Autumn2022.Ultratravel.com

A FAMILY STORY

Yasmin and Amber Le Bon wear ASHOKA

DISCOVER AUTHENTIC LUXURY

Immerse the senses and the soul in journeys of art, culture, flavour and wellbeing in leading destinations across Europe and beyond.

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13 • Editor’s Letter

Autumnal musings by Farhad Heydari

14 • Set and Match

Global Hotel Alliance has welcomed a small, chic group of exceptional hostelries. By Rob Crossan

20 • Perfect Present

A compendium of must-haves, must-knows and must-sees. By the Ultratravel editors

27 • Close Encounters

The growing appeal of esoteric cruises on rivers, lakes and at serene coastal locations. By Gary Buchanan

62 • Brave New Worlds

Contemporary architectural highlights in cities all over the world. By Jonathan Bell

THE JOY OF DISCOVERY

IN THIS ISSUE

31 • Golfing World

New destination courses plus the latest news in this special Ultratravel section

32 • Mauritian Marvel

The pearl of the Indian Ocean now has a new gem in its crown. By Nick Bayly

37 • Tee Time

The best golf watches do much more than ensure you’re on course at the right hour. By Chris Hall

39 • In Conversation With…

…two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson.

By Farhad Heydari

68 • New York South

A lip-smacking taste of the Big Apple in Miami.

By FH Darafshian

AUTUMN 2022

COVER PHOTO: THE LIDO GOLF COURSE, WISCONSIN

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Farhad Heydari Farhad@ultratravel.com

@MrFarhadHeydari

SENIOR EDITOR

Vicki Reeve

CHAIRMAN Nick Perry Nick@ultratravel.com @MrNickPerry

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Andrew Cowan

44 • History in the Making

How The Lido, “the greatest course you’ll never play”, was re-created in Wisconsin. By Larry Olmsted

50 • Club Class

All the top gadets and gear, from home simulators to on-the-course speakers. By Nick Bayly

56 • Branson’s Bestest

A handful of cracking courses are luring devotees to the Ozarks. By Farhad Heydari

76 • Rare Force

On paper, the Garia Supersport could be a supercar…

By Will Hersey

CONTRIBUTORS: Nick Bayly, Jonathan Bell, Gary Buchanan, Rob Crossan, FH Darafshian, Duncan Forgan, Chris Hall, Will Hersey, Larry Olmsted

@Ultratravelultratravel.com

© 2022 Published by PGP Media Limited on behalf of UHC Cayman Holdings Limited, Northside House, Mount Pleasant, Barnet, Hertfordshire, EN4 9EE, England, UK. All rights reserved. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information contained in this publication, no responsibility can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or artwork submitted. The information contained in this publication is correct at the time of going to press. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher or UHC Cayman Holdings Limited. Ultratravel is a registered trademark.

Back Doing the Rounds

Autumn might seem like an unusual time to be publishing a golf-themed edition. After all, the days start drawing in, the weather turns cooler, the leaves start to fall and golf balls begin disappearing beneath the carpet of foliage with frequency.

And yet, because we’re all global nomads whose lives are not rooted in one locality or fixed to one time zone (or, for that matter, one hemisphere), it felt like the perfect time to bring together our clutch of curated stories and features in climes both temperate and tropical for your edification.

Hence this issue of , which has the pleasure of previewing the most famous ‘lost’ course in golf-architecture history, a newbie on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius and an unlikely destination in the American Midwest that’s drawing high-

handicappers and 36-a-day-types in droves. Golf’s boundless lure, as I’ve discovered in more than three-and-a-half decades of play, is that it is meditative and it’s in nature, usually played with our nearest and dearest to engender an even more elevated feeling of elation and wellbeing. And whether we do that at home or away, it is always a humbling experience that ensures you are true and honest to thyself.

For those of you who don’t play the great game, I encourage you to take it up with expediency: you won’t regret the ancillary bounty it engenders. But, in the meantime, please enjoy the rest of the articles in this issue, including dispatches from Miami and the latest from the world of Global Hotel Alliance.

Golf is meditative and it’s in nature, usually played with our nearest and nearest to engender an even more elevated feeling of elation and wellbeing

CUP IN SIGHT Farhad on course and in the zone

Farhad Heydari EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ultratravel

SET AND MATCH

Another string has

Rob Crossan introduces The Set Collection

It all began with an idea and a 19th-century music conservatory. The year was 2011 and a former bank and finishing school for accomplished maestri and instrumentalists located betwixt the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum and Stedelijk Museum in the de facto Dutch capital was transformed into Amsterdam’s newest hostelry. Aptly named the Conservatorium, the sleek and urbane property was soon joined by the newlook Hotel Café Royal in the heart of London’s West End, the equally novel Hôtel Lutetia on Paris’s Left Bank and the Mamilla Hotel in Jerusalem to comprise a quartet of exceptional properties that would soon form The Set Collection (thesetcollection.com)

“By creating The Set Collection brand, we wanted to address hoteliers and owners who were looking for an alternative to traditional representation,” says Jean-Luc Naret, executive director of the group, which is owned by the UK-based Akirov family, who have, over the past decade, gained an enviable reputation for sensitive, innovative and painstaking restorations of historic properties with no small measure of contemporary luxury. “We wanted to offer our members the possibility of safeguarding their own hard-won identity and brand recognition without having to join a management brand.”

It didn’t take long for this impeccably crafted grouping of like-minded independent hotels in fêted locations in their respective cities to begin luring the contrarian creative cognoscenti – after all, the many spot-on attributes that garner attention and inspire loyalty were there in spades from the get-go: elegant, understated trappings paired with unobtrusive service and superlative fare. And while larger alliances and groups have outsized numbers of properties running into the hundreds, there’s a bespoke quality to The Set Collection that Naret believes benefits from its smaller size. “Simply put,” he insists, “customers and owners get lost in this multitude of brands and need clearer reference points.”

REGAL PRESENCE

Left: Hotel Café Royal on London’s Regent Street and (this picture) the hotel’s Pompadour Ballroom terrace

Now, in addition to benefiting from all those impressive USPs, savvy guests the world over can take advantage of the additional perks of membership of Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), with which The Set Collection is now affiliated. That means member hotels and guests have an integrated cross-booking platform as well as a highly personalised 24-7 voice-reservations service with cutting-edge technology that aptly curates for the required needs of each party.

“The true value is in the members now having preferential access to these new leading hotels as part of their portfolio of choices,” says Naret, a distinguished hotelier and hospitality executive who was formerly CEO of the Michelin Guide. “At the most outstanding addresses, in the world’s most vibrant cities, The Set Collection is creating the modern grand hotels of our time, and in each one we beautifully compose experiences that capture the hearts and minds of our guests, and the spirit and pace of their contemporary lifestyles.”

By providing this link, Naret concludes that the key to the GHA and Set Collection tie-up is to recognise both the practical and creative strengths that make these hotels unique. “Aside from the quantifiable criteria, there is, of course, something that cannot be transcribed, a feeling of a like-minded outlook or similar attitudes – one could even call it chemistry.”

Naret, a Parisian who cuts an elegant suited-and-booted figure and is often found pinballing between member properties, is also an embodiment of the intangible qualities that he continues to instil in the team. “We believe that it is the artistry of our people – our combined talent, skills, expertise and flair – that creates these inspiring environments which feel beautifully composed and it is this that we seek in our collaborators. They can be inspired by the artistic and imaginative heritage of our hotels and their iconic cultural and vibrant locations. In short, we want to capture the hearts and minds of guests and hoteliers alike.”

THROUGH THE ROUND WINDOW

Right: a rooftop-suite bathroom with a view at the Conservatorium

GO DUTCH Below: the Conservatorium hotel in Amsterdam

SUITE DREAMS The Presidential Suite at Mamilla Hotel in Jerusalem

‘At outstanding addresses, The Set Collection is creating the modern grand hotels of our time’

SERENE SURROUNDS The swimming pool at Hôtel Lutetia

PALATIAL RESIDENCE Hôtel Lutetia on the Left Bank in Paris

YOURS

luxury hotels around

world

With every harvest, new memories are planted.

MATERIAL GOODS

Objects of desire for him, her and the home, as compiled by Ultratravel editors

SKY’S THE LIMIT

It was almost two decades ago when the Anglo-French Concorde ceased service and, with it, we regressed to an era of subsonic jet aviation. But now, with promises of speed, safety and sustainability, Boom Supersonic is attempting to redress this technological retreat and restore supersonic travel to the skies, pledging flight times of 3.5 hours from New York to London and eight hours for LA to Sydney. One challenge: its engine-making collaborator, Rolls-Royce, has just bowed out of the development programme, leaving Boom to find another propulsion partner. Watch this space. boomsupersonic.com

AN INSTRUMENT OF CHANGE

There is something inherently retro about fully manual turntables – and this, the latest iteration from Audio-Technica is a gem: a belt-driven model finished in rosewood veneer that provides all the optimal high-fidelity audio reproduction from vinyl with the freedom to connect to the latest Bluetooth speakers or headphones. audio-technica.com

SPEAKING VOLUMES

It is a timepiece worthy of such a notable tome – a 296-page, oversized objet d’art in its own right that celebrates a horological hero: Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak. Authored by Bill Prince, an award-winning cultural journalist and former deputy editor of British GQ, Royal Oak: From Iconoclast to Icon retraces how the eponymous timepiece created a stir upon its release in 1972 and in the decades that followed. assouline.com

Street photography (sometimes called reportage) has always been closely connected with the Leica camera brand. Now, in collaboration with A Bathing Ape and STASH, the shutterbug favourite is launching a special-edition of the D-Lux 7, featuring the signature ABC Camo and Ape Head insignia, further marked with the distinctive wildstyle tag of American graffiti artist STASH. leica-camera.com

CASE STUDY

Echoing the travel themes that underpin the Paris-based luxury fashion house, Casablanca’s debut luggage range – crafted in collaboration with Globe-Trotter – is an homage to the extravagance of travel in the jet-set era. Lifting from both the house’s autumn-winter 22 collection ‘Le Monde Diplomatique’, and the timelessness of Globe-Trotter’s aesthetic, which has remained unchanged since 1897, the collection includes a range of cases, perfect for any manner of sojourn. globe-trotter.com

ONE TO WATCH

Limited to just 50 pieces, the latest techdefying timepiece from Richard Mille is one that will put a smile on your face, quite literally. Inspired by the cheerful emanations of the Smiley world and its values, it took three years to develop and features a new in-house CRMT7 automatic tourbillon calibre, complete with blossoming flower, the warm rays of the sun, a delicious pineapple, a blooming cactus, a pink flamingo and a brightly coloured rainbow. richardmille.com

TAKE A BOW

Normandy-based amphibious powerboat builder Iguana Yachts has debuted an electric and flying version of its amphibious powerboats, dubbed Iguana Foiler. Perfect for lakes and seas, the vessel benefits from a 50 per cent reduction in energy consumption and offers a very comfortable and dry experience above choppy waves. iguana-yachts.com

SKIN SCIENCE

Swiss cosmetic brand Cellcosmet has entered a new era of discovery. By pairing two technologies, cellular extracts and microbiome science, it has unlocked an optimised formula in its cellular facial skincare lines, and next-generation signature ingredients, CytoPepTM Cellular Extracts, which revitalise the skin, minimise the visible traces left by time and protect and preserve the skin’s microbiome. cellcosmet-cellmen.com

DENIM DELUXE

Italian menswear label Luca Faloni is making its first foray into denim jeans. Produced in the province of Padua in a mill that’s been producing high-quality textiles since 1887, its version of the wardrobe staple is crafted by experienced artisans in Lago d’Iseo with a four-pocket profile, mid-rise cut, and tapered leg to give them a distinct casual look. lucafaloni.com

IN THE BAG

Leading British leather accessories brand Ettinger has create an exciting new collection, fashioned from the finest smooth Italian calf leather and using some of the most beautifully crafted prints from the storied interiors company Morris & Co. ettinger.co.uk

LOOKING SHARP

Painstakingly hand-crafted from two types of Swedish high-carbon steel in South London, Blenheim Forge’s limitededition Carving Set is not only the perfect gift for the chef in your household but, with its handles made from centuriesold East Anglian bog oak, also the ideal accompaniment for the festive season to come. blenheimforge.co.uk

HOT WHEELS

Italian for ‘thoroughbred’, the new Purosangue is the only Ferrari you can currently buy that comes with the Italian firm’s signature naturally aspirated V12 engine. The stunning vehicle produces 725hp, has a top-speed of 193mph and races from 0-62mph in 3.3 seconds. Just don’t call it an SUV. ferrari.com

PAGE TURNER

A celebration of the places, traditions and mythologies surrounding the healing benefits of heat, Thermal whisks you to more than 50 faraway locations, all the while enlightening you about the restorative powers of heat, steam and water in daily life, including rejuvenating bath recipes, healing steam rituals, and herbal remedies that encourage wellbeing at home. abramsandchronicle.co.uk

Gordon & MacPhail Private Collection 1982

This 39-year-old “is vanishingly rare and captures an unrepeatable moment in Scotland’s rich liquid heritage” from the St Magdalene Distillery. gordonandmacphail.com

RAISING THE BAR

Wondrous whiskies from distilleries of distinction

The Dalmore Luminary No 1

Created in partnership with the V&A Dundee in collaboration with luminaries from the world of architectural design, this is a 15-year-old keeper. thedalmore.com

Penderyn The Headliner

With hints of nutmeg, oak and red berries and a vanilla-cream edge, “The Headliner is one of our most daring creations of the past decade,” says CEO Stephen Davies. penderyn.wales

Berry Bros & Rudd Nordic Casks

The second in the series of its Nordic Casks whisky range, this release from the hallowed London-based wine merchant Berry Bros & Rudd consists of five casks from pioneering Nordic distilleries, including the world’s first cross-Nordic blend, Vindӧga, showcasing the quality-led and innovative approach of the Nordic whisky region, which is growing its reputation in the industry. bbr.com

Kentucky Owl The Wiseman Bourbon

An artful fusion of bourbons that provides a smooth but complex finish by Master Blender John Rhea, a 40-year veteran. kentuckyowlbourbon.com

Single Malt

With only 1,500 bottles derived from a lost distillery, this could be one of the rarest rediscovered tipples. tomatindistillery.com

Mortlach Midnight Malt 30-Year-Old

Aged 30 years, this is the boldest, deepest and most intriguing expression of Mortlach malts. mortlach.com

Hibiki Blossom Harmony

A limited-edition blend made with whiskies finished in sakura (cherry blossom) casks, from the House of Suntory. whisky.suntory.com

Bowmore Masters Selection

The second iteration of Bowmore’s inspired Masters’ Selection is a 22-year-old single malt, in partnership with Aston Martin. bowmore.com

Shirakawa 1958

LONDON

PETERSBURG

SILK FINISH

TheSilk Road through Central Asia evokes images of discovery, adventure and the kind of widescreen scope that travellers crave. And there’s no lack of size, scope or scale about Silk Road Samarkand: a newly convinced 260-hectare, purpose-built project that, after more than three years in the making, has just been unveiled in one of Uzbekistan’s most historic cities.

The new draw is billed as Central Asia’s largest multi-use complex, situated on the eastern flank of the Unesco World Heritage protected conurbation. It encompasses worldclass business and medical hotels, restaurants, recreational facilities, park grounds and green spaces, an ethnographic corner, and a large congress hall for international events. And it is poised to add fresh lustre to Samarkand’s longstanding appeal.

Among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central Asia, it was among the most fabled Silk Road pitstops, attracting traders, merchants and adventurers from far and wide. While the new US$580 million project may lack the romantic sheen of the city’s ancient sites and medieval monuments, with galleries and workshops for about 100 artisans from across the country it aims to imbue the city with the destination’s unique historical charisma.

To wit, its centrepiece is the c17-hectare Eternal City, which was created and curated by acclaimed modern Uzbek artist Bobur Ismoilov as a modern stage for the work of the country’s talented artisans and artists. Other highlights of the new complex include cycle paths and a network of waterways incorporating a 2km rowing canal from the Soviet era –which has served as a training base for national rowing teams, proving that even the most historic of cities still have their eye on future triumphs too. srs-tc.com

An ambitious new tourism project burnishes the already stellar appeal of Samarkand, an important destination on the ancient Silk Road trade route, says Duncan Forgan

With galleries and workshops for about 100 artisans from across the country, it aims to imbue the city with the destination’s unique historical charisma

REFLECTING POOL

indoor pool at the Samarkand Regency Amir Temur hotel

ANCIENT YET MODERN Silk Road Samarkand has taken more than three years to build

WHEN THEY ASK WHERE YOU’RE FROM. THE WORLD

Each day aboard The World , you awaken in the most remarkable home you will ever own. As one of the few international adventurers who live this incomparable lifestyle, you explore each continent and sail every sea surrounded by unrivaled anticipatory luxury service on the planet’s largest private residential yacht.

Learn more about ownership opportunities. aboardtheworld.com | +44 20 7572 1231

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

Experiential cruises are evolving beyond sheer adventure. Think unusual, luxe, often more tranquil yet captivating river and coastal trips from Cologne to Colombia, says Gary Buchanan

NATH MICHEL

Thequest for seaborne adventure knows no bounds, and experiential voyages have become the wunderkind of cruising. In recent years, polar regions have piqued the interest of those with adventure in their blood, but now a clutch of unsullied, serene coastal and riverine destinations have become hot tickets. And in a nod to cruising’s aesthetes, it’s possible to access these covert locales aboard vessels that permeate the higher wavelengths of the style spectrum. Whether it’s a close encounter with nature in the raw on the plains of Africa or a sedate cruise along an ice-etched Rhine, our litany of esoteric journeys belongs to the atlas of the imagination.

Ineffable images of Africa come to life aboard the RV Zimbabwean Dream (croisieurope.co.uk) during its four-day cruises on Lake Kariba. The greatest man-made lake in the world reveals an otherworldly pastiche of drowned trees reaching skywards from the depths of reflecting water. In the Matusadona National Park, large

The Magdalena River in Colombia has spellbinding panoramas

herds of elephants, black and white rhinos, wily crocodiles, cautious antelopes and insouciant buffaloes roam freely.

Accommodating just 16 guests in eight suites, this is a boutique bateau brimful of serendipity.

A new eight-day cruise from American Cruise Lines (americancruiselines.com) will sail along the Napa, San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers as well as navigating San Francisco and San Pablo Bay. Next February and March, the 190-passenger American Jazz will depart San

Francisco for the culturally diverse community of Stockton. At California’s capital Sacramento, there’s a chance to explore the haunting underground city. Sailing through the serene Napa Valley, tastings of fine varietals are offered at local vineyards.

Writers struggle to recount the spellbinding panoramas of the Magdalena River in Colombia, where the natural beauty along the navigable reaches is prodigious. From December 2023, as a result of a partnership between Metropolitan Touring (metropolitan-touring.com) and AmaWaterways (amawaterways.com), a custom-built, 80-guest, all-suite, eco-friendly vessel will sail this ‘River of a Thousand Rhythms’. Along this vital waterway, which was so vital to the Spaniards in their conquest of Colombia, guests will interact with local nature, wildlife and indigenous people while also experiencing the culture and flavours of the area.

A Christmas Markets cruise makes the perfect prelude to the festive season, and never more so than when Uniworld Boutique River Cruises’ SS Antoinette sails from Cologne

LADY OF THE LAKE Ponant’s Le Bellot sails North America’s Great Lakes in September and October

to Basel on eight-day ‘Rhine Holiday Markets’ cruises each December (uniworld.com). The Rhine becomes a slow-running commentary to a tableau of frosty fields and snow-dusted hamlets, while Cologne’s Weihnachtsmarkt Am Kölner Dom is the mother lode of festive markets. Full of panache, the 152-guest vessel is imbued with comfort and joy.

The colours of autumn domino their way along the St Lawrence Seaway. To port and starboard are maple, oak and sassafras leaves in a kaleidoscope of deciduous subtlety. An eight-day cruise aboard Ponant’s über-chic Le Bellot (uk.ponant.com) affords the opportunity to witness nature’s fireworks in all their vibrant fury. Setting sail in September and October, the voyage through North America’s Great Lakes from Milwaukee to Toronto navigates Lakes Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario.

Dubbed the ‘Aquarium of the World’ by renowned French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, the Sea of Cortez, aka the Gulf of California, is one of the most biodiverse seas on the planet. A week-long cruise next April is part of a 12-day itinerary offered aboard the highly acclaimed 228-guest Scenic Eclipse (scenic.co.uk). In this Unesco World Heritage Site, embraced by Baja California and Mexico’s mainland, lie sequestered habitats of whales, dolphins and nearly 900 species of fish.

Melding an experience high on the indulgence quotient accompanied by the allure of the destination is Aqua Blu which sails around Indonesia’s Spice Islands, Komodo National Park and Raja Ampat (aquaexpeditions.com). With a noble legacy as the private yacht of a European aristocratic family, this superyacht is a compelling maritime statement offering a super-personalised experience. Interiors with a brass-and-ivory motif are generous and inviting, while the 15 sea-facing suites ensure sleep is as serene as the scenery.

Setting the compass on a course for rapture are Hurtigruten’s voyages from Dakar to the Cape Verde Islands as well as the Bissagos Islands off Guinea-Bissau (hurtigruten.com). These sailings from November to January are 180 degrees from the ordinary. From Cape Verde’s rocky volcanic promontories teeming with endemic bird life, to saltwater lagoons and mangrove swamps in the archipelago that is Orango National Park in the Bissagos Islands, the small expedition ship MS Spitsbergen makes these islands attainable.

OUT OF THE ORDINARY Hurtigruten’s small expedition ship MS Spitsbergen

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING IN STYLE

SS Antoinette hosts Uniworld’s

‘Rhine Holiday Markets’ eight-day cruise from Cologne to Basel

Setting the compass on a course for rapture are Hurtigruten’s voyages from Dakar to the Cape Verde Islands

PHOTO: STEFFEN KIRSCHNER

PHOTO: MICHELLE LOUISE LAWSON

PARK LIFE Wildlife spotting in Matusadona National Park is done in comfort aboard the RV Zimbabwean Dream on Lake Kariba

WELCOME BACK TO THE WORLD

ICONIC ANTARCTICA

Whales, penguin

Embark on an expedition cruise to discover the mythical White Continent. visit: uk.ponant.com

GOLFING WORLD

Having seen the largest increase in play since 1997 – the year Tiger Woods emerged onto the scene – golf in our post-pandemic world has never been more popular than it is now, as underscored by various analyses, including by the National Golf Foundation. There is a surge in demand for play, at home and abroad, which is why we have dedicated the following 20 pages to the great game, with features, articles, round-ups and interviews to engender a flight of fancy, regardless of your handicap. Fore!

THE GREEN ZONE

This picture: the 18th at La Réserve Golf Links.

Inset: Louis Oosthuizen (left) and Peter Matkovich, co-designers of the course

Mauritian Marvel

A new links-style course, co-designed by Louis Oosthuizen, is set to raise the bar for golf on the Indian Ocean island nation.

By Nick Bayly

After visiting the country in 1896, legendary American writer Mark Twain is claimed to have described the magical tropical island of Mauritius as God’s blueprint for heaven. Twain was way ahead of his time in many ways, but he was certainly ahead of the game when it came to planning his holidays, as it is only in the past 25 years or so that this enchanting island paradise, located some 800km (500 miles) east of Madagascar, has come into its own as a prelapsarian hideaway.

Golfers have had to be slightly more patient as, with the glorious exception of the Gymkhana Golf Club, which first opened in 1844, there was nothing worth travelling halfway around the world to play until the opening of Belle Mare Plage’s Legend course in 1994. Since then, the golfing floodgates have opened, and amateurs can now take their pick from nine 18-hole championship layouts and four excellent nine-hole courses.

The latest to join the fray, and push the number of tracks into double digits, is La Réserve Golf Links, which is located hard on the island’s southwestern coast. Co-designed by 2010 Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen and acclaimed architect Peter Matkovich – who also designed Heritage Golf Club’s other, neighbouring course, Le Château – it is being touted as the Indian Ocean’s first genuine links layout, set to debut next year.

With its raised tees and elevated greens offering panoramic ocean

views from every hole – which isn’t often the case on low-lying links – the 7,185-yard, par-72 championship course, which has already been inked in to host the DP World Tour’s AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open in early December 2023, is promising to deliver a dramatic golfing experience that looks set to rival that offered at nearby Ile Aux Cerfs, the iconic island course designed by Bernhard Langer, which can only be reached by boat.

“It’s a challenging course and will not be for the faint-hearted,” says Oosthuizen, for whom this will be a second design project, after working with Matkovich to design Golden Eagle Links in Swaziland, which opened last year. “We’ve worked with the land to create a strategic, undulating course that plays in the traditional links style, with running fairways, pot bunkers and long grasses. The location is breathtakingly beautiful with incredible views of the Indian Ocean.”

Situated adjacent to a Unesco Biosphere Reserve, home to a myriad of birds and wildlife, the new course’s impact on the local environment is being carefully monitored, with former sugar-cane fields having been sensitively cultivated with native island grasses, creating new, speciesrich grasslands, encouraging ecological diversity and valuable carbon sequestration. All of which ensures that Mauritius – unlike Twain’s (albeit misattributed) other declaration about golf being “a good walk spoiled” –remains as pristine as ever. heritagegolfclub.mu

TEE TIME

The latest golfing smartwatch or the smartest old-school mechanical? Both have their place on the course, says Chris Hall

TAG Heuer’s Connected Golf Watch comes with an app that tracks the wearer’s performance

It is appearing on the wrists of even the most traditionalist, over-formal, country-club golfers – you know, the type who wear saddle shoes, argyle socks and still carry their pencil bags well into their advancing years. It’s the smart golf watch, and its impact on the game has been nothing short of seismic. From providing yardages and course maps to higher-handicappers, to syncing with your smartphone for a post-game data-dump for keen amateurs, there is virtually nothing it can’t do.

Garmin is the dominant name, and regardless of the model, it’s loaded with GPS and more than 40,000 course layouts. Its Approach S12 and Approach S42 models – entry- and mid-level respectively – are worthy options with market-leading reliability and ease of use in their favour, but if you want the full suite of tech tricks up your sleeve, you’ll need the Approach S62 (garmin.com), which has Garmin’s Virtual Caddie package. This can take wind and slope into account, and suggest clubs accordingly. It’s also a highly capable all-purpose smartwatch, with all the fitness tracking, payment functions and alerts that entails.

Giving the Garmin a run for its money on the course (not so much off it, as it lacks the broader spectrum of functions) is the SkyCaddie LX5 (skygolf.com). It might be on the big side, but it’s light at just 65g, and that size is for a reason – it houses the biggest, clearest screen display out there, for sharp, contoured maps that give a detailed read of the hole ahead.

SMART PLAYER

The last contender to mention is the Apple-shaped ShotScope V3 (shotscope. com), which might not be the biggest or brightest, but has one key selling point – full shot-tracking functionality, which works in conjunction with 16 tags that attach to the grips of each club in your bag. For detailed measurement of your personal game, and identifying areas of improvement, it’s a powerful tool.

The same goes with the latest iteration of TAG Heuer’s Connected Golf timepiece (tagheuer.com), which has added a few neat perks, including a magnetic ball marker built into the buckle, and a shot-tracking function (for the first shot of each hole only). Reviews also praise its battery life, which should cover even the most drawn-out 18. If you load your carry distances into the accompanying app, it will recommend clubs for you based on distance – but you’ll have to factor in the elevation and wind conditions yourself.

There are some, however, who will never be swayed by this over-obsessive level of data, which they contend takes away from the purity of the game. For them, some of Switzerland’s other notable watchmakers have debuted

EARN YOUR STRIPES

IN THE PINK

This picture and right: front and back views of the Richard Mille RM 38-02 ‘Bubba Watson’

Left: Omega’s Seamaster Aqua Terra 150m Golf Edition

KEEP ON TRACK

Above: Hublot’s Big Bang Unico Golf

HOT SHOT

Right: Jaermann & Stübi’s Hole in One HO6

mechanical watches that can be worn on and off the course. Take Hublot’s Big Bang Unico Golf (hublot.com), which provides a mechanical scorekeeping function for strokeplay, tracking the hole you’re playing, your shots per hole and displaying your running total for the round. At Hublot, it comes with a tech-forward, multicoloured carbon-fibre colour scheme, but it’s an idea that has been around for a while; anyone with a taste for more niche watchmaking should track down Jaermann & Stübi, the German brand that has been producing golf-related limited editions for years. Its ‘Hole in One’ range (jaermann-stuebi.com) packs the same kind of push-button shot-counting display, while other models in the range commemorate the likes of Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros as well as the Royal Open (which tracks the duration of your round). Back in more mainstream territory – on the fairway, you might say – Omega’s Seamaster Aqua Terra 150m Golf Edition (omegawatches.com) comes in either a verdant green or ‘hazard’ orange colour scheme, both sold on textile NATO-style straps for ultimate comfort on the course.

It’s often asked whether a mechanical watch stands to suffer any negative effects from the impact of club on ball. Shock resistance is a major concern for Swiss watchmakers, but the good news is that even regular watches with no specific sporting credentials should have good enough protective measures engineered in. Engineers at IWC, which created a concept watch designed to withstand extreme G-forces in 2021, calculated that a golf swing exerts roughly 20-60G on the watch – for context, it tests even its regular watches to withstand impacts of 5,000G. So your average mechanical watch should be fine – but if you want something that’s gone the extra mile in its development for the world of golf, you need the Richard Mille RM 38-02 ‘Bubba Watson’ (richardmille.com). Cased in an eye-catching candy-pink striped carbon and quartz polymer – a hue that has become the golfer’s de facto trademark – with a movement made from carbon TPT and grade 5 titanium, it’s designed to be as light as possible both for comfort and to reduce the momentum acting on the components. The brand rates it as resistant to impacts of up to 10,000G, and, naturally, it’s worn by its namesake – one of the biggest hitters on the tour – so you know it works. Ironically, however, this is one mechanical timepiece you won’t see on the wrists of those aforementioned traditionalists.

In Conversation With… Bubba Watson

FH: What a year!

BW: Yeah, it’s been a fun year. LIV Golf is something new – the team element of it. It’s something fun, energetic, dynamic, and it’s going to change the landscape of golf. And that’s already starting to happen as more and more people believe in it.

FH: And more and more people are seeing you guys play in new locales, right?

BW: That’s right. I was just in Bangkok, my fifth time playing there. And in Jeddah, where I played in January and finished second. There is huge excitement any time you show up to a country that you haven’t been to previously or that you don’t frequent as often: the fans love us and we love them.

FH: It’s the team format, but what else?

BW: Everybody smiling, everybody having a blast hearing the music in the background. It just kind of puts you in a different frame of mind: you’re tapping your feet, enjoying the chilled-out vibe. It’s fun!

FH: Watching you play is fun – why is your game so different than everyone else’s?

BW: Golf, for me, isn’t about straight lines. I see curves. How do you get the ball to a position you’re looking for either in the middle of the

THE TWO-TIME MASTERS CHAMPION ON THE STATE OF GOLF, THE STATE OF HIS GAME, AND MORE. BY FARHAD HEYDARI

fairway or on the green? How do you shape it there, ’cause the hole isn’t straight? The green has contours… I guess I just see things differently. I see movements. I see creativity.

FH: Is that what drew you to Richard Mille?

BW: Absolutely. You see innovation, you see creativity, you see thinking outside the box. And my mould and thinking when I play is the same mould and thinking of the brand. Richard does things that people say can’t be done, but he’s proven year after year after year that it can be done – including this year, with the RM 38-02. And I’ve been with him since 2010. But, yeah, you just keep seeing new innovations that ‘can’t be done’ – it’s just like when I pull off shots that people say can’t be done – and then I do it. Richard is the same.

FH: Speaking of which, when can we finally see you out there playing?

BW: I’m starting to hit the balls after my knee surgery. But what I’m really trying to do is get into the right frame of mind. I haven’t gotten past hitting 7-irons so, hopefully, come November, I’ll start hitting some drivers. And I’ll definitely be ready by January because I don’t have any pain right now.

FH: We look forward to seeing you out there, Bubba.

BW: Thanks, Farhad.

Richard Mille does things people say can’t be done… like when I pull off shots people say can’t be done

A

haven in the

where you set

own pace

THE REMAKE

The Lido, in Wisconsin, is a faithful re-creation of the

Island,

Lido course in

York

HISTORY IN THE MAKING

Golf dreams did not skip a generation in the Keiser household, and no family has had as profound an impact on American golf travel in the past half-century. Now, they are at it again, as Larry Olmsted reports

PHOTO: SILVERSEA

MikeKeiser famously created the ‘build it and they will come’ model with Bandon Dunes, which ushered in both a wave of Bandon-inspired resorts worldwide and the global renaissance of classical golf design. His sons, Chris and Michael Jr, have continued the tradition at Wisconsin’s Sand Valley resort, which in just five years has leapt onto the world stage with two Top 100 courses by renowned architects – the design duo of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, and Bandon Dunes creator David McClay Kidd. But despite its considerable success, the brothers’ passion project is still in its infancy and about to debut what will likely be the world’s biggest course opening of 2023 – and there’s a lot more to come.

The Lido is unlike anything else in the country, a painstakingly detailed re-creation of the most famous ‘lost’ course in golf architecture history. What has come to be known as the Golden Age of Golf Design spanned three decades in the early 20th century, and one of its epicentres was New York’s Long Island, with Shinnecock Hills, National Golf Links, Fishers Island Club and Piping Rock built during this time, many of them by legends Seth Raynor and Charles Blair ‘CB’ Macdonald, separately or in collaboration. But many pundits consider Macdonald’s greatest work The Lido Club, which opened in 1917 and joined the ranks of the world’s best, often compared favourably to Pine Valley, the top-rated layout in the United States. But what Golf Channel once called “the greatest course you’ll never play” was shuttered during the Second World War and never reopened. Until now, 1,600km (1,000 miles) away.

The new Lido began virtually, in the most literal sense, when Chicago banker and golf nut Peter Flory used vintage photographs and original survey documents to re-create the course digitally for his home golf simulator, and became the first person in more than 80 years to ‘play’ it, at least on screen. Word of his detailed simulation reached the Keisers, also Chicago residents, who visited and were so

impressed they flew neoclassic designer extraordinaire Tom Doak in to take a look.

The first thought was to build a new Lido in Bandon, but the terrain was all wrong. “They thought, ‘We could do this if only we had the perfect flat site,’ which just happened to be right next to Sand Valley,” said Tom Ferrell, vice president of Keiser Golf. Not only did the routing fit the landscape, but when they oriented the design with the identical cardinal compass points as the original, prevailing wind direction and speed were almost identical to those affecting play at the lost Long Island site. As Michael Jr said, “This is not a project ‘inspired’ by The Lido; our aim is to restore The Lido.” The design is so faithful to the original as to resemble a carbon copy, and when additional old photos were found of the nearly finished 15th hole, small differences caused them

THE RESURRECTION

This picture and above: prevailing wind direction and speed at The Lido are almost identical to those at the original course

‘This is not a project “inspired” by The Lido; our aim is to restore The Lido’

Michael Keiser Jr

EXCLUSIVE ACCESS

Sand Valley resort guests have limited access to The Lido, a private members’ club

to rip up the fairway, replace the irrigation system, and start again – no trivial undertaking or expense.

“I’ve been around the golf industry a long time,” said Ferrell, “and I’ve never seen a project like this. Anyone who loves golf owes it to themselves to play a brand-new course that was ‘built’ in 1914.” The Lido has been such a Holy Grail that in 2021 another world-class retro designer, Gil Hanse, opened his own homage, Ballyshear, in Bangkok. The course has received considerable attention and accolades but is more inspiration than re-creation. Other attempts at replica courses such as Bear’s Best, Royal Links and the Donald Ross Memorial Course all mix-and-match holes from different sites, and often continents, but this one could be perfect because it is all one design on nearly identical topography. The result is so close to the original that Doak, not known for shying away from credit, put Macdonald’s name on the scorecard as designer and took second billing as ‘restorer’.

The Lido is a private members’ club, and not part of Sand Valley, but offers limited access for resort guests. There will be two guest blocks of four tee times every weekday,

32 golfers daily, with more limited slots on weekends. The course is walking only, with caddies required. Nine holes have been open in summer 2022 for preview play, but the full layout debuts in spring 2023.

At the same time, another Doak effort, Sedge Valley, will open between nine and 12 holes for preview play as the third resort course at Sand Valley, with a full grand opening in spring 2024. Another new design take for the Americas, it is inspired by the narrowest of the major architecture styles, heathland, and the great courses around London, most famously Ryder Cup venue Walton Heath. As Ferrell says, “It’s a 6,000-yard [5,486m] par-68 beast, like nothing else in the country.” Kidd’s Top 100 course here, Mammoth Dunes, is also completely different from any other layout with its incomprehensively huge – you might stay mammoth – fairways and greens. The result is an unrivalled variety, exactly the logic behind the resort. “We want to have as many distinctly different golf experiences under one roof as possible, and we’ve got more up our sleeves in the coming years,” promises Ferrell.

The result is so close to the original that Doak put Macdonald’s name on the scorecard as designer and took second billing as ‘restorer’

OLD MACDONALD?

Tom Doak has ‘restored’ CB Macdonald’s greatest course

On Point Ball Marker

If you’re still using a lucky dime or one of those fake poker chips to mark your ball on the green, then it’s time to wake up and switch to the new On Point Ball marker. Available in flat or dome-shaped models, the patented design promises to improve your set-up and alignment at a stroke by helping you to see the line more clearly and enhance your focus. Paired with one of Callaway’s Triple Track golf balls, you’ll never a miss another putt – OK, you’ll miss some, but not as many. £12.95 americangolf.co.uk

Blue Tees Player Wireless Speaker

Music on the golf course and the driving range isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but there are clearly some golfers who love playing with some beats in the background. The Player is a wireless Bluetooth speaker with a 30.5m (100ft) range and features a 360-degree sound for optimal acoustics on and off the course. Fully waterproof and featuring a 12-hour battery life, the game changer over a traditional Bluetooth speaker is the ultra-strong magnet that allows it to be attached to a golf cart or trolley without fear of it falling off mid-round. About £121 blueteesgolf.com

PXG 0317 ST Blade

The ‘ST’ stands for ‘Super Tour’ – a not-so-subtle reminder that these irons aren’t aimed at weekend hackers, but exceptionally skilled players. That said, they do offer a hint of forgiveness, as the set is blended, so that the longer irons (3, 4) feature a small cavity and added perimeter weighting to ensure those slight miss-hits don’t get overly punished, while the rest of the set (5-GW) boasts a sleeker muscleback profile for creative shot-shaping with higher spin control. All the irons feature a tungsten weight which can be switched out to alter swing weight according to a player’s preferences. Offered in Chrome or Xtreme Dark finishes, the 0317 ST Blade is available in 3-iron to gap wedge. $199 per club pxg.com

Duca del Cosma Winter Boots

Duca del Cosma’s Cool Season ’22 collection of golf boots and shoes is designed to negotiate those chilly winter fairways in comfort and style. Offered in nine styles and 25 colour options, the range has designs for men and women.

The Stanford is a modern boot for men that will look and perform on and off the golf course. Featuring soft nubuck uppers and embossed leather on the heel, it features a cushioned midsole and rubber nubs on the sole to maintain your balance in all weathers. Available in coffee and black colourways, two-tone laces enhance the sporty look. For women, the Palazzo boot (pictured) features lightweight Airplay 6 outsoles to provide unrivalled flexibility and grip, while a faux-fur lining helps keep feet toasty when the temperature drops. £179.95 ducadelcosma.co.uk

CLUB CLASS

The latest gadgets, gizmos and gear to reduce your scores and improve your game, at home and on the course.

By Nick Bayly

TaylorMade Kalea Premier Women’s Package Set

With more women than ever before taking up the game, the arrival of this new premium packaged set is perfectly timed. Featuring 11 clubs – offered in a combination of driver, fairway woods (3, 5, 7), hybrids (4, 5, 6 and 7), five irons (7-SW) and a Spider Mini putter – the clubs are made from premium materials in a lightweight design that will help slower swingers get maximum distance with built-in forgiveness. The package set comes with a matching cart bag, although clubs can be bought on an individual basis too. £1,879 taylormadegolf.co.uk

ULTRATRAVEL

Titleist TSR drivers

The three models in Titleist’s new TSR driver range –TSR2, TSR3 and TSR4 – are all designed to deliver on distance, but they all go about it in a slightly different way. The 460cc TSR2 is a ‘max’ performance driver promising a combination of straight distance and stability, while the 460cc TSR3 provides distance with a more customised trajectory through an adjustable track weighting system. The TSR4 is also adjustable and allows for more control over spin conditions in a smaller 430cc head.

Improvements across the range have been achieved through a more aerodynamic ‘boat tail’ head shape, while new variable face thickness designs will help players who find the middle of the clubface get even more distance off the tee, making it a win-win for consistent ball strikers. £529 titleist.co.uk

Mizuno JPX923 irons

Mizuno’s JPX923 Series comprises five irons models – Tour, Forged, Hot Metal Pro, Hot Metal and Hot Metal HL – each of whose design and performance characteristics have been inspired by swing data captured from over 350,000 golfers. The range ticks all the boxes when it comes to blending looks, feel and workability for all levels of golfer, from elite tour players to slow-swinging amateurs and everyone in between.

The Tour irons boast a shallow cavity for a hint of forgiveness; the Forged model offers the kind of buttery soft feel that only a carbon-steel forging can deliver, combined with high ball speeds and a compact, workable profile; while the Hot Metal range comes in three models designed to suit mid-tohigh handicappers who need help with launch and power in different ratios.

TaylorMade Hi-Toe 3 Wedge

When you watch tour players hit wedge shots up close and on TV, it’s amazing how much lower they hit them and how much spin they generate. The Hi-Toe 3 is designed to help make your shots more like a tour pro’s. The high toe raises the centre of gravity to help launch the ball lower, while the raw milled face features raised micro-ribs between the grooves to generate more spin. A versatile four-way sole grind and full-face grooves ensure a wider effective hitting area, while an aged copper finish adds a premium aesthetic which will blend seamlessly with the face as it rusts over time.

£139 taylormadegolf.co.uk

The Pro model is a player’s speed cavity that’s compact, with minimal offset for confident ball-strikers seeking maximum ball speed. The standard Hot Metal features a high stability cavity for straight flight and distance, while the HL irons are a higher launching option for players with moderate swing speeds. A custom fitting is advised to find which one works best for you.

Tour, Forged: £185 per club; Hot Metal: £125 per club mizunogolf.com

OGIO All Elements Golf Bags

OGIO’s All Elements golf bags are offered in eight eyecatching colour schemes, ranging from a conservative all-black model to the bright-red galactic design named Nebula (pictured). Golfers looking to stand out on the course can select one of the other six patterns on offer – Terra Texture, Shibori Mountain, Warp Speed, Midnight Jungle, Geo Fast or Double Camo. Stand bags come with double straps and an eight-way water-resistant top, while the cart bags incorporate a single strap and a 15-way top to stop your clubs knocking together.

£260/£279 ogio.com

Adidas Samba Golf Shoes

Originally created to enable footballers to train in firm and icy conditions, the Samba trainer has been given a golf twist by Adidas with the addition of a spikeless outsole that incorporates traction nubs that provide grip on the turf but allow golfers to slip seamlessly between the course, the clubhouse and the car. Featuring water-resistant suede uppers and a cushioned midsole, they are offered in four pastel shades – blue, pink, yellow and white – with matching patterned graphics on the sockliner.

£85 adidas.co.uk

TaylorMade Stealth DHY

The DHY is a utility iron that offers much more than just a safe option off the tee. A longer blade length and wider sole create a generous hitting area that inspires confidence, while a rounded heel/toe profile enhances playability and ensures smooth turf interaction. Added weight is positioned in the sole to make it easier to launch higher than with a traditional long iron for those long approach shots into tight pins. Available in 17°, 19°, 22° and 25° lofts, it comes with Aldila’s Ascent Black shaft and a SuperStroke S-Tech grip.

£219 taylormadegolf.com

Ping Anser Putter

The most successful putter in history has been updated using tungsten toe-heel weights to provide added stability and forgiveness, while a shallow milled face delivers a firmer feel and consistent ball speed with pleasing acoustics. A platinum topline contrasts with the black cavity to improve alignment. There are nine other models in the range to suit all swing types, including blade, mallets and extreme stability models such as Tomcat 14 and Prime Tyne 4. £289 eu.ping.com

EASY, TIGER

HOME BOUND

Cutting-edge installations and accoutrements that mean rained-out days are a thing of the past

For those with an insatiable appetite to practise, work, tinker and, hopefully, improve their game in the comfort of their own homes, a wide range of über-high-tech simulators, ball-and club-tracking devices and performance platforms that replicate on-course conditions like never before are now available. Herewith, a rundown of what’s what.

TRACKMAN

First launched in 2016, TrackMan 4 is the complete outdoor, indoor and virtual golf course solution in one device. Its market-leading ball- and club-tracking technology is used by a sizeable percentage of the world’s top coaches, club fitters and tour players, with some 90 of the world’s top 100 owning their own unit.

The key to TrackMan4’s performance is its Optically Enhanced Radar technology, which combines the advantages of dual radar and camera tracking to deliver pinpoint accuracy indoors, as well as outdoors.

TrackMan upgraded its latest simulator with improved graphics to make its virtual re-creations of courses from around the world, including more than 30 PGA Tour venues, more realistic, making it the ideal choice for the stay-athome golfer, or for when the weather keeps you indoors.

TrackMan 4 is completely portable and can be paired via an app with a smartphone, tablet or laptop to bring its

practice tools to the golf course, the driving range or to a lesson. As a bonus feature, it can also track and analyse putts, displaying the same data and analytics that it offers for all other shots.

TrackMan 4 from $21,495 trackmangolf.com

FULL SWING

Used by a host of the world’s leading tour pros, including Tiger Woods, Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose and Ian Poulter, Full Swing’s Sport and Pro Series combine infrared light waves and high-speed cameras to calculate distance, spin rate, ball speed, launch angle and other stats and, just as importantly, offer a fully immersive gameplay experience.

The technology creates the most realistic of all the current simulators on the market, with the golf ball transitioning from the clubhead to appearing on the 5m (16ft-plus) widescreen with virtually no time delay at the exact spot that it hits the screen. Every shot is followed by video playback of an aerial view of the clubhead through impact paired with 12 key points of club and ball data for detailed analysis. Putting and chipping, often hard to replicate in simulator play, are also exceptionally accurate, further enhancing the realistic golfing experience.

Players can take their pick from more than 84 championship courses for simulator play, including almost every PGA Tour venue, including Pebble Beach and TPC Sawgrass, as well as global destinations such as the Old Course at St Andrews.

In addition to golf, Full Swing offers a wide range of

other sporting and gaming experiences, including football penalty shootouts, cricket, baseball, American Football and Zombie Dodgeball, with all the necessary equipment and accessories available as part of the purchase package. There’s also an option to use the screen to watch films or play video games like a cinema experience.

Fully mobile, the Full Swing KIT launch monitor can also be taken outside for use at the driving range, sending your data to a free app that records and archives practice sessions on your smartphone or tablet for comparison and analysis.

Pro Series from $54,900 fullswinguk.com

SKYTRAK

Part simulator, part launch monitor, part golf training aid, SkyTrak is enjoying a growing following among coaches and regular golfers alike thanks to its wide range of applications, from coaching and club fitting to simulator game play and skills tests.

Its compact launch monitor, which can be wirelessly connected to a mobile or computer, delivers real-time launch data by accurately projecting ball flight using photometric technology to measure ball speed, launch angle, back spin, side spin and side angle at the moment of, and shortly after, impact. It also displays carry and total distance, as well as distance offline, simulating the conditions golfers face out on the course or on the range. Ideal for use on the range, for indoor studios and for domestic use, SkyTrak has access to more than 100,000

Left: Tiger Woods practising with a Full Swing simulator

virtual golf courses via WGT Golf, making it perfect for gaming and skills performance. The course graphics are sensational and incredibly realistic: it really does feel like you’re there, hitting that driver off the 18th tee at Pebble Beach or the Old Course at St Andrews. An additional Play & Improve subscription, costing £179.95 a year, is required to unlock all the courses.

For those looking to create a portable studio, SkyTrak also offers a variety of screen and enclosure packages that offer full-screen projection and a choice of enclosures, screen sizes and mat construction.

From £1,995 skytrakgolf.com

FORESIGHT SPORTS

Whether you’re looking to convert the garage or build a bespoke golf studio at the bottom of the garden, Foresight Sports has the technology and the expertise to turn any space into a golf geek’s paradise. During the pandemic, when many golf courses were closed, the company created two simulator packages designed for the home environment. The Sim-In-A-Box ‘Net-Ready’ solution is the perfect introduction to simulator technology. Whether in a living room, spare room, garage or garden, all you need is enough space to swing a golf club and a net (or other hitting area that can take the impact of a golf ball) and you can experience golf practice and course play.

The Performance package is a self-assembly simulator that can be easily assembled straight out of the box in a matter of minutes, while still delivering the immersive simulation experience demanded by the most discerning golfers. With a choice of Foresight technology, lightweight free-standing structure, hitting screen, HD projector, laptop, FSX software, hitting mat and turf, the Performance simulator comes in standard or custom sizes, and can be built and packed away as required, giving golfers total freedom to use their simulator where and when they wish.

Offered with GC2, GC3, GCQuad, and the ceilingmounted GCHawk, Foresight’s launch monitors feature state-of-the-art image processing that captures thousands of snapshots of the ball immediately after impact to give an extremely accurate reading of the shot. With the recommended HMT add-on, users get a full analysis of swing and clubhead performance data, including clubhead speed, smash factor, horizontal club path, and more.

Sim-In-A-Box ‘Net-Ready’ £8,700, Performance Simulator £17,395 foresightsports.eu

THE HOLE PICTURE

Above: Golfzon’s pair of high-speed cameras record at 2,000 frames per second

PLAY AT THE 19TH

Left: a Foresight Sports simulator in situ

COURSE CORRECTION

Above: SkyTrak has thousands of courses for simulator gameplay

GOLFZON

Golfzon simulators provide the ultimate simulator gameplay experience. The technology comprises two high-speed cameras which record at 2,000 frames per second to accurately trace club movement and impact of all shots. Fast processing of high-precision data displays immediate launch of the ball, adding to the sense of realism.

Additionally, Golfzon’s moving Swing Plate – a high-tech tee mat –automatically adjusts to uphill, downhill, and side-hill lies, by simulating course slopes from the tee box to the putting green, with the user or coach able to determine the slope setting at the start of the session.

The simulators offer more than 200 courses, including St Andrews, Pebble Beach – and many more.

From about £40,000 golfzon.co.uk

aboutGOLF

Providing one of the most accurate and immersive home golf simulator experiences, the aboutGOLF simulator package contains a 3Trak launch monitor, a high-performance laptop and a one-year subscription to its proprietary golf software, which has access to more than 85 golf courses around the world. Available with a 4K projection system and a flatscreen or curved monitors, aboutGOLF is ideal for practice or playing with friends, while a picture-in-picture capability allows you to simultaneously stream the big game or your favourite TV show while you’re playing, or simply to watch a film when you’ve finished your round.

From about £20,000 aboutgolf.com

ZEN GREEN STAGE

Zen Green Stage’s Putting Table enables golfers to putt on true rolling, multi-speed artificial greens at any time of the year. An adjustable putting platform will teach you how to read greens and to learn the relationship between speed and break – the key to holing out those curling 10-footers. In addition, the Green Stage can be converted for use as a full swing platform allowing users to practise shots from up, down and side-hill lies.

From £18,700, plus installation zengreenstage.com

ZIP IT UP: MUST-HAVE JACKETS

Keep the elements at bay with these timely technical outerwear options

GLENMUIR CALLANDER HYBRID JACKET

Designed to repel wind and rain, yet keep you super-warm, the Callander is an extremely versatile jacket. Featuring a quilted front and back, its stretchfleece sleeves and side panels will allow you to swing with complete freedom. Offered in navy, navy-camo, black and grey, it’s lightweight, easy to pack and a great option for the travelling golfer this winter.

£95 glenmuir.com

FOOTJOY THERMOSERIES HYBRID JACKET

Designed to combat cold weather, this stylish jacket boasts a brushed back jacquard knit fabric to provide a fleecelike luxury feel. Offered with a two-tone contrasting body and sleeve design, it is available in charcoal/grey or navy/slate and features an adjustable collar with chest and hand pockets.

£130 footjoy.co.uk

GALVIN GREEN ALBERT JACKET

Headlining the premium Swedish brand’s new Gore-Tex jacket range is the sporty Albert, which is 100% waterproof and windproof and incorporates a lightweight mesh lining for added warmth. Boasting built-in stretch for easy swinging, it features small print pattern across the chest, colour-contrast sleeves and is available in three colour combinations.

£359 galvingreen.com

PITCH 37.5 RAIN JACKET

The Pitch jacket is fully waterproof and features 37.5 technology, a unique fabric design that maintains the temperature between the wearer’s skin and the material at a steady 37.5 Celsius to ensure comfort in all climates. Fourway stretch delivers an unrestricted swing, while the jacket’s lower sleeve features extra elastic to keep it from flapping. Offered in grey, ‘skydive’, black and midnight navy.

£249 abacussportswear.com

WHAT’S MY LINE?

Above: aboutGOLF’s immersive home golf simulator is also one of the most accurate

Odyssey 2-Ball Eleven

Odyssey combines the performance of a blade and a mallet in one with the 2-Ball Eleven, while tungsten weighting just behind the face moves the centre of gravity forward to help your putts stay on line. For a tour-proven feel it features a White Hot insert, while the 2-Ball design is available with and without alignment lines. £329 odysseygolf.com

TaylorMade Spider GT

Designed for forgiveness and stability, the Spider GT features a steel side weight, so only 18% of the putter weight is in the centre of the putter. This increases the MOI and forgiveness to help your putts stay on line. An aluminium top plate enhances the clean look at address.

£329 taylormadegolf.co.uk

Ping PLD Milled Prime Tyne 4

Featuring a 100% CNC milled stainless-steel head, each PLD putter takes over four hours to mill. The Prime Tyne 4 is built for forgiveness and ease of alignment, but also features a heel slant neck for a strong arc stroke to appeal to golfers used to more traditional putters.

£399 eu.ping.com

SIX OF THE BEST…

MALLET PUTTERS

Find the cup more often with these forgiving flat sticks

Zebra AIT 1

One of the most popular mallets of yesteryear is back in business, with the classic striped crown making it child’s play to line up with the target. Boasting a larger head than the original design, the face features a steel insert backed with urethane for a soft, but responsive feel, while the sole features interchangeable sole weights to dial in feel.

£179.99 zebragolf.co.uk

Titleist Scotty Cameron Phantom X 11

Designed for maximum forgiveness while retaining that famed Scotty Cameron feel, the Phantom 11 features a milled steel topline and body, with an aluminium flange. The winged design adds forgiveness, but it’s been added in a clean way to make it appeal to a broad section of golfers. The 11 features a single bend shaft, while an 11.5 has a slant neck for those who have more arc in their stroke.

£409 titleist.co.uk

Sik Flo M

Sik putters feature a unique design that features four different lofts milled into the face, with the most loft at the top and the least at the bottom. This creates a consistent launch angle wherever you strike the ball on the face, leading to more consistent distances and a smoother roll. The FLO M features a smaller head and a lighter weight than the standard FLO to appeal to golfers who traditionally use a blade putter.

£475 sikgolfglobal.com

The Top of the Rock, designed by Jack Nicklaus, is the first par-3 course to be included in a professional championship

ROCK STAR

Branson’s Bestest

For a certain generation of Americans, the Missouri city of Branson has been synonymous with music, variety, comedy and theme shows for the better part of half a century, ever since the likes of Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson and Andy Williams decamped to this corner of the Ozarks and their showbiz friends and devoted disciples followed in droves. But nowadays, another pastime is quickly eclipsing all the glitzy productions and entertainment offerings here in the heartland – and that’s golf.

Thanks largely to the vision of one native conservationist and founder of Bass Pro Shops, Johnny Morris, the Show-Me State has quickly established itself as a serious golfing mecca, courtesy of his outsized and expansive Big Cedar Lodge resort (golfbigcedar.com ): a sprawling 1,861-hectare (4,600-acre) retreat situated in woodland alongside Table Rock Lake, which he acquired in 1987.

Twenty-five years later, having established it as an unsurpassed conduit to the great outdoors, Morris turned his attention to another of his open-air passions: golf. He took ownership of the former Branson Creek Golf Club on 182 nearby hectares (450 acres), brought in the noted architect Tom Fazio, who gave it a wholesale renovation, and opened it a year later as Buffalo Ridge: a brawny 6,434m (7,036-yard) routing surrounded by hillsides and prairie grasses where herds of roaming bison graze.

Today, alongside Buffalo Ridge, which in 2019 was ranked as the No 1 Public Golf Course You Can Play in Missouri by Golfweek magazine, Morris’s Midwestern golfing lotusland features an additional pair of superlative 18-hole championship tracks (more on those shortly) as well as a couple of absolutely terrific ‘short’ or par-3 courses, one conceived by Jack Nicklaus in 2014 and another completed by Gary Player in 2017. These are not the chip-and-putt venues of yesteryear: the Nicklaus-designed nine-hole Top of the Rock Golf Course was the first-ever par-3 layout included in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event, while Mountain Top by Gary Player is a bonsai-perfect 13-hole track through ancient rock formations, both featuring some of the best vistas in the region.

MAKING A SPLASH

The eighth hole at the Tom Fazio-designed Buffalo Ridge

The rolling, bucolic landscapes of the Ozarks are now home to a bevy of golf courses with distinguished pedigrees, as Farhad Heydari discovers

But most who make the pilgrimage to this part of the world will do so for the 18-hole loops – and few venues can compete with the natural majesty of Ozarks National by renowned architects Bill Coore and former Masters champion Ben Crenshaw. The duo, who work selectively and only on the best of projects, have sketched a 6,434m (7,036-yard) masterpiece that almost levitates above the beauty of the region on a series of wooded ridgeline tentacles. No surprise, then, that in addition to the stunning views in every direction, since its debut in April 2019, it’s been showered with endless praise – first as Best New Public Course in 2019 by Golf Digest and a year later as Best Course You Can Play in Missouri by Golfweek

As if this emerald tableau (which, come the autumn, is framed by a vibrant fall foliage-scape akin to a burntumber Bob Ross-coloured landscape) wasn’t already alluring enough, hackers and low-handicappers alike can now avail themselves of the first fully public-access course in the world completed by Tiger Woods: Payne’s Valley. Named in honour of the late PGA Tour player Payne Stewart, the 19-hole course (you read that correctly) opened for play in September 2020 and is routed around monumental waterfalls, wandering creeks, ponds and lakes stretching to 6,739m (7,370 yards). Its add-on final hole is a knee-knocking, bet-settling 124m (136-yard) par-3 playing into a 61m (200ft) cliffside island green surrounded by a flowing stream running down exposed limestone.

The entire five-course offering is anchored by the sprawling encampment that is Big Cedar Resort, consisting of a collection of rustic-chic (think: taxidermy, exposed beams, handmade throws and locally sourced toiletries) rooms and suites, plus standalone log cabins, lodges and

HIGH HOPES

SWEET SIXTEEN

Above: the 16th at Coore and Crenshaw’s Ozarks National

Right: LedgeStone course in the Ozark Mountains

TIGER KING

Left: Tiger Woods and Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops and Big Cedar Lodge Founder

villas with working fireplaces and kitchens that draw families and friends to this corner of the Ozarks for its unparalleled variety of nature-based experiences, including fishing, boating, hiking, shooting and more. For those 36-a-day types who wish to stay on the links, a trio of outsized lodges have just debuted, all done up to topspec and available for small groups, corporate retreats or multigenerational families. There is, of course, a full complement of no fewer than a dozen restaurants and bars, plus shops, cafés and even a sprawling museum dedicated to the natural history of the area and Native American artefacts and artwork.

Not all the golf, however, is demarcated within Big Cedar. The state’s number-one ranked course, according to the GolfPass, is Branson Hills (bransonhillsgolfclub.com): a tight thriller of a track conceived by Chuck Smith and Bobby Clampett that deserves the accolade, wending its way through valleys of mature trees that require forced carries over rock outcroppings and deep bunkers. And there’s also LedgeStone (ledgestonegolf.com ), one of the area’s most popular and eye-catching courses, which highlights the region’s mountainous terrain. In all, there are now no fewer than 10 courses in the area to challenge golfers, with a few more already on the drawing board –guaranteeing that Branson’s next influx of enthusiasts will be devotees of the great game.

BRINGING OUT THE BRANSON

PLEASURE AT PAYNE’S RIGHT: the fiendish final hole, the 19th, at Payne’s Valley

Left: Branson Hills Golf Club carves through the mountains

PHOTO: MATTSUESS.COM

PHOTO: ROB PERRY PHOTOGRAPHY

Hackers and low-handicappers can now avail themselves of the first fully public-access course by Tiger Woods

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Brave New Worlds

From eye-popping temporary structures to more permanent park and plaza schemes, a slew of urban architectural projects are drawing favourable attention to the cities in which they are found, says Jonathan Bell

CITY LIGHTS

PHOTO: © OSSIP VAN DUIVENBODE

Parks used to be very formal affairs, carefully laid out alongside city blocks to provide a dedicated place from which to escape urban life. Whether they consisted of meticulously manicured lawns and paths or romantically contrived wildernesses, the world’s great parks were designated from the outset to be places for promenades, fresh air and the casual encounter. The post-industrial, late-capitalist city finds itself with an abundance of unused space, as factories and working districts have been hollowed out, followed by docks and wharves, car parks and overpasses. These surplus spaces offer the contemporary landscape designer a new canvas on which

to work. The following examples showcase different ways of creating new infrastructure, approaches that acknowledge the often messy and unplanned nature of urban design while also bringing nature, views and life back to places where they were lacking.

1. The Podium, Rotterdam, The Netherlands MVRDV

As well as conventional buildings, Dutch architectural practice MVRDV has designed many temporary structures for events, expos and short-term, high-profile interventions. This type of work walks a tightrope; get it right, and

you’ve transformed a hitherto unexploited part of the urban realm. Get it wrong, and you risk going viral for all the wrong reasons. The Podium in Rotterdam is the polar opposite of the architects’ recent experience with the ill-fated Marble Arch Mound in London (“In our 30 years of practice, MVRDV has never before experienced such nonchalance and laxity with our design work,” the practice noted as the threadbare structure was pilloried by the press). The Podium is simplicity itself. Using the existing Het Nieuwe Instituut as a base, MVRDV built a viewing platform to open up the city’s skyline. The cultural centre in Rotterdam is home to the Netherlands Architecture Institute, among others, and was designed by Jo Coenen, opening in 1993. A robust, high-tech structure, it forms the perfect foil for MVRDV’s brightpink intervention. The new roofscape is accessible via a snaking matching pink staircase running the length of the Instituut. Created to accompany a retrospective of MVDRV’s work, the Podium is the third in an ongoing series of urban interventions the studio has shaped by creating new access to existing structures.

2. Marina One, Marina Bay, Singapore

Gustafson Porter + Bowman Singapore has the will, the budget and the skills to fulfil its lofty ambitions of becoming one of the greenest cities on the planet. As well as high-profile projects such as the acclaimed Gardens by the Bay, the city state is awash with new developments that place biophilic design at the heart of their approach. Global landscape specialist

Gustafson Porter + Bowman brought its skills to Marina One, a high-density city-block-sized building in the

NOGUEIRA

PREVIOUS PAGE:

The ‘Green Heart’ central garden of Marina One, Marina Bay, in Singapore, by Gustafson Porter + Bowman

RIGHT:

MVRDV’s temporary urban intervention, the bright-pink Podium, in Rotterdam

LEFT: Marsa Plaza in Muscat, Oman, by ACME Architects

financial district. Working with German firm Ingenhoven Architects, who drew inspiration from lush, jungle-covered hills, GP + B transformed the structure’s central garden into a cascade of verdant terraces. This ‘Green Heart’ is filled with tropical planting, artificial waterfalls and a reflecting pool, all accessible via a winding walkway. The planting helps create a more agreeable microclimate for the building, improving airflow and general wellbeing. gp-b.com

3. Seoullo 7017 Skygarden, Seoul, South Korea MVRDV

MVRDV’s experience with temporary works informs this large-scale reimagining of a defunct urban highway in Seoul. The Seoullo 7017 Skygarden was completed in 2017 and occupies a near-kilometre-long stretch of decommissioned city flyover. Tasked with creating public space and a new city park, the architects, working with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, incorporated planters, pots and flowerbeds along the many branches of the new walkway. In total, there are 24,000 new plants from about 230 species, from fruit trees to evergreens, taking in a broad swathe of Korea’s indigenous vegetation. The circular planters are illuminated at night, and the entire structure is dotted with seating spaces, viewing platforms and cafés. mvrdv.nl

4. Marsa Plaza, Muscat, Oman ACME Architects

The inspiration behind ACME Architects’ Marsa Plaza in Oman is not nature, but geometry. Completed in 2020, the new plaza occupies a prominent spot in the country’s capital, Muscat, helping provide a focal point for a new quarter in this fast-expanding city. The space abuts the Al Mouj Marina and provides a cluster of shaded structures, new restaurants and an amphitheatre, as well as a water feature set into the patterned Desert Rose marble floor. The lace-like canopies mimic the patterns set out on the ground, inspired by Islamic geometry, with vertical and horizontal screens shading both the stores and passersby. The London-based office has created a space explicitly intended as a place to hang out and watch the world go by, an area that serves as a living room for the city.

LEFT: In Seoul, MVRDV has repurposed a flyover into the Seoullo 7017 Skygarden

BELOW: Zaha Hadid Architects’ Eleftheria Square, an urban park in Nicosia, Cyprus

The postindustrial, late-capitalist city finds itself with an abundance of unused space... which offers the contemporary landscape designer a new canvas on which to work

PHOTO: LAURIANGHINITOIU

5. Eleftheria Square, Nicosia, Cyprus Zaha Hadid Architects

Despite the tragic loss of its figurehead in 2016, Zaha Hadid Architects continues to be one of the world’s most culturally significant and creatively adventurous design studios. Eleftheria Square in the Cypriot capital of Nicosia is an urban park that exemplifies the ZHA approach, mixing sculpture and symbolism with urban planning. The opportunity existed for a new outdoor space that might be a catalyst for reunification of a city riven by generations of conflict. Located in the centre of Nicosia, Eleftheria Square sits alongside the medieval city walls that were rebuilt and reinforced by the Venetians from 1567 onwards. Although the park is defined by forms and new structures, part of the brief was to uncover and reveal the original walls in all their glory, redefining the historic fortified heart of this ancient city. Eleftheria Square effectively reimagines the ancient moat as a promenade, with walkways, water features, curving steps and viewpoints all united by the firm’s trademark smooth, sculptural concrete and a complex system of forms and symbols. The square weaves different parts of the city together, forges a better connection to the main bus terminal and includes new underground parking to keep cars off the historic streets.

zaha-hadid.com

6. Tank Park, Auckland, New Zealand LandLAB

The Auckland studio LandLAB transformed a former industrial site into a new urban park for the city. Tank Park was once known as the Tank Farm, a chunk of industrial heritage defined by the large-scale storage of chemicals and oils prior to shipping and distribution. Fast

forward to the post-industrial age, and the many derelict factories and warehouses in this waterfront district are being redeveloped and renamed Wynyard Quarter. LandLAB’s design for an urban park retains, reconstructs and restores a set of the original stainless-steel bulk liquid tanks, creating a counterpoint to the earlier Silo Park (which features a retained concrete plant silo) and reminding visitors of Auckland’s heritage. landlab.co.nz

7. Willamette Falls Riverwalk, Oregon City, USA Snøhetta

This ambitious project to create a new riverwalk in post-industrial Oregon appears to have stalled, but the vision remains strong. Developed by the Norwegian studio Snøhetta, the plan was to reintegrate old industrial infrastructure into a new public route to the spectacular Willamette Falls, second only to Niagara Falls in terms of volume. Now that the paper industry along the Willamette River has substantially declined, nine hectares of former factory outside Oregon City were available to be repurposed. Snøhetta proposed a new path running from downtown for about 800m to the falls, with new walkways and paths woven into the old structures along the way. Visitors would be encouraged to get right down to the previously inaccessible waterfront, with an accompanying rewilding plan and a new plaza, the Public Yard, forming one of the centrepieces of the project. snohetta.com

8. Paseo Gigena, Buenos Aires, Argentina ODA New York

The remnants of the industrial age aren’t just storage facilities and factories. In Buenos Aires, a large concrete

Snøhetta’s planned Willamette Falls Riverwalk, in Oregon City, USA

Paseo Gigena’s winding ramps and the curved surfaces of the parking garage lend themselves to the creation of a new rooftop garden

ODA New York is transforming a disused car park in Buenos Aires into Paseo Gigena, a multipurpose space

PHOTO: SNOHETTA

multistorey car park is being transformed into an office building, retail space and promenade. The brainchild of New York-based architecture firm ODA, the Paseo Gigena ensures the embedded energy of the monumental concrete structure doesn’t go to waste. The original building sits between the city’s racecourse and a park, El Rosedal de Palermo. Not only will the multiple levels provide spacious glass-walled offices, but the winding ramps and curved surfaces of the parking garage lend themselves to the creation of a new rooftop garden overlooking the racecourse. oda-architecture.com

9. Sun Tower, Yantai, China

OPEN Architecture

OPEN Architecture is creating a structure that will enhance the urban experience for residents of the Chinese city of Yantai. The Sun Tower takes the form of a cone sliced through to reveal elaborate internal forms and structures. Set on the shores of the Yellow Sea, the new building combines exhibition spaces, a semi-open auditorium and an upper-floor ‘phenomena space’ with a ceiling-mounted oculus creating a constantly shifting pattern of light throughout the day. Arup Engineering worked on the meticulously formed white concrete surfaces, with slots, openings and exterior water features that tie into the movement of the sun and the divisions of the traditional Chinese calendar. The project is due to open in 2024. openarch.com

10. Thy National Park Visitor Centre, Northern Jutland, Denmark

LOOP Architects

Thy National Park Visitor Centre is a modest project that makes a substantial impact on the delicate dune ecosystems of Jutland on Denmark’s northwestern coastline. Mette Nymann and Morten Nymann of LOOP Architects deliberately eschewed a grand statement by wedging the 700m2 structure into the dunes themselves, careful not to overshadow the small settlement of Nørre Vorupør. The architects describe the project as a ‘stepping stone to nature’, with a roofscape that blends into the dunes. The strong geometric plan is emphasised by the cast-concrete walls that funnel people into the top-lit exhibition space through two entrances. The building frames the landscape it celebrates, acting as a buffer zone between the village and the national park. looparchitects.dk

LOOP Architects’ visitor centre for Thy National Park in Northern Jutland, Denmark

The Sun Tower takes the form of a cone sliced through to reveal elaborate internal forms and structures. It combines exhibition spaces, a semi-open auditorium and a ‘phenomena space’

The multipurpose Sun Tower in Yantai, China, by OPEN Architecture

PHOTO: PICASA

BUON APPETITO This page and opposite: from its Collins Canal-side location, Osteria Morini specialises in northern Italian cuisine

NEW YORK SOUTH

Thanks to an influx of restaurants with New York heritage, the Magic City is ushering in a new era of dining, to the delight of denizens and visitors alike.

By FH Darafshian

Ethiopian-Swedish chef

Alreadya multicultural culinary cauldron, South Florida doesn’t have a shortage of inventive chefs or cookery concepts of distinction. But this didn’t stop a slew of New York’s most celebrated restaurateurs from setting up ambitious, buzzworthy outposts during the latter stages of the pandemic, which continue to lure the bold-faced perma-bronzed glitterati. It was all a response to the looser restrictions in the Sunshine State at the time, where Covid-19 rules were more relaxed, space was (and remains) aplenty, the temperatures higher and rents are lower – and as a way of buttressing (and, in some instances, safeguarding) their bottom lines, which were hard hit in the Big Apple throughout the pandemic.

Planting its well-worn flag on Collins Avenue in South Beach was Carbone (carbonemiami.com), one of the most celebrated restaurants of the past decade. The brainchild

of Mario Carbone, Rich Torrisi and Jeff Zalaznick of Major Food Group, the Miami eatery is an unapologetic ode to midcentury Italian-Americana fare (think spicy rigatoni vodka, spaghetti puttanesca, lobster ravioli and tortellini al ragu) served up in an art-filled, dimly lit room designed with iconic red velvet drapes, cosy circular banquettes and damask-upholstered walls by Ken Fulk.

By contrast, it’s the cuisine of northern Italy and a rustic, airy space along the Collins Canal in Miami Beach where acclaimed chef Michael White unveiled Osteria Morini (osteriamorini.com). Here, the regional specialties of Emilia-Romagna are proffered in nibbles, dishes and platters alongside wines served on tap from barrels or by the bottle from an impressive list. Vegetarians beware: the menu is heavy on everything from cured and grilled meats to braised chicken and locally caught seafood.

The menu is just as decadent at Red Rooster

Marcus Samuelsson has chosen a less glam-forward Miami neighbourhood to bring his brand of family-style, Southern-inspired home cooking

RULING THE ROOST

This page: Marcus Samuelsson’s buzzy Miami outpost, Red Rooster Overtown

Overtown (redroosterovertown.com). As he did in New York City, where he was a catalyst for the regeneration of Harlem’s restaurant scene, Ethiopian-Swedish chef Marcus Samuelsson has chosen a less glam-forward Miami neighbourhood to bring his brand of family-style, Southerninspired home cooking. His trademark Cornbread is on the menu, as are favourites such as Fried Yard Bird, Florida Shrimp & Grits, and Fire Roasted Wagyu Oxtail, not to mention sides such as Succotash and Mac & Cheese. As with his other restaurants, expect a rotating roster of musical acts and performances to further enliven the already buzzy atmosphere on a historical site which Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Sam Cooke, among others, frequented.

Simon Kim, on the other hand – the man behind the upscale Asian restaurant Cote (cotemiami.com) – chose the burgeoning Design District as home to his second barbecue brainchild. Already lavished with a Michelin star, the Korean Steakhouse is a multi-personality 547sq m restaurant, which is helmed by executive chef David Shim and has emulated its popular flagship with its 45-day, USDA prime dry-aged steaks that are cooked on smokeless state-of-theart tabletop grills, ensuring conviviality in spades.

Simon Kim – the man behind the Asian restaurant Cote – chose the burgeoning Design District as home to his second barbecue brainchild

PHOTO: NAHO KUBOTA

PHOTO: FELIPE CUEVAS

STEAK OUT

Above and left: the Michelin-starred Cote, where 45-day, USDA prime dry-aged steaks are grilled at the table

Over in Wynwood, all eyes are on Keith McNally, who will debut the Magic City iteration of his irreproachable and atmospheric brasserie Pastis (pastismiami.com) across 743sq m next year. “The youthful energy reminds me of the Meatpacking District 20 years ago,” he says of the area. Expect “the same great vibe of the NYC Pastis, only with far better weather”, as well as classic bistro staples such as tuna tartare, niçoise salads, steak sandwiches, steak frites and croque monsieur served up in a space that McNally designed alongside Ian McPheely of Paisley Design, awash in mosaic floors, vintage mirrors, subway tiles, ceiling fans and carefully sourced wood planks but, says McNally, with “no pretence whatsoever”.

Not all the South Florida transplants emanate from Manhattan. Brooklyn’s acclaimed wood-fired restaurant

and bar Shelter (shelterbrooklyn.com) has also taken up residence in Wynwood with a “hunting lodge chic” design ethos that has made it such a Williamsburg staple. Anchored by a wood-burning oven, the menu promises variety, bold flavours and comforting simplicity in starters ranging from steamed mussels with crunchy fire-toasted bread to crispy artichokes with pecorino cheese dip, a meat and cheese board with all the fixings and measureless mains such as the parillada for two comprising a sprawling selection of meats – ribeye, chorizo, morcilla, skirt steak, chicken – served with roasted vegetables and fries and slow-braised double-rubbed pork ribs. For a city with such a longstanding connection with beach bodies, the indulgent dishes at all these incoming eateries might well inspire a new perspective.

Shelter has taken up residence in Wynwood with a ‘hunting lodge chic’ design ethos that has made it such a Williamsburg staple

PHOTO: YORCH SANS

GIMME SHELTER

This page: Williamsburg has come to Wynwood in the form of Shelter and its woodfired-oven cooked dishes

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Rare Force

The golf cart that thinks it’s a supercar. By Will Hersey

W hen it comes to accumulating gear and accessories, golf is a game with few, if any, rivals. There is always something a golfer urgently needs next – or, more accurately, thinks they do. From rain gloves and gap wedges to GPS watches and putting machines, the want list only seems to get longer.

At the summit of that list – in a category all its own – we can now add the Garia Supersport. Finally, here might be the golfing gadget that can’t be upstaged; the accessory from which there is nowhere to go next.

It’s a golf cart like no other. In fact, run your finger down the feature list and you’d think you were buying a supercar. There’s a rear spoiler, hand-stitched seats and steering wheel, aluminium rims and handmade body panels that curve and billow as if forged by a wind tunnel and almost resemble a McLaren. Who’d have thought aerodynamics were important when travelling from the third green to the fourth tee?

From a distance, the grille brings Aston Martin to mind, though, closer up, the dimple pattern mimics the design of a golf ball. Inside, the steering wheel and carbon-fibre panelling continue the impression you’re about to do a track day not a golf day.

This is all largely for fun, of course, though with a top speed of 70kmh (43mph), the Supersport is actually street legal in the EU (and in the US, where the speed is capped at 25mph). The lithium battery pack promises an 80km (50-mile) range – enough to hit the range, the chipping area, the bar and grill and, possibly, home again.

It’s the product of Danish firm Garia, whose mission since founding in 2005 is to bring auto luxury to the humble golf cart, with a side glance on urban mobility too. The touchscreen display switches between golf mode for keeping scores and checking yardages, to street mode, where you can toggle between controls such as satnav, speed and range.

It’s on course, though, where the Supersport shines, with the kind of details to get any golfer misty-eyed with possibilities. The ‘lounge’ seats with armrests – and seatbelts – bring a level of comfort and finish your golf game probably doesn’t deserve. The built-in fridge is in itself a little piece of golfing nirvana: there’ll be no warm beers or melted Mars bars in this ride. The neat array of ball and tee holders prevents balls from rolling around the tray, as can happen in a typical cart. Of course, after trying this, you’ll never want to darken the doors of a typical cart again.

The built-in Wi-Fi and speakers are a further nod to golf as it should be – the impact of music and chilled refreshments to a round in good company really can’t be understated. And for those evenings when you try to fit in more holes than daylight allows, the LED head- and tail-lights will see you back to the clubhouse (or, indeed, your own home) without any trouble.

If the ultimate measure of a golfing accessory is making a day on the course more enjoyable, then the Garia Supersport surely can’t fail. (garia.com )