18 of America’s Best Short Par Threes
The 9-hole course I played as a kid, Canton Public Golf Course in Connecticut, culminated with a short, downhill par three that would make or break every round I played there, sending me home on my bike either smiling or steaming. Sadly, that terrific family-owned course no longer exists, but my memories of that 9th […]
10 Best Public Coore & Crenshaw Courses
Bill Coore, a longtime golf course architect and Ben Crenshaw, a two-time Masters Tournament champion, are among the industry’s most prolific and in-demand designers when it comes to new builds. The beautiful Plantation course at the Kapalua Resort on Maui was their first design, opening in 1991, but they really made waves four years later […]
The 10 Best Trios of Closing Holes
Frequently, the 18th hole is a course’s grand statement, the big finish that settles all bets and creates lasting memories. On occasion, however, it’s the 17th hole that steals the show. Rarer still is when a great 16th hole kicks off an outstanding homestretch, making for a truly unforgettable conclusion to the round. To find […]
In Their Prime: Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw
Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw have already produced an incredible resume of courses. But could it be that we haven’t even seen their best yet? Bill Coore always said he and design partner Ben Crenshaw feel most comfortable working on one to three projects a year. Any more than that, he added, might prevent […]
10 Courses with Back-to-Back Par Fives
Much of the time, par fives are polarizing golf holes. Some players step on the tee with confidence, expecting to be on the green in regulation, often with a makeable putt. Others tee it up feeling as if they’re miles away from the flag. Not unlike layouts with back-to-back par threes, courses that feature consecutive […]
10 Courses with Great Collections of Par Threes
Nearly 30 years ago in the pages of LINKS Magazine, author/broadcaster Ben Wright opined that the Golden Horseshoe’s Gold course in Colonial Williamsburg, Va., featured the best set of par threes on a single course of any he knew. Bentley was a shrewd, well-traveled judge—and a designer himself—so I’ll give him his due. I also […]
Ben Cowan-Dewar: Golf’s Next Great Developer
With a passion for courses and the ideal mentor, Ben Cowan-Dewar is shaping up to be golf’s next great developer Ben Cowan-Dewar was 10 years old and living on the family farm in eastern Ontario when he envisaged golf holes on the property. The youngster was soon building tees, bunkers, and greens there. A passion […]
Dramatic Par Threes: One-Shot Wonders
Whether it requires a mere flip of a wedge or a big swing with a fairway wood, a par-three hole has the ability to not only immortalize a golf course—it can define a player’s entire round. “It’s what we remember because it’s only one shot,” resort developer Mike Keiser says of a par three. “They’re […]
Mickelson National Makes Its Debut
Five years ago, Kevin Smith, the Director of Communications at Alberta Golf, stood on what was to become the 10th green at Mickelson National Golf Club and held onto a flag in the dirt. It looked more like the moon than a golf course, he said. After half a decade, Smith got to play his […]
Links Courses of The Americas: The Few, the Proud, and the Imposters
The British Golf Museum defines a links course as “a stretch of land near the coast characterized by undulating terrain, often associated with dunes, infertile sandy soil, and indigenous grasses such as marram, sea lyme, and the fescues and bents which, when properly managed, produce the fine-textured, tight turf for which links are famed.” By definition, there are […]
