Just Go
I’ve been connected to the game of golf for more than two decades—a journey that began in college with a borrowed set of clubs and a budding curiosity. Life, as it does, soon ushered me into the demands of a career and a new marriage, and the game was set aside. Years later, by sheer happenstance, a coworker coaxed me back into the fold. That spark was reignited, and I’ve never looked back.
My return to golf was slow-burning, a rekindled flame that gradually grew. But after stringing together a few rounds in the low 80s, the game wrapped itself around me with a quiet ferocity. I was hooked—not just on playing, but on learning, improving, and understanding the nuances that make golf so endlessly captivating.
Eventually, my journey led me to a private club—now my sanctuary, my home away from home. It’s a place where the rounds are quick, the friendships lasting, and the post-game pints well-earned. One of the greatest joys of membership has been the opportunity to travel with fellow members and friends to some of the most breathtaking golf destinations in the world.
Each year, with eager anticipation, an amazing expedition is planned by the illustrious, or infamous “Joe-P”. And more often than not, our compass points toward the wind-swept links of Scotland, Ireland, England, and Wales—the ancient cradle of the game.
"Just go."
It was simple advice once offered to me, and it changed everything. I had played countless courses across the U.S.—many of them iconic in their own right. I thought I knew what golf was. I’d read the books, watched The Open Championship on TV, imagined the legends who walked those windswept fairways. But I didn’t truly understand—not until I went.
Just go. Find a way. By plane, by plan, by any means necessary—make the pilgrimage to the birthplace of golf. Words can only take you so far; even the best-written accounts fall short of capturing the magic of playing on true linksland.
Just go. Follow winding rural roads to courses where the game is played as it was meant to be—on turf shaped by nature, not bulldozers. Walk into centuries-old clubhouses and read names etched in gold from generations past. Step onto the first tee with dunes rising on either side, with knee-high fescue, blooming gorse, and the constant kiss of a sea breeze.
Just go. Go with old friends or venture solo. Chase the game to the edge of the world and you’ll find something more than golf—you’ll find a piece of its soul.
If you want to know what golf really is—
Just go.
About Eric Howell: He is an avid golfer as well as a professional sports and nature photographer. He has many years of experience traveling, and capturing both athletes and nature in action. He has a particular interest in capturing the small, often unnoticed details found all around us in the activities we pursue. My work can be found at: https://erichowell.smugmug.com/ and on Instagram: @ericchowellphotos