Jay Blasi Puts Me Right on Chambers Bay

chambers

Oh, Chambers Bay, how I love thee, let me count the ways… For starters, after several decades of use as a rock quarry, lumber yard, railroad depot, bus barn, paper mill, wastewater treatment plant, and sand/gravel mine, the site was eventually developed for what would become a top 100 golf course (golfers can get behind […]

5 Exceptional Public Golf Courses Around Nashville

nashville golf

More than 12 million tourists visit Nashville every year, many of them drawn to the city’s vibrant music and entertainment scene. After all, Tennessee’s capital is home to more than 180 recording studios, not to mention several famous live music venues along Broadway, a thoroughfare running through the city that’s also known as Honky Tonk […]

Best Drivable Par Fours

drivable

It’s not often on the PGA Tour that you witness crowds roar merely because a caddie has handed his player a wood instead of an iron. Drivable par fours provide that experience. Par fours that are designed to be driven under the right circumstances, based on yardage, weather, or course conditions are among the most […]

8 Hidden Gems in Hawaii

hawaii gems

Every year, Kapalua Resort and Waialae Country Club take turns sharing the spotlight as the PGA Tour makes a brief swing through Hawaii. Between those two prolific golf properties, along with resort courses such as Princeville Makai, Mauna Kea, and Manele (not to mention Four Seasons properties in Lanai, Hualalai, and Wailea), there’s no shortage […]

6 Design Traits of Residential Community Golf Courses

community golf

What architects do—and don’t do—when creating residential community golf courses It’s hardly a revelation to say that golf course architects are charged with delivering attractive, compelling designs with every new course they construct. In the case of courses for residential communities, however, there are some different considerations at play. Because each development is unique, requiring […]

6 Mostly Undiscovered U.S. Golf Destinations

undiscovered

You might picture long-established centers like Scottsdale, Myrtle Beach, and Palm Springs when asked to think of a golf destination. They could obviously get by without it but, for most people—certainly LINKS subscribers, anyway—the golf is really what you go for. Or you might be imagining Bandon Dunes, Streamsong, and Sand Valley, built for no […]

10 New International Golf Course Openings to Know for 2023

course 2023

When it comes to new golf course development, there’s a lot more going on outside the U.S. than inside—from just north of the border in Canada and traditional golf spots in the UK to growing golf markets like Vietnam, and far-flung destinations like New Zealand and Mauritius. Here’s a sampling of 10 noteworthy projects scheduled […]

10 Courses with Back-to-Back Par Fives

fives

Much of the time, par fives are polarizing golf holes. Some players step on the tee with confidence, expecting to be on the green in regulation, often with a makeable putt. Others tee it up feeling as if they’re miles away from the flag. Not unlike layouts with back-to-back par threes, courses that feature consecutive […]

9 New U.S. Course Openings in 2023

openings 2023

Given the wealth of golf options in the U.S., which has more places to play than the next 10 best-supplied countries combined, new course openings are exceedingly limited. As a result, it’s only natural there’s added excitement among golfers when it comes to the latest and greatest in new design. A glance around the golf […]

Pinehurst No. 10: From Pit to “Field of Dreams”

About four miles south of the Pinehurst Resort’s main clubhouse is a sprawling 900-acre property that Pinehurst’s owners, the Dedman family, purchased in 2011. Part of that land, a former sand mine, for two-and-a-half decades was home to a polarizing, now-closed golf course called The Pit. Today, it’s what Pinehurst President Tom Pashley calls the […]