Old Tom Morris -winner of 4 Opens and designer of some of golf's greatest treasures

Links land -soon to be a fairway.

Is this heaven? . . . .No, it's Askernish.

One of my great joys is playing the links golf courses found throughout the British Isles (though primarily in Scotland). Whilst living in London, I was a member of Princes Golf Club which was a links course located on the English Channel next to the more famous Royal St. George's which still is in the (British Open) rota.

Now that we've moved to Bath, I am forced to return to a very nice parkland course, although I am considering a country membership at Pyle & Kenfig Golf Club which is a links course on the south coast of Wales. Since I live more than 50 miles away they give memberships at a drastically reduced rate because they recognise that you will not play all that often.

Last night, BBC One had a programme on the Outer Hebrides. These are the small islands that lay just to the west of Scotland. They are known for their striking natural beauty and their rather sparse population. A links course, designed by Old Tom Morris, has been re-discovered on one of these islands. For years, it was rumoured to exist, but the links had returned to its more natural and pristine state. Now, it is being recovered as a links course. After the programme I emailed the developer and got a quick reply inviting me to 'come up an play sometime' . He even offered a lifetime membership for £2500 (about $5000) which is being used to renovate the course so that it will be fully operational by 2008.

The wonderful thing about this course is that it is being renovated using the same techinques that would have been used by Old Tom Morris. Techniques he used to build such masterpieces as St. Andrews, Royal Prestwick, and Carnoustie. I'm already planning a holiday for Askernish in 2008! Askernish website: http://www.askernishgolfclub.com/index.php