Sand Valley – Mike Keiser has Done it Again
By James A. Frank Everything you’ve heard is true: It is possible to build Bandon Dunes in the Midwest. And the fun has just begun. Mike Keiser has done it again. The man who gave us Bandon Dunes—and got us flying off to play great courses in out-of-the-way places—has brought his magic formula to […]
Congaree – A South Carolina Golf Club with a Mission
By Graylyn Loomis When a new world-class course is being built, the golf world typically knows about it—and talks about it—years in advance. But not Congaree, in Ridgeland, S.C., about 30 miles northwest (inland) from Hilton Head. Even the locals didn’t know what was being built on the former rice plantation, while a dive […]
Los Angeles Country Club (North) After its Makeover
Restored to its original strategic splendor, the tinsel-town treasure is ready for its close-up Los Angeles is a city with little tolerance for yesterday: Venerable buildings are razed to make way for mini-malls and not-so-freeways cut through old neighborhoods without mercy. Thus, it was a blessed anomaly to see the wiser heads at the Los Angeles Country […]
100 Years of Pebble Beach: Building Spyglass Hill
By James A. Frank In 2019, Pebble Beach Golf Links will celebrate its 100th birthday and host its sixth U.S. Open. To commemorate these milestones, each issue of LINKS Magazine and LINKSdigital between now and then will tell the unique story that is Pebble Beach. Those articles will also be shared here on our website. The […]
Stoatin Brae – Michigan’s New Course from Renaissance Design
By Tony Dear In his 16 years with Tom Doak’s architectural firm Renaissance Golf, Erik Iverson has worked on numerous incredible sites. He was a design associate and shaper on the jagged, finger cliffs at Cape Kidnappers in New Zealand, the sandy knolls at Barnbougle Dunes in Australia, the beautiful Long Island coastline at […]
Highlights of Arnold Palmer’s Course Design Career
Arnold Palmer’s involvement in golf design was a lifelong pursuit. He was the son of a greenkeeper, after all, and was involved in hands-on course work during his youth at Latrobe Country Club in western Pennsylvania, at Wake Forest University, and even during his stint in the Coast Guard. Palmer’s legacy as an architect is […]
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 […]
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: […]
Golf Course Architects Discuss Firestone CC South
By Tony Dear The South Course at Firestone CC in Akron, Ohio, has hosted big-time golf since the mid-1950s. First came the Rubber City Open whose winners included Tommy Bolt, Ed Furgol, and Arnold Palmer. It staged three PGA Championships—1960, ’66, and ’75. From 1962 to ’98, it was the venue for the World […]
Golf Course Architects Discuss Firestone CC South
By Tony Dear The South Course at Firestone CC in Akron, Ohio, has hosted big-time golf since the mid-1950s. First came the Rubber City Open whose winners included Tommy Bolt, Ed Furgol, and Arnold Palmer. It staged three PGA Championships—1960, ’66, and ’75. From 1962 to ’98, it was the venue for the World […]