Top 10 Golf Trip Drives for 2021
Road trip. Two ordinary words that conjure up visions of adventure by the mile and new discoveries at every turn. Is there a golfer anywhere who wouldn’t like to be loading up his or her clubs and hitting the road right now with a significant other or a bunch of friends? I know I would. […]
Is an Overseas Membership for You?
You’ve just stepped off your overnight flight from the U.S. Weary-eyed, you collect your bags and squeeze them into your diminutive Vauxhall rental. Driving on the left, you navigate innumerable roundabouts and zip down motorways whose numbers all begin with letters en route to your club. Not your home club—your home-away-from-home club. The one you […]
10 of Golf’s Scariest Opening Tee Shots
Any first tee can spook you. What happens on the first hole sets the tone for the whole round, so it’s only natural to be nervous when it’s your turn to blast away. That’s why many course designers make their opening holes gentle affairs—to help ease you into your round. But there are some courses […]
Perfect Provence
France’s famed southeastern corner offers great golf—and beaucoup more There are many places where emerging from baggage claim with an overstuffed golf travel bag won’t earn you a second glance. L’Aéroport de Marseille Provence is not one of them. This corner of la France is known for many things, but not for attracting legions of […]
10 Courses That Should Host the Ryder Cup
In theory, you could play the Ryder Cup at your local muni and it’d still be exciting. But the venues do contribute to the magic. The “War by the Shore” wouldn’t have been the same if it hadn’t taken place at Kiawah. Nor would the “Battle of Brookline” have been as dramatic if it had […]
Winged Foot’s Championship Pedigree
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This year’s U.S. Open marks the sixth time the championship has been contested on the West Course at Winged Foot. As players continue to tee off on this A. W. Tillinghast brute (updated in 2017 by Gil Hanse), viewers should expect to see Winged Foot be every bit as difficult as in past championships there. […]
Winged Foot’s Challenging U.S. Open Setup
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Winged Foot. The name conjures images of sidewalk-thin fairways, ball-devouring rough, and concrete-hard greens that repel approach shots—and make three-putting from five feet all too possible. In other words, it’s the perfect U.S. Open venue. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Open is returning to Winged Foot’s renowned West Course a few months later than […]
Dumbarnie and Coul Links: How Two Acclaimed Links Course Proposals Met Vastly Different Fates
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The two projects were announced with great fanfare—and had golfers salivating. In 2015, Coul Links Ltd., a consortium headed by Americans Mike Keiser and Todd Warnock, proposed the construction of a new links course in Embo, Scotland, just north of Dornoch. It was to be the first Scottish links from the esteemed design team of […]
What Makes a Putter-Maker?
In 1896, a General Electric engineer from New York named A. F. Knight excitedly took up the game of golf. He determined soon after—like many of us—that he wasn’t a very good putter. So, he took to his workshop and designed a center-shafted mallet club, a replica of which eventually made its way into hands […]
The Complete Golf Buddies’ Trip Checklist
Playing golf by yourself can be sublime—like when you’re sneaking in a few holes at sunset after work. Going out as a single with strangers can be rewarding, too, especially if you’ve queued from 5 a.m. to get out on the Old Course and exit the 18th green with three new friends. But the best […]
