J Drew Rogers

Design Elements

My Daily Journal from England – Day 3

Today, The Berkshire. Hebert Fowler crafted two courses here…the Red and the Blue. We enjoyed the Red Course, which gains it's reputation not only as a fine heathland test, but also because of the arrangement of holes.  The Red Course features 6 par 3's, 6 par 4's and 6 par 5's…which I must say, is […]

My Daily Journal from England – Day 2

Wow.  Sunningdale proved to be heathlands golf at its finest. The weather today was something on the line of a complete washing machine cycle.  Sun, then wind, then driving rain… then sun, and repeat again. We played Sunningdale, the New Course… which is hardly such, but nonetheless the newer of the two courses, designed by […]

My Daily Journal from England – Day 1

To Heath and Links Study Tour is now underway in England.  Today found us all arriving to London, getting our bearings and making a refreshing and insightful tour of Sunningdale Golf Club and their noted “Lost Holes” by Harry Colt on the New Course.  Without getting into complicated details, a number of holes were repositioned […]

My Daily Journal from England

Recently my marketing manager (wife) remarked to me that I have not been diligent with my blogging efforts… and she is right (she’s always right). And to her credit, she suggested that I post daily blogs during my upcoming tour of England’s finest golf courses – just check in with some details from the day […]

March Madness at Doral

In an era where golf courses have fallen defenseless to the almighty length of touring professionals, we’ve seen fairways narrowed, bunkers added, trees planted, higher rough, conditions firmed up and green speeds lowered to the point that balls roll well beyond the tolerance of designed contours.  Why? Because yes, “these guys are THAT good”.  So […]

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.  The Mid-South has also endured more than it’s share of snow, ice and record-cold temps.  The Upper Midwest and much of the Northeast have been nothing less than arctic, hence […]

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.  But why?  Is it their great beauty?  Is […]

Scroll to Top