Is Royal Troon the Weakest of the Open Rota Courses?
Let’s make one thing clear from the start: the Old Course at Royal Troon Golf Club is one of western Scotland’s premier links. It wasn’t chosen to host the Open Championship 10 times for nothing. Its seaside location in Ayrshire, its long and proud history, the warmth of the club’s welcome, and the number of […]
Top 10 Fun Facts About Royal Troon
Since its earliest days in the 1870s, Royal Troon has epitomized a traditional club environment and proper championship golf. Yet, as this storied venue on the west coast of Scotland prepares to host its 10th Open Championship, the one constant has been change, in a desire for improvement. With an eye on the soon approaching […]
Geoff Shackelford: A Plea for the Wee Par Three
No hole in golf offers a richer combination of fun and fright for pros and amateurs alike than the short one-shotter The wee par three is having a moment. Surprising as it is to believe, the little knee-knocking, heart-stopping thrillers had fallen out of favor, one-shotters under 155-or-so yards becoming victims as developers and architects […]
6 Historical Public Golf Courses Across New England
Across much of New England, you’ll find a bevy of golf courses that are steeped in history. Recent U.S. Opens provide proof of that—The Country Club in Brookline enjoyed its latest time in the spotlight a few years ago and, more recently, Newport Country Club took front-and-center as the Tillinghast classic hosted the world’s best […]
10 Top Golf and Beach Options for Summer
I’m often told that man does not live by golf alone (usually by non-golfers). And in the summertime, one of the chief non-golf activities that I and other golfers enjoy is spending time swimming and lounging by the sea. Lakes and ponds can have beaches—and some rivers do, too. But they can’t compare to going […]
Golf’s Most Exhilarating Courses
Ireland’s Old Head is golf’s most exhilarating experience There are moments in golf that you wish could be frozen in time: Stepping onto the first tee of the Old Course at St. Andrews; emerging from the trees to greet 15, 16, and 17 at Cypress Point; staring down the daunting approach over the Pacific at […]
Golf’s Best Rain Gear
As a wise Irish caddie once told me when I was waffling on whether to bring my rain gear to the course: “I’d rather have ya looking at it than looking for it.” But where to turn for truly good waterproof golf rain gear? A recent buddy trip to Bandon Dunes—and ill-advised choices by several […]
Legends: Richard Tufts
This scion of the family that owned Pinehurst dedicated his life to the game he loved Credit 18th-century Boston businessman James W. Tufts—who made a fortune inventing the automatic soda fountain—with two significant contributions to American golf. First, the creation of Pinehurst, widely acknowledged as the first golf resort, which he founded in 1895. Second, […]
The Legacy of Sand Greens
Donald Ross’s original greens for Pinehurst No. 2 lacked one critical component—grass Only a dozen years old yet already a burgeoning golf mecca, the Pinehurst Resort saw its reputation soar soon after Donald Ross expanded and redesigned Pinehurst No. 2 in 1907. Dozens of golf ’s most influential figures praised the layout in reverential terms. […]
Characters: Pinehurst Caddie Thomas Trinchitella
After a tumultuous introduction to golf, Thomas Trinchitella has carved out an unlikely career as Pinehurst Resort’s most trusted caddie Few people would develop into avid swimmers if their introductory lessons included being thrown into the deep end of a pool and being told to figure it out. But that was how Thomas Trinchitella learned […]
