The Ultimate U.S. Open Course
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]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 […]
Ben Wright: Oddly Matched
“British Captain Summoned before PGA Executive Committee, Fired for Lack of Effort in First-year Ryder Cup Debacle.” So screamed the fictitious tabloid headline I concocted at the conclusion of the 1976 “Real Ryder Cup Matches.” Let me explain. While covering golf for CBS that year, Jack Whitaker and I conceived the idea of an annual […]
My Courses: Juli Inkster
Juli Inkster is a lengendary professional golfer that has won 31 times on the LPGA, including seven major championships. Here she shares her favorite and most challenging courses to play in this edition of “My Courses.” MY FAVORITE COURSE: Muirfield Village. Every hole on the course requires you to hit different types of shots, the […]
My 10 Favorite Golf Course Logos
A good logo—whether it’s for a fashion brand, a trendy restaurant, or a golf course—should try to adhere to some of the principles of effective design, including being simple, memorable, timeless, versatile, and relevant—according to popular design blog Tailor Brands. With golf there’s seemingly endless inspiration to draw from. Is it in a city that’s […]
Gil Hanse’s Architecture 101: Greens and Their Complexes
On a visit to The Los Angeles Country Club in preparation for the 2023 U.S. Open, I did something that I rarely do. While walking the course with the superintendent, we putted on every green. And I must say, it was a lot of fun, free from trying to “make” a putt and instead watching […]
My Courses: Greg Norman
From Australia to Hilton Head, Greg Norman has played courses all over the world. The Shark gives us his answers in this edition of “My Courses.” MY FAVORITE COURSE: The Composite Course at Royal Melbourne—one of the most natural courses in the world. Alister MacKenzie didn’t move any dirt. The flow of the course, the […]
Gil Hanse’s Architecture 101: Green Design
Having navigated one year of writing about the importance of finding, organizing, and identifying the best set of golf holes to comprise a full golf course, it is now time to turn to the components of those holes—which bring holes to life, add flesh to the bones, and ultimately are what the vast majority of golfers […]
Best New or Returning Courses on Tour in 2020
For the most part the traveling circus of professional golf tours visit many of the same venues year after year. On the PGA Tour, January begins in Hawaii, springtime swings through Augusta, and the fall takes golfers to wine country. But each year we’re also treated to a either a few new courses on tour, […]
Thousand Greens: Match.com Meets the Top 100
Shinnecock, Winged Foot, Oakmont, Olympic—every serious golfer knows the names, but only a fortunate few have played the courses. In contrast to the UK, where the host sites of the Open Championship extend a warm welcome to visitors, U.S. Open venues and other top American courses are, for the most part, shut tight, exclusive bastions […]
Letter from St. Andrews: A Day in the Life
How I played the Old Course, Winged Foot, and Pebble Beach in the same wacky day
