The Royal Aberdeen Golf Club - One of Golf's Greatest Organizations

Even novice duffers who occasionally confuse their nine irons with pitching wedges get glassy-eyed when people speak of Scotland. Scotland is recognized as the birthplace of golf and every club-swinger on the planet longs for the opportunity to play its famous courses. It's been that way since the days when woods were really wood (shaft and all) and it will continue as equipment and strategy continue to become more technologically advanced. The Royal Aberdeen Golf Club is one of the game's most famed institutions and is recognized everywhere as a living part of golf's history.

Aberdeen golf was already flourishing when, in 1780, local linksmen formed a club known as the Society of Golfers at Aberdeen. By the early 1800s it was knows as the Aberdeen Golf Club and its members drove and putted their way through countless holes at the beautiful Queen's Links and Broad Hill.

In the waning years of the nineteenth century, the club changed its official course, moving to the now-famed Blagownie just on the outskirts of Aberdeen. Less than twenty years later, in 1803, King Edward VII bestowed a "Royal" designation on the club, which hereafter has been known as the Royal Aberdeen Golf Club.

The Club still calls Blagownie home. The Simpson-designed course is set against the shore of the North Sea. The surrounding natural beauty provides a classic backdrop for a course that has stood the test of time. It's a wonderfully diverse set of links that forces golfers to utilize their whole game. The Royal Aberdeen Golf Club's course is considered an ideal example of the Scottish model, snaking over 6,400 to 6,800 total yards with a par score that varies between 70 and 71 depending upon its set up.

Club members are rightfully proud of Blagownie, but they don't limit themselves exclusively to the course. Members also play the newer, yet still decidedly traditional, Silverburn course for variety.

The significance of Blagownie and the Aberdeen club to the golf world is hard to overestimate. It's not just an old club that has stood the test of time. It's more than a host to major tournaments including British Senior Open and an upcoming Walker Cup. It's part of golf's very fiber. Famed Bernard Darwin once argued that playing Blagownie closed a "huge gap in [his] golfing education" and referred to the course as "noble links." Blagownie is more than eighteen holes, it's one of golf's great outdoor cathedrals and the members of the Royal Aberdeen Golf Club serve as its clergy.

Countless golfers have made the trip to northeast Scotland to play these courses and to enjoy the hospitality of one of the game's oldest clubs. It's nothing short of living history and a round there will often become part of a player's greatest memories.

There are a lot of Aberdeen hotels to choose from when planning a golf trip. Choosing an Aberdeen hotel near to the golf courses would be beneficial.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Spock

The Baltusrol Golf Club

The Baltusrol Golf Club in northern New Jersey at the foot of Baltusrol Mountain has been in operation since 1895. It's a private club with two top notch courses, the Lower and Upper, and there's been sixteen major championships played at Baltusrol during its long history.

Let's take a look at some of the holes on the the Lower course and see what's in store for us. The first is a 478 yard Par 5 that is almost perfectly straight from tee to green. The fairway narrows down about halfway to the hole and there are traps left and right that will catch mid-length hitters that stray off the fairway. If you're lucky enough to drop one on the narrow fairway, then you're looking at a second shot toward a fairly small green that's fronted left and right with pretty substantial traps. All in all, a good test of your strength and nerve, and its only the first hole.

The third is a 451 yard Par 4 with a dogleg left and a narrow fairway once again. If you miss left or right here and you're in serious trouble in the trees. If you survive your tee shot it's another 200 yards or so to a pretty small circular green amply guarded by sand on the front left and right. Going over the green is not recommended because those nasty trees are lurking there again. As before, accuracy and nerve are called for in big doses.

If you're running out of steam at the end of your round, the 17th will not make you happy.
It's a 570 yard Par 5 monster with a two-part fairway divided by what looks like the Sahara Desert, but is really 6 separate sand traps. Once past that little obstacle, you've still got 150 yards to go and some more traps around the green. If you're going to miss the fairway on 17, miss left, where you might have a chance to recover. The right side of the fairway is a solid line of trees.

As you may have guessed, the 18th is not any easier or shorter. You need to conquer a 520 yard Par 5 before you get a chance to stroll triumphantly into the clubhouse. This time it's a dogleg left with a a little creek running across the fairway at about 300 yards. Most of us merely human players will lay up short of the hazard and hope to layup short of the green and get on in 3. If you have the strength left to two putt, do it, and call it a victory.

Playing a course like the Lower at Baltusrol is a great reminder that the guys who do this for a living and make it look so easy really are extremely talented athletes. The rest us should just enjoy the occasional good shot and the camaraderie of friends on a weekend afternoon and be grateful that someone invented such a crazy and satisfying game.

Pete Cullen runs Great Web Resources. For more information on golf-related topics and equipment, visit http://www.Great-Web-Resources.com/gpage33.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Cullen