The 2020 tour, otherwise known as 'Jono's year', will see us heading to the rugged Northumberland coastline. We will be based in the picturesque seaside village of Bamburgh, an hour or so north of Newcastle. We have at least three full days of golf organised, with an option to play an additional round on the Sunday.

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Rather than renting houses, we have decided this year (following an overwhelming 'Doodle' vote organised by FS!) to stay at The Victoria Hotel in Bamburgh. The proximity to the sea means that we should be able to continue the tradition of a cold sea swim on the morning of the Masters.

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The customary 'international' match will take place on the Thursday afternoon at Dunstanburgh Castle Golf Course, where the fairways run out close to the sandy beach of Embleton Bay. First used for golf in 1900, it was acquired in 1919 by shipping magnate Sir Arthur Munro Sutherland who wasted no time in calling in the great James Braid the following year to modify the course. It has been described as both a 'classic' links and a 'hidden gem'.

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Friday's Brown Jackets Open will take place at Goswick Golf Club. Founded in 1890, both Willie Park Junior and James Braid (again!) have all helped to shape the course that's in play today. In 2018 and 2019, it hosted the Open Championship Regional Qualifying (it was due to do so again this year) and it is a classic links course with views of the North Sea and, to the south, both Holy Island (Lindisfarne) and Bamburgh Castle.

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The Brown Jacket Masters on the Saturday will also take place at Goswick Golf Club.

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There is an optional round for those who want it on the Sunday morning at ​Bamburgh Castle Golf Club. "I imagine that a golfer's eye must be more often taken off the ball at Bamburgh than on any other course," wrote Bernard Darwin in his 1920s book Golf on the LNER, "the view is so compellingly beautiful that we really have to look at it, no matter how critical the shot. First of all of course there is the Castle which is gorgeous beyond words, as it stands huge and menacing on the top of its sheer wall of rock, looking out to sea. Then in the middle distance are the Farne Islands and away to the left across a stretch of water and sandy headlands we see another castle, small by comparison, but looking very splendid, perched on its stony pedestal, Holy Island, Lindisfarne. Altogether there may be prettier golf courses, but I really don't think that I have ever seen them, and I have seen a good many by this time." There are many scenically stunning golf courses around England's long coastline, but there are none more glorious than Bamburgh Castle. Its elevated cliff top site provides a natural platform from which to drink in the 360-degree views and also the topography provides for some truly memorable holes. including the unique opening stretch of two back-to-back par threes followed by two par fives.

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Travel will be by air or train to Newcastle (or Alnmouth or Morpeth), although people are of course welcome to drive. Most people seem to be arriving on Thursday in time for golf at Dunstanburgh Castle Golf Course on Thursday afternoon.

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Kezza, Jono, Andy and I will all be hiring cars and Clive and Vix are driving up, so loads of cars available to get to/from the golf club each day.

 

The tour itinerary is as follows:

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Wednesday 16 September

• The first tourist to arrive will be Kezza, flying in from Nice to Edinburgh a day early (no flights on Thursdays)

• 36 hole practice session arranged with the local pro, followed by a Pot Noodle in her room

 

Thursday 17 September

• 'International' match at Dunstanburgh Castle Golf Course - tee booked from 1.10pm

• Stay at The Victoria Hotel in Bamburgh

• Dinner at The Castle Inn in Bamburgh (not to be confused with the nearby Bamburgh Castle Inn!)

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Friday 18 September​

• Open at Goswick Golf Club - tee booked from 11.06am

• Post-golf soup, sarnies and chips

• Dinner at The Lord Crewe in Bamburgh, followed by the draw and auction

 

Saturday 19 September

• Pre-golf soup, sarnies and chips

• Masters at Goswick Golf Club - tee booked from 1.06pm

• Post-Masters shenanigans, then head back to Bamburgh

• Dinner at The Potted Lobster in Bamburgh

 

Sunday 20 September​

• Golf at Bamburgh Castle Golf Club - tee booked from 10.50am

• Head home

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Transport arrangements to be sorted nearer the time.