6 Lesser-Known Links on England’s Lancashire Coast
Come for the three Open Championship venues on England’s Lancashire coast, but stay for six lesser-known links There are nine courses currently on the R&A’s Open rota, and three of them—including Royal Liverpool, the venue for this year’s 151st championship—are within an hour-and-a-half’s drive of one another amidst a glorious stretch of linksland between Liverpool […]
Royal Liverpool (Hoylake): Flat Out Great
Despite, or perhaps because of, its lackluster landscape, Royal Liverpool—better known as Hoylake—can still be counted on to provide a bumpy and exciting Open Championship By the time the opening tee shot is struck at the 151st Open Championship, avid golfers who have consumed every preview they can find will have grown weary of reading […]
6 Great Public Golf Courses Around Cleveland
A beguiling blend of value-oriented classic tracks and modern marvels makes for a surprisingly strong golf destination For decades, Cleveland took its knocks from comedians and talk show hosts. These days, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an NBA Championship, and a vibrant downtown have helped shed some of the insults. With its Midwestern […]
Panther National: Justin Thomas Dishes on Golf Design and His New Course
Justin Thomas is getting an early taste of the golf course design business, collaborating with Jack Nicklaus on a luxury and lifestyle community called Panther National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., not far from his new South Florida home. “I’ve always been fascinated by it and wanted to do something at some point but to […]
Scotland’s 10 Best Modern Courses
Scotland has a long and proud history of golf, but in the last 30 years, new modern courses have debuted to rival their historic predecessors.
5 Exceptional Holes at Replica Courses
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, which means several golf courses across the country are doling out copious amounts of adulation. Of the many courses out there that feature a collection of replica holes—in some cases, a full layout of them—I’ve highlighted five that truly stand out. More specifically, I’ve spotlighted […]
Classic Courses: Winged Foot Golf Club (West)
Even after 100 years, a timeless design only gets better with age Since the first ball was struck there a century ago, Winged Foot Golf Club has seen plenty of magic (like Davis Love III’s 1997 PGA Championship triumph under a rainbow), anguish (the 1974 U.S. Open “Massacre” with only eight rounds below par), and […]
Wisconsin: An American Golf Mecca
The secret to Wisconsin’s future as a golf destination isn’t dairy cows or cheese. It’s sand. When Mike Keiser looks at Sand Valley, the 78-year-old developer doesn’t see a successful venture so much as he sees potential—not just for the resort, but for all of central Wisconsin to develop into a robust and diverse golf destination. […]
The Value of Variety in Golf Course Design
As the spice of both life and golf (many readers will consider them one and the same thing), the importance of variety cannot be overstated. Imagine a course without any; where every nondescript hole looks and plays much the same as the others—how uninspiring and utterly forgettable. Alister MacKenzie spelled out how fundamental variety was to […]
10 Great Risk/Reward Holes
The label “risk/reward” is applied liberally to golf holes these days. Probably too liberally. Look at any course’s hole descriptions and you’re likely to see it appear at least a handful of times. In reality, there’s risk involved in every swing, and reward to be earned anytime a shot is successfully executed. Strategy comes into […]
