's, Jamie Anderson et al (I've left quite a few protagonists out here I know).

Roger is the ideal guest to explore the genesis of modern golf and how an ancient scottish pastime has been adopted around the world.

We look at the history of the game and introduce some of the aforementioned characters that influenced the direction and the destination of where we find the game of golf today.

We really hope you enjoy the episode!

Roger's website can be found at: www.rogermcstravick.com

Roger's books can be bought from: www.finegolfbooks.com

Some of Roger's book recommendations may be available from: www.abebooks.com

British Golf Collectors' Society can be found here: www.golfcollectors.co.uk

Special Guest: Roger McStravick.

Richard Pennell is a man of many talents – some of you may know him by his twitter alter ego @pitchmarks which has taken the golf world by storm recently. If you haven’t read any of his masterful pieces please follow the link in the show notes to take a peek, I am pretty certain that it will lead to clicking the subscribe button.

Richard is originally a qualified greenkeeper who turned to the dark side in becoming an Assistant Managing Secretary, then progressing to Managing Secretary at his most recent club, Richard has held these positions with distinction at a number of high profile clubs in the greater London area.

I can think of no one better to assist me today in shining a light on the dark arts of grass growing, agronomic planning, divot and pitchmark repair, the management of member expectations, environment, sustainability and biodiversity and that age old question of whether you need to be certifiable to become a turf professional.

The show notes links from this pod are as follows (muchos apologies that there are no Father Ted referencs this time) :

Richard Pennell Substack Blog : https://substack.com/profile/41563968-richard-pennell

Royal Adelaide Storm Water Program : https://www.royaladelaidegolf.com.au/cms/club-information/sustainability/

Golf Club Atlas Custodians of the Game Feature : https://golfclubatlas.com/147-custodians-of-the-game/

Cheesbrough Pins & Golf Furniture : https://cheesebrough.com/earlieron/

Whisk-like Bunker Rake - https://ypdgolf.ie/product/on-course-bunker-wizard/

We hope you enjoy. Please subscribe, like and comment as appropriate.... it is very much appreciated!

Special Guest: Richard Pennell.

In this episode we are joined by Rosapenna Golf Resort's Director of Golf Frank Casey Junior, Clyde Johnson from Cunnin Golf Design and Ally McIntosh our regular architecture contributor.

Frank Casey has been steeped in Irish golf ever since his mother and father bought the Rosapenna Golf Resort in the early 1980's. An accomplished golfer in his own right, Frank has led the Golf Operations team at Rosapenna since 2005. He has travelled far and wide and brought many of those experiences back to Downings to the benefit of visiting golfers and members alike.

Clyde Johnson is a course designer, shaper and finisher extraordinaire. Clyde first saw the St. Patrick's site back in 2009 as he looked longingly over the fence from the Old Tom Morris course. Mr Johnson was intimately involved in the development of the St Patrick's project from the initial mow out of fairways in 2018 right through to desiging, building and photographing the site.

We are tremendously excited to present the St Patrick's Links story for your enjoyment!

Please remember to follow us on twitter @firmandfastgolf, please subscribe and comment on your preferred podcast stream.

During the pod we mention the website for the original St Patrick's Golf Links Hackett/O'Haire development, this site can be found by following the link below:

http://www.stpatricksgolflinks.com

Just in case you don't get the Father Ted reference, made during the pod, about small and far away, please find the Youtube link to the relevant sketch below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh5kZ4uIUC0

Special Guests: Ally McIntosh, Clyde Johnson, and Frank Casey Jnr.

Bradley Klein fell in love with golf as a young man, beginning his golfing adventures as a caddy on the fairways of Rockaway Hunting Club in New York. He would go on to caddy on the PGA tour, most notably as Bernhard Langer's first caddy in the USA.

An academic career soon followed focussed on politics and international relations. Bradley earned a Phd and authored a book on nuclear deterrance while also moonlighting as a golf writer.

In 1999 he swapped academia for full time writing, this decison ultimately saw him create the Golfweek magazine ratings system and imbue panel members with a further appreciation of what makes great golf courses great.

Bradley has authored 9 books on golf architecture and history, most notably his seminal work entitled Discovering Donald Ross which won the USGA's International Book Award in 2001.

Bradley has served as a consultant on numerous course development and restoration projects, including Old Macdonald at Bandon Dunes; Olympia Fields in illinois; and Jack Nicklaus’ boy-hood course at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio.

We hope you enjoy our conversation with the always enlightening Bradley S. Klein.

Special Guest: Bradley Klein.

Mat Goggin joins us for episode 3 of The Firm & Fast Golf Podcast. Mr. Goggin is - a genteman, grandson to Gordon, son to Lindy, a former Australian Amateur Open Champion and touring pro, lover of dogs and horses and public access golf.

When Mike Clayton first told Mat that he was involved in the Barnbougle Dunes project in Bridport, Tasmania, the now 7 Mile Beach course developer Goggin, wondered why Bridport and not Hobart.

After an unsuccessful application to take the lease of a public access golf course, Goggin resolved to leave no stone unturned in furthering his dream to build a community focussed golf facility that would provide opportunities, inspiration and access to great golf.

This is Mat's story..... I hope you enjoy.

https://www.golfaustralia.com.au/news/clayton-devries-pont-to-design-tassie-beach-course-560139

https://www.golfcoursearchitecture.net/content/course-work-to-begin-on-incredible-seven-mile-beach-site-in-hobart

https://www.golfcoursearchitecture.net/content/design-team-gathers-at-seven-mile-beach-for-course-construction

Special Guest: Mat Goggin.

Mike Clayton joins us on this episode to explore his early days in golf at Eastern Golf Club in Melbourne. His ascent to become an Australian Amateur Champion which led to a professional career in both Europe and Asia.

Mike then tells us about how he became a writer and his first forays into restoring some of the golden age greats of Australia, the creation of a modern masterpiece with Tom Doak at Barnbougle and perhaps a new one with Mike De Vries at 7 Mile Beach.

He also covers many of his party pieces such as rollback, scale and the importance of MacKenzie's design principles.

Have a listen, he is always great value! It's a long one, but well worth the investment.

We hope you enjoy this episode. Many thanks for tuning in.

Special Guest: Mike Clayton.

Royal Portrush hosted it's first Open Championship in 1951, with Max Faulkner triumphing over Harry Colt's Dunluce Course... at the time Bernard Darwin was minded to write that Colt's design of the Dunluce links was 'a monument more enduring than Brass'.

As listeners will know the Open Championship returned to Royal Portrush in 2019. In advance of the 148th staging of the Championship MacKenzie & Ebert undertook improvement and revision works on both the Dunluce & Valley courses at RP. With the club due to host the 153rd Open in 2025, members at Royal Portrush approved a comprehensive improvement plan for the Valley. These works began in November 2023 and are expected to be complete by August 2024. Works focus upon improving and augmenting the spectator, player and member experience throughout the property.

I joined consulting course designer Martin Ebert at Royal Portrush recently for a course walk and podcast recording session as DAR Golf Construction enter the finishing straight on these improvements. Over the course of our hour long chat we explore the works on the Valley Course while also lingering a while on M&E's improvement works at Enniscrone over the past winter. Finally we briefly touch upon M&E's upcoming projects at County Sligo Golf Club, Noordwijk Golf Club in the Netherlands and New South Wales Golf Club in Sydney, Australia.

Thanks to Martin, Graham, Graeme, Ashley, John, Nigel and Jim for their help and assistance in putting this episode together, thanks for tuning in, we hope you enjoy our chat.

The master plan for the Valley works can be viewed by clicking the following link.

A new book on Chicago Golf Club, The Prairie Raynor, published by Grant Books, was mentioned briefly towards the end of the episode, hit the link for more information.

Episode music used under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guest: Martin Ebert.

On the maiden voyage of the good ship Firm and Fast, we are very pleased to be joined by honorary Irishman Ally McIntosh, who joins us to whizz through the impact that Allan Robertson, Old Tom, the golden age's old dead guys, RTJ and Dick Wilson, Bill Crenshaw (whoever that is, sorry C&C :)), Tom Doak, masthead pros, trees, restoration, renovation and rankings have on our beloved game.

What makes for good golf?

Homogenisation , Conditioning, Committees, Good Shaping, Consistency and the Augusta effect?

It is our intention to revisit some of the topics covered in this episode in greater detail over future episodes. Thanks for tuning in, we hope you enjoy our ramblings!

Special Guest: Ally McIntosh.

County Sligo Golf Club celebrates 130 years of existence in 2024. Club members recently approved a course development plan, prepared by course designers M&E. In this episode we catch up with Council member David Dunne to hear about the scope of these plans, which will be implemented over the coming years.

David has an interesting back story which we explore in parallel with our chat about the Rosses Point links.

Many thanks for tuning in, we hope you enjoy the show!

Epiosde imagery courtesy of County Sligo Golf Club

Episode music used under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guest: David Dunne.

Friend of the pod Mark Millar, the Superintendent at County Sligo Golf Club, joined us for a chat in the Ewing Room in the clubhouse at Rosses Point during a recent visit to the home of the West of Ireland Amateur Championship. The Club has hosted the event since its inaugural hosting of the event in 1923.

We take a look at the site at Rosses, discussing some of the challenges that Mark faces through the seasons and tke a look at his well travelled career. We also look forward to the clubs hosting of the Irish Amateur Championship which the club was awarded as they celebrate their 130th year in 2024.

Be sure to get to Rosses this year, there is still teetime availability and you will not regret it.

We hope you enjoy the episode.

Music under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guest: Mark Millar.

The First in a four part series that cover the F&F Spring Break to Counties Sligo and Mayo. Myself and a good mate set off from Dublin to the Atlantic West Coast of Ireland to explore the delights of links golf at Rosses Point, Strandhill, Enniscrone & Belmullet.

Please take a look at the F&F Instagram page to view a number of reels showing County Sligo, Strandhill, Enniscrone and Carne in all of their early season splendour.

Please find a few links below for accommodation, eating and non golfy stuff that might be of use to you when planning a trip Westwards

Radisson SAS Rosses Point
Glass House Hotel Sligo

Otto Pizza Sligo
Flipside Sligo

Bartragh Restaurant Enniscrone GC (the curry was divine!)
Diamond Coast Hotel Enniscrone

Shraigh Air BnB Belmullet (sleeps 4 comfortably - highly recommended)

Broadhaven Bay Hotel Belmullet
Talbot Hotel Belmullet

Blacksod Lighthouse
Ceide Fields

We hope you enjoy both this episode and the series which will dive a good bit deeper with some of the characters we encountered.

The West is Awake!

Episode image credit to Nick Wall, Air Swing Media

Music under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guest: Niall Higgins.