8 Prominent Courses That Once Went by a Different Name

courses name

Marketing pros explain that there are various reasons a business should change its name. Among them are to freshen the brand, to attract next-generation customers, to avoid brand confusion, or even to escape PR disasters. Golf courses are no different. A surprising number of today’s heralded layouts once went by a different name. Here are […]

The Untold Story of Golf Course Shapers

Though they prefer to remain out of the spotlight, you often read about them. Highly skilled and invariably obsessive about the quality of their work, their role on the typical golf course construction site has evolved greatly in recent years to the point where they are now considered more than just simple earth-movers, but rather […]

Arch 101: How Bunkers Look

arch

The highest form of the art of golf course architecture is blending the design seamlessly into the surrounds through the use of shaping/grading or vegetation. I certainly feel that way about bunkers. Perhaps, in my case, it is a nod to the original eroded, burrowing animal scrapes from which the sand bunker evolved. However, as […]

Gil Hanse’s Architecture 101: How Bunkers Look

There’s more to a bunker’s visual appeal than meets the eye The highest form of the art of golf course architecture is blending the design seamlessly into the surrounds through the use of shaping/grading or vegetation. I certainly feel that way about bunkers. Perhaps, in my case, it is a nod to the original eroded, […]

What Makes a Golf Course Bad?

bad course

Golf course design is a subjective topic and opinions on layouts differ from golfer to golfer. The exception is the greatest courses in the world, which are for the most part met with universal acclaim. Those are the Cypress Point Clubs, Old Courses, and Royal Melbournes. Debating which is best is a somewhat trivial exercise, […]

100 Years of Pebble Beach: 17-Mile Drive

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. […]