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 […]
Cabo del Sol Desert Course, Mexico
Tom Weiskopf faced a couple of stiff challenges in designing the Desert course at Cabo del Sol, the 1,800-acre resort and residential playground located at the tip of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. First, he had a tough act to follow. The Ocean course—Cabo del Sol’s first layout, designed by fellow Ohio State alum Jack Nicklaus—is […]
The Island Golf Club, Ireland
It all began with four men in a boat. The year was 1887, in the small village of Malahide just north of Dublin, Ireland. The crew was comprised of a lawyer, a brewery owner and two bankers. They were good friends, this intrepid foursome, confirmed bachelors and golf addicts. For some time, each had […]
Interlachen Country Club, Minnesota
When Bobby Jones won the 1930 U.S. Open, Interlachen Country Club etched its name in American golf history. With his victory, Jones set golf partisans on edge. He was already the British Amateur and British Open champ that year, and the Grand Slam was within reach. The fact that Interlachen hosted the U.S. Open […]
Pecan Valley Golf Club, Texas
If your name is Arnold Palmer, even your failures can give a place a reputation. At San Antonio’s Pecan Valley Golf Club, it’s been more than three decades since Palmer’s second-place finish to Julius Boros in the 1968 PGA Championship, but locals still talk about the King’s dollar-short heroics like it was yesterday. Boros, […]
Olympia Fields Country Club, Illinois
Golf bag slung over my shoulder, I hail a cab from in front of a Chicago hotel, ride seven blocks to Randolph Station and board a southbound Metra train, which rolls out of the Loop at 7:48 on a Saturday morning. The Sears Tower and John Hancock Building receding into the skyline behind us […]
Wykagyl Country Club
Measuring a mere 6,702 yards, Wykagyl Country Club does not intimidate on paper, but since it was built more than a century ago, its relentlessly hilly, rocky terrain has provided a worthy challenge for the game’s best. And if not for a location in the heart of New York’s golf-rich Westchester County, where neighbors […]
Sonoma Golf Club, California
You would expect a golfer with a classic swing to recognize a classic course when he sees one, and sure enough, when Sam Snead was asked to name the best course design he’d ever encountered, the Slammer answered: “One you probably never heard of—the Sonoma Golf Course in California.” Something in the sinewy twists […]
Naples National Golf Club, Florida
Let’s see. Florida. That should mean loads of mounds, plateau greens tipped toward the line of play to ensure visibility, plenty of palm trees, big frothy bunkers, including two at every green to force the approach shots to carry. Sorry, not here. Naples National starts with the forceful personality of Dr. Charles Benton, a successful […]
Golf Travel: Brainerd Lakes, Minnesota
Summers are short in Minnesota, but the days are long, and golf-mad locals make the most of them. With daylight lingering until 9:30 in peak season, locals find it easy to get a round in after work or play 36 on a day off. In fact, Minnesotans are more passionate about golf than everything […]
