LINKS Golf Podcast Episode 48: Golf’s Response to COVID-19
Erik Matuszewski joins Digital Editor Al Lunsford on the LINKS Golf Podcast to talk about the various efforts, initiatives, and ideas that have been spawned in the golf world amid the Coronavirus pandemic. The pair go in-depth on ClubsHELP, a now-national 501(c)7 foundation that started to connect golf clubs with their local hospitals to provide […]
Gil Hanse’s Architecture 101: Greens and Their Complexes
On a visit to The Los Angeles Country Club in preparation for the 2023 U.S. Open, I did something that I rarely do. While walking the course with the superintendent, we putted on every green. And I must say, it was a lot of fun, free from trying to “make” a putt and instead watching […]
My Top 5 Golf Bucket-List Experiences
This May will mark seven years that I’ve been working in golf media, and there’s nothing more I can say except I’ve been living the dream. I’ve played Augusta National (short version: Used Jack Nicklaus’s locker in the Champions locker room, birdied 12, can still recall every shot). I’ve tucked behind the curtain at Shadow […]
Golf’s Animal Kingdom of Player Nicknames
For as long as there have been pro golfers, there have been nicknames. Tommy Armour, The Silver Scot, was one of the trailblazers of the trend. Since then, golf writers and fans have coined nicknames for all of their favorite players. Headlines referred to Walter Hagen as Sir Walter because of his lavish lifestyle. Tony […]
10 of Golf’s Polarizing Par Threes
Whether because of design, difficulty, setting, or situation, sometimes a golf hole just doesn’t fit our eye or sensibilities. A hole that is loved by some (or many) may be loathed by others. Of course, that just speaks to one of the unique beauties of golf: the playing field is always different. What follows is […]
What’s Next for America’s Munis?
By Tony Dear What’s going on with municipal golf? One minute you read there are now more city-owned courses in the U.S. than ever—2,497, according to the National Golf Foundation (as of 2017–2018)—and that many are being given multi-million-dollar renovations. But then you see a story lamenting the terrible drain municipals are on […]
LINKS Golf Podcast Episode 47: The Golfer’s At-Home Survival Guide with David DeSmith
In this week’s episode of the LINKS Golf Podcast, Digital Editor Al Lunsford is joined by LINKS contributor and first-time guest David DeSmith. The pair run down David’s list of golf-related activities as part of his recent column for LINKS, “An At-Home Survival Guide for Golfers,” and Al takes a turn at his own […]
Classic Course: Meadow Club
Most course-design devotees can name the last course Dr. Alister MacKenzie designed in the U.S.—Augusta National. But how many can name the first? It’s Meadow Club, in northern California. It’s not clear why the private club just north of San Francisco, which opened in 1927, flies so far under the radar. Perhaps it has something […]
Five of James Braid’s Best Courses
James Braid was an immense figure in the game, belonging to a very short and distinguished list of greats who not only won at least five major championships, but also became productive (if not always brilliant) course designers—a list that includes J.H. Taylor, Jack Nicklaus, Peter Thomson, Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, and Nick Faldo. Add […]
How Golf Clubs Are Helping Health Workers During the Crisis
Under normal circumstances, David Bachman would be telling stories about The Gauntlet, the unique three-hole stretch of consecutive par threes at the Walter Travis-designed Spring Brook Country Club in Morristown, N.J. But these days are far from normal. Bachman, Spring Brook’s general manager, instead shared details about ClubsHELP, the now-national 501(c)7 foundation that started at […]