Top 10 “Ranch” Courses in the U.S.
If you’re confused about the official name of one of the newest and most dynamic destinations in the golf world, you’re not alone. PGA Frisco is a unique public/private partnership between the PGA of America, Omni Hotels & Resorts, and the city of Frisco, Texas. The sprawling 660-acre campus is home to the new PGA […]
10 Top Double Greens in the U.S.
Among the many unique aspects of the Old Course at St. Andrews, it has seven double greens. So, 14 of its 18 holes have a shared green. In a previous story, we highlighted 10 of the top dual greens in the U.S.—examples in which a single hole has two separate putting surfaces. But what about […]
10 Best Public Coore & Crenshaw Courses
Bill Coore, a longtime golf course architect and Ben Crenshaw, a two-time Masters Tournament champion, are among the industry’s most prolific and in-demand designers when it comes to new builds. The beautiful Plantation course at the Kapalua Resort on Maui was their first design, opening in 1991, but they really made waves four years later […]
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 […]
Could Bunkerless Golf Courses Gain Footing?
At the conclusion of a site visit for a much-needed overhaul of the aging Eisenhower municipal golf course outside Annapolis, Md., consulting architect Andrew Green stopped 50 yards from the 18th green, turned to Damian Cosby, chief of golf operations for Anne Arundel County, and asked, “What do you think about going to no bunkers?” […]
10 Top Golf Courses That Opened in 2020
Even with golf’s resurgence in 2020 amid the pandemic, new course openings are exceedingly limited. After all, with more than 38,000 courses in over 200 countries worldwide, there’s no shortage of supply. Think about that. Even if you played one new course every single day, you’d need more than 100 years to play them all. […]
First Peek: Sheep Ranch
Bandon Dunes’s best-kept secret is a secret no more The fifth, and likely the final, 18-hole layout at Bandon Dunes—perhaps the most highly anticipated course in the world since its announcement in 2019—debuted on June 1. For years, the Bally Bandon Sheep Ranch sat hidden away from visitors to Bandon Dunes on an oceanfront plot […]
LINKS Golf Podcast Episode 56: A First-Timer’s Guide to Bandon Dunes
It’s all things Bandon Dunes in the final episode of Season 5 of the LINKS Golf Podcast. LINKS contributor Erik Matuszewski joins Digital Editor Al Lunsford to break down Erik’s first-ever trip to Bandon, which aligned with the June 1 opening of the resort’s newest course, Sheep Ranch. You can subscribe to the LINKS Golf […]
The Sheep Ranch Makes Its Bandon Dunes Debut
While most everyone was fixated on the seemingly endless ocean views upon pulling up to the Sheep Ranch pro shop at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Bill Coore’s attention was elsewhere on opening day for the Oregon resort’s fifth 18-hole course. Coore was focused on the smiles. After success with Bandon Trails and the par-3 Bandon […]
LINKS Exclusive Q&A: Course Architect Keith Rhebb
By Adam Stanley What a life it’s been for Keith Rhebb. A life, he says, he couldn’t even imagine in his dreams. Rhebb got his start in 2002 after working for a construction company in his hometown of Lincoln, Neb., and has made a name for himself working alongside Bill Coore and Ben […]
