Golf’s Most Stressful Tests—PGA Tour Monday Qualifiers
By Adam Schupak When PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan presented the Valero Texas Open trophy to first-time winner Corey Conners on the 18th green at TPC San Antonio, Monahan described it as “a life-changing moment.” That, indeed, it was. Conners became the first Monday Qualifier since 2010 to win a PGA Tour event. For Conners, […]
Mr. Pro-Am: Barry Hyde
It was only fitting that at the Wyndham Championship last August—which marked his 300th PGA Tour/Champions Tour pro-am—Barry Hyde’s team won. His first pro-am was with another colorful character, Ken Green, and along the way he’s won with the likes of Vijay Singh, Gene Littler, and, the latest, Hudson Swafford. Hyde, 53, is known for […]
I Was There: 2005 Open Championship
The 134th Open Championship was played in my backyard. At the time, my wife and I were living in a two-bedroom flat beside the 18th hole of the Old Course at St. Andrews, a vacation home we’d owned for two decades and had decided to occupy full time two years earlier. The bay window of […]
Interview with a Flagstick
Recently I had the rare opportunity to spend some time with one of the most iconic figures in golf—the flagstick at the 18th hole of the Augusta National Golf Club. With the Masters approaching, and at a decidedly turbulent time in the life of all flagsticks, he was extremely gracious with his time and remarkably […]
Bandon Dunes’s Junior Bandonista Program
By Erik Matuszewski When Ryan Page took a work-related road trip from Seattle to San Francisco with his wife and four kids last summer, he made a point to squeeze in a couple days at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort on the rugged Oregon coast. Or, as he calls it, Daddy Disneyland. The Kaysville, Utah, resident […]
State of the Game – Do You Know How Healthy Golf Really Is?
If you’re reading this newsletter, chances are you’re a fairly passionate golfer. You’ve probably played several times this year. Maybe you’ve taken a few lessons or have been practicing in earnest, champing at the bit to test that latest swing tip on the course. Perhaps you’ve been planning another annual golf trip that brings old […]
The Best Course I’ve Never Played
By Adam Schupak As the old American Express tagline suggested, membership has its privileges. For some big-name golfers, celebrities, architects, and administrators, membership in the game’s A List means access to the cathedrals of the game. As Wayne Gretzky put it, “I don’t mean to sound egotistical, but since I’ve retired I’ve played Augusta, […]
Six of Golf’s Best 19th Holes
One year at the Masters Tournament, my wife and I were sitting with Robert Trent Jones, Jr., and his better half, Claiborne, at an evening function when he told me that Alister MacKenzie’s original drawings of Augusta National included a 19th hole for settling tied matches. He told me I better fact-check this when I […]
My Top 5 Bucket-List Golf Experiences
At only 24, I’ve been very fortunate to have already been exposed to some of the best experiences golf has to offer. I’ve played venerable U.S. Open venues weeks before they hosted the tournament, walked the hills of Augusta National during the Masters, played classic courses restored to their former glory, and interviewed legends of […]
Questions: Ray Floyd
The winner of the 1986 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills—and a Hamptons summer resident for over 20 years—recalls the pressure of that week but hasn’t forgotten what it was like to win his first Tour event, 23 years earlier Q. You won 22 times on the PGA Tour. What do you remember about your maiden victory, which […]