Fractional Ownership: Great Golf Living at a Fraction of the Price
The day started with an early-morning beach bike ride on Kiawah Island. After that, a bucket-list tee time on the Ocean Course, the most celebrated of the seven golf courses on the South Carolina island. My kids and I hit the pool just steps from the ocean later that afternoon, then ventured out to the […]
A Golf Oasis in Death Valley
In a literal oasis within the largest national park in the lower 48 states is a golf experience like no other. More than 60 miles away from the nearest town and more than 200 feet below sea level sits the Furnace Creek Golf Course in Death Valley, Calif. Open to the public, it’s the world’s […]
Golf’s State-of-the-Industry – Where Were We Before COVID-19?
The big picture view of golf has been understandably clouded by the crisis at hand: Thousands of courses in various parts of the country are still temporarily shut down due to the coronavirus, memorable golf trips to incredible getaway destinations are on hold, and operations often look quite different in places where the game goes […]
Reservation Golf: The Unsung Greatness of Golf on Native American Land
In upstate New York, the Oneida Indian Nation has gone all-in on golf at the Turning Stone Resort Casino. The 3,400-acre resort has five courses, including championship layouts from Tom Fazio, Robert Trent Jones Jr., and Rick Smith, along with a par-3 course and a player-friendly 9-hole course. “Golf has really played an integral role […]
Are 9-Hole Rounds Seeing a Comeback?
I’ll admit, there was a time I was always an 18-or-nothing guy when it came to golf. Not anymore. I’ve discovered, or maybe rediscovered, the joy of 9-hole rounds—and I’m not alone. The National Golf Foundation recently shared data that showed the percentage of 9-hole rounds is up 15 percent over last year. The pandemic […]
New York—One of the Biggest Golf Hotbeds in the World
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It makes sense that states like Florida and California rank 1–2 in number of U.S. golf facilities, given their year-round warm weather and positioning on opposite coasts. But do you know which state checks in third? That would be New York, with more than 750 golf facilities stretching from Buffalo to Montauk. Michigan has a […]
Gull Lake View: The Biggest Golf Resort You Might Not Know
When golfers think of Augusta, their first thought probably isn’t Michigan. But due west of Detroit and Ann Arbor, midway between Battle Creek and Kalamazoo, lies one of the largest, yet unheralded golf resorts in the country: Gull Lake View Golf Resort. The property is family-owned, now in the fourth generation of the Scott family, […]
Why OnCore’s Reach Now Extends Far Beyond Golf Balls
Golf balls have always been the core of OnCore Golf’s business—pun intended—but diversification was a fait accompli with Keith Blakely’s involvement. Blakely is the Chairman and CEO of OnCore, having started (and initially funded) the company about a decade ago along with his son, Bret, and his son’s friend, Steve Coulton. A serial entrepreneur and […]
Union League National Channels Pine Valley, Calusa Pines, and Tobacco Road for Golf Course Overhaul
The first thing that catches your attention at Union League National Golf Club is a soaring, 60-foot sand dune, if only because it stands in such stark contrast to the pancake flat topography of the southern New Jersey shore region. But the dune is just the most visible part of this stunning, multi-year, multi-million-dollar project […]
Caddying During the Pandemic—Yay or Nay?
Entering August, Tony Shuster had caddied for 20 days in a row at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. He totaled 847,000 steps during the month of June and another 789,000 in July—upward of 800 miles in all. Shuster is one of almost 350 caddies shepherding golfers around the six 18-hole courses at the remote, walking-only destination […]