Love For the Old:

The A Position’s Top Journalists Show their Affection for

The Old Course at St. Andrews

The Open Championship returns to the world’s most esteemed golf venue, The Old Course at St. Andrews, for the 28th time this month, on the 150th anniversary of the tournament. In honor of the occasion, the writers at The A Position.com share their thoughts and anecdotes of the town and the course.

Portland, Ore. (July 7, 2010) - As the golf world turns once again toward St. Andrews, the writers of The A Position.com— experienced golf journalists who’ve traveled and played the world over— reflect on and reminisce about this golf pilgrimage site in July’s “A List.” These writers have waited at dawn at the starter’s booth for a tee time, powered up at the local bakery, and powered down at Dunvegan’s, the Jigger Inn, and The Old Course Hotel. They’ve experienced the world’s hottest curry at Balaka and actually cried liked babies on the golf links. They’ve walked the course with dogs and sometimes played like them. Here, they offer unique perspectives on what makes the golf course and the town elicit love, respect, fear, rage, mystery, and the vagaries of other powerful emotions.

This year’s Open Championship is not just a golf tournament. It’s a homecoming, a convocation, and a reunion with all the history and tradition and humor that make golf great.

Here are excerpts from the July “A List,” a salute to St. Andrews, golf’s oldest and most famous venue. To read the full stories visit www.theAposition.com:

St. Andrews can be serendipitous. I played my favorite round on the Old Course a few years ago without recourse to tour packager, lottery, or bribery . . . Bob Cullen

Without sounding too new agey, the thing I have always loved about St. Andrews is how the town literally breathes the spirit of golf . . . Larry Olmsted

St. Andrews isn't just the Home of Golf. It's home to The University of St. Andrews, the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world . . . Hal Phillips

Like many pilgrims, I was singularly unimpressed when I first saw St. Andrews in 1978. Maybe the Slammer was right . . . Brian McCallen

Twenty years ago I spent a couple of weeks in St Andrews, doing research in the Royal & Ancient Clubhouse on the history of golf course architecture . . . John Strawn

A recent article in the New York Times reported that two-thirds of all Scots are overweight, two-thirds are physically inactive, and more than half have a bad diet . . . James A. Frank

Golf is reputed to have been played on the Old Course in St. Andrews since the fifteenth century. In 1457, James II of Scotland banned the game because it distracted his subjects from archery practice . . . Anita Draycott

Years ago, a buddy came back from St. Andrews thinking he would describe to me his entire round on the Old Course. The prospect of hearing it all the way through shook me, so I bent my brain toward mounting a counterattack . . . David Gould

My golfing friends have told me that I am, ahem, not a speedy player. So when I went to Scotland for the first time in 1989, I was warned . . . David Barrett

Part of the allure of St. Andrews’ seven golf courses is the playing experience, part is the blabbing about the rota’s relative merits. My vote goes to the New Course . . . Tom Harack

Most are fully aware that C.B. Macdonald built the National Golf Links on Long Island. Anyone who has played there knows what an intellectual joy it is to play the National . . . Casey Alexander

“No Dogs. No Women.” An old sign, no doubt, but not in theory nor in the minds of R&A members who banned women from their clubhouse . . . Janina Parrott Jacobs

Sunday is a great day to visit the Old Course. You can’t bring a golf club, and that’s the advantage. Unencumbered by the game, you can luxuriate in arguably the greatest golf park in the world . . . Tim O’Connor

My own first round at the Old Course was the perfect cure to my early morning misanthropy for having to wait for hours in the rain at the starter’s shack to get a tee time . . . Jeff Wallach

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About theAposition.com

The A Position.com is a network of websites featuring the world’s best golf and travel writers. The term “The A Position” refers to the best place a golfer can land his tee shot. On the web, it refers to the site readers will want to land on for great golf and travel journalism.

For more info contact:

Jeff Wallach

Executive Editor/Managing Partner

(O) 503-236-1793

(C) 971-242-9454

jcw@teleport.com

Karen Moraghan

Hunter Public Relations

(O) 908-876-5100

(C) 908-963-6013

kmoraghan@hunter-pr.com