7 Exceptional Holes that Bring the Ocean into Play
In his fictional work The Old Man and the Sea, author Ernest Hemingway described the ocean as “something that gave or withheld great favors.” He also opined that the sea could do “wild or wicked things,” but that such things could not be avoided. While the novella chronicled the heroic and sometimes futile attempts of […]
10 Hidden Gems in England
England is a long way for American readers to go—and when they do, they’re likely to head to Open Championship venues and/or Surrey and Berkshire’s world-renowned heathland layouts. But we know there’s a small percentage of readers who go often and for whom the historic courses are old hat. Those are probably familiar with a […]
Golf’s Meanest Greens
Destination Yipsville: The meanest greens in golf belong to Oakmont Country Club Gene Sarazen once described Oakmont as possessing “all the charm of a sock to the head.” The smackdown begins at the first green and never lets up, due mostly to the ferocity of the putting surfaces, a lethal combination of speed, contour, and […]
A Perfect Public Golf Trip Around Houston
The land may be flat in Houston, but the golf is surprisingly diverse on a host of courses found from city center to suburban sprawl.
Golf’s Ultimate Tests of Patience
In the first in a series about the attributes that are central to the design, challenge, and joy of the game’s most cherished courses, we identify the “Ultimate Test of Patience”: Pinehurst No. 2 Anyone who warms to the mention of golf’s greatest courses cannot help but engage in the time-honored grill room discourse on […]
Golf’s Most Memorable Opening Shots
The first hole of a golf course is rarely memorable, but it never fails to arouse emotion Can you think of a patch of ground—on the golf course or anywhere else—that consistently boils up such a complex cauldron of emotions as does the first tee? Hope and trepidation, determination and doubt, impatience and paranoia, excitement […]
The Best Public Golf of Hilton Head Island
With more than 50 combined public and private golf courses in the immediate area, it’s no wonder that Hilton Head has earned the moniker “The Golf Island.” Located in the southeastern corner of South Carolina between Charleston and Savannah, Ga., the second largest barrier island on the east coast (behind Long Island, N.Y.) features 12 […]
10 of Golf’s Scariest Opening Tee Shots
Any first tee can spook you. What happens on the first hole sets the tone for the whole round, so it’s only natural to be nervous when it’s your turn to blast away. That’s why many course designers make their opening holes gentle affairs—to help ease you into your round. But there are some courses […]
Top 10 Courses: North Carolina
From the courses in Pinehurst to the host venue of the 2025 PGA Championship—here are our top 10 golf courses in North Carolina 1. PINEHURST NO. 2, Pinehurst Donald Ross’s masterpiece continues to top the list, thanks to a dramatic Coore & Crenshaw renovation that eliminated acres of Bermudagrass rough, allowing the course’s best asset—its […]
The Ultimate U.S. Open Course
We asked a panel of players, architects, officials, and media to look at the USGA’s five favorite Open venues and rank them, hole by hole. Here are the results. Not long ago, the USGA expressed publicly its devotion to an elite quartet of U.S. Open venues—Oakmont, Pebble Beach, Pinehurst No. 2, and Shinnecock Hills—with the […]