Blasted Heaths and Blessed Green: A Golfer's Pilgrimage to the Courses of Scotland

For the tourist or the dreamer, there can be no better guide than James W. Finegan. A passionate advocate of the game that's played on the links between land and sea, Finegan combines a writer's eye, a historian's knowledge, and a golfer's sense of wonder and apprehension to provide an impossibly ambitious grand tour of golf's native land.

In a loop of a thousand miles that begins in Edinburgh and ends across the Firth of Forth in St. Andrews, Finegan covers some sixty courses, visiting the true shrines of the game, the courses that are well known and respected, and the little-known gems you might otherwise pass right by. He shares the history of the courses, both of their creation and of the most famous matches played there; he also writes marvelously about the scenic and strategic charms to be found as you play them yourself. And he provides all the information you need to make your arrangements to do just that -- because, unlike most championship courses in the United States, the great courses of Scotland are available to the public.

In addition to his delightful descriptions of the golf to be found there, Finegan gives us his recommendations for places to stay, ranging from the most modest bed-and-breakfast to the most magnificent castle hotel. He describes the pleasures to be found off the beaten track: the spectacular views from a country road, or the ancient cathedral that's worth a stop on the way to the first tee. And because all the travel within the country is done by car, he spells out the actual routes from town to town and course to course.

Blasted Heaths and Blessed Greens is a book to be read, to be savored, and to be tucked away in your suitcase when you finally undertake the journey of your dreams.

The book is divided into geographical regions and is helpful in helping you lay out your agenda. Sure, you know to play St. Andrews, Troon and Turnberry, but the book helps you go beyond the usual brand names.

An example of how 'Blasted Heaths' can pay off: Gleneagles is quite the amazing golfing experience, but perhaps a bit too steep in the wallet for this 20+ handicapper. Finegan points out a course right next door (Auchterarder G. C.) that, while certainly not in Gleneagles class, has a 'handful of first-rate holes' at about one-third the cost. A great recommendation! Not the holy, near-religious experience Finergan associates with Royal Dornoch, Cruden Bay, and Machrihanish and others, but it shows that the book can be used for all levels (skill and monetary) of golf.

My one recommendation (seconded by Finergan) is that you spend a couple of days in St. Andrews and soak up the environment. There's enough golf to keep you there for 3+ days, and the town itself has a real university feel and exudes charm and history. I suggest staying out of the hotels and setting up in one the many cozy guest houses a block or two from The Old Course. My wife and I stayed at the Craigmore House (ph: 334-472-142). You'll need a reservation, but it's well worth your planning ahead.


Read it before you go and upon return.   June 8, 1999
14 out of 14 found this review helpful

A friend gave me this book as a gift just before my first golf trip to Scotland. I played 10 of the 40 courses he reviewed. I read the entire book before the trip but enjoyed it much more after having played the courses. Many great tips in the book, as well. For example, we stayed in a Bed and Breakfast in Gullane and the author mentioned a restaurant there which he considered the best in Scotland. He is correct and we would have missed this wonderful experience without his book. His descriptions of many of the golf holes on the courses he covered were just great. For the golfer who enjoys the British Open and the Ryder Cup, this book will be delicious.


The best book on Scottish golf available   March 20, 1998
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Iread this book thoroughly and gleefully before my first trip to Scotland. I must have planned my trip a thousand different ways because of it. Around each literary corner lay another wonderful surprise! Even when the author was not entirely enchanted with a particular course, he found elements to admire. And on the courses that he loved,his hole-by-hole descriptions made one feel as if he were playing an exhilerating round with a dear friend. The reviews of accomodations were charming, but all were far out of my price range. I would love to have experienced the elegance of Skibo Castle in Dornoch, but I settled for a comfortable B&B and,thanks to the author's advice, enjoyed one of the finest golfing experiences of my life. I'll be returning to Scotland shortly, and you can be certain that this book is a big part of my planning.


A great guide for both the armchair traveler and the golfer.   August 29, 1996
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

James W. Finegan, the retired golf columnist of the Philadelphia Inquirer, has written a gem of a book.This book is a companion of his "Emerald Fairways and Foam Flecked Seas" about the great courses of Ireland.Both books are boundless with their descriptions and characterizations of those legendary links courses of the Irish and Scottish Islands. Mr. Finegan takes us for a delightful ride through both countries for the golf of our life. We live through him, and his non-playing wife, the joy of heather, gorse and salt air blowing down the sand dunes. The people we meet are ordinary and extraordinary but the real heroes and heroines are the courses. From the isolated Macharanish on the Kintyre penisula of Western Scotland to the blue collar resort courses of the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. There on the first tee of Portstewart we feel the extrasensory thrill of blasting our drive down into the wild mix of towering sand dunes toward an unknown finish. Mr. Finegan has done for golf travel what Bruce Chatwin and Bill Bryson did for the intrepid shoe-hoofing vagabound. Read both books and be doubly rewarded. No bogies here.


Comprehesive review of playing golf in Scotland.   March 3, 1999
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

My husband and I are planning our once-in-a- lifetime pilgrimage to Scotland in July 1999. So far, this is the best and most comprehensive book we have read regarding the courses recommeded to us by our travel agent. Other books only highlighted the most famous courses (British Open quality) and left out many of the "less famous" but equally charming golf courses available to the public.