10 Fabulous 4th Holes
By the time the Fourth of July rolls around each year, golf in America is in full swing. On the PGA Tour, three of the year’s four majors have been decided. In cities and towns across the country, clubs are getting ready to host their club championships. Playing conditions are ideal, the days are long, […]
The Old Course, Stonewall: Tom Doak’s First Private Design
Surrounded by some of America’s seminal courses, this Tom Doak design near Philadelphia more than holds its own For a young golf course designer looking to accelerate his career, Philadelphia is a tough town. Within 20 miles of Center City you’ve got Pine Valley, Merion, Aronimink, and others. When Tom Doak got the chance to […]
Characters: Bunker Shaper Jeff Bradley
Bunker shaper Jeff Bradley plays the excavator with a musician’s touch You’d better be good at your craft if your job is to make Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw look like geniuses in the field. Jeff Bradley shapes the bunkers that have made courses like Cuscowilla, Talking Stick, Old Sandwich, Friar’s Head, Bandon Trails, Chechessee […]
The Best Golf Courses to Play at Twilight
After-dinner golf tastes sweetest at Scotland’s Royal Dornoch One of the underappreciated joys that the summer solstice yields is golf in the early evening. Some days are so much fun you simply don’t want to stop. In June and July, every golf course offers supplemental sunshine, an artist’s palette of changing colors, and fewer golfers […]
6 of Golf’s Top Youth Programs
If it seems like there have been more kids on the golf course recently, well, you’re right. The number of junior golfers (ages 6–17) rose by 24 percent in 2020 as fairways and greens became safe refuge amid the pandemic. It was the industry’s biggest junior jump since 1997, the year a 21-year-old wunderkind named […]
LINKS Golf Podcast Ep. 87: In-Depth on Baltusrol
Gil Hanse breaks down the details of his restoration work on the Lower Course at Baltusrol Golf Club in a conversation with Digital Editor Al Lunsford on this episode of the LINKS Golf Podcast, presented by Ashcroft Capital. Lunsford also takes listeners inside his round and overnight stay at the historic club. You can subscribe […]
Questions: Mike Whan
Mike Whan, the USGA’s new top dog, talks about his plans (listen), his goals (learn the Rules), and his time leading the LPGA (it grew every year) How are you and your family feeling about the move to New Jersey? I’m really excited to live on Hamilton Farm—a course where we played an LPGA event […]
America’s First Muni: Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx
Municipal golf in America got its start in and around big cities. So, it’s only fitting that the oldest muni in the game—Van Cortlandt Park in New York—today has not one, but two highways cutting through an everyman course that has holes named after Babe Ruth and each of the Three Stooges. “Vanny,” as it’s […]
The Best Public Golf in Connecticut
Short but sweet—that’s the best way to describe golf season in Connecticut. But what the state lacks in warm weather months it makes up for with top-tier golf courses. Golf courses rich in history (and often private) reside in this neck of the woods, like well-known Top 100 layouts such as Yale and Stanwich Club. […]
LINKS Golf Podcast Ep. 86: Expert Advice for Golf Dads
In addition to playing and writing about the game, LINKS contributor Ryan Asselta is a regular caddie for his two sons in major youth tournaments. He shares the top tips on how to get kids involved in the game, the most effective motivation tactics, and the best golf gift he’s ever received from his boys […]