Best Blind Shots at Public U.S. Golf Courses
The Dell hole at Lahinch Golf Club in Ireland remains almost as exactly as Old Tom Morris created it well over a century ago, a stunning and unique blind par three that plays over a 30-foot-tall hill to a narrow green set between the grassy dunes. For golfers on the tee, the only indication of […]
14 New Golf Projects on Our Radar
Golf’s post-pandemic resurgence has changed many things across the industry, development included. The National Golf Foundation recently revealed that there were more new courses under construction (69 at the start of 2024) than at any time in more than a decade. The uptick in development has yielded opportunity for both veteran and up-and-coming architects to […]
10 U.S. Golf Holes with the Most “Water Balls”
Who among us hasn’t stepped up to a take a shot, made a quick hazard assessment after surveying the landscape (or waterscape) in front of them, and then pulled a different ball out of our golf bag to play? And how often did that beat-up ball we resigned to losing end up in a watery […]
5 Need-to-Know Facts About the Recreational Golf Boom
Professional golf gets plenty of attention—good and bad. And there’s been no lack of the latter in the past year with the contentious relationship between the PGA Tour and LIV, and the now-official rollback of the golf ball that was precipitated by how far the best players in the world are hitting the ball, unlike […]
5 of America’s Top Golf Course Landmarks
When one thinks of golf course features, chances are that fearsome bunkers, lurking water hazards, and unique green complexes come to mind first. But sometimes a golf facility has a manmade landmark that’s instantly recognizable, eminently memorable, and—for many golfers—obligatorily Instagram-able. Outside the U.S., there may be no better example than the Swilcan Bridge at […]
Notable Regulation Courses Under Par-70 in the U.S.
Unlike the wider corridors at Sand Valley and especially Mammoth Dunes, Sedge Valley—the newest 18-hole course at Wisconsin’s Sand Valley Golf Resort—is tighter and shorter, a par-68 layout designed by Tom Doak on an intimate piece of property in the tradition of the heathland courses of London and the English coast. As Sand Valley co-owner […]
New International Course Openings for 2024
If you haven’t caught some of the jaw-dropping images and videos of Cabot Saint Lucia’s Point Hardy Golf Club that have been circulating in golfers’ social media feeds, you’re likely in the minority. The new course, from one of the game’s most desired design duos—Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw—is dramatically draped across a 375-acre peninsula […]
11 New U.S. Course Debuts to Know for 2024
There’s been a slight uptick in new golf course development in recent years, although it remains just a trickle compared to overall supply. But new courses always prompt excitement in the world of golf, where the itinerant golfers among us are always dreaming about where to (potentially) visit next. In 2024, there are a host […]
7 Golf Getaways That Mix Public and Private Courses
In the remote Sandhills of northwest Nebraska, on the rim of the Snake River canyon and about a half hour from the South Dakota border, the Prairie Club is a golf destination like no other. Not only might it be the only golf resort with two 18-hole championship courses that each play to a par […]
Want to Play Pine Valley?
Is this a bait-and-switch? Admittedly, yes. Sorry about that. I’m a lifelong New Jersey resident who’s always lived about an hour from the hallowed grounds of Pine Valley Golf Club and the nation’s perennial top-rated course… and has yet to play it. Sure, I still hold out hope. That’s what we do as golfers—hope and […]