My Favorite Places: Scott McCarron
Scott McCarron has made the golf course his workplace for nearly 30 years. After turning pro in 1992, McCarron spent two decades on the PGA Tour where he was a three-time champion. While it was a solid 20 years, it wasn’t until he ventured into the second act of his career that McCarron reached his […]
Top 10 Courses: Australia
From the Melbourne Sandbelt to the islands of Tasmania, the Land Down Under has an overabundance of stunning golf settings to choose from 1. ROYAL MELBOURNE (WEST), Black Rock Alister MacKenzie’s masterpiece of strategic design, set on rugged natural terrain, marries bold fairway contours with spectacular bunkering and ingeniously contoured, silky smooth greens. 2. KINGSTON […]
The “Baddest” Par-3 Courses in the U.S.
The twisted dead trees planted around the holes at the “Bad Little Nine” are a sure sign of what’s in store for golfers at Scottsdale National Golf Club’s fiendishly fun par-3 course. Deep bunkers are everywhere, some sprawling and others a devilish pock. There are humps and bumps the likes of which you’ve likely never […]
LINKS Golf Podcast Ep. 72: The Future of Golf Technology
Golf clubs designed with the help of artificial intelligence. GPS-equipped robots that optimize daily course maintenance. Augmented reality allowing users to see the arcs of their shots in real time via shot-tracer technology. LINKS contributor David DeSmith joins Digital Editor Al Lunsford on the LINKS Golf Podcast to discuss the many ways in which widespread […]
10 Venues We’d Love to See Host a PGA Championship
When the PGA of America voted to strip Trump National Golf Club Bedminster of hosting the 2022 PGA Championship—stating that holding it there would be “detrimental” to its brand—the organization began a hunt for a suitable replacement. Just a few weeks later, the organization announced the move to Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla., […]
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 […]
How to Choose the Best Golf and Ski Community for You
Love to golf and love to ski? Quite a few communities will satisfy both those passions. Here’s how to choose the best one for you. “The mountains are calling, and I must go.” So said John Muir, the Scottish-American naturalist and founder of the Sierra Club. Muir spoke of mountains as “recreational playgrounds for the […]
What Does the Future of Golf Travel Look Like?
The Covid-19 pandemic threw a monkey wrench into a lot of people’s golf travel plans. Golf may have attracted new players to local courses—people looking for ways to recreate in a safe, physically distanced way. And domestic golf resorts within driving distance of population centers may have benefited from fewer people traveling overseas to play. […]
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 […]
LINKS Golf Podcast Ep. 71: Pace of Play Expert Dr. Lou Riccio
Dr. Lou Riccio is a golf pace of play expert and founder of the Three/45 Golf Association, a not-for-profit organization that teaches faster play.
