Changing Your Grip

Where in the world is the golf course pictured here?

It’s Kauri Cliffs in New Zealand.

Kauri Cliffs is just one of the 60-odd golf courses that I had to choose from for a guest post on travel writer Andy Hayes‘ blog Sharing Experiences. You can read about 11 of the World’s Most Inspiring Golf Courses there.

Kauri Cliffs didn’t make the cut — not because it isn’t drop-dead inspiring for its location, design, etc — but because I had to choose between it and another blow-you-away course in New Zealand — Cape Kidnappers.  Here’s a peek at what you’ll find on the blog post…

This is Cape Kidnappers — built on 600 foot high bluffs that “jut out on the ocean like fingers of God” (I wrote that — read the post).  I love course designer Tom Doak’s statement: “If it were any bigger or any more dramatic, it would probably be cordoned off as a national park.”

Choosing the 11 was a monumental job, as you can imagine. I had certain criteria — there had to be something inspiring about each course — the topography, natural environment, a place with heart… mere awards and great PR were not enough. Also, it had to appeal to non-golfers as a travel destination.

The course had to generate questions like these…

Where can you play 144 holes in 24 hours all on one course?

What golf course in the longest in Africa and situated in a huge bushveld wildlife sanctuary, where you can go on a safari after you’re finished playing golf?

What do Tom Kite and Donald Trump have in common?

What course has the only natural island green called “Tail of the Whale?”

Where will you find the world’s original Redan hole?

Choosing the only U.S. course I could (Andy’s rule — they had to be from all around the world) was the hardest. About 85% of the courses that contacted me were in the U.S.

In the end — my U.S.  choice may surprise you. But it certainly met the inspiration factor.

Now I still have a great many courses that I would like to tell you about — and I will, here on Changing Your Grip.

Coming next time: The Grass That Saved a Golf Course From a Hurricane.

We’re going to have fun with this.

Extreme 19th play off hole in South Africa

Be careful what you ask for.

Especially if you ask for it on Peter Shankman’s media site HARO (HelpAReporterOut). Earlier in the month, I put up a query on HARO asking for suggestions for “The World’s Most Inspiring Golf Courses” for a guest blog post I’m writing for travel writer Andy Hayes‘ blog. Andy is based in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Each day, Shankman sends out a batch of queries from all media morning, noon and evening. My query went out in the evening post, around 5pm. By 10 o’clock that night, I had 27 responses. By the next day, I was heading toward 50. And they kept coming.

This is what I asked for:

As part of a series of posts, I’m looking for golf courses that have an
impact, not only on people’s games, but on their spirits. These are courses
that may have been designed on unusual topographies, in places you’d least
expect, or they can be well-established courses that stand up to the test
of time and beauty. I’m a former PGA TOUR wife, so I’ve seen some great
ones in my day. Yes, let’s acknowledge Augusta National — I’m looking for
the lesser-known inspirations. You don’t have to play golf to appreciate a
place. I’m looking for the ones that make you say — “You should see this!”
On the flip side, a sweet little course that soothes your soul can also
qualify as inspirational.

Well, I’m here to say that the world is full of inspiring golf courses. And I can only use about ten of the nominations for Andy’s post. That leaves so many terrific and deserving courses — the majority of them in the U.S. And there are probably a lot in other parts of the world that don’t read HARO.

So I’m deciding what I will do — because I want to give these courses their time in the spotlight. People who don’t play golf have no idea that — for instance — a golf course can also be a certified Audubon wildlife sanctuary. Or environmentally friendly. Or built to preserve the spectacular natural topography.

I love courses. I’ve written about them in the past for Golf Digest. So you just might see a series about them apprearing on this blog. What do you think?

The photo above is of one of the most spectacular and unusual golf courses in the world — The Legend Golf and Safari Resort in South Africa, with its Extreme 19th playoff hole — which is accessible only by helicopter.

See? That’s the kind of thing that even non-golfers would be interested in. I know I’m excited!