Drew's Blog

Girding for the Aftermath of Winter's Wrath

If you're living most anywhere in the Eastern US, chances are good the winter of 2014 has been a long, cold and entirely forgettable stretch.

Is There a Silver Bullet in Golf Course Architecture?

As you might imagine, architects get pressed quite often to profess our opinions about what makes one golf course better than another. And while I think that is more an individual preference (or left to magazines), there are some courses that stand out among the rest.

Stuck on the Stimp

While the stimpmeter has been around since 1977, the years to follow now have American golf heading to the dark side, being completely obsessed with green speed.

The Psychology of Change

For many things in life, routine and comfort can be good. In golf, however, we can easily get our boots stuck in the mud to the point that our reluctances and preconceptions do us more harm than good.

Making Some Sense of Course Rankings (?)

I have to blunt here. to me, all the course ratings and rankings out there today have become rather insipid and an exhaustive re-statement of the impossible. But perhaps, there is another side of these listings to be considered?

Sage Advice

For the sake of maybe learning something, reminding us of a worthwhile thought - or just for pure entertainment, I have gathered a small collection of some of my favorite noteworthy thoughts for your reading pleasure.

From Sunningdale to Sylvania

Golf has been kind to the greater Toledo, Ohio area - a rich history of playing personalities, storied tournaments and grand courses. One thinks immediately of the Inverness Club, regularly regarded among America's top 50 courses and host to US Opens, PGA Championships, and even a US Amateur.

What to Make of a Golf Course Restoration

A number of years ago, Brad Klein invited me to speak at Golfweek's Restoration Conference in Williamsburg, Virginia. So as I prepared for my talk, I thought it might be high time to explore just what we all refer to as a "restoration" and how that differs from a "renovation"...

10 Simple Thoughts on How to Promote "Fun" Golf

It seems that golf is at least somewhat inherently fun for most of us, right? Maybe because of the challenge it present - man against golf course. Perhaps it is the camaraderie one can enjoy with friends. For some it might be the competitive encounters.

Jens Jensen & the Evolution of Today's Landscape

Now I can recall sitting in a college lecture hall, over 20 years ago, listening to my Landscape Architecture History professor babble on about English gardens, pocket parks, Sir Humphrey Repton, Capability Brown.and a fellow by the name of Jens Jensen.