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 […]
Modern Classics: SentryWorld
Wisconsin’s U.S. Senior Open venue earned early fame for its flower hole, but it took a renovation to truly make it blossom When Robert Trent Jones Jr. crafted SentryWorld in 1982, he called the design, “very possibly my Mona Lisa.” After Jones performed a significant redesign in 2014 and a nip-and-tuck in 2021, the smile […]
Golf’s Greatest Walks
Sunningdale (Old) is golf’s best walk in the park Golf’s greatest walks should stretch the legs, stimulate the senses, and test your physical skills, yet envelop you in serenity. Striding seaside is a singular pleasure, but a tranquil walk in the woods can be equally compelling. For sheer joy, Sunningdale Golf Club’s Old course, west […]
Top 10 Connecticut Courses You Can Play
The third week of June brings the annual renewal of the Travelers Championship in suburban Hartford, Conn., the most raucous, best-attended PGA Tour event east of the Mississippi. Unlike that other rowdy tournament in Scottsdale, however, the host TPC River Highlands course in Cromwell is private. Fortunately, however, if you’re visiting the Nutmeg State, there […]
First Peek: The Lido
What once was lost has now been found in central Wisconsin Michael and Chris Keiser clearly wouldn’t agree with the idea that history is “doomed” to repeat itself. Neither should we, especially after the brothers—sons of Bandon Dunes founder Mike Keiser—spearheaded the resurrection of the historically distinguished, and long extinct, Lido Golf Club. The new […]
6 Golf Courses with Devilish Names
Golf can be a devilish game. Whether or not you’re among the fortunate few to play arguably the No. 1 course in the United States, Pine Valley in New Jersey, chances are you know well the devilish ties there—from the sprawling sandy hazard called “Hell’s Half Acre” on the par-five 7th hole to the fearsomely […]
Golf Destination: Puerto Rico
There are two kinds of Caribbean golf vacations. One is the kind where you choose an island, choose a resort, then hole up there for a few days to play golf, lounge on the beach, enjoy rum drinks with umbrellas in them, and just chill. You can do that in Puerto Rico, but Puerto Rico […]
