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John Strawn

Writer, Critic, Editor, Advisor

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Travel Notes

Carne Golf Links’ New Nine

August 25, 2013 by John Strawn

Carne Golf Links in County Mayo, by general acclaim an exhilarating and formidable addition to the world’s roster of great links courses since its opening in 1995, recently debuted a third nine to complement its original Eddie Hackett-designed 18,.  There are good reasons, especially on a course with heavy play, to build 27 holes. You […]

Carne: A Muscular Links Masterpiece in Ireland’s County Mayo

August 9, 2013 by John Strawn

The very existence of the Carne Golf Links in County Mayo, Ireland, came as a surprise to John Garrity when he first heard about it in 2002.  The American course designer, Jim Engh, told Garrity that Carne came in as a close second to Ballybunion as his “favorite golf course in the whole world.”   Garrity […]

Lost and Found in Beijing

March 22, 2012 by John Strawn

China Daily reported in 2010 that Beijing’s population had reached twenty-two million people. (Eight to nine million of these are “non-permanent residents.”) City planners hope to cap Beijing’s size at eighteen million, but that seems implausible—how do you shrink a city that’s already a magnet for every ambitious person in a country of 1.3 billion? […]

The Implications of Charles Mann’s New Book, 1493, for Golf’s Future in China

October 10, 2011 by John Strawn

Charles Mann’s observations about China’s role in the forging of the modern world in his brilliant new book, 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created, are especially fascinating in light of China’s embrace of golf.  A late-blooming minor component of the Columbian exchange, golf has a peculiar status in China—both condemned and celebrated.   Like much […]

Charles Mann’s “1493”: A Review .

October 5, 2011 by John Strawn

Charles C. Mann, 1493.  Uncovering the New World Columbus  Created.  Alfred A. Knopf, 9 August 2011.  $30.50, 544 pages. Apart from its misleading subtitle, Charles Mann’s  1493.  Uncovering the New World Columbus Created, is a book to celebrate.  (Columbus’ personal contribution to the creation of the new world Mann describes was roughly the same as Johannes […]

The Ping Dynasty

December 15, 2010 by John Strawn

Steve Forrest is a principal in the international golf course design firm, Hills & Forrest, and also my colleague and friend. (I am the company’s president and CEO.)   Over the last year or so, we’ve been coming together to China every month or so, putting together a portfolio of Chinese projects and building up a network […]

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