Golf Course Architect Andy Staples – LINKS Golf Podcast Ep. 159
Golf course architect Andy Staples joins co-hosts Al Lunsford and Joe Passov to begin Season 15 of the LINKS Golf Podcast. Staples discusses his thoughts on the rollback of the golf ball, his well-known work creating two new courses at PGA National Resort in Florida, his current projects, and much more. You can subscribe to […]
The Designs of Tiger Woods – LINKS Golf Podcast Ep. 158
In the final episode of Season 14, the hosts dive into Tiger Woods’s growing career in golf course architecture, discussing his earliest courses, design philosophy, and projects currently in the works. This episode is presented by Wild Dunes Resort. You can subscribe to the LINKS Golf Podcast in iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. _______________ What […]
Thad Layton Starts New Design Business as Arnold Palmer Design Folds
Until early September 2023, when it was announced that the Arnold Palmer Design Company would be shutting its doors, Thad Layton, a senior architect for the firm, would go into meetings knowing Arnold Palmer had his back. No, the great man might not have actually been present for the last seven years (can it really […]
No Repeat Par: Examining One of Golf’s Unique Routing Quirks
When “The Other Course” at Scottsdale National Golf Club debuted in 2016, much of the focus was that the dramatic routing had been built from an almost pancake-flat piece of property by moving 1.5 million cubic yards of dirt. But the layout, from the design team of Tim Jackson and David Kahn, is among the […]
Royal Liverpool (Hoylake): Flat Out Great
Despite, or perhaps because of, its lackluster landscape, Royal Liverpool—better known as Hoylake—can still be counted on to provide a bumpy and exciting Open Championship By the time the opening tee shot is struck at the 151st Open Championship, avid golfers who have consumed every preview they can find will have grown weary of reading […]
The Value of Variety in Golf Course Design
As the spice of both life and golf (many readers will consider them one and the same thing), the importance of variety cannot be overstated. Imagine a course without any; where every nondescript hole looks and plays much the same as the others—how uninspiring and utterly forgettable. Alister MacKenzie spelled out how fundamental variety was to […]
Los Angeles Country Club: Ready For Its Close-Up
Los Angeles Country Club’s storied, if mysterious, North Course earns the U.S. Open spotlight It’s time to pull back the curtains. After an absence of 75 years, the U.S. Open is returning to our nation’s second-largest city and to a first-time venue, the Los Angeles Country Club. Course connoisseurs are salivating at the prospect of […]
Matching Golf’s Most Noteworthy Architects With Their Hollywood Equivalents
Visionaries, craftsmen, and taskmasters, golf course architects and movie directors share many of the same talents—and temperaments Amateur golf architect George Thomas never emerged from a barranca yelling “Cut!” And he never audaciously insisted on cutting up a marble floor to get his strategic angles just right, a bit of legendary assiduousness attributed to a […]
10 Top Double Greens in the U.S.
Among the many unique aspects of the Old Course at St. Andrews, it has seven double greens. So, 14 of its 18 holes have a shared green. In a previous story, we highlighted 10 of the top dual greens in the U.S.—examples in which a single hole has two separate putting surfaces. But what about […]
7 Golf Properties Featuring Multiple Eras of Distinctive Course Architecture
As great golf properties go, a lineup of multiple courses to play is a must. But this isn’t strictly a numbers game. It’s one thing to offer numerous layouts, but it’s another when those courses also showcase varied styles of architecture. What was in vogue in the 1960s, for example, will starkly contrast with what […]
