"The strategy of the golf course is the soul of the game."- George Thomas

"Some ideas are so stupid that only intellectuals believe them."- George Orwell

Slideshow 404 Error message update.

It was brought to my attention today, by longtime reader Tim Kerrigan, that an error message was appearing on all my golf photo's dated before mid 2016. Hopefully, with my limited tech knowledge I have corrected the problem and they will be visible for your viewing. I was able to see them on my end and have no idea how long the problem existed. Thank you again Tim for the time you spent discovering this problem. Sorry for any inconveniences this may have caused.

"A good golfer has the determination to win and the patience to wait for the breaks."-Gary Player

" I am not young enough to know everything."- Oscar Wilde

"A bad attitude is worse than a bad swing."- Payne Stewart

"you can almost play it from cradle to grave and all by yourself-- a cure, I find, for anything that ails you."- John Derr

"When a defining moment comes along you define the moment or it defines you."- Tin Cup

"Just beat my record for most consecutive days without dying."- Bill Murray

"The man who can putt is a match for anyone."-Willie Park, Jr

"Remember Danny: Two wrongs don't make a right but three rights make a left."- Ty Webb, Caddy Shack

My Top 50 Courses played in the World

I am often asked what are the top courses I have played in the world?? With the help of Top100golfcourse.com, Golf , Golf Digest, and Planet Golf, I have come up with the following list. To qualify, the courses must have been ranked in the most recent World Top 100 in ONE of these publications and have received a Black++ ratings from me. Unfortunately, Golfweek doesn't have a worldwide ranking as courses are only placed in regions. You may notice that I do have "favorite" courses that may be ranked higher than the consensus opinion and a few that I think are way overrated. As I travel the golf world watch for future changes and expansion of my list.
TOP 25                                                          
Royal County Down                                   
Trump Turnberry-Alisa                               
Royal Dornoch
St Andrews-Old
Royal Portrush
Kingston Heath
Pacific Dunes
Pebble Beach
Ballybunion
Crystal Downs
Pinehurst #2
Prairie Dunes
Tara Iti
Lahinch
Barnbougle Dunes
Cape Kidnappers
Trump International Links
Kingsbarns
West Links at North Berwick
Camargo
Oakland Hills-South
Ballyneal
Kiawah Island-Ocean
Castle Stewart
26-50
Carnoustie
Whistling Straits
Casa de Campo-Teeth of the Dog
Sawgrass
Cruden Bay
Portmarnock
Barnbougle-Lost Farms
Old Macdonald
Olympic Club
Royal Aberdeen
Bandon Dunes
Prestwick
Royal Troon
The Golf Club
European Club
Waterville
Kauri Cliffs
Peachtree
Pasatiempo
Wade Hampton
Victoria National
Spyglass
Honors Course
Bandon Trails
Paraparaumu Beach
Gozzer Ranch

SLOW PLAY RUINS YOUR DAY!!

   It is true that they are not, as a rule, the least to blame for the delay; so much we grudgingly admit, but it does not make their little ways are less irritating. They waggle for hours; they stroll rather than walk; they dive into their monstrous bags in search of the right club and then it is the wrong number, but they are not sorry that we have been troubled; their putting is a kind of funeral ping-pong. We could forgive them all these tricks, from which we ourselves are conspicuously free, if it were not for the absurd punctilio with which they observe the rules. They will insist on waiting for the people in front of them when it must be palpable even to their intellects that their best shot they ever hit in their lives would be fifty yards short-- The People in Front, "Playing the Like," 1934

Closing in on 50 States Played

The first of my three main personal golf pursuits is coming close to fruition- playing in all 50 states. I am just putting the finishing touches on a trip out west, in mid-September, that will take me to my 48th (SD) and 49th (Nebraska) states. I have some really impressive courses lined up but was unable to get on at Sand Hills due to the lack of caddies. Unaccompanied guests can't play without one there, so I am out of luck. The highlight will be meeting back up at Ballyneal with an old friend who I met at Royal Portrush in 2011. Any guesses what might be the last state left on my list? Hoping to finish off this quest on my next birthday.

West Bend CC- West Bend
Prairie Greens GC- Sioux Falls
The Prairie Club, Dunes and Horse Course (10)- Valentine
Dismal River, Red and White Courses- Mullen
Ballyneal and Mulligan Course (12)- Holyoke
Field of Dreams movie site- Dyersville

"..wealth is not possession but enjoyment."-Henry David Thoreau

Fairway: An unfamiliar tract of closely mown grass running directly from tee to green. Your ball can usually be found immediately to the left or right of it.

"You can miss a drive and have a chance to make up for it, but you can't miss a short iron to the green without the miss costing you a stroke."-Tommy Armour

"Mulligan: Invented by an Irishman who wanted to hit one more twenty yard grounder."-Jim Bishop

My Top 15 Courses played in Scotland

Of the 45 courses I have played in Scotland these are my top 15, I have yet to play Muirfield.

Trump Turnberry, Alisa Course, Turnberry 
Royal Dornoch GC, Dornoch
The Old Course, St Andrews Links, St Andrews
Trump International Golf Links, Balmedie
Kingsbarns Links, St Andrews
West Links at North Berwick GC, North Berwick
Castle Stuart Golf Links, Inverness
Carnoustie Golf Links, Carnoustie
Cruden Bay GC, Cruden Bay
Royal Aberdeen GC, Aberdeen
Prestwick GC,Prestwick
Royal Troon, Old Course, Troon
Gleneagles GC, Kings Course, Auchterarder
Western Gailes, Gailes
Nairn GC, Nairn

"Golf is a compromise between what your ego wants you to do, what experience tell you to do, and what your nerves let you do."-Bruce Crampton

" When I want a long ball, I spin my hips faster."-Jack Nicklaus

"No-one will ever have golf under his thumb. No round ever will be so good it could not have been better. Perhaps this is why golf is the greatest of games. You are not playing a human adversary; you are playing a game. You are playing old man par."-Bobby Jones

"I play with friends, but we don't play friendly games."-Ben Hogan

Scotland 2019 Golf Trip

In a week I will be returning to Scotland for another golf adventure. This trip will start out in Troon for 5 nights, St Andrews for another 3, onto to beautiful Cruden Bay for 4 , and finally Gleneagles for a night before returning on the 5th of June. I will play 12 rounds total and surpass the 800 mark in courses played and 70,000 photo's taken of golf courses. After this journey, I will have played pretty much every top Links course in Scotland plus a few others. Below is my itinerary:

Glasgow Gailes
Dundonald
Prestwick
Western Gailes
Trump Turnberry Alisa
Royal Troon Old
Lundin
Newburgh-on-Ythan
Cruden Bay
Fraserburgh
Peterhead
Abernethy-lunch
Gleneagles Kings

I will try and post a few photo's daily on my IG and Twitter accounts @inpursuitof1000

"Golf is not a fair game, so why build a course fair."-Pete Dye