The Massacre at Winged Foot: Hale Irwin’s Win at the 1974 U.S. Open
It’s been 50 years since the USGA turned the West Course at Winged Foot Golf Club in New York into a golfing minefield. The course setup isn’t the only remarkable memory of the 1974 U.S. Open, though. A flushed long-iron approach at the 72nd hole to secure a major championship tends to be spoken of […]
13 Years Later: Bill Coore Reflects on the Restoration of Pinehurst No. 2
Of course they were honored—which golf course architect wouldn’t be? Of course they were humbled—again, would anyone whose vocation in life was to build, renovate, and revive great golf courses not question if they were up to the task, if only for a moment? And yes, of course they were a little nervous about the […]
Book Review: “RAINMAKER” by Hughes Norton & George Peper
RAINMAKER: Superagent Hughes Norton and the Money-Grab Explosion of Golf, from Tiger Woods to LIV and Beyond is one of those books that had to be written. Libraries, stores, and stalls are full of volumes that entertain, inform, educate, cure, encourage, comfort, instruct, empower, and generally make the world a better place, but not all […]
12 Things You Might Not Have Known About Augusta National
In 1986, Charles Price wrote a history of Bobby Jones, The Masters, and Augusta National Golf Club titled A Golf Story, which he noted in the afterword was not the “official” story of any of them, but rather an “authorized” version. The founding editor of Golf Magazine and later a contributing editor at Golf Digest, […]
Reversible Courses: A Returning Golf Fad?
It’s not like they were the only thing golfers could talk about, but from June 2016 when Michigan’s The Loop opened to July 2017 when Silvies Valley Ranch in Oregon welcomed its first guests, reversible courses certainly enjoyed their moment in the spotlight. Inspired by the reverse, or “left-hand,” routing on the Old Course at […]
A Preview of Shorty’s: The New Par-3 Course at Bandon Dunes
His parents knew him as Warren, but to everyone else he was “Shorty.” Shorty Dow, caretaker (or, as he put it, “governor, mayor, and sheriff”) of the wild, 1,250-acre property on the Oregon coast that Mike Keiser would eventually transform into what might be the greatest golf resort in the world, Bandon Dunes, earned the […]
The Art of Restraint in Golf Course Architecture
It’s a word that has become increasingly familiar to fans of great golf course architecture. The dictionary says “restraint” involves moderate behavior and self-control, and it’s an important trait for a designer to be able to call upon. Tom Doak says it is “deciding not to do something which is just as active a decision […]
Golf’s Greatest Reveals
A round of golf usually includes some memorable moments—a birdie at your nemesis hole; a sensational sunset; a good laugh with playing partners. Or, perhaps, an incredible and unexpected view that stops you in your tracks. An article about the best reveals in golf could be a dangerous thing, though. Common to the most exceptional […]
An Extremely Fun Makeover for Golden Gate Park Golf Course
The transformation of Golden Gate Park Golf Course—the 9-hole par-3 golf course in the far west of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park—is complete, and if fun, quick, inexpensive golf on eye-catching and architecturally stimulating holes is of interest, then this is most definitely the place for you. The eight-month project was led by architect Jay […]
12 Great Golf Reads This Christmas
From absorbing and educational to sentimental and hilarious, here’s a dozen great golf books for Christmas and beyond. Two Ruddy Ducks and a Partridge on a Par Three Clive Agran This 160-page paperback might be an inexpensive stocking filler, but it could turn out to be the highlight of your Christmas. Agran has a very […]
