Chapter 1 extract: Down the hill from the third green are the parallel 4th and 13th fairways, Throstle and Isaac’s Trail. The Throstle is named after the recently renovated cottage on the other side of the Allenheads Road; the story is that the new owner is married to a Russian ballet dancer. This must be the most significant outcome following the fall of communism – in the space of a generation, an entire gender has transformed from the 15 stone weightlifters of my youth into a nation of stunning models, ballerinas and graceful, if grunting, tennis players; it makes you grateful for Glasnost, pleased about Perestroika.
The drawing is an impression of Allendale’s signature 17th hole, The Grand Canyon. There is more information on the course at their extensive website: allendale-golf.co.uk