Emerald Fairways and Foam-Flecked Seas: A Golfer’s Pilgrimage to the Courses of Ireland

Every golfer dreams of making a pilgrimage to the British Isles, to play the exhilarating game to be found on the ground that links land and sea. Increasingly, golfers on this side of the Atlantic have discovered that some of the most magnificent courses in the world -- and some of the most beautiful countrysides -- are to be found in Scotland’s near neighbor, Ireland.

For the tourist or the dreamer, there can be no better guide than James W. Finegan. A passionate advocate and a charming storyteller, Finegan combines a writer’s eye, a historian’s knowledge, and a golfer’s sense of wonder to provide an impossibly ambitious grand tour of this beautiful land. In a loop that begins in the west at Lahinch and continues clockwise through both the Republic and Northern Ireland, Finegan covers nearly seventy courses, visiting those that have become true shrines of the game, the courses that are well known and respected, and the little-known gems you might otherwise pass right by.

Now updated with new courses and changes to old favorites, Emerald Fairways and Foam-Flecked Seas is a book to be read, savored, and tucked away in your suitcase when you finally undertake the journey of your dreams.

James W. Finegan has made more than forty trips to the United Kingdom and Ireland since 1971, always with his golf clubs in tow. He has written extensively about the pleasures of links golf for Golf Magazine, Golf Journal, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and a variety of other publications. He lives in Villanova, Pennsylvani