Beyond Bethpage: America’s Biggest Municipal Golf Properties
There are more than 11,000 golf courses in the U.S. open to public play. Approximately one quarter of those are municipal courses—or “munis”—meaning they’re owned or operated by town, county, or state governments in order to provide golf as a recreation for local residents. Among the most well-known munis are Bethpage Black, one of the […]
Five Hidden Gems in Fife
Pilgrims from all points come to the county of Fife to play the Old Course at St. Andrews, booking tee times years in advance, entering a ballot drawn two days ahead of play, or trying their luck by arriving at the starter’s hut in the wee small hours and hoping for no-shows. A round on […]
Top 10 Co-Designed Public Courses in the U.S.
With each memorable Masters Tournament, we are treated to one of architecture’s greatest design collaborations, with Alister MacKenzie and Bobby Jones responsible for the creation of Augusta National. Sixty-five years later, Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus teamed up to craft Harbour Town, a beloved PGA Tour venue since 1969. What those courses proved is that […]
PGA Frisco: Behind the PGA of America’s New Home in Texas
PGA Frisco, the new home of the PGA of America, boasts two freshly built courses ready to challenge the world’s best—and you At PGA Frisco, just north of Dallas, the 14th hole on Fields Ranch West is aptly branded “Big Country.” The subtle dogleg-left plays notably uphill to a well-guarded green that is exceedingly wide, […]
A 6-Course Public Golf Trip in Orlando
Where else can you enjoy the work of everyone from Arnold Palmer to Mickey Mouse? The scouting report on the Orlando golf scene can best be summed up as quantity over quality. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t courses worth schlepping your clubs along for the ride when joining the masses coming to the most-visited […]
Rodeo Dunes: Dream Golf Plans New Property in Colorado
The newest project under the Dream Golf development umbrella, a public golf resort called Rodeo Dunes, will be built in the eastern plains of Colorado near the town of Roggen, a mere 35-minute drive from the Denver International Airport and 50 miles from downtown Denver. Two course routings—one by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, the […]
Golf’s Most Exhaustive Tests
Bethpage Black is golf’s ultimate taxing test Some golf courses challenge with gargantuan length, others with a parade of hazards. Add slick, undulating greens, fairways squeezed by long grass, and targets shrunk by stiff breezes and you have some of earth’s toughest courses. A select few among those brutes will flat out exhaust you by […]
10 Best Public Coore & Crenshaw Courses
Bill Coore, a longtime golf course architect and Ben Crenshaw, a two-time Masters Tournament champion, are among the industry’s most prolific and in-demand designers when it comes to new builds. The beautiful Plantation course at the Kapalua Resort on Maui was their first design, opening in 1991, but they really made waves four years later […]
The 12 Best Metal-Winning Courses
When Xander Schauffele won gold at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, you could say he was a both a medal winner and a metal winner. Chemical elements such as gold, silver, copper, and iron are among the most well-known metals; they’re also extremely popular commodities in the world of golf course names. Of the golf […]
First Peek: Point Hardy Golf Club
Prepare to be stunned by Coore & Crenshaw’s first course in the Caribbean I don’t want to sound too dramatic. But in ranking the courses with the most spectacular settings for golf in the world—with appropriate acknowledgment to places like Old Head, Lofoten Links, and Cypress Point—Point Hardy Golf Club, opening in December as part […]