Adare Manor: Ready for a Fight
By Tony Dear It was suggested that when Richard Finch stumbled backwards into the River Maigue on the 72nd hole of the 2008 Irish Open at Golf Course at Adare Manor, it helped put the charming village of Adare on the map. In reality, Áth Dara had been on the map for centuries, especially since […]
Q&A with Sweetens Cove Architect Rob Collins
By Tony Dear Over the last couple of years, Rob Collins has become one of the best-known golf course architects in the country basically on the strength of nine holes. Those holes at Sweetens Cove Golf Club in South Pittsburg, Tenn. opened in late 2014, and since then they’ve attracted a huge following of golfers […]
Who Really Designed Bethpage Black?
By Tony Dear A while ago, we asked who deserved the credit for how a golf course turns out—designer, design associate, construction foreman, re-designer, restorer, renovator, shaper, superintendent, some of the above, or all of them. It’s an especially pertinent subject at Bethpage Black as a question mark hangs over the identity of the […]
The Masters Par 3 Contest
Matt Wallace is 1-for-1 at Augusta National. The 28-year-old from England has played in one competition at the home of the Masters, and won it. Of course, Wallace didn’t win the Masters (not yet anyway) but the Par 3 Contest which precedes the main event. The debutant won in a playoff at the third extra […]
5 of the Best Island Greens in Golf
By Tony Dear It’s Players Championship week at TPC Sawgrass which means we get to examine the legitimacy of Pete and Alice Dye’s ever-controversial island green at the 17th. Thirty-nine years after it opened, and 37 years after the little demon tormented PGA Tour pros for the first time, we’re still debating whether or not […]
Who Deserves Credit for a Golf Course Design?
The recent publication of Golf Digest’s top-100 course ranking raised eyebrows and set tongues wagging. And rightly so, raising eyebrows and stirring debate is precisely what rankings are for, though cynics might insist there are less philanthropic reasons. As all credible grading is apt to do, this list launched a million conversations over the relative […]
Brown is the New Green—But it May Not Work for You
It’s early fall and it has barely rained in my hometown of Bellingham, Wash., since April. There may have been a few sprinkles under cover of darkness, but according to weather.com, a grand total of 1.05 inches fell here over a period of 84 days this summer. Daytime temperatures, usually in the mid-70s, have averaged […]
5 Most Exciting Courses in Development
In the decade since the Great Recession, the worlds of golf course construction and course architecture have undergone wholesale changes. The emphasis is now on quality rather than quantity, as well as natural over decorative, which means courses generally cost less to build and maintain and are far less harmful to the environment. A handful […]
What’s Tougher: Renovating a Course or Designing New?
When asked if they’d rather build from scratch or renovating existing courses, most architects say they prefer to build new. Some pause a moment, however, before adjusting their response. “Actually, it depends.” There’s a lot to think about. Before taking on a new course, the architect must consider the quality of the site, how far […]
A Golf Writer’s Year in Review – Tell us About Yours!
By Tony Dear Did you play enough golf in 2018? I didn’t. I probably got in half the number of rounds I’d like to have. The silver lining though was the golf I did play was really, really good. (How was your golf year? Tell us about your best courses and experiences in the […]
