Belvedere Golf Club, Michigan
Simple pleasures and fond memories lie at the heart of one of American golf’s great Northern outposts. Wheel into the parking lot of Belvedere Golf Club and you know right away that this place is not into pretense or status. The modest white-clapboard clubhouse sits at the far end of the lot. At the other […]
Peachtree Golf Club, Georgia
In the golfing world, a smile that speaks of deep respect and awe emerges on the faces of everyone who hears the name “Bobby.” Even more than 25 years after his death in 1971, people still remember “Bobby” as the immortal Robert Tyre Jones Jr., and they do so with great appreciation for a […]
Garden City Golf Club, New York
We might say Garden City Golf Club has aged gracefully, except it hasn’t aged at all. It is a small, private club frozen in time, in the heart of a prosperous Long Island town just east of New York City. It is a place where golf simply feels more like golf, where your second step […]
Desert Forest Golf Club, Arizona
Any conversation about golf’s great visionaries ought to include the names Tom Darlington and K.T. Palmer. Never heard of them? That would probably suit Messrs. Darlington and Palmer just fine, as the founders of Desert Forest Golf Club seemed more intent on relaxation than recognition. To wit, in the early 1960s they dubbed their […]
Cherry Hills Country Club
Once a frontier upstart in an Eastern-dominated sport, this William Flynn opus has proven its pedigree through a string of hard-fought national championships
Old MacDonald, Bandon Dunes
You don’t go to Bandon Dunes for spas, infinity-edge pools and thread counts. And you’re not there to play 18 leisurely holes per day on a cart before going to explore the resort on a bike. Bandon Dunes is all about Advil, knockdown shots and carry bags. You’re there to stand on the tee […]
A Course Record at TPC Sugarloaf
Golf is the ultimate game of self-centeredness. Case in point: While the rest of the world remembers the 1997 Masters for Tiger Woods’ breakout victory, for me the tournament will always be associated with my first—and only—course record. Sure, I remember Tiger’s epic performance. I walked nearly the entire way with him, from his front-nine 40 on Thursday […]
Friar’s Head
Among the American courses I’ve played in 50-plus years, those approaching perfection fit on a short list led by Cypress Point, where my stepfather was a member and where I first got pathologically serious about golf. Alongside it is the National Golf Links of America, my home course since college days. Pine Valley and […]
Old Town Club, North Carolina
Unless you happen to live in the Piedmont Triad of North Carolina or follow Wake Forest University’s golf program, you’ve probably not heard of the Old Town Club. Quietly traditional down to its very name, this Perry Maxwell design is anonymous to most but revered by all who know it. Among those in the […]
Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club
The idea for Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club originated 25 years ago as brothers Rupert and Jim O’Neal watched British Open telecasts and realized their family’s rolling property resembled some of golf’s most hallowed ground. Buoyed by the success of remote clubs like Nebraska’s Sand Hills, the O’Neals enlisted Tom Doak to create a classic links design on their […]
