Comparing Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods Courses
As golfers, two of the sport’s most legendary figures have a lot in common. In their prime, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods drove the ball long and straight. They controlled the distance and trajectory of their irons, scrambled to save par when they missed, and sank all the putts that mattered. Both were cool-headed strategists who were better under the gun than the competition.
First Peek at Gamble Sands
By designing a course that truly appeals to all levels of golfers, David McLay Kidd is steering the game back on the right track
A Rebound in Global Golf Course Construction
Golf course construction is on the rebound. Across the globe, recovering economies and undimmed ambition are leading developers and architects back into the new-course market. Some countries have continued to build, while in others, economic revival is the cause. Whatever the impetus, the news for traveling golfers is all good. Great sites, even if far […]
The Top 10 Municipal Golf Courses in America
With Labor Day this weekend and its inherent celebration of the common man, it’s time to recognize the nation’s finest municipal golf courses, which include facilities developed and owned by a city, county, or state. For some, a “muni” conjures something déclassé, a goat track with a chain link fence around it. Not so. Three […]
The Top 10 Best Value Courses
With so many great values available from Maine to Washington, why break the bank on a round of golf this summer?
Lake of Isles Golf Resort, North Course
This challenging Rees Jones design is not only a marvel of engineering but an aesthetic triumph as well
Valhalla Golf Club
At this major championship venue, golf isn’t just the most important thing; it’s the only thing
Waterville Golf Links, Ireland: Revisited
Ireland’s southwest has become a standard on any wandering golfer’s bucket list, thanks to courses like Ballybunion, Tralee, Lahinch, Old Head, and Doonbeg. (The most thorough travelers add Dooks and Ceann Sibeal to their lists.) But rarely do Americans recall any more fondly than Waterville on the Ring of Kerry. Maybe it’s the way the long sunset kindles Waterville’s sands, or the wind finds your back more often than you would expect. Maybe it’s that they arrive on a course with distinct and generous fairways that remind them of home, with a soft opening hole (called “Last Easy,” in case you thought you wouldn’t need the rest of the balls in your bag), and a statue of a relaxed and smiling Payne Stewart. Or maybe it’s a Yankee favorite because there is genuine American love and sweat in the Waterville dunes.
The History of Royal Titles in Golf
In 1833, the Perth Golfing Society, located in the heart of Scotland not far from St. Andrews, became the Royal Perth Golfing Society. King William IV conferred the title and so began a new honor system for golf clubs.
More than 180 years later, 66 clubs bear the royal title as granted by the British Royal Family (eight clubs so dubbed no longer survive). Stretching from Royal Dornoch in the Northern Hemisphere to Tasmania’s Royal Hobart in the Southern, the royal title has been conferred on some of the game’s most prestigious bastions, but also on lesser-known clubs with modest facilities and small memberships. What all these clubs have in common is a distinct history, often a direct link to the growth or spread of golf, and always a veritable royal connection.
Portland Golf Club
Great golf in the state of Oregon is nothing new, as this frequent tournament—and Ryder Cup—host attests
