15 Great Golf Books of the 21st Century
When I was assigned the task of listing “15 Important Golf Books of the 21st Century,” I could have simply reproduced the roster of winners of the USGA’s Herbert Warren Wind Award or identified some of Amazon’s bestsellers. But while all of them were no doubt worthy, I felt there were a number of books […]
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 […]
How Bunkers Show the Evolution of Golf Course Architecture
To understand how golf course architecture has evolved, just look at bunkers Don’t plan on a discussion about Donald Ross’s bunkers being a quick one, especially if you’re talking with architect Ron Forse. After two hours on the phone with the Ross-renovation specialist (well over 50 courses, plus others by Seth Raynor, A.W. Tillinghast, William […]
LINKS Golf Podcast Ep. 78: Thinking Outside the Box in Golf Architecture with Agustín Pizá
Golf course architect Agustín Pizá joins the LINKS Golf Podcast to discuss his outside-the-box approach to course design. Pizá shares with Digital Editor Al Lunsford his idea of “Wellness Golf”—creating a golf space for connecting with nature and “unlearning” the traditional way golfers think about the game—and details studying in Scotland, learning from greats like […]
Gil Hanse’s Architecture 101: Now On the Tee
The lowly teeing ground is only lowly if you overlook its strategic—and pleasure-producing—impact In hindsight, our discussion of a golf course’s features should logically have started with tees, since they are the starting point for each hole. However, tees are not the first feature that comes to mind when thinking about a golf course. In […]
