Alister MacKenzie’s Finest Works
Alister MacKenzie receives a fair amount of attention every year around April thanks to his central role in the creation of Augusta National. However, the home of the Masters represents only one thread in a design career—arguably the greatest of all-time—that spanned the globe. MacKenzie was born in 1870 to Scottish parents living in the […]
Where Were These Famous Golf Movies Filmed?
Let’s face it: There has never been a great golf movie. Sure, Caddyshack is a laugh riot, but it’s hardly what you’d call the pinnacle of cinematic art. The numerous golf dramas and biopics have been generally mediocre either through lack of golf authenticity (actors who can’t swing) or other inherent weakness (golfers who can’t […]
A Front Row Seat at the 1987 Masters
This is how Seve Ballesteros, Greg Norman, and I lost the 1987 Masters. About the only good thing that came out of it was that I did manage to overhear what is, to my way of thinking, the best one-liner ever uttered during the course of tournament play at Augusta National. That’s if you discount […]
Hickory Golf with Peter Georgiady
Devotees of the hickory-shafted game are a small but dedicated group—probably fewer than 20,000 enthusiasts globally—and no one might love it more than Peter Georgiady. He played with antique clubs for the first time in 1980, at a gathering of The Golf Collectors’ Society, and was hooked. “That was my first hickory golf, and I […]
Money Has Changed Golf – and Golfers
Golfers of a certain age love to wax lyrical about honor boxes—those rusty coffee cans nailed to the wall next to the pro-shop door where you’d drop five bucks on your way to the first tee. Golf, they’ll tell you, was not only simpler back in the day but cheaper, too. And they’re right. In […]
Peter Alliss Remembers the 1967 Ryder Cup
I well remember the 1967 Ryder Cup matches at the Champions Golf Club in Houston for several reasons, a couple of them having nothing to do with golf! I’d had a very successful series of matches in the 1965 Ryder Cup played at Royal Birkdale, so I was looking forward to another encounter, particularly as it […]
Eddie Hackett: Ireland’s Most Famous Course Architect
Given the timeless quality of the country’s links, it’s surprising that golf arrived in Ireland at roughly the same time as it did in the U.S., in the late 19th century. The Emerald Isle’s most famous architect was a “Johnny Appleseed” type who by sheer prolific force helped the game reach new levels of popularity: […]
Meet Under Armour’s Ryan Kuehl
He was the classic journeyman professional football player, never knowing from year to year whether he’d be paid for a full season or paid at all. Such was life for Ryan Kuehl, who kept his job in the NFL for a dozen seasons because he could rocket a spiraling football back to a kicker as […]
In Praise of the PGA Championship
A few years ago, Sports Illustrated asked 50 PGA Tour players which major they most wanted to win. The Masters took half the votes, the British and US Opens about 25% each. And the PGA Championship? 2%.Pity the poor PGA. It’s the Ringo Starr of major championships: Definitely one of the Fab Four, but not […]
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 […]