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 […]
Engineers Country Club, Long Island
Herbert Strong’s name today brings scant recognition. Renowned in his day as a player, teacher and course architect, the Englishman has all but been forgotten. For decades, so too was his masterpiece—Engineers Country Club, located on the north shore of Long Island, considered when it opened one of the best courses in the United […]
Desert Forest Golf Club, Arizona
Any conversation about golf’s great visionaries ought to include the names Tom Darlington and K.T. Palmer. Never heard of them? That would probably suit Messrs. Darlington and Palmer just fine, as the founders of Desert Forest Golf Club seemed more intent on relaxation than recognition. To wit, in the early 1960s they dubbed their […]
The Evolution of Golf Course Architecture
Quite literally, the landscape of golf course architecture has evolved since LINKS began publishing 20 years ago. Since 1988, more than 3,500 courses have been built in the United States. Some, like Sand Hills, are among the greatest ever built. Others, like Shadow Creek, were unlike anything that golf had seen before. While overall quality of courses built […]
Buenos Aires Golf Club
Most people’s knowledge of Argentine golf is limited to 2007 U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera and possibly extends to 1967 British Open winner Roberto de Vicenzo, better known for his scoring gaffe at the 1968 Masters. But due to its relationship with England dating from the 19th century, golf has a long history in this […]
Machrie Golf Links, Scotland
You’ve played the country’s Open courses—the Old Course, Carnoustie and Muirfield, Turnberry, Troon and Prestwick. You’ve journeyed to Royal Dornoch, stopping at Nairn en route. You’ve been thrilled at Cruden Bay, battered by Royal Aberdeen and charmed at North Berwick. You’ve ventured to Machrihanish and struck that wondrous opening tee shot across a sliver of […]
Cork Golf Club, Ireland
In the spring of 1897, Maudsley and Sharmon Crawford were sailing the Lee Estuary on their way to the Cork City Regatta. At the time (and to this day), men of means in Cork were yachtsmen. Ireland’s second-largest city is a seafaring town, and the Cork Yacht Club, founded in 1720, is the world’s […]
Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club
The idea for Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club originated 25 years ago as brothers Rupert and Jim O’Neal watched British Open telecasts and realized their family’s rolling property resembled some of golf’s most hallowed ground. Buoyed by the success of remote clubs like Nebraska’s Sand Hills, the O’Neals enlisted Tom Doak to create a classic links design on their […]
Pacific Dunes Course, Bandon Dunes
When it comes to golf course architecture, opinions run rampant and absolutes are few. That said, there is no debating the single Most Important Decision in the annals of American course design. It happened in 1917, when Samuel F.B. Morse tore up a subdivision plan for the waterfront acreage where Pebble Beach Golf Links […]
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 […]