Belvedere Golf Club, Michigan
Simple pleasures and fond memories lie at the heart of one of American golf’s great Northern outposts. Wheel into the parking lot of Belvedere Golf Club and you know right away that this place is not into pretense or status. The modest white-clapboard clubhouse sits at the far end of the lot. At the other […]
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 […]
Friar’s Head
Among the American courses I’ve played in 50-plus years, those approaching perfection fit on a short list led by Cypress Point, where my stepfather was a member and where I first got pathologically serious about golf. Alongside it is the National Golf Links of America, my home course since college days. Pine Valley and […]
Grayhawk Golf Club, Arizona
In an area known for high-end experiences, Grayhawk Golf Club set the standard for country-club-for-a-day facilities when its first course, Talon, opened in 1994. Tom Fazio’s Raptor opened the following year. Together, they pack a one-two punch worthy of Muhammad Ali. So do the service and amenities, which rival those of a top club. Inside the grand stone […]
Old World Florida Golf Tour
So you’re planning a golf vacation to Florida. Which gleaming mega-resort will you visit? Some tile-roofed citadel with a half-dozen restaurants, 500 seaside guest rooms and three perfectly manicured golf courses? You could sift through a stack of slick brochures and easily locate such a destination. But perhaps you’d rather return to an era […]
A Great Heathland Course: Beau Desert Golf Club
Herbert Fowler is one of those architects whose name isn’t readily attached to the many great courses he laid out or substantially retooled. Cruden Bay? That’s a Fowler. Royal North Devon? Fowler’s renovation of this Old Tom Morris original (a.k.a. Westward Ho!) made it the superb course we know today. This lack of name recognition […]
Machrihanish Golf Club, Scotland
If you have heard of Machrihanish, you may know that it is situated close to the southern tip of Kintyre, a 40-mile-long peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic off the Ayrshire coast. Its backdrop is mountainous and the seascapes are shatteringly beautiful. You will doubtless know about its opening hole. The par 4 […]
Ballybunion Golf Club, Ireland
The speech and rhythms of the west country of Ireland are far different from the majestic lilt of Dublin, where English is spoken perhaps more beautifully than anywhere on earth. But the speech of western Ireland reflects the nature of the harsh and terrible land, which that gives off a beauty more memorable than […]
Cherry Hills Country Club
Once a frontier upstart in an Eastern-dominated sport, this William Flynn opus has proven its pedigree through a string of hard-fought national championships
Old MacDonald, Bandon Dunes
You don’t go to Bandon Dunes for spas, infinity-edge pools and thread counts. And you’re not there to play 18 leisurely holes per day on a cart before going to explore the resort on a bike. Bandon Dunes is all about Advil, knockdown shots and carry bags. You’re there to stand on the tee […]
