November 5, 2019 - The Kings of Accidental Tourism may not know how to develop golf tourism, but how about these chaps? Meet golf in Zagreb with a Scottish twist, complete with kilts, bagpipes and a wee dram or three of whisky.
Life is utterly superb at the moment, and for the many people who ask me how I can live in Croatia when so many are leaving, my genuine reply is - how could you possibly live anywhere else?
This country goes from the surreal to the sublime, and the gods are dealing some particularly random cards in recent weeks. It all started, I think, when I came across a British phone box in the middle of the oldest continuously inhabited town in Europe, dating back some 8,300 years (the town, not the phone box). It turned out the British phone box in Vinkovci was just the tip of the iceberg - one thing led to another and now I know all about Yorkshire puddings on the menu of a Vinkovci restaurant and why some chap from Leeds decided to open an English pub in the middle of a field literally in the middle of nowhere in eastern Croatia. A really fabulous story that I encourage you to pursue here.
And as I was recounting the story over lunch at the excellent G2.5 diaspora conference today, I concluded to myself that I would never again come across such a superb story in Croatia.
And then, not five minutes later, I found myself approached by a gentleman who asked if I was the guy from Total Croatia News. He wanted to talk about golf.
And not just any kind of golf, but the kind played in Zagreb for three years now - in kilts!
Golf, of course, is a subject I have written about at length in recent months. Our old heroes, the Kings of Accidental Tourism, have had the development of golf courses as a key part of their tourism strategy for a good 20 years now, since 1999, in fact. And, after straining every sinew in the pursuit of new golf courses over 20 years, the Kings have managed to add just one new course in that time. Oh yes, and to receive a lawsuit for half a BILLION dollars from a disgruntled Israeli golf investor in Dubrovnik.
But while the Kings may not be delivering, nothing can dampen the passion of Croatia's golf-loving community. Or the quite superbly unique nature of some of the events they throw.
My new friend wanted to talk about the Zagreb Golf Club and the things they get up to. He told me about an event called the Annual Autumn and Scottish Golf Tournament, which took place last month for the third year in a row.
Where the players wore kilts.
To the tune of bagpipes.
Yeah, right, I said to myself, asking if there was a website or Facebook page where I could see evidence of this totally unlikely scenario.
There was.
Incredible.
And even more incredible, this has somehow never made it into the media in three years.
Truly superb, and put me down for a wee dram next October.
Now, with UK phoneboxes, English pubs in fields, and golf in kilts, can anyone point me in the direction of a more random story in Croatia? Answers to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Subject Subllime.
As for Golf Club Zagreb, learn more about it from the official website, and follow the latest on Facebook. Great photos by Nikola Žufika.
