Adventures in Golf
- Alice Watson
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
“Hi, I’m Erik and this is Adventures in Golf”
These are the opening words of Erik Anders Lang’s documentary travel series Adventures in Golf (AIG) for Skratch media - a collection of short YouTube films, with 8 seasons and counting, that invites viewers on a tour of some of the most intriguing, breathtaking, and astonishing golf locations on the planet.
It is a series that defies your expectations of what golf is, where and how the game is played, and its wider significance and meaning.
To anyone not familiar with Lang’s content, this might sound like a bold or lofty claim. But challenging the status quo in golf and expanding people’s imaginations is at the heart of Lang’s creative work.
Lang is an American filmmaker and founder of the Random Golf Club, a community that challenges the norms of traditional golf club membership by being a one-stop shop for on-course meetups, merchandise, media content, and storytelling. Like AIG, it seeks to alter entrenched perceptions of what can unquestionably be a stuffy, rules-filled, gender-imbalanced, and unwelcoming game in certain contexts; namely, by lowering barriers to entry, bringing in new audiences and demographics, and privileging a sense of fun and enjoyment.
Lang didn’t take up the game until he was in his thirties, but was immediately hooked:
“I just loved it; the flight of the ball, the feeling of hitting the sweet spot, the realisation that it’s not a private sport… I started seeing, very strangely, these connections between golf and spirituality, and found it to be a quite meditative game” [1]
A book that underpins Lang’s philosophy is Dr Joseph Parent’s (2002) Zen Golf. Parent is a performance psychologist, Buddhist instructor, and expert in mindfulness who has coached PGA Tour professionals, as well as amateurs and non-golfing athletes. The book blends teachings from modern western psychology and ancient eastern wisdom to help players clear and quieten their minds, achieve heightened focus, and reach their peak performance. More than that, it offers a lens on life - a rallying call to achieve better mind-body connection, situational awareness, and a more balanced, positive mindset.
For Lang, then, golf is not just about getting a ball in the hole or etching a number onto a scorecard - it has a spiritual, meditative quality when viewed and practiced from a particular perspective.
This is illustrated clearly in AIG, which introduces you to people and places on opposite sides of the globe who play golf in extraordinary places, landscapes, and circumstances.
Of course, you can watch the show purely as a travel series - an escapist’s dream to exotic and far-flung golf destinations - and its sponsorship by United Airlines underlines this.
But you can take more from it if you want to, and AIG was instrumental in changing how I think about and play the game.
*
To get you started, here are 5 memorable episodes which will give you a sense of what AIG is all about. Each episode is approximately 10 minutes in length meaning they are ideal for a quick viewing in your lunchbreak or while tethered to your desk. If you like what you read, just click on the headings to start watching...
Golf inside a maximum security prison? Surely not. Erik tells the story of Louisiana State Penitentiary which is home to Prison View Golf Course. The scale of the prison, and the number of inmates and staff it houses, is astonishing, as is its history and progressive ethos of giving prisoners jobs and responsibilities. Erik meets a convicted murderer who is the principal greenskeeper to the course that sits in the prison’s expansive grounds. His role is part of a wider rehabilitation programme, spearheaded by warden Burl Cain, which has ostensibly turned the prison around. Only staff are allowed to play on the course, while inmates tend to and manage it, giving the former welcome moments of respite and the latter a sense of purpose and focus. This is golf, but not as you know it, and the episode lingers long in the imagination after the end titles roll.
In search of “the truest links experience”, Erik ventures to Askernish Golf Club on the Isle of South Uist in Scotland’s remote Outer Hebrides. The fabled course, which was designed by Old Tom Morris in 1891, was once lost to the elements. But its resurrection has added a historic gem to Scotland’s impressive golfing roster and as Erik showcases, it doesn’t disappoint. Nestled in an awe-inspiring landscape and sustained by volunteers, Askernish is part of a different world and all the richer for it.
The next stop is Kahuku, a 9-hole municipal course on an island off the North Shore of Hawaii, which has resisted 12 million dollar efforts to sell the land in favour of elite, ocean-front homes. Dating back to the 1930s and entangled in the history of a sugar plantation, the course is an integral part of the local community. With its understated clubhouse, gently swaying palm trees, and jaw-dropping panoramic views, Kahuku projects a humble and laidback vibe inspired by the relaxed and open nature of the local people. It is a reminder that you don’t need flashy facilities, well-stocked pro shops, and extortionate green fees to have a priceless golfing experience.
In the following season, Erik travels to the Hans Merensky Resort and Spa golf course in Phalaborwa, South Africa, which borders the Kruger National Park. You guessed it - Erik films his experience of playing golf at a club populated with giraffes, impala, warthogs, hippos, alligators, lions, and leopards. Alarmingly, there's a wooden sign at the first tee which warns players that no one is allowed out after dusk for their own personal safety. Despite undergoing renovations at the time of filming, the episode offers a glimpse of what it’s like to play golf alongside remarkable wildlife and in a place where humans are just transitory interlopers on their patch of land.
Finally, the compass points towards the Arctic Circle as AIG embarks on a round on the world’s most northern links course - Lofoten Links - which is located in the town of Hov off the coast of Norway. Its northerly location means the sun doesn’t set for 2 months of the year, enabling golfers to play, quite literally, around the clock, and from August, potentially under the northern lights. The beauty of the landscape is truly spectacular and Erik comments on the course's spirituality, offering an unforgettable way to experience the wonder of the natural world. Lofoten Links pushes the limits of latitude and with only a short window of play from May till October, this is one to add firmly to the bucket list.
*
The focus of AIG, then, is not on the shots that Lang hits or the total number of strokes he finishes with - it is about the people and places that make the courses what they are today and the histories which lie behind them.
It is a welcome change from some of the golf content that fills our social media feeds, shouting loudly in capital letters about the BEST round with EPIC shot tracers soaring through the air.
Every time I watch I am reminded about the importance of paying more attention to my surroundings, striving for more enjoyment in the process, and living more presently in the moment. That means soaking up the sun when it shines, listening to the sound of birdsong, and savouring those sweet moments when the ball is struck squarely out of the clubface.
The series has undoubtedly opened my eyes to the myriad ways in which the game is played across the world and I hope it similarly fuels an interest in you in discovering more about the people and places that characterise our colourful, adventure-filled golfing planet.
[1] Erik Anders Lang: The Filmmaker Tackling Golf’s Most Interesting Questions. Published in GRX, April 20th, 2017.
#AdventuresInGolf #ErikAndersLang #Skratch #YouTube #GolfContent #GolfTravel #Meditation #Mindfulness
