French Lick’s Third Century
New owners of the French Lick Springs Resort & Spa recently announced plans to renovate the Donald Ross-designed Hill Course there. It was hard to hear the news and not feel anxiety. Followed by trepidation. Angst, even. The Hill is an 85-year-old heirloom, one of the last virtually untouched Ross designs anywhere. To play […]
Quail Hollow Championship, North Carolina
Modern-day Charlotte, the commercial hub of North Carolina’s Piedmont region, is nicknamed “Queen City.” When it comes to the golf, the moniker is especially appropriate, as the Quail Hollow Championship, enjoys a regal status as one of the marquee PGA Tour stops. As it has every year since its inaugural in 2003, Quail Hollow […]
Pebble Beach vs. Pacific Dunes
By George Peper From the LINKS Magazine archives… They had really started to annoy me. As innocent and well-meaning as they were, they were also relentless—and so emphatic, so damned sure of themselves. For the better part of three years I had suffered their gushing pronouncements and smug sermons, nodding patiently and feigning enthrallment […]
Golf Travel: Brainerd Lakes, Minnesota
Summers are short in Minnesota, but the days are long, and golf-mad locals make the most of them. With daylight lingering until 9:30 in peak season, locals find it easy to get a round in after work or play 36 on a day off. In fact, Minnesotans are more passionate about golf than everything […]
The Ultimate Private Club: Cherokee Plantation
I knew I was in a special place my first morning at Cherokee Plantation when a mule-drawn carriage arrived at the front door to carry me to breakfast. For a moment, I felt as if we had been transported back to Victorian England. Or maybe it was Tara. Cherokee may be the most exclusive club in the world. […]
Playing Augusta National as a Media Member
By Tom Cunneff The Masters is called a tradition unlike any other. Well, this was a day unlike any other. As eye opening as it was to see the course for the first time in 1999, I was even more flabbergasted to get to play it after winning a spot in the media-day lottery, which credentialed journalists are eligible […]
Eagle Ridge Resort and Spa, Illinois
In the collective American mind, a principal characteristic of the Midwest is flatness. Regions of Michigan and Minnesota to the north or the Ozarks to the south form exceptions, but most of the Midwest is strictly on the level. For golfers, this conjures up Midwestern resort courses dependent on water hazards for definition and bulldozers […]
California Golf Travel: Palm Springs
I just had to see Frank’s house before leaving Palm Springs. The map said it was close to O’Donnell’s nine-holer, the first course ever built in the desert, back in 1925. Armed with a self-guided star map and a handful of Rat Pack CDs, I was plotting the perfect conclusion to my retro golf […]
A Long Weekend at The Omni Homestead, Virginia
Where to Play: Cascades: Sam Snead helped build this Golden Age William Flynn course and honed his Hall-of-Fame game on it as its first head pro. The front nine is built into the hillsides, while the back features one of the most unusual and fun finishes in golf with two par 3s bookending two […]
Risk Reward Holes: Casino Golf Courses
Barona Valley Ranch Resort and Casino Barona Creek Golf Club Lakeside, Calif. Best gambling hole: No. 14, par 4, 316 yards “A short tight fairway, with a mountainous natural reserve to the right. Most of the time it’s downwind, so it’s appealing. I’ve taken everything from a 2 to a 9. That’s what makes […]
