TPC Sugarloaf Golf Course, Georgia
Because it sometimes seems as though TPC golf courses are popping up on a monthly basis, it would be understandable to pass off TPC Sugarloaf course as just another link in the PGA Tour’s fast-growing network of courses. Yet the Duluth, Georgia, development has become one of the jewels of the TPC family, and its Greg Norman design […]
A Course Record at TPC Sugarloaf
Golf is the ultimate game of self-centeredness. Case in point: While the rest of the world remembers the 1997 Masters for Tiger Woods’ breakout victory, for me the tournament will always be associated with my first—and only—course record. Sure, I remember Tiger’s epic performance. I walked nearly the entire way with him, from his front-nine 40 on Thursday […]
Peachtree Golf Club, Georgia
In the golfing world, a smile that speaks of deep respect and awe emerges on the faces of everyone who hears the name “Bobby.” Even more than 25 years after his death in 1971, people still remember “Bobby” as the immortal Robert Tyre Jones Jr., and they do so with great appreciation for a […]
Royal New Kent, Virginia
Royal New Kent opened in August 1996. From a playability standpoint, Royal New Kent features generous, contoured fairways, occasional blind shots, 140 bunkers and large, fast greens with bold swales and ridges. A thinking man’s course, each hole has several ways to play it and every shot has options regarding the choice of clubs and […]
Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, Virginia
For Donald Ross, the meccas are Dornoch and Pinehurst; for Bobby Jones, it’s Augusta National; for Jack Nicklaus, Muirfield Village. And for Robert Trent Jones Sr., “Trent,” as he was known, it’s his namesake club in the rolling hills of northern Virginia. Glenn Smickley was course superintendent during construction and grow-in back in 1989 […]
Cascades Course at Omni Homestead Resort, Virginia
It‘s widely touted as America’s finest mountain layout, but the Cascades course at the Homestead actually lies in a valley surrounded by the densely wooded hills of the Alleghenies. Regardless of how it’s labeled, most golfers would agree with the legendary Sam Snead, who calls it “the most complete course I know of.” William […]
Chicago Golf Club, Illinois
To some people, old fashioned is a cocktail; to others it’s a lifestyle. But to the members of America’s oldest 18-hole golf course, Chicago Golf Club, it is the defining characteristic. The club was old fashioned when it started 115 years ago, it’s that way today, and God willing, it will stay that way […]
Olympia Fields Country Club, Illinois
Golf bag slung over my shoulder, I hail a cab from in front of a Chicago hotel, ride seven blocks to Randolph Station and board a southbound Metra train, which rolls out of the Loop at 7:48 on a Saturday morning. The Sears Tower and John Hancock Building receding into the skyline behind us […]
Rich Harvest Farms, Illinois
Whereas a lot of wealthy individuals have built golf clubs, very few of them have actually designed the courses. But Jerry Rich, inspired by the late architect Dick Wilson, bought 1,820 acres of farmland 50 miles west of Chicago and with the guidance of course architect Greg Martin, built 18 of the most demanding holes—playing […]
Caves Valley Golf Club, Maryland
The dream to build a world-class club in the rolling hills outside of Baltimore began in 1977 when Les Disharoon, then CEO of Monumental Corporation, moved to the area and quickly discovered that with the exception of Baltimore Country Club, the area was lacking a certain kind of club—one devoted strictly to enjoying golf at its best. So […]