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This month our travels take us to the south of Scotland, an area regarded by most as fairly uninteresting - except for Turnberry. Surprise!

PORTPATRICK GOLF CLUB

Playing a course in fair weather always leaves a good impression. But to see Portpatrick Golf Club on a sunny day with a wee Scottish breeze comes, as one visitor put it, close to paradise. The deep blue Irish Sea is visible on nearly every tee, fairway, and green and there are clear views across the Irish Channel to the mountainous coastline of Northern Ireland. On some days the Isle of Man and Royal County Down's Mourne mountains can be seen. Add to this scenery a true links course with small, intriguing, and well-conditioned greens and you have a hidden Scottish gem. Set on the clifftops of southern Scotland, a few miles south of the busy port of Stranraer, Portpatrick offers any golf connoisseur a real experience. I had the great pleasure to play in a friendly match with three club members, one of whom owns the pleasant Fernhill Hotel, not far from the course.

The course begins gently enough (unless a fierce wind is in your face) with a 390 yarder straightaway. A good drive sets up a mid to short iron approach to a small contoured green. At the second, beware of the sharp drop off the right side of the fairway and the wall (OB) behind the green. The third is a lovely links par 5 through a valley of humps and hollows, featuring a blind tee shot and a blind approach over a ridge covered with exposed rock and whins nearby. At the 4th, a 160 yard one shotter, anything short finds a deep ravine. From the elevated tee of the 5th you can see all the way to the Isle of Man. The next two, a 4 and a 3, offer birdie opportunities but the 8th, a short downhill par 4, dares the long hitter to go for the green. However the fairway slopes towards a winding burn on the left, making hookers pause to think. The 9th's fairway gently undulates upwards towards a fine plateau green. I saw a small speed boat racing across the sea towards us, making the 30 minute journey from Ireland to Scotland. My host said that some boys were probably coming over for a 'wee pint'. When I asked if there weren't any pubs in Northern Ireland, he told me that, "Aye, there are, lad, but the beer tastes better in Scotland."

Erinview, as the 10th is known, is another short par 4, daring the driver to let it loose again. What makes this blind drive exciting is the large clump of yellow whins in front of the tee and the stone wall bordering the left side of the fairway. After this hole, our group decided to allow a twosome, engaged in a match, to play through us. My Scottish hosts then spied a familiar wooden bench, deposited themselves, and shared a bit of liquid refreshment with all of us, including the twosome. Golf in Scotland is indeed priceless.

We then moved on to the 11th, a memorable short hole, uphill over two hillocks to a cone-shaped green with fascinating curves. For variety, the 12th requires a long drive uphill to a narrow, elevated green surrounded by humps. You can begin to sense electricity here with some glimpses of the rocky crags. The 13th is Portpatrick's signature hole with a pretty picture of Sandeel Bay, its cream-colored beach, and granite cliffs. Glancing across the bay to Reekie's Hill and Islay Knoll, I began to see a wonderful cliff-top golf course unfold with Gary Patterson-inspired carries. You must concentrate on this downhill adventure and avoid the fence on the left as well as a sharp drop off the back of the green. Changing from the seen to the unseen, the 14th presents a blind tee shot uphill to a small bunkerless green. The 100 yard Campbell's Gamble, as the 15th is named, requires a blind shot (yes, on a par 3) to a postage-stamp green amply protected by slopes of all kinds. Another treasure awaits at the 16th, a 390 yard hole with a delightful blind tee shot over linksland and gray rocks. A good drive will land in a gulley, making the golfer face another blind (oh, no!) approach to a slender green perched on a small shelf. The downhill 17th, a short par 4, is a birdie hole if you can negotiate the tricky two-tiered green. One down in our match, my partner and I approached the final hole, a solid par 5 and an undulating and up-and-down finish with OB on the left. The second shot must avoid thick rough bordering the fairway to set up a short wedge to a sloped green. I always find delight in facing a four foot par putt that means something on the final green. Match all square.

After you finish your round on the main course (called Dunskey), don't leave until you test your short game on the Dinvin par 3 nine hole track. Leave your woods in the car and save your back. The longest hole is 226 yards but, what the heck, you can hit a 3 iron that far! Being a Horace Hutchinson sort-of-guy, I took utter delight in this masterpiece of turn-of-the-century golf course architecture where six of the nine holes have blind tee shots. Go ahead, take a trip back into the 1890s! Actually it was in 1903 when a pupil of Old Tom Morris, Charles Hunter (who was the pro at Prestwick for many years), designed Portpatrick. The ladies' course, now the Dinvin, was added in 1912.

Although it's not as challenging as a Turnberry and not as historic as the Old Course, Portpatrick epitomizes everything that is great about Scottish golf: a fine course, blind shots, easy walking, good greens, and breathtaking scenery. Take your camera.

SILLOTH ON SOLWAY GOLF CLUB

A little further down the Solway Firth, that wide body of water that divides Scotland and England, lies a charming English town that boasts a fine links. Reports differ on the course designer but Willie Park, Jr. lists this course as one that he designed. Always a man of honor, Park listed only those courses which, he thought, would enhance his advertising. So it is probable that Park had significant impact on the design of this wonderful layout. In 1921 Alister MacKenzie, of Augusta National fame, changed some of the holes, notably the 16th and 18th. The scenery is not hard to digest either: to the east, the high peaks of England's lake district; to the north, across the Solway Firth the hills of Scotland; and to the west, the mysterious Isle of Man. The drive from southern Scotland to Silloth takes about an hour and a half and playing this course is definitely worth the short trip.

I had the opportunity to play here with the club historian who kindly provided not only a crisp documentary but also a gorgeous blue sky and sunshine. After three days of rain, the day was even more special. We began at the Horse Shoe, as the first hole is known, a gentle par 4 that will oblige a par unless the approach is hit into the bright yellow whins that surround the back of the small green. The next two are honest par 4s and I got excited with a three at the 3rd. Next is the Mill, a 370 yarder through some dunes, demanding a precise shot into the long narrow strip of green with deep gullies on both sides. The front left pin position was interesting. Up a hill my partner and I walked to the pinnacle tee of the 5th, aptly named Solway. Here we could see clearly across the firth to Scotland and, in the far distance, a shadow of the Isle of Man. What a sight! The tee shot crosses over rough territory and heads out to a wide fairway near the beach which is out-of-bounds along the entire hole. However two good shots should set up a reasonable birdie putt on this par 5. The sixth, our first par 3, is an original Park hole, a downhill beauty of 200 yards with a small green protected by two bunkers well in front. The 7th and 8th return to a walk in between the sandhills and both offer a fine test - especially the 7th with a green hidden in a hollow in the dunes. At The Manx, the short 9th, you can see forever down the blue waters of the Solway from the elevated tee. This hole reminds me a little of Troon's Postage Stamp, short and slightly downhill to a nice plateau green surrounded by hummocks and bunkers staring at you like pit bull dogs.

The 10th, a short par 4 dogleg left, continues the outward journey to a green at the farthest point from the clubhouse. No halfway house here. Be careful with your approach since the course boundary (OB) tightly guards the right edge of the green. MacKenzie designed the 10th and the 11th, a solid par 4 with OB along the entire right side. To the left is the yellow death - whins. The green is ample but narrow. Although taking a six on the 11th was no picnic, making par at the 200 yard 12th was fun. Dunes, whins, a small mound and a pot bunker protect this tiny green. I also enjoyed the Hogs Back, the par 5 13th which puzzles the golfer as soon as he can see the narrow gap in a transverse ridge of sandhills running across the fairway. Through this gap the flicker of the flag is barely visible, adding some excitement, especially if the wind blows. Avoid going left through the gap to miss the whins. Willie Fernie, another of Troon's pros, designed this one and placed the green on a particularly high plateau. Next comes another par 5, formerly a formidable 473 yard par 4, but now a good chance for birdie at 510 yards. A semicircle of whins neatly surrounds the narrow green. The 15th, a solid par 4, begins a good conclusion to the round. Yellow bushes of peril line both sides of the fairway and also wind around the spacious green. Alister MacKenzie built the 16th, another memorable 200 yarder, across a gulley of heather to a elevated green set into a sandhill with whins closeby. Duffers is the name for the 17th where you drive over a nasty expanse of scrub which formerly was a large sandy waste area called 'Duffers Bunker'. The Home Hole is also a good one, requiring two strong shots to reach the green on this 440 yard par 4. Whins and fairway bunkers penalize a wayward drive while the greensite features MacKenzie mounding with the nearby clubhouse serving as out-of-bounds.

I thoroughly enjoyed my round at Silloth and, while my playing partner and I had lunch at a local restaurant, we reminisced about the course and its history. Silloth certainly has it all: a good crop of whins, deep pot bunkers, undulating fairways with good elevation changes, nicely contoured greens, and dramatic scenery. Tie all that together and include Cecil Leitch who grew up here in the 1890s and you have an unforgettable golf experience. This leads into our historical profile of one of the most famous British golfers ever to grace a links.

HISTORICAL PROFILE - CECIL LEITCH

Born the daughter of a Scottish physician, Cecil Leitch began playing golf on a thin strip of land in Silloth where her father had laid out a short nine hole course. At age nine in 1900 Cecil Leitch began her career: seventy-eight years later she died but not before visiting Silloth for a final time in 1976. In her career she became the number one lady golfer of the early 1900s and shares the record for the most victories in the Ladies' British Amateur (1914, 1920, 1921, 1926) with Joyce Wethered.

As it did to Chick Evans who was the best golfer of 1915-1920, the first world war also affected Miss Leitch's career. Another shared record is most consecutive wins in the Amateur at three (1914, 20, 21). The war robbed her of five more chances - in the prime of her career. She also holds the record for most finals in this event and the most repeat finals.

In her book, Golf, Cecil Leitch describes her early links, "My father was the pioneer of golf at Silloth, laying out a 9-hole course on common land and playing there, with his sister, the first game of golf ever played on the shores of the Solway Firth. The natives of the place regarded them as a pair of lunatics. So there were hereditary reasons why I should not only play golf, but become 'mad' on the game. And I may say here than never once since I first took a club in my hand has there been any doubt about my love for golf; my love for it has never faltered; neither victory nor defeat has made any difference; I have just gone on growing fonder and fonder of the game ... At the age of nine then, I began my golfing career, on a stretch of ground 200 yards wide and a quarter mile long; for this was all we made use of for our primitive 9-hole course. Our fairways were the paths made by pedestrians, our putting greens the good patches on these paths, our holes cut by ourselves and lined with treacle tins, and our 'trouble' the bents, sand holes and wiry grass common to seaside links.

"My first club was one of the old-fashioned cleeks, and my first ball - and only one for a long time - a guttie. This was my introduction to the game, and in its independence, it bears a close relationship to the rest of my golfing career. My golf has developed along independent lines; I am entirely self-taught, and I never had a lesson in my life. I watched others of course, and learnt from them ... Then I have received many valuable tips from leading players - from Mr. Hilton ... from the late Tom Ball ... from Arnaud Massy ... Watching his even, rhythmical swing, one soon finds oneself falling into his way of doing it. It is a sort of unconscious mimicry."

At the beginning of the book she describes her feelings about the Solway and her original course. "... there used to be a stretch of natural seaside ground remembered by Sillothians as 'The Banks' - 'used to be,' for gradually the encroaching waters of Solway Firth have eaten it away, until little remains of the bonnie 'Banks' of my childhood. Although I love the dear old Solway in all its moods, I can never forgive it for this act of destruction. In devouring 'The Banks' it destroyed the actual birthplace of my golf, the spot where I first hit a golf ball, disregarding the sanctity that always attaches to a birthplace."

Later she comments on her move, around 1903, to the main course which would have been already designed by Willie Park. This also illustrates the concept that, in those early days of golf, women on the links were not a desired attraction. "I think we must have played for about three years on our little makeshift course before joining the Carlisle and Silloth Golf Club [now renamed the Silloth on Solway Golf Club]. ... When I say that the ladies' annual subscription at that time was only five shillings, it will be seen that my sisters and I were not very important assets so far as the Club's income was concerned. Nor did we seem to be important in other respects. Ladies and children were a rare sight on the links, and no one appeared to take much notice of us, or to be troubled by our existence. I well remember that my sister May and I (we usually played together) were too timid to drive off from the first tee, which is in full view of the Clubhouse, for some time after we had every right to do so. ... this constant playing on a course where heather and sand, bents and wind abounded was the best possible education for the young golfer with any grit or gift for the game. The trying conditions might have discouraged some, but never did us. We loved the buffetings of the wind and the high adventure of the difficulties, and these things gave a fibre to our game which easier conditions would never have given. Wind was almost the normal condition at Silloth, and one's game had to be adapted accordingly. ... Constant battling with the wind gradually evolved in me a means of reducing its resistance, and much familiarity with difficult 'lies' on or off the course bred in me, if not exactly a contempt for them, at any rate no great fear of them....We never allowed either wind or weather to curtail a round once started. We persevered until our balls were at the bottom of the last hole, determined to see the thing through. I am sure this was good for us and developed in us the spirit of fighting to a finish when it came to important match play."

Her book was published in 1922, a time when golf began to evolve widely throughout the world - when the great architects, Braid, Colt, MacKenzie and others laid out some of their most significant courses. By this time the ladies were given more respect on the golf course. To highlight this cause, in 1910 Cecil Leitch played a match against one of the most famous male golfers, Harold Hilton, winner of the British Amateur and British Open. Now at 41 in 1910, Hilton was past his prime but still one of the best male amateurs of the day, evidenced by his victory in the U.S. Amateur in 1911. He faced Miss Leitch, still a teenager at 19, and at the beginning of her career. One of the purposes of the match was to promote women's golf since it was sponsored by The Ladies' Field magazine. People were also curious to see how a woman could hold up against one of the best male golfers. Miss Leitch was allowed nine strokes per 18 holes, according to Hilton's estimate of handicapping. She describes the match and all its excitement, "The 'test' in which Mr. Hilton and I met was one of 72 holes - 36 at Walton Heath, 36 at Sunningdale - on October 11 and 13, 1910. For weeks before, the match was widely discussed, opinions greatly differing as to the probable result. ... Perhaps I was given some confidence by the wise and encouraging advice of that wonderful judge of form, James Braid, who during a friendly round at Walton Health told me just to play my own game and I would come through. ... So unique a match was likely to attract a following, but I shall never forget my surprise when I arrived at the Clubhouse at Walton Heath to find a crowd of about 3,000 spectators, one of the biggest crowds ever seen on a Southern course. At times it was hard to find room to swing a club, so eager was the crowd to see every stroke, and on one occasion Mr. Hilton was not allowed to finish his follow through! The chief thing that I recollect about the first half of the match is that I seldom saw my opponent play a shot through the green. It was only after the crowd had formed a circle around the green that I was given an opportunity to watch Mr. Hilton. We both struck a patch of somewhat indifferent play during the first 36 holes and both slipped a number of chances, but on the other had we occasionally did something brilliant. ... The result of the first day's play was a lead of 1 hole for my opponent. ...

"The considerate organizers of the match allowed us a day's rest before commencing the second half of the match. At Walton Heath we had a perfect day; at Sunningdale the weather conditions could not have been worse - a gale of wind and drenching rain. ... I remember little about the third round except that we were soaked to the skin before we reached the first green, and that I was 4 down with 18 holes to play." Consider this scenario: a young woman in a man's game, pitted against a seasoned veteran, in a driving rain, four down with one round left. How many people today could even walk 36 holes a day, let alone do it in a rainstorm? "In the afternoon a win in 4 at the 1st hole [not a stroke hole] slightly improved my position, but the next 2 holes went to my opponent, and I felt that any chance of success I had ever possessed had now finally vanished. Five down and 15 to play with 8 strokes to come! The only thing that now interested me was to try to make my defeat as light as possible. On the 4th green Mr. Hilton missed a comparatively short putt, which allowed me to win back a hole with the help of the stroke allowance. In a 72-holes match the pendulum swings first one way and then the other, but little did I think as I took the honour on the fifth tee of the fourth round that the time had come for it to take a decided swing in my favour. From that point I lost only 1 hole, and eventually won on the 71st green by 2 up and 1 to play." She comments that the match "certainly increased the interest taken in ladies' golf by the amateurs [meaning the male players], and vice versa, and before long a Ladies v. Men Match became an annual event at Stoke Poges."

Throughout her career, Cecil Leitch never forgot her humble origin, on the banks of the Solway. She was respected by her peers and her records still hold today.

One final epitaph for those of us who have a need to play on Sunday:

GOLFER'S ODE ON A SABBATH MORNING

The pro is my shepherd, I shall not slice
He maketh me to drive straight down green fairways
He leadeth me safely across still water hazards
He restoreth my approach shots
Yea, though I chip through the roughs and the shadows of sand traps I will fear no bogeys
He leadeth me in the paths of accuracy for my game's sake
He prepareth a strategy for me in the presence of mine opponents
For his advice is with me
He annointeth my head with confidence, the cup will not be runneth over
His putter and irons, they comfort me
Surely His birdies and eagles shall follow me all the rounds of my life
And I will score in the low 70s --- forever and I will never make triple bogey again.

Until next month, keep it down the middle...

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