The Next A-List Golf Architects
On an undeniably tall, slippery ladder, three acclaimed designers are primed to climb to the top rung. Every generation has its own collection of A-List architects. Naming them isn’t hard. A stiffer challenge is identifying who will comprise the next crop. Being an A-List architect means your name is on the short list every time […]
Golf Course Architect David McLay Kidd – LINKS Golf Podcast Ep. 155
Golf course architect David McLay Kidd talks about designing the first course at Bandon Dunes in 1999, what makes a good match play course, his current projects in Washington and Nebraska, and more on this episode of the LINKS Golf Podcast. This episode is presented by Wild Dunes Resort. You can subscribe to the LINKS Golf […]
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 […]
Panther National: Justin Thomas Dishes on Golf Design and His New Course
Justin Thomas is getting an early taste of the golf course design business, collaborating with Jack Nicklaus on a luxury and lifestyle community called Panther National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., not far from his new South Florida home. “I’ve always been fascinated by it and wanted to do something at some point but to […]
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 […]
Q&A: Golf Course Architect Kyle Franz
He won’t qualify as early 40s for very much longer and has been a part of the golf design business for more than 20 years now. So, it’s fair to say Kyle Franz probably isn’t the new/young kid on the block anymore. Actually, thanks to an extensive resume that includes working for the world’s best […]
Words of Wisdom: Legendary Irish Course Architect Pat Ruddy
Born in 1945, Ireland’s Pat Ruddy was bitten by the golf bug at an early age. As a youngster, he’d catch rides on tractors to play at a little 9-hole course in South Sligo that rented its land from a local farmer. Later, he graduated to playing County Sligo Golf Club (aka Rosses Point), and to […]
LINKS Golf Podcast Ep. 101: Rob Collins
Rob Collins of King-Collins Golf Course Design joins the podcast and talks about his background building golf courses, tells the story of Sweetens Cove, and updates us on his firm’s current projects including their first 18-hole design at Landmand in Nebraska (pictured above), the redesign of 9-holer Overton Park in his home state of Tennessee, […]
10 Questions: Bill Coore
Bill Coore, the lead partner of golf’s top design team, talks about the people, courses, and books that lured him away from an intended career as a classics professor Where did you learn the game? I grew up in rural North Carolina and was introduced to golf by my neighbor; we made up holes between […]
A Candid Conversation about Links Golf with Greg Norman
During the summer of 1993, Greg Norman teed it up at Royal St. George’s for the Open Championship and promptly shot four rounds under par. He saved the best for last, however, shooting a six-under 64 during the final round to win by two strokes. “That final round was one you just dream about,” the […]
