Philadelphia Cricket Club
The tee is mildly elevated. The green is markedly elevated. The 459-yard par 4 is mightily intimidating. The drive must carry a stream about 175 yards out, as well as a long slit of sand edging more than halfway across the fairway from the right. Majestic hardwoods frame the landing area. There is no […]
Philadelphia Country Club, Pennsylvania
Byron Nelson won the U.S. Open only once, in 1939 at Philadelphia Country Club’s Spring Mill Course. For every golfer who can recite that bit of golf history, a dozen more will say, “That’s the year Sam Snead blew it with an 8 on the last hole.” Indeed, Snead had needed only a par […]
Pittsburgh Field Club, Pennsylvania
During the 2007 U.S. Open, one of the world’s greatest courses was occupied, wearing down the best players in the world. But savvy visitors to Pittsburgh were able to enjoy a round at Pittsburgh Field Club just a few miles from Oakmont, across the Allegheny River. While it doesn’t have nearly the bite of […]
Augusta Country Club, Georgia
Like the guy who married Halle Berry, Augusta Country Club is notable for who it stands beside. The Country Club and Augusta National Golf Club share a fence, a famous creek, a valley and a couple dozen members. Their histories intertwine, too, as histories always do in little Southern towns. While the rest of […]
TPC Sugarloaf Golf Course, Georgia
Because it sometimes seems as though TPC golf courses are popping up on a monthly basis, it would be understandable to pass off TPC Sugarloaf course as just another link in the PGA Tour’s fast-growing network of courses. Yet the Duluth, Georgia, development has become one of the jewels of the TPC family, and its Greg Norman design […]
A Course Record at TPC Sugarloaf
Golf is the ultimate game of self-centeredness. Case in point: While the rest of the world remembers the 1997 Masters for Tiger Woods’ breakout victory, for me the tournament will always be associated with my first—and only—course record. Sure, I remember Tiger’s epic performance. I walked nearly the entire way with him, from his front-nine 40 on Thursday […]
Peachtree Golf Club, Georgia
In the golfing world, a smile that speaks of deep respect and awe emerges on the faces of everyone who hears the name “Bobby.” Even more than 25 years after his death in 1971, people still remember “Bobby” as the immortal Robert Tyre Jones Jr., and they do so with great appreciation for a […]
Royal New Kent, Virginia
Royal New Kent opened in August 1996. From a playability standpoint, Royal New Kent features generous, contoured fairways, occasional blind shots, 140 bunkers and large, fast greens with bold swales and ridges. A thinking man’s course, each hole has several ways to play it and every shot has options regarding the choice of clubs and […]
Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, Virginia
For Donald Ross, the meccas are Dornoch and Pinehurst; for Bobby Jones, it’s Augusta National; for Jack Nicklaus, Muirfield Village. And for Robert Trent Jones Sr., “Trent,” as he was known, it’s his namesake club in the rolling hills of northern Virginia. Glenn Smickley was course superintendent during construction and grow-in back in 1989 […]
Cascades Course at Omni Homestead Resort, Virginia
It‘s widely touted as America’s finest mountain layout, but the Cascades course at the Homestead actually lies in a valley surrounded by the densely wooded hills of the Alleghenies. Regardless of how it’s labeled, most golfers would agree with the legendary Sam Snead, who calls it “the most complete course I know of.” William […]