The Real Cost of Hosting a USGA Event
Hosting a USGA National Championship can bring a club notoriety and prestige—along with a major financial headache During the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship this past March, Innisbrook Resort owner Sheila Johnson sipped on a cocktail at a media reception when her phone buzzed. After checking the incoming e-mail message, a smile creased her faced. She […]
The Ultimate U.S. Open Course
We asked a panel of players, architects, officials, and media to look at the USGA’s five favorite Open venues and rank them, hole by hole. Here are the results. Not long ago, the USGA expressed publicly its devotion to an elite quartet of U.S. Open venues—Oakmont, Pebble Beach, Pinehurst No. 2, and Shinnecock Hills—with the […]
100 Years of Pebble Beach: A “New” Course for the U.S. Open
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. Every golf course is a work in progress, changing over […]
Fifth Time’s the Charm at Shinnecock Hills
By Jeff Silverman When the latest edition of the U.S. Open rolls across the fields of Shinnecock Hills in June, canny assessors of architectural handicraft should notice a variety of amendments since the USGA last brought its carnival to town in 2004. You remember 2004: That was the year the fairways were about as […]
Shinnecock Hills U.S. Open Preview
By Adam Schupak SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — As soon as the great, rambling white-and-brown gabled structure that is Shinnecock Hills Golf Club pops into view, hearts pump for golfers as if on a first date with a beautiful woman. Golf’s original clubhouse, a Stanford White design, dominates the surrounding landscape on the south shore of […]
Playing Shinnecock Before the U.S. Open
By Ian Critser Through a welcome twist of fate, I recently found myself sitting on the porch at Shinnecock Hills after walking 27 holes, a mere month before the 2018 U.S. Open. Driving up Tuckahoe Road, the iconic Stanford White clubhouse dramatically reveals itself as you crest a hill. Stepping inside, it feels as […]
Top 10 Golf Courses: Georgia
Home to more than just Augusta National, where patrons flock every April for the Masters, the state of Georgia lays claim to a somewhat surprisingly wide variety of places to play golf. From hilly and historic courses dotting Atlanta to the beautiful “Golden Isles” on the state’s east coast, there is no shortage of world-class […]
The 5 Toughest Walks in Golf
You can’t help but take a few minutes to admire the views from the highest points at Pikewood National, which not only sits atop a mesa in the mountains near Morgantown, West Virginia, but has been continually climbing in national course rankings. The panoramic pit stops aren’t just because you’re treated to views of three […]
The U.S. Open May Return to Chambers Bay
By Tony Dear A recent visit to the 2015 U.S. Open Venue more or less convinced our writer the championship will return one day. Given what happened in 2015, it’s likely that if and when the USGA ever announces the U.S. Open is returning to Chambers Bay, the backlash will be strong. You’ll remember most […]
Understanding Erin Hills, Host of the 2017 U.S. Open
To understand Erin Hills for those who have yet to see it, you must start with what it is not. “It’s not parkland, it’s not heathland, it’s not linksland,” says John Morrissett, the competitions director at the Wisconsin course, which will host the U.S. Open this month. “It is really a mixture of elements.” “It […]
