Six Tough Questions for Six Top Architects
A half-dozen of course design’s finest practitioners share their thoughts about dream collaborations, underrated architects, and plenty more The Cast DAVID MCLAY KIDD In a career spanning 25 years, the Scottish-born Kidd has earned every honor possible for designs that include Bandon Dunes, Mammoth Dunes at Sand Valley, Nanea, and the Castle Course at St. […]
Great Holes of the British Isles: 17th, Prestwick, “Alps”
The story of Prestwick Golf Club begins in 1851, when a group of friends gathered at the Red Lion Inn decided to create a golf club. Old Tom Morris was hired to be its first greenkeeper, and he competed in the first 12 Open Championships held on his then 12-hole home course, winning four times. […]
10 Unsung Island Greens
When you hear “island green,” what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Chances are it’s Pete (or Alice) Dye’s design at TPC Sawgrass, the iconic par-three 17th hole seen every year at The Players Championship. If not, maybe it’s the floating green golfers need a boat to get to at Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene or […]
15 Great Golf Books of the 21st Century
Here, in the authors’ alphabetical order, are 15 of the most significant and important golf books of the 21st century.
A Rant Against Golden Age Golf Architects
It’s time we stop deifying dead architects… Curmudgeon alert: I’m about to go on a major rant about something that likely will be of only marginal interest to you and may actually cause you some annoyance. So this might be a good time to click on something else. We did have some very fine pieces […]
Meet the Masters of Restoring Golden Age Classics
As countless clubs across the globe approach their centenaries, it’s clear that many Golden Age classic courses deserve restorations. Fortunately, there’s a supremely skilled assemblage of architects to help them find their way back. We asked five prominent restoration experts to share their experiences and insights into this ever-burgeoning aspect of design. These days, the […]
Gil Hanse’s Architecture 101: The Trouble With Trees
No architect wants to remove them from a golf course, but it’s often the best solution I am frequently asked what is the most difficult part of restoring Golden Age golf courses. My answer is always the same: trees. People look at trees wistfully, even romantically, and their opinions are always subjective. But when we […]
The Brilliance and Beauty of Bland Golf Holes
Last year, Colton Craig learned an important lesson about golf course architecture in the most unlikely of places. Walking through the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, full of what he calls “wild exhibits that stimulated the artistic side of my brain,” the Oklahoma City-based designer came to an empty room with white walls. “The vacant […]
12 Golf Course Architects Reveal the Holes They Wish They Designed
Ask any golf course architect what course or hole he or she is most proud of having designed, and most will demur. Typically, they don’t want to single out one as being any better than another. But they do have opinions on the work of others. For this story, I asked 12 course architects to […]
10 Top Volcano Holes in the U.S.
The most fearsome tee shots in golf are those where the golfer has nowhere to miss. The Volcano green certainly qualifies. A bit of a rarity in the golf design world, Volcano holes have a green that is built up on at least three sides, often appears to be raised above the tee box, and […]
