Blaine Newnham

Previewing Ireland: Ballybunion, and much more
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Previewing Ireland: Ballybunion, and much more

A nation famed for links golf courses In a wonderful book “A Course Called Ireland,” author Tom Coyne walks and golfs the entire perimeter of the nation. In one of those ironies of life, a friend gave it to me just over a year ago. Then, I was recovering from open-heart surgery, an unexpected quadruple…

Previewing Wales: Where courses are steeped in history, and beauty
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Previewing Wales: Where courses are steeped in history, and beauty

I’ve actually been here before, sort of. In the early 1970s, as a young sportswriter working for the now-defunct Sacramento Union, I took a vacation to Europe with a backpack, and spent a couple of days hitch-hiking through Wales. I remember staying in a youth hostel, where my job was to sweep the floor before…

The Sheep Ranch: A golfer’s playground
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The Sheep Ranch: A golfer’s playground

BANDON — No sign advertises the presence of the Bally Bandon Sheep Ranch, except the gate that reads “no trespassing.” There’s no restaurant, no pro shop, no amenity other than a remote port-a-potty and, no matter how much golf you’ve played, maybe no experience as wildly beautiful, or spectacularly wild, as this one:

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