12 Great Courses of “Middle England”
Unearthing the dazzling dozen jewels of “Middle England” So you have visited London, Edinburgh, and Dublin—three of the world’s most historic and culturally interesting capitals—accompanied by your golf clubs, and you reckon you’ve pretty much completed your golf journey around Great Britain and Ireland. After all, what more could there be to discover? For a […]
The Best Public Golf of Hilton Head Island
With more than 50 combined public and private golf courses in the immediate area, it’s no wonder that Hilton Head has earned the moniker “The Golf Island.” Located in the southeastern corner of South Carolina between Charleston and Savannah, Ga., the second largest barrier island on the east coast (behind Long Island, N.Y.) features 12 […]
First Peek: PGA Frisco (East)
The PGA of America is building it and golf ’s top events are coming. Eventually. The majority of the Gil Hanse-designed East Course at PGA Frisco—part of the 36-hole municipal development at the heart of the PGA of America’s new headquarters 40 minutes north of Dallas—has been grassed and should be ready to debut by […]
5 of the Longest Courses in the U.S.
It was expected that the 2020 U.S. Open played on the West course at Winged Foot Golf Club would reveal the flaws in the current obsession for more power shared by the many Tour players seeking faster swing speeds and bigger, longer drives—that nothing would parry those fixations on chart-topping ball speeds more effectively than […]
Classic Courses: Mid Pines Golf Course
Donald Ross’s compact gem celebrates 100 years precisely as the architect built it Amidst the abundance of beautifully constructed courses in the Sandhills of North Carolina rests a club that has stood the test of time without bowing to the pressures of the modern game. Opened in 1921, Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club—five miles […]
Top 10 Courses: Australia
From the Melbourne Sandbelt to the islands of Tasmania, the Land Down Under has an overabundance of stunning golf settings to choose from 1. ROYAL MELBOURNE (WEST), Black Rock Alister MacKenzie’s masterpiece of strategic design, set on rugged natural terrain, marries bold fairway contours with spectacular bunkering and ingeniously contoured, silky smooth greens. 2. KINGSTON […]
The “Baddest” Par-3 Courses in the U.S.
The twisted dead trees planted around the holes at the “Bad Little Nine” are a sure sign of what’s in store for golfers at Scottsdale National Golf Club’s fiendishly fun par-3 course. Deep bunkers are everywhere, some sprawling and others a devilish pock. There are humps and bumps the likes of which you’ve likely never […]
10 Venues We’d Love to See Host a PGA Championship
When the PGA of America voted to strip Trump National Golf Club Bedminster of hosting the 2022 PGA Championship—stating that holding it there would be “detrimental” to its brand—the organization began a hunt for a suitable replacement. Just a few weeks later, the organization announced the move to Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla., […]
Top Short Course Openings for 2021
One of the noteworthy shifts the golf industry has experienced in recent years is the increased popularity of shorter courses, frequently as a complement to traditional courses at established facilities or in golf-rich locations. As such, this installment focuses on some of these alternative offerings: par-3 courses, 9-holers, and courses featuring a non-traditional number of […]
American Dream Courses: Best of the Rest
Regular readers will know the emphasis of the “American Dream” series—highlighting really good golf where everyone is welcome and everyone can afford to play—has not been on identifying notable, affordable golf in every state, but rather in each of nine regions around the country: Southeast, Deep South, Southwest, Northwest, Mountain West, Midwest (West), Midwest (East), […]