Sunningdale Golf Club Old Course, England
The original course at this venerated 36-hole club offers heathland golf at its most bewitching
Redtail Golf Club, Canada
The toughest part is finding the place. There are no markers for the front gate. Road signage is minimal. The farm country of lower Ontario, Canada, scarcely provides any sense of identifiable landmarks to visitors. Redtail Golf Club opened in 1992, before it was fashionable to talk about “minimalism” in course design. The name […]
Tralee Golf Club, Ireland
The elderly gentleman clapped his hands and signaled thumbs-up as he chugged by in a golf cart on the 12th fairway of Tralee Golf Club. Considering I had just played a 9-iron lay-up and still sat 100 yards shy of the green on this long par 4, I wondered if he were complimenting me […]
White Bear Yacht Club, Minnesota
By Josh Karp In 1921 F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, spent the summer—or at least part of it—living in a rented room at White Bear Yacht Club. Located 20 miles northeast of St. Paul, Minnesota, Fitzgerald’s hometown, the club seemed a perfect place to swim, relax and play golf in a quiet […]
River Oaks Country Club, Texas
River Oaks Country Club illustrates two of the main themes in the evolution of course design in America. Donald Ross’ original layout of 1923 was a classical example of his strategic style of design, while Joe Finger’s redesign of the late 1960s combined modern engineering with elements of the penal style to stiffen the […]
Rich Harvest Farms, Illinois
Whereas a lot of wealthy individuals have built golf clubs, very few of them have actually designed the courses. But Jerry Rich, inspired by the late architect Dick Wilson, bought 1,820 acres of farmland 50 miles west of Chicago and with the guidance of course architect Greg Martin, built 18 of the most demanding holes—playing […]
The Restoration of a MacKenzie Treasure, Pasatiempo Golf Club
Marion Hollins was the preeminent female athlete of the 1920s, earning accolades in tennis, golf, polo and steeplechase. Hollins was also involved in real estate, and managed the development of the Cypress Point Club. She was also the visionary behind Pasatiempo Golf Club, one of the finest public courses in the country. Hollins teamed up with another giant […]
Old Memorial Golf Club, Florida
In 1994 Outback Steakhouse founders Chris Sullivan, Bob Basham and Bob Merritt decided to move ahead with their dream of building a national golf club in their hometown of Tampa, Florida. After securing a 312-acre sandy site just 15 minutes from the Tampa airport, Steve Smyers built a course on a pure, undisturbed sanctuary where members and guests can […]
Playing Augusta National as a Media Member
By Tom Cunneff The Masters is called a tradition unlike any other. Well, this was a day unlike any other. As eye opening as it was to see the course for the first time in 1999, I was even more flabbergasted to get to play it after winning a spot in the media-day lottery, which credentialed journalists are eligible […]
St. George’s Hill Golf Club, England
Given that England’s patron saint is the swashbuckling St. George, legendary slayer of fire-breathing dragons, it’s fitting that the nation’s greatest and most free-spirited links course should be called Royal St. George’s. But it’s equally appropriate that England’s most handsome and, yes, most heroically fashioned inland golf course should be named St. George’s Hill, located […]
