11 Architects Who Directly Influenced Augusta National
Even the most casual golf fan is aware that Augusta National Golf Club was designed by Alister MacKenzie, in tandem with amateur legend and Grand Slam winner Bobby Jones. However, not even serious Masters students realize that nearly 20 prominent figures in the game have effected changes to the course design over the past 90 […]
Best Blind Shots at Public U.S. Golf Courses
The Dell hole at Lahinch Golf Club in Ireland remains almost as exactly as Old Tom Morris created it well over a century ago, a stunning and unique blind par three that plays over a 30-foot-tall hill to a narrow green set between the grassy dunes. For golfers on the tee, the only indication of […]
14 New Golf Projects on Our Radar
Golf’s post-pandemic resurgence has changed many things across the industry, development included. The National Golf Foundation recently revealed that there were more new courses under construction (69 at the start of 2024) than at any time in more than a decade. The uptick in development has yielded opportunity for both veteran and up-and-coming architects to […]
Jack Nicklaus and The Bear’s Club
It’s 10am on a February Tuesday in Jupiter, Fla. I’m en route to The Bear’s Club to talk to the private golf club’s founder and inspiration, Jack Nicklaus, about the updates completed in late 2023 on his original 1999 design in his South Florida backyard. It’s not every day you get to have a private […]
Golf’s Ultimate Encounters with Nature
Pebble Beach delivers golf’s best encounter with nature The most glorious courses not only challenge and entertain, they also transport us into stirring settings that stimulate our senses. For providing the ultimate encounter with nature, one awash in sensory overload, Pebble Beach Golf Links has no peer. It offers elements you can see, hear, feel, […]
Top 12 Scenic Public Courses in America
Get the camera ready—it’s photo safari time. The following list of courses is ranked according to eye candy and accessibility. This roster is limited to public-access courses in the United States that may or may not have hosted major championships or boast superior design, but which definitely overwhelm the senses with scenic beauty and visual […]
Top 10 Courses: Wisconsin
Here’s our list of the top 10 courses in Wisconsin, also known as the Badger State 1. WHISTLING STRAITS (STRAITS), Sheboygan In 1998, Herb Kohler told Pete Dye, “I want a course that looks like it’s in Ireland,” and that’s what Dye gave him, converting a World War II military base into Ballybunion on Lake […]
Modern Classics: TXO
This Texas terror—formerly known as Wolf Point Ranch—puts a premium on strategy, pinpoint play, and one’s skill at wrangling an invitation When Al Stanger contacted Mike Nuzzo about creating a personal golf course near Carancahua Bay, about two hours southwest of Houston on the Gulf Coast, Nuzzo assumed the Texas rancher was really looking for something […]
The Art of Restraint in Golf Course Architecture
It’s a word that has become increasingly familiar to fans of great golf course architecture. The dictionary says “restraint” involves moderate behavior and self-control, and it’s an important trait for a designer to be able to call upon. Tom Doak says it is “deciding not to do something which is just as active a decision […]
Great Courses of Britain & Ireland: Royal Porthcawl
Yet to host an Open Championship, the brute of Welsh golf boasts many hallmarks of great British courses Only a few die-hard advocates of Royal St. David’s and Aberdovey would dispute Royal Porthcawl’s claim to being the finest golf course in Wales. Moreover, many knowledgeable commentators would go further and argue that it is one […]
