The Architect’s Ultimate Golf Trip
By Erik Matuszewski Golfers love few things better than a great road trip, with the opportunity to experience new courses in new locations. With this being LINKS, it only made sense to envision the ideal golf excursion for an aspiring golf course architect or aficionado of course design. Setting aside logistical obstacles—such as costs […]
Golf, Wine, and Safari in South Africa
By Tony Dear South Africa’s many attractions are hardly unknown. But having just spent three unforgettable weeks there visiting Cape Town, drinking a lot of incredible wine, watching elephants and lions in the wild, and playing a few really good golf courses, I’d estimate it gets about one-fifth the coverage it deserves. Getting there […]
Our Favorite 9-Hole Golf Courses in the Country
By Tony Dear These are our 10 favorite 9-hole courses that anyone can play. Sweetens Cove—South Pittsburg, Tenn. Built on the site of an old course called Sequatchie Valley that was about as dull as a golf course could be, Sweetens Cove opened to great acclaim in 2014. The brilliant minds behind the transformation were […]
Exploring the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail
By Tony Dear Back in the mid-to-late 1980s, the CEO of Alabama’s state employee pension fund—Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA)—hatched an outlandish plan to build multiple golf courses simultaneously throughout the state, a state never before regarded as a golf destination. Nothing like it had ever been conceived, let alone attempted, but this man hoped […]
A Long Golf Weekend in Michigan
By Graylyn Loomis My first visit to Michigan was a master class in course architecture in which I helped to rebuild one course, played another with the designer, and stayed at a third with the team that had built it. I made the trip to Canal Shores, Forest Dunes, and Stoatin Brae with LINKS contributor […]
Top 10 Courses in Pennsylvania
Here are our top 10 courses in the state of Pennsylvania: OAKMONT, Oakmont The host of a record nine U.S. Opens remains what its founder Henry Fownes intended it to be—a thorough examination in golf whether your handicap is 36 or plus-6. MERION (EAST), Ardmore Merion was hailed at its debut as “the finest […]
The Best Par 3 in Scotland? Hopeman GC Says So…
By George Peper I thought I knew something about golf courses—and Scottish links courses in particular. So imagine my surprise earlier this year, while on a visit to St. Andrews, when a headline in one of the local pennysavers trumpeted the “Best Par-3 in Scotland” on a course that rang only the faintest of bells. Hotfooting […]
The Perfect Golf Trip to Pensacola, Florida
By George Peper Far away from the “other” Florida, you can find the ideal combination of good golf, good food, and great prices Pensacola is one of the thousands of U.S. towns named after its Native American settlers. It’s also a lilting, fun sort of word, a word that trips off the tongue, impossible to […]
Your Guide to a Scottsdale Golf Trip
By James A. Frank The first day of fall is already in my mind, which means it’s time to start thinking about winter golf vacations. As soon as I see a leaf drifting toward the ground, I’m making plans. And one of my favorite destinations is Scottsdale, Ariz., where I’ve gone for a long […]
Change Your Golf Clubs to Suit Your Destination
If you’re planning a golf trip this summer—or ever—check your bag before departing for any clubs ill-suited to the destination. Different courses, climates, and conditions call for a different set make-up. We canvassed experienced golf travelers for advice on fine-tuning equipment to the elements. In The Wind Less loft on the driver. If you play […]