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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Human beings are creatures of habit, are we not? We certainly have a tendency to cling to the proverbial status quo. We also fear what we don’t know. 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 […]
September signifies the beginning of late season renovation work in northern climates. There’s always the challenge for Club’s with such plans to squeeze in those last few golf events before things get dug up and messy… time is precious with colder weather only weeks away. The mad dash has begun! We’re busy this year […]
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” – a discussion that would […]
Surely by now the word is out….there is a world class golf resort on the coast of southern Oregon? It’s called Bandon Dunes. There are four 18-hole courses on the property and they’re all ranked among the Top 100 in the US. Yes, you say? You’ve heard of it? Oh, you’ve been there? Great! […]
Several weeks ago, I joined up with nearly 100 of my golf course architect friends from Europe, Australia and the US for five days of golf, architectural study and camaraderie on some of our country’s finest venues. Our destination: Long Island, NY. Our final day of golf took us into New Jersey and to […]
I’m not attempting to be trite here! The subject of “fun” has become a trendy topic of late and, in all seriousness, FUN is something that has frankly been overlooked in our fine game for some time. Not because of lack of interest, but because the game became perhaps a bit too serious on […]
After reading a well-penned piece recently from Adam Lawrence, called “Growing Together”, I felt compelled to jot down a few key thoughts that bear highlighting. – Adam, please accept my apologies for any plagiarisms – but your message is very well put and worthy of repeat! The first and perhaps strongest statement made by […]