6 Lesser-Known Pete Dye Courses

Pete Dye’s magnificent creation at TPC Sawgrass, born of a swamp half an hour east of Jacksonville, Fla., first hosted the Tournament Players Championship in 1982. Since then competitors have adapted to its quirks and learned not to be too dismayed when their ball behaves unexpectedly. Though the event’s May date (2007–2018) certainly produced some […]
The Best Public Golf in Idaho

The Gem State features majestic mountains, national forests, rushing streams, and surprisingly affordable green fees—making Idaho a diamond in the rough for public golf Greg Bullock makes the 350-mile, seven-hour drive from his home in Nampa, Idaho, to Circling Raven at least twice a year. “It’s totally worth it,” he says. “It’s like nowhere else […]
The Best Public Golf in California

Ranking the states for the quality of their golf is a subjective business, though it’s clear some are better than others. Florida, Michigan, New York, Hawaii, Arizona, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and even Ohio all get high marks, and another ever-present in the conversation is California whose course count almost reaches 1,000, and which boasts an impressive number of layouts […]
Forrest Richardson: The Innovative ASGCA President

He’d never say it, never hint at, or even joke about it. He’d reject the idea absolutely, in fact, and ask that you never repeat it. But technically, in a manner of speaking, it could be argued—quite convincingly actually—that Forrest Richardson is currently the highest-ranking golf course architect in America. No, he’s not the best-known […]
American Dream Courses: Best of the Rest

Regular readers will know the emphasis of the “American Dream” series—highlighting really good golf where everyone is welcome and everyone can afford to play—has not been on identifying notable, affordable golf in every state, but rather in each of nine regions around the country: Southeast, Deep South, Southwest, Northwest, Mountain West, Midwest (West), Midwest (East), […]
In Review: Stephen Proctor’s Monarch of the Green
It was Christmas 2008, and Stephen Proctor was heading home to Florida. In order to make the flight from San Francisco more tolerable, he entered a bookshop, hoping to find something that would make those tedious five hours fly by. He did a double-take as he scanned the shelves and caught sight of Kevin Cook’s […]
American Dream Courses: Deep South

This is our version of the American Dream—really good golf where everyone is welcome and everyone can afford to play. I’ve had the good fortune to play quite a bit in the Deep South and don’t remember a course I haven’t liked (granted I don’t go looking for bad golf courses). Here’s a dozen great […]
“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.