Christopher Smith on Speed Golf
Speed-golf champ Christopher Smith says playing 18 holes in under an hour is good for the game—and yours
Dogged Victim | Charm Offensive
While putting together this month’s cover story on the Top 25 Islands in Golf, I was reminded of the quality I value most highly when it comes to rating and ranking golf courses: charm. Charm, of course, is a difficult thing to define. There are charming mountain courses, charming lakeside courses, and courses that are […]
The R&A Votes to Admit Women
Two big votes will occur next week in Scotland, both of which will impact the game to one degree or another
The Top 10 Golf Schools in the U.S.
The week after Labor Day carries an unmistakable air of change. Temps begin to cool, the NFL season starts, and school is back in session. Second only to January 1st, the beginning of September provides a great opportunity for renewal. Maybe it’s time to attend classes once again yourself at a school that’s a lot […]
Thank You, Tiger
Taking his name out of Ryder Cup consideration was the smart—and right—thing to do
Jack Nicklaus’s Five PGA Championship Victories
Jack Nicklaus has a handful of PGA Championship victories—and an arm’s length of records to go with them
Are You Playing With Pro Clubs?
Do pros play the same equipment we do? Yes, but…
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.
My Top 10 Courses with Peter Alliss
Peter Alliss has been the BBC’s lead commentator since 1978, but at 83 he says he is nearing the end of his illustrious career in the sport, which includes 21 professional wins and eight Ryder Cup appearances. (It was in his 1963 singles win over Arnold Palmer that his name became immortalized in golf’s lexicon when someone in the gallery yelled out, “Nice putt, Alliss,” after he badly missed a three-footer.)
A bad back has kept him off the course since November 2012, but he lives opposite Hindhead Golf Club southwest of London and is also president of nearby Old Thorns. “To many my list of favorite golf courses may appear to be rather strange,” he says. “The reason? Memories. Good company, pleasant weather, a fun day, so many facets that go to make something special. Also your golfing companions can have such an influence on choices, particularly mine.”
What’s Ahead for Tiger Woods?
Tiger Woods has won, some would say, enough—61 times on the PGA Tour, and each of the four majors more than once, a feat only Jack Nicklaus has equaled. He took some of those majors by record margins: by 12 strokes at the 1997 Masters 10 years ago, opening the Tiger Epoch with a roar; by 15 at the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, breaking a mark set by Old Tom Morris in the 1862 British Open. Seeing Tiger lap the field is sweet; but also sweet, for his enormous couch-potato gallery, are his eked-out victories, as in the 1999 PGA Championship at Medinah or the 2006 British Open at Royal Liverpool.
I fondly remember, from a few years back, a Sunday round in some tournament, maybe the Bay Hill Invitational, where, on an hour’s sleep and with a stomach bug that kept sending him into the bushes, he managed to win.