Twenty-One Years Ago Bernie’s Historic First New ‘Millenium’ Tee Shot On A Golf Course In Tonga
Twenty-one years ago today, and in the spirit of a new Millennium, I hit the first golf shot on a golf course of this millenium at midnight on the 1st January, 2000 on the tiny Pacific Ocean island of Tonga.
I flew from Sydney via Auckland to the Tongan capital of Nuku ‘alofa.
Tonga encompasses around 170 islands of which 36 are inhabited while some 70% of the now 100,000 total population of the islands live on the main island.
So why go to Tonga to golf?
Tonga is located two-thirds of the way ...
Stunning Pacific Ocean Sunset At Torrey Pines.
Growing-up in Sydney meant the stunning sight of seeing the sun rise over the Pacific Ocean.
Then in moving to live in Scotland I chose to live on the eastern shoreline of the country and enjoyed now seeing the sun rise up over the North Sea.
And then in recent years, and in reporting on the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, we would spend the Christmas/New Year festive period in Florida and we found our way to places like West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and more recently, Port St. Lucie and ...
McGuireville, Arizona & A Long Way From Maguire’s Birthplace In Co. Fermanagh.
Imagine the surprise for someone when you’re leisurely cruising down the road and you come to a town, a bridge, a building, a shop or whatever with your surname ‘up in lights’.
It’s happened only a few times to myself in the course of covering the European and PGA Tour’s.
There’s Maguires Castle at Enniskillen and just to the south of the town is the small village of Maguire’s Bridge both in Co, Fermanagh in Northern Ireland and a destination I’ve been ...
Instead Of Finding Birdies It’s Lobster Catching Off Kingsbarns Links.
How do you unwind when you’re not ‘annoying’ the worlds best golfers while reporting on either the European Tour or PGA Tour?
Well, when back in Scotland it’s usually out on the Crail Links striving to still find the shortest route around either the Balcomie Links or the Craighead Links at golf’s seventh oldest club.
Then it could also be enjoying playing one of my all-time favourite golf courses and that is the neighbouring Kingsbarns Links.
Or it could be striving ...
The Gateway Arch – St. Louis, Missouri.
You cannot visit St. Louis, Missouri without a visit to the Gateway Arch.
This is what we did on the 12th August, 2018 during the week in reporting on the PGA Championship at Bellerive and won by American Brooks Koepka.
The Gateway Arch is the world’s tallest arch standing at 630-foot (192 m) high along the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Louis and honours the early 19th-century explorations of Lewis and Clark and America’s westward expansion in general.
Clad in stainless steel ...
How Many Different Countries Have You Played Golf ? – I Count 47 & Looking To Make 50.
Not for a moment in looking back over the past 30-years or so since I lost my then full-time job working for a politican following the government’s defeat in an election and two days later winning a golf tournament promotion, would I have thought in becoming a golf journalist that it would lead to me now having played golf in 47 different countries (As of 31st Decmeber, 2025)
My first round of golf was in growing up in northern Sydney suburb of Willoughby and teeing-up at the nine-hole Castlecove ...
McIlroy To Make His Fort Worth Debut In Confirming First Three ‘No Spectator’ Events.
World No. 1 Rory McIlroy confirmed he will make his Charles Schwab Challenge debut mid next month when the PGA Tour returns to full competition at Fort Worth in Texas.
In fact, McIlroy indicated he will contest the opening three ‘no spectator’ events meaning he will tee-up in the following week’s RBC Heritage at Hilton Head, and an event he played just once in 2009 (T58th), and along with the following week’s Travelers Championship in Connecticut, and an event he has also ...
