Aspiring honorary Irishman, Richard Pennell, joins us on this episode to reminisce about four golf trips he undertook to Ireland over the past 12 months.

The North Coast & Donegal featured heavily and rightly so. The intrepid traveller also found time to schedule two whistle stop visits to County Mayo on the very Wild Atlantic Way, while also visiting a smattering of what the Dublin area has to offer from a golfing perspective.

It amounted to a links overload which left Richard energised and plotting an imminent return. We hope the pod may give you some ideas as to where you might travel to in 2025, however, word of warning it might also make you a little envious that Richard passes these visits off as 'work'.....

Either way, many thanks for tuning in, we hope you enjoy our chat!

One of the last few copies of Richard's first book Grass Routes can be purchased by following this link

The Links Diary

Richard has written some great pieces on his @pitchmarks substack account and elsewhere. Please find a few links below to musings on some of his travels around Ireland:

County Louth - currently a blank piece of paper.... he has promised us one, just as soon as inspiration arrives

The North Coast - an Article that appeared in Golf Today

Episode music used under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guest: Richard Pennell.

Mike Clayton joins me on this episode to provide us with an update on grow in at 7 Mile Beach, The Sandbelt Invitational, the Australian Summer of Golf and some local projects that Clayts, Harley Kruse and Lukas Michel have been working on recently.

We also explore; the challenges that flatter sites present to the course designer, the relative under appreciation of English Golf, Tom Simpson, CDP in France, why routing and flow are important elements in course design and some bucket list design projects.

Many thanks for tuning in, we hope you enjoy the show!

Pic credits - CDP Golf & 7 Mile Beach

Episode music used under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guest: Mike Clayton.

After a summer break filled with a research project (which is almost assuredly going to translate into an episode), F&F are back with a new episode recently recorded with Colin Byrne...

Many listeners will recognize Colin's name as bag man supremo with more than 40 years logged thus far as a globe trotting golfing sherpa. He has caddied for many of the modern greats including Retief Goosen, Ernie Els, Louis Oosthuizen, Darren Clarke and Fred Couples.

We take a trip down memory lane with Colin to explore writing, winning US Opens at Shinnecock Hills, bad bahaviour and Q school amongst other topics.

We hope you enjoy the chat.

As mentioned during the show, copies of Bagman 1 & 2 are available online via the links below (you can also access them through an Irish Times online subscription)

https://www.amazon.com/Bagman-Inside-Exclusive-World-Professional/dp/0954865308/ref=sr_1_11?sr=8-11

https://www.amazon.com/Bagman-Inside-Ropes-Leading-Looper/dp/0954865383/ref=sr_1_13?sr=8-13

Colin has also released another book, entitled The Little White Ball, which is full of practical advice on improving your game, link below

https://www.amazon.com/Little-White-Ball-score-ability-ebook/dp/B01JBHUPSE

Episode music used under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guest: Colin Byrne.

A recent trip to Walton Heath afforded me an opportunity to meet with Philip Truett at his home at Walton on the Hill. Philip recently co-authored a biography on William Herbert Fowler, entitled 'A Matter of Course'. The book paints a brilliant picture of a life well lived, not without a modicum of drama. Fowler by all accounts was a by-product of his time and social standing, who undoubteldy left an indelible mark on golf both in the UK and the USA.

We mainly stay on topic or at the very least always return to the vicinity of where we meandered away from it.... please enjoy the chat, it was great fun to put it together for our collective enjoyment, engaging with someone as knowledgable as Philip has been a real treat.

Episode music used under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guest: Philip Truett.

Recorded 1/5/2024

Nathan Bennett comes from counrty Victorian farming stock, so he's not afraid of hard yakka ('hard work' for non Australians). His can do approach has seen him on a green keeping journey which started in Murray Downs and would go on to include Metropolitan, Moonah Legends, The Sands and finally Royal Adelaide Golf Club.

We take a look at Nathan's journey while also lingering upon the Royal Adelaide story, since the clubs foundation back in 1892. The clubs centenary book is a great read (if you can get your hands on it.... its out of print for many years btw but there are a limited number of copies available from Abe Books - see link below) and through its auspices we tease out some of the ongoing historical and modern challenges that maintaining a world class golf course in a dry and arid climate, such as Adelaide, represents.

Nathan is a great guest and I really enjoyed my time with him. We hope you enjoy the conversation!

The Royal Adelaide Golf Club - By Michael Cudmore - 1892 to 1992

Please feel free to check out an article on our Substack account that profiles Royal Adelaide Golf Club and the delights of Adelaide

Firm & Fast Links

Music used under license from Epidemic Sound

Episode Imagery - credit Gary Lisbon (provided through RAGC)

Special Guest: Nathan Bennett.

The stars finally aligned recently in providing me with an opportunity to spend some time with Angela Moser - golf course architect, shaper and world traveller!

There was no sign of either a dozer or a digger.... although I am absolutely sure that one of those is undoubtedly in her immediate future.

In this episode we take a deep dive on Renaissance's only current Irish course, St Patricks Links @ The Rosapenna Golf Resort, where Angela, Tom Doak, Eric Iverson, Clyde Johnson, Brian Schneider, Brian Slawnik, Blake Conant, Don Placek & Co. have created what in all likelihood will probably be the last great links to be built in Ireland.

We take a look Angela's back story in golf, which started by chance when her parents enrolled her in a three day golf summer camp for kids in her home town of Augsburg, Germany.

The golf bug bit, ultimately leading her towards a degree in Landscape Architecture at the Munich Univeristy of Applied Sciences, followed by a year long Erasmus scholarship in Sheffield. This UK sojourn, afforded Angela both the encouragement and opportunity to immerse herself in disciphering the myriad puzzles that many of the great UK courses afford golfers.

After graduation, Angela worked in Greenkeeping and Golf Course Design in Germany and Austria.

An internship with Renaissance Golf Design would follow in 2011 and the rest as they say is history.

We take a look at some of this history, while also looking at a few of the upcoming projects that are on the drawing board and one that our interview subject might be inclined to put there, should the opportunity every arise.

Many thanks to Angela for graciously affording me the time to speak with her. We both very much hope you enjoy our chat.

If you want to find out more about The Olde Glen Bar, Glen Village, Co. Donegal, please click on the following link

Additional details on the Rosapenna Golf Resort stay and play packages can be found by clicking on the following link

Angela mentions Norderney Golf Club during the course of the episode, you can visit the Norderney Golf Club website by clicking here, alternatively you can read a little more about it on the Good Sundays Website.

Angela Moser Socials

[Moser Golf Website](moseronadozer.com)

F&F Podcast Socials

Twitter/X

The Firm & Fast Golf Podcast Occasional Newsletter on Substack

Episode Music provided under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guest: Angela Moser.

Angela Moser has just completed the #10 Course at Pinehurst for Tom Doak's Renaissance Golf Design - she joined me recently for golf at St Patricks Links (no surprise, she's a baller) and a number of conversations, one of which we recorded for your enjoyment.

Our full conversation takes a look at Angela's career to date, which includes significant involvement at St Patricks @ Rosapenna, The Renaissance Club in Edinburgh, The Loop at Forest Dunes, Pinehurst #10 and much much more...

Editing is still in the works, however, this piece is too good not to share immediately as a wee teaser for what's to come next week.

Music supplied under license from Epidemic Sound

Track - Neutron Skies by Roots & Recognition

Special Guest: Angela Moser.

Royal Portrush hosted it's first Open Championship in 1951, with Max Faulkner triumphing over Harry Colt's Dunluce Course... at the time Bernard Darwin was minded to write that Colt's design of the Dunluce links was 'a monument more enduring than Brass'.

As listeners will know the Open Championship returned to Royal Portrush in 2019. In advance of the 148th staging of the Championship MacKenzie & Ebert undertook improvement and revision works on both the Dunluce & Valley courses at RP. With the club due to host the 153rd Open in 2025, members at Royal Portrush approved a comprehensive improvement plan for the Valley. These works began in November 2023 and are expected to be complete by August 2024. Works focus upon improving and augmenting the spectator, player and member experience throughout the property.

I joined consulting course designer Martin Ebert at Royal Portrush recently for a course walk and podcast recording session as DAR Golf Construction enter the finishing straight on these improvements. Over the course of our hour long chat we explore the works on the Valley Course while also lingering a while on M&E's improvement works at Enniscrone over the past winter. Finally we briefly touch upon M&E's upcoming projects at County Sligo Golf Club, Noordwijk Golf Club in the Netherlands and New South Wales Golf Club in Sydney, Australia.

Thanks to Martin, Graham, Graeme, Ashley, John, Nigel and Jim for their help and assistance in putting this episode together, thanks for tuning in, we hope you enjoy our chat.

The master plan for the Valley works can be viewed by clicking the following link.

A new book on Chicago Golf Club, The Prairie Raynor, published by Grant Books, was mentioned briefly towards the end of the episode, hit the link for more information.

Episode music used under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guest: Martin Ebert.

County Sligo Golf Club celebrates 130 years of existence in 2024. Club members recently approved a course development plan, prepared by course designers M&E. In this episode we catch up with Council member David Dunne to hear about the scope of these plans, which will be implemented over the coming years.

David has an interesting back story which we explore in parallel with our chat about the Rosses Point links.

Many thanks for tuning in, we hope you enjoy the show!

Epiosde imagery courtesy of County Sligo Golf Club

Episode music used under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guest: David Dunne.

Friend of the pod Mark Millar, the Superintendent at County Sligo Golf Club, joined us for a chat in the Ewing Room in the clubhouse at Rosses Point during a recent visit to the home of the West of Ireland Amateur Championship. The Club has hosted the event since its inaugural hosting of the event in 1923.

We take a look at the site at Rosses, discussing some of the challenges that Mark faces through the seasons and tke a look at his well travelled career. We also look forward to the clubs hosting of the Irish Amateur Championship which the club was awarded as they celebrate their 130th year in 2024.

Be sure to get to Rosses this year, there is still teetime availability and you will not regret it.

We hope you enjoy the episode.

Music under license from Epidemic Sound

Special Guest: Mark Millar.