PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

Links Magazine shows up again with another list of what it calls “The Top Modern Golf Courses in Scotland.”

Having had the privilege of traveling to Scotland on five occasions, I love such lists. In the case of these “Top Six,” I have played two – Castle Stuart and Macrihanish Dunes – and both were occasions to remember.

Plus, I am a great fan of golf in Scotland where, often, you face “links golf,” which means you play the golf ball close to the ground and it run out over rolling turf. Not everyone likes this style of play and, to be sure, it is far different from normal golf in the U.S. – “parkland golf” where you hit the ball high and aim for targets.

To me, a golf addict, both types are worth the effort.

Here’s how the Links Magazine article started:

“The game of golf, at least as we know it, was born on the links land of eastern Scotland over 500 years ago. While it’s now played by tens of millions of golfers around the world, Scotland is still widely known as the home of golf. It is home to iconic Old Course at St Andrews and the R&A, the site of the first Open Championship back in 1860, and the birthplace of Old and Young Tom Morris.”

Beyond the modern courses, the writer also says he want to play historic links layouts such as St. Andrews, Muirfield, North Berwick, Carnoustie, Royal Aberdeen and others.

I have had the privilege of playing each of those courses, creating memories that will last a lifetime.

There are 537 golf facilities in Scotland, according to the National Golf Foundation’s database, and approximately 90 of those were built within the past 50 years. There are some particularly good ones among them, especially those built in the past two decades or so that meld modern design touches and timeless Scottish architecture.

Here is the list of the Top Six Modern Courses according to Links Magazine.

Kingsbarns (2000)
While golf was played across the links land of Kingsbarns dating back to 1793, Kingsbarns Golf Links didn’t open until 2000, the creation of American architect Kyle Phillips. The course is roughly seven miles from St. Andrews and sits along 1.8 miles of picturesque North Sea coastline, with views of the water from almost everywhere on the course. This modern masterpiece was built on heaving terrain that’s perfect for golf and looks like it has been there for generations.

Castle Stuart (2009)
Like Kingsbarns, Castle Stuart is the vision of American developer Mark Parsinen and overlooks the Moray Firth and well-known landmarks synonymous with Inverness and the Black Isle. This Gil Hanse design was created to join iconic courses like Royal Dornoch, Nairn, and Brora as can’t-miss golf destinations in the Scottish Highlands. Along with spectacular vistas, golfers are surrounded by a rugged landscape with vast expanses of gorse, broom, heather, and sea marram.

Trump International (2012)
Golfers had to wait for the opening of this Aberdeen jewel several years longer than expected because of protests by environmentalists and landowners, but it was worth it. Martin Hawtree (whose father and grandfather built Royal Birkdale) stayed true to the tradition of Scottish links in creating a natural course that has the potential of hosting a major championship. Set amidst soaring dunes and tucked on a three-mile stretch of the North Shore coastline between Cruden Bay and Murcar Links, Trump International is an absolute visual spectacle.

[NOTE: Part of me wants to throw out this course, if only because of its connection to our goofy President Donald Trump, but, upon reflection, I include it because it is no doubt a solid course despite Trump.]

The Renaissance Club (2008)
This distinctive course built on East Lothian’s Archerfield Estate, next to Muirfield, was the first Scottish design for acclaimed American architect Tom Doak, who caddied at St. Andrews when he was in college. While little earth was moved during construction in true Doak style, there was extensive clearing from the heavily-treed 300-acre property. What remained was sandy soil, a windswept landscape and open dunes, but certain trees were also left to enhance the beauty, add to the challenge and give the course a unique style.

Machrihanish Dunes (2009)
More than 100 years after Machrihanish Golf Club was laid out by Old Tom Morris, David McLay Kidd – a Scottish architect who now lives in Oregon — built Machrihanish Dunes on neighboring dune scape that shares the same breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean along Scotland’s west coast. Flocks of sheep roam this rough-around-the-edges, no-frills course, which is built on pristine links land protected by the Scottish government. Kidd’s design encourages thought, creativity and imagination.

Crail – Craighead Links (1998)
The first course Gil Hanse built outside the U.S. provides a noteworthy contrast to Crail’s ancient Balcomie Links, with a treeless cliff-top course that has panoramic views of up to 100 miles. There’s a World War I pill box behind the 7^th green and “Danes Dyke,” a 1,200-year-old defensive wall built by Viking marauders that comes into play on four other holes. It’s one of several stone walls incorporated into a layout with greens that have been likened to those at Muirfield.

Other top modern Scottish courses worthy of consideration: The Castle Course at St Andrews (2008), Dundonald (2005), King Robert the Bruce – Trump Turnberry (2017), The Duke’s at St Andrews (1995), Skibo Castle – Carnegie Club (1995) and Archerfield – Fidra (2004).

So, the Links Magazine article gets my golf juices flowing, perhaps even to another trip to the home of golf.