“Getting to 18”: Tom Doak’s Invaluable Addition to the Golf Library
A relatively small, though certainly important, part of a golf course architect’s job is deciding on a hole’s cosmetics, or how it’s going to look. A more important layer for most is its strategy, or how it’s going to play. By far the most crucial consideration, however, as it pertains to the functional, operational, and […]
American Dream Courses: Mid-Atlantic
There have been times the boundaries of the regions we’ve covered in this series have been rather stretched. The Northeast featured Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey—states I have since discovered could actually be considered part of the Mid-Atlantic. So not only does this article about the Mid-Atlantic not include Pennsylvania, New York, and New […]
How Can You Spot Fake Clubs?
What are the risks of shopping for clubs online, and how do you ensure you’re not buying fake clubs? Here is a guide.
The Untold Story of Golf Course Shapers
Though they prefer to remain out of the spotlight, you often read about them. Highly skilled and invariably obsessive about the quality of their work, their role on the typical golf course construction site has evolved greatly in recent years to the point where they are now considered more than just simple earth-movers, but rather […]
American Dream Courses: Northeast
The Northeast is the home of old golf in America—where guest passes are prized like Willy Wonka’s golden tickets. But for every secluded Devereux Emmet, Walter Travis, Alexander Findlay, or Willie Campbell design there are plenty of excellent public courses anyone can play. This is our version of the American Dream—really good golf where everyone […]
QuickSands — How Much Fun Can You Handle?
I’m standing on the tee of the downhill 13th at the new QuickSands Course at Gamble Sands in central Washington, thinking that putter is probably the play. No question, actually. Really, the 13th sums up the tantalizing challenge of QuickSands perfectly. The hole may be playing 92 yards, but the tee sits about 50 feet […]
American Dream Courses: Midwest (East)
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The eastern half of the Midwest is our sixth region having navigated about two-thirds of the country in our “American Dream Courses” series. We’ve identified dozens of interesting, affordable, welcoming golf courses, but may have hit peak “Dream Golf” here in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan…especially Michigan. Because there are so many excellent courses […]
The Best Architect You’ve (Probably) Never Heard Of
Mike DeVries has been quietly, but steadily, building a reputation for designing great courses He’s been interviewed on Golf Channel and designed a course in the world’s top 25. His star is unquestionably on the rise. Yet, Mike DeVries remains something of an unknown. Unless you’re in his home state or halfway around the world, […]
American Dream Courses: Midwest (West)
In a land made up predominantly of plains, pastures, prairies, and relatively few golf courses (1,435 over an area of roughly 520,000 square miles), you might assume rattling off a dozen that fit into our American Dream Courses criteria—good, inexpensive, welcoming, under-the-radar, special in some way—would be pretty straightforward. It actually threw up a number […]
TPC Harding Park’s Road to Glory
The venue for this week’s PGA Championship has enjoyed something of a wild ride since opening in July 1925. Designed by Sam Whiting and William Watson whose famed Lake Course at the Olympic Club had opened the year before, TPC Harding Park was originally named Lake Merced Municipal Links but soon was dedicated to President […]
