George Peper: 50 Years in St. Andrews

My half century of memories of the world’s greatest town The 150th playing of the world’s oldest golf event, the Open Championship, is now upon us as the competition returns to the Old Course at St. Andrews for a record 30th time. I count among the greatest blessings of my life that I’ve been able […]
How to Play the Old Course: An 18-Hole Guide

She’s wily and demanding, but if you treat her right, she’ll reward you If you haven’t played the Old Course it’s surely on your bucket list; and when you get your chance, you’ll want to play well. If you’ve had a crack or two at it, you’ve likely walked off the 18th green thinking, “Yeesh, […]
George Peper: What I’d Like to See at the 2022 Masters

These days, with the Open Championship being the last major of the year, we all have entirely too much time to sit major-less until the next year’s Masters. Too much time to ponder, to anticipate, to dream. All of which can lead to the sort of fanciful notions I’ve been having. Here’s what I’d like […]
A Rant Against Golden Age Golf Architects

It’s time we stop deifying dead architects… Curmudgeon alert: I’m about to go on a major rant about something that likely will be of only marginal interest to you and may actually cause you some annoyance. So this might be a good time to click on something else. We did have some very fine pieces […]
A Chat With the Claret Jug

Having endured a full year out of the limelight, the coveted decanter was ready to have a natter Not long ago, I was privileged to gain an audience with golf’s most iconic trophy, the Claret Jug awarded to the Champion Golfer of the Year. It was a typically dreich Scottish morning when I arrived in […]
A Creative Solution to Golf’s Distance Question

The 50 Percent Solution—don’t just limit the distance of clubs, limit the number of them So it seems we’re finally going to get some answers from the USGA and R&A on the distance question. After decades of dithering, withering, and slithering, the two ruling bodies have suddenly become veritable sword-rattlers, promising serious action in the […]
3’s Greenville

Back in the 1920s, golf’s number-one visionary was a cheerful Chicagoan named Herb Graffis. He co-founded the National Golf Foundation, the Club Managers Association, Course Superintendents Association, and Golf Writers Association, not to mention GOLF Magazine. For those and many other contributions he was among the first class of inductees into the World Golf Hall […]
The Ultimate Unpassable Golf Quiz

Don’t even think about acing this test. Instead, try to make a decent golf score. Give yourself a starting total of 100 and deduct one stroke for each correct answer. (Answers at bottom of page) 1. Which is greater? The number of PGA Tour victories by Phil Mickelson or the combined total number of Tour […]
Golf’s Most Memorable Opening Shots

The first hole of a golf course is rarely memorable, but it never fails to arouse emotion Can you think of a patch of ground—on the golf course or anywhere else—that consistently boils up such a complex cauldron of emotions as does the first tee? Hope and trepidation, determination and doubt, impatience and paranoia, excitement […]
Risky Business: Gambling in Golf

The PGA Tour has a big opportunity with legalized gambling, but there’s also a potential downside Sad truth: The Tiger Woods era is drawing to a close. Whether we like it or not, his competitive career will end soon, be it one year from now or five, and when that happens professional golf will experience […]