The Waggle #15- Letters to a Fellow Golfer
Western Gailes, Proper Golf, and The Art of Playing Through
“If you will stay close to nature, to its simplicity, to the small things hardly noticeable, those things can unexpectedly become great and immeasurable.”
― Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
An annotated selection has been taken from recent correspondence:
“Dear X,
I have been thinking about your most recent letter and considering my answers for the last several days. I know landmines when I see them(!), and you have given me ideas to think about. As for your Scottish trip, I was heartened to hear you are considering the Ayrshire coast- it’s fantastic. Any part of the golf world with that many seaside courses in a literal row must be considered for a visit by a true golf aficionado. It has class, history, and pedigree. And one can’t say Ayrshire is underrated because it’s simply not. Turnberry, Prestwick, and Royal Troon - three Open Championship courses within an hour of one another- are essentially all on the same beach (I exaggerate only slightly; look at Google Maps), which is not something to be ignored. Its non-championship courses are strong and interesting and are among the most welcoming in Scotland. However, for reasons not entirely obvious to me, it sometimes feels like the region is a distant third-place finish in terms of visiting golfers who often seem to favor St. Andrews and the Highlands (Dornoch area) over it. Perhaps I am wrong on this, but this is my sense.
That idea notwithstanding, I think it’s tremendous and has everything required for a true links experience- ocean views, adjacent rail lines (almost always a hallmark of a good course in the UK), small towns, wind, and good turf. Not only that, but you are just a ferry ride away from the Isle of Arran (and the glories of The Shiskine Golf and Tennis Club) and within striking distance of Machrihanish.
I digress.
As you know, Scotland is a subject that I am more than happy to talk about. Your two questions, as posed, have given me much to think about, and I will do my best to answer below. Your first is easy: If you only have two days in the area, as you suggest you do, then the two courses I would play, out of the ten or more available, including a few much more famous, would be Prestwick and Western Gailes. Somewhat recently, I had occasion to do that very thing, and I could not recommend that you skip either if you find yourself in that part of the world and are looking to play golf.
To finally address the heart of your other question, I would say this: I don’t know how you define the phrase when you are looking for “proper golf,” but that’s what comes to mind when I think of my experience in Ayrshire. I'm afraid to even mention the name ‘Prestwick’ because of the inevitability of falling down the significant rabbit hole of talking about a place vibrating with the game's history. Twenty-four Open championships have that kind of power of attraction. It’s one of the birthplaces of golf and one of the most memorable walks in the game (more about this in another letter; I had an unforgettable hickory game there), and please play it if you can.
And Western Gailes?
As the good people at Western Gailes would say (indeed, it is their official club motto, if you can even believe the symmetry on such a thing): If You Know, You Know. While perhaps an overused phrase today, the idea conveys a certain amount of truth. Until somewhat recently, you might even call WG a “hidden gem,” though I don’t think the phrase necessarily applies the way it might have done a decade ago. This is all for the better because more people should see it. And it’s one of the places I think about if I hear your offered phrase of ‘proper golf.’ It’s one of the more challenging courses in Scotland- certainly a test of driving the golf ball, has a first-rate and charming clubhouse (with perhaps the smallest parking lot in Scotland), has plenty of holes along the sea, has a venerable history (it’s starting date is given as 1897; though that date makes a somewhat junior course in the area) and, given its sixth and seventh holes, possesses at least two world-class holes. They also have the hardest-hitting club logo in the business. All in all, it’s a very good recipe for a quality golf experience, and Western Gailes, in particular, has taken care to do all the little things well. As a result, rounds at places like W.G. have a way of worming itself into your brain and taking up permanent residence. It certainly has with me. I’ve included some photos that C. took on the day that should help give you a sense of what I am talking about.
But I detect something deeper in how you framed your question—something searching for answers about the “spirit of the game” in Scotland that you are wondering about. As with all matters of spirituality, I can only share my experience and allow you to draw your own conclusions from it. To this end, I’ll share my overriding memory from the day (besides the course itself) by way of explanation. I should mention that I played WG as a single, with an excellent caddie, Gordon (a very good player in his own right!), with hickories, and with C., always a good sport, came along to take photos. We were not your typical group by any stretch, and as we sprinted through the first five holes. You will never quite get comfortable with any tee shots at W.G.- the hummocks, bunkers, and dunes twist and turn and deceive you into thinking there is much less room out there than there is in reality. Still, Gordon’s confidence was infectious, and I, more or less, hit the lines I was asked to throughout the round.
We played through our first group on the fifth tee, the point of the course where the routing takes you into the seaside dunes along the Firth of Clyde and keeps you there for the next seven or eight holes. We played through groups on tees, played through groups in the middle of fairways, and were waved to hit onto greens already occupied. Each interaction went roughly the same- guys were curious and wanted to hold the hickory clubs, laughing at us when it flew better than they thought it might and waving us on as our odd little group carried forward with round. We did this for ten consecutive holes, and I don’t think we initiated one of these interactions; instead, we were welcomed to play on before the question even had a chance to hang in the air. I don’t remember standing on a shot the entire day. It felt seamless, and we played in under three hours, though we were not in a rush and had a great time. This is, of course, unheard of in America.
The sense of community, when coupled with our location, felt remarkable and related to this idea of difference of spirit that you mention in your letter. I am reminded of a passage from an old and somewhat obscure golf book, Haultain’s The Mystery of Golf (1910), that perhaps, speaks to the feeling we had on Western Gailes that day:
Art and sport, I have said, are near akin. Each reveals himself in his work; and it is in this self-revelation that humanity takes an absorbing interest…and our minds being greatly troubled, and hugely distrustful, we long to know how the universe presents itself to other minds. How a man thinks about this extraordinary universe, how he considers he ought to behave in it; what he regards as his proper attitude to his fellow travelers in this universe; whether he imagines that he can ride rough-shod over them, or whether that they too have rights and that he must be just, generous, and even self-sacrificing- all of these things interest us as much in sportsman as the artist. We want to know what manner of man that he is. It all comes back to character. Not intellect or acumen or ability or foresight; just character.
There is great power in connecting these small ideas, and I think Western Gailes does it all particularly well. We, as Americans, would do well to consider such notions more thoroughly, though we are often slow to concede that point when embracing our golfing history. And so some of us travel to find the measure of our differences, and with an ancient game, there is much to explore. You’ll see that soon enough. If you end up at Western Gailes, ask after Gordon and let him show you the way- he knows what he is doing. At any rate, consider these ideas when you are there, and as always, I would be interested in hearing your impressions upon your return.
Your friend,
AJ
Brilliant!
Great reflective writing style…
Thoughtful without getting bogged down.
I want to see Great Britain. Scotland in particular (?)
Photos speak also.
Love the quotes…Hautier ?
We really just want to know character… !!!