Royal Portrush Prepares for 2019 Open Championship
By George Peper Unfurled across a rocky rampart of Northern Ireland’s Antrim Coast, the Dunluce Course at Royal Portrush is blessed with one of the game’s most idyllic settings, and its architect, the redoubtable Harry Colt, crafted a links that is equally arresting, making full use of dramatic natural valleys, ridges, and plateaus. Among its […]
Golf Course Architects Discuss Firestone CC South
By Tony Dear The South Course at Firestone CC in Akron, Ohio, has hosted big-time golf since the mid-1950s. First came the Rubber City Open whose winners included Tommy Bolt, Ed Furgol, and Arnold Palmer. It staged three PGA Championships—1960, ’66, and ’75. From 1962 to ’98, it was the venue for the World […]
Golf Course Architects Discuss Firestone CC South
By Tony Dear The South Course at Firestone CC in Akron, Ohio, has hosted big-time golf since the mid-1950s. First came the Rubber City Open whose winners included Tommy Bolt, Ed Furgol, and Arnold Palmer. It staged three PGA Championships—1960, ’66, and ’75. From 1962 to ’98, it was the venue for the World […]
What You Should Know About Royal Birkdale
By Tony Dear The Open, Open Championship, and British Open all began at the same time yesterday on the historic links of Royal Birkdale Golf Club, a couple of miles south of Lord Street and Southport’s handsome town center. The club, founded as Birkdale Golf Club in 1889, moved to its present location in […]
The U.S. Open May Return to Chambers Bay
By Tony Dear A recent visit to the 2015 U.S. Open Venue more or less convinced our writer the championship will return one day. Given what happened in 2015, it’s likely that if and when the USGA ever announces the U.S. Open is returning to Chambers Bay, the backlash will be strong. You’ll remember most […]
Sand Valley: Bandon in the Heartland
By James A. Frank Nearly 20 years ago, I was one of the first golf writers to find his way to the southern coast of Oregon and a new golf resort called Bandon Dunes. Back then, there was just one course—designed by a little-known Scotsman named David McLay Kidd—and a wonderfully bare-bones lodge just […]
Understanding Erin Hills, Host of the 2017 U.S. Open
To understand Erin Hills for those who have yet to see it, you must start with what it is not. “It’s not parkland, it’s not heathland, it’s not linksland,” says John Morrissett, the competitions director at the Wisconsin course, which will host the U.S. Open this month. “It is really a mixture of elements.” “It […]
Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club – The Best Public Golf in Naples?
By Graylyn Loomis When Hurricane Irma shifted west September 2017, Naples, Fla. was in the middle of the path. Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club braced for the storm by shuttering windows and removing anything loose from the golf course. Once the storm passed and the resort team returned to assess the situation, they were […]
Mountain Shadows Short Course is Reborn – Just What Golf Needs?
The conversation surrounding what makes golf fun, and where we can find it, has increased significantly of late. Frankly, fun was missing on most new courses over past decades, but with designs such as David McLay Kidd’s Gamble Sands and others roaring onto the scene, “fun” is making a comeback. One such place where fun was clearly the […]
Greg Norman Estates and Golf Course Coming to Cabo
Greg Norman’s reach is mind-boggling. You can play one of his Signature golf courses, drink one of his pinot noirs, outfit yourself in his clothing, and live in one of his branded luxury communities. Norman’s latest venture, announced yesterday, will be a branded residential enclave and oceanfront course in Los Cabos. It’s the first […]
