Remembering Pete Dye
Pete Dye picked me up at the airport. It was 1988 and I’d flown to Palm Beach to interview him. He told me he’d have a rental car because he and wife Alice were on the road so much they didn’t keep a car at their Florida home, just rented whenever they were there. He’d […]
Golf’s Greatest Trees
No part of the golf course has come in for as much stick in recent years as its trees. Until around 2010, trees enjoyed a healthy-enough reputation, but over the last decade golfers have gotten wise to their shortcomings—impeding views, blocking sunlight, restricting air movement, sucking soil nutrients the turf needs, and hindering strategy. Actually, […]
Best New or Returning Courses on Tour in 2020
For the most part the traveling circus of professional golf tours visit many of the same venues year after year. On the PGA Tour, January begins in Hawaii, springtime swings through Augusta, and the fall takes golfers to wine country. But each year we’re also treated to a either a few new courses on tour, […]
LINKS Golf Podcast Episode 39: Dream Nine: Par Threes with Ryan Asselta
Digital Editor Al Lunsford is joined by LINKS Insider contributor Ryan Asselta (Sports Illustrated, GOLF.com) on this week’s episode of the LINKS Golf Podcast to discuss Ryan’s recent “Dream Nine” piece featured digitally in the LINKS newsletter. Al and Ryan take turns listing the nine holes they would include on their “Dream Nine” layouts made entirely […]
Music on the Golf Course: Pro or Con?
It used to be that all you’d hear on a golf course was birds chirping, brooks babbling, and human voices chatting—or cursing. But golf’s soundscape has changed. Today, golfers are just as likely to be listening to the latest release from Drake as the bucolic quacking of wood ducks. Proponents of the trend say it […]
Booming Baja: Cabo San Lucas
Between devastating storms and travel advisories, Cabo San Lucas—the sparkling jewel at the tip of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula—has taken its share of hits the past few years. But things are looking sunnier, especially for golfers, at this sun-soaked stop that has been a favorite of Hollywood stars and is one of Mexico’s top tourist destinations. If you haven’t checked out the offerings […]
Golf Communities Giving Back
Membership in a private golf community is a pretty good sign someone has done well. But before you think these fortunate folks don’t appreciate what they have, consider that philanthropy is alive and thriving at many private clubs across the country. Since 2003, the Long Cove Fund (made up of members of Long Cove Club on Hilton Head Island, S.C., the […]
How to Take Better Photos on the Golf Course
Golf photography has become one of the most beautiful things on the internet as places like Instagram are now hubs for showcasing stunning golf courses in all of their glory. Yet many avid players—despite walking around with a high-quality camera in their pocket—still struggle to capture golf’s best moments. Enter the experts. LINKS trusts some […]
5 Changes to Know for Golf’s New Handicapping System
The start of a New Year, and a new decade, brings major changes in the golf handicapping space. If you haven’t yet heard about the World Handicap System (WHS), which has been freshly rolled out in the U.S. at the start of 2020, it’s time to familiarize yourself with this global initiative that took about […]
Private Aviation: The Only Way to Fly
For well over two decades, many homeowners have arrived at the Mountain Air community in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina by plane, landing their personal propeller aircraft—Pipers, Cessnas, and Cirruses—at the highest private runway east of the Mississippi. At an elevation of 4,600 feet, the paved airstrip is steps from the retreat’s country club and sits between several holes of a ruggedly […]
