Golf’s Most Exhilarating Courses
Ireland’s Old Head is golf’s most exhilarating experience There are moments in golf that you wish could be frozen in time: Stepping onto the first tee of the Old Course at St. Andrews; emerging from the trees to greet 15, 16, and 17 at Cypress Point; staring down the daunting approach over the Pacific at […]
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 […]
5 of America’s Top Golf Course Landmarks
When one thinks of golf course features, chances are that fearsome bunkers, lurking water hazards, and unique green complexes come to mind first. But sometimes a golf facility has a manmade landmark that’s instantly recognizable, eminently memorable, and—for many golfers—obligatorily Instagram-able. Outside the U.S., there may be no better example than the Swilcan Bridge at […]
PGA Tour Q&A: One Course for the Rest of Your Life
If you could only play one course for the rest of your life, where would you choose to play? It’s a question that golfing friends often ask each other, so we decided to ask a bunch of PGA Tour players to find out where they would choose to play golf if they could only tee […]
10 Great Risk/Reward Holes
The label “risk/reward” is applied liberally to golf holes these days. Probably too liberally. Look at any course’s hole descriptions and you’re likely to see it appear at least a handful of times. In reality, there’s risk involved in every swing, and reward to be earned anytime a shot is successfully executed. Strategy comes into […]
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 […]
12 of Golf’s Scariest Watery Graves
Whether you call them water hazards or penalty areas, golf’s lakes, rivers, streams, and oceans often become final resting places for our errant shots. You can recover from deep rough or a bunker. But there’s no coming back from a water hazard unless it’s a very shallow one and you’re feeling especially courageous. Here’s a […]
Golf’s Most Beautiful Courses
Incomparable eye candy: Cypress Point reigns as golf’s ultimate beauty queen In 1920, architect Alister MacKenzie articulated 13 essential features that define an ideal golf course. Number seven stated: “The course should have beautiful surroundings, and all the artificial features should have so natural an appearance that a stranger is unable to distinguish them from […]
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 […]
My Courses: Peter Jacobsen
Professional golfer and commentator Peter Jacobsen shares his favorite and most challenging courses to play in this edition of “My Courses.” MY FAVORITE COURSE: Pebble Beach. It was a favorite of our family growing up in Portland, Ore. I so much enjoy the feel of golf in the air on the Monterey Peninsula. FIRST COURSE […]
