Blame it all on a simple twist of fate — Bob Dylan — ROANOKE, VA – I couldn’t possibly have been going in the right direction, could I? I had gotten off the exit ramp for downtown Roanoke, but after passing a modest skyline, I got diverted into duplexes, the crumbling back lots of an industrial factory and power plant, and finally into dusty...
While I’m in DelMarVa playing Ballyhack and covering the Potomac Cup preview – complete with a stint with Steve Czaban on Fox Sports radio Tuesday afternoon – Ryan Ballengee has a terrific preview of Congressional. Mike Davis goes over some of the changes the players can expect when the course hosts a U.S. Open instead of a Kemper/Booz...
I had the great pleasure of playing Colonial last winter just after Keith Foster’s terrific changes to the course were completed. Click here for the article.
GARDEN CITY, NY – There’s a new Big Ben in the sports world, but this one doesn’t throw touchdowns, shake off pass rushers, or hold on to the ball so long that Pittsburgh Steelers fans get heart failure. Instead, Big Ben Hayes from Whisper Rock G.C. in Arizona crushes Space Shuttle drives, pin-points laser beam irons, and dissects opponents with...
GARDEN CITY, NY – It was a glorious day at Garden City, a deep blue sky and golden light as Da Vinci or Michelangelo would have painted. Yet for all the joyous sunshine and azure skies of verdant spring, tomorrow may see another, more magnificent masterpiece as Jed Raynor tries to become the first Garden City Golf Club member in forty years to win the Walter J...
GARDEN CITY, NY – He’s 6’6″, 300 lbs., he’s redder than a Rock Lobster, and he’s a hatchet as sharp as the Devil himself. Now with a dazzling 6-under 67 to open the 100th Travis Invitational, Bel Air Country Club’s David Reneker is also the co-holder of the competitive course record at fabled Garden City Golf Club...
— 100 years of rousing cheers, Of frothy beers and smiling peers, Of hearts sincere and friendships dear, Our green and gothic home – From Our Green and Gothic Home – a poem to commemorate the Travis turning 100 years old. GARDEN CITY, NY – The Grand Old Amateur – the Walter J. Travis Invitational at Garden City Golf Club – one of...
We’ll be writing previews and recaps of The Players, and then reporting live form the Travis Invitational at Garden City and the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. The tournament coverage season has begun. Deals are in the works to also cover the Anderson and the Crump.
Outstanding news for fans of golf course architecture: Mike Strantz’s redesign of the Monterey Peninsula Country Club Shore Course will stay in the rotation for the AT&T through 2014. The other courses in the rotation are Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill. I love what Jack Nicklaus said about Pebble vs. Spyglass…”when I play Pebble Beach...
As if the news for Tiger Woods design wsn;t bad enough last week when porn-star/stripper/pay-for-sex girl Joslyn James (or Veronica Siwik-Daniels if you prefer) revealed emails/texts from Bryon Bell of Tiger Woods Design which purportedly show him assisting Woods with his trysts with James, the NY Times reports that the depression gripping the country in its iron...
Dan Jenkins taught me that there are actually four Hogan’s alleys: 1. Pinehurst No. 2, (where he won three North and South Opens); 2. Riviera, where he won the 1947 and 1948 L.A. Open, and then returned to win the ’48 U.S. Open; 3. Colonial, where he won five Colonial National Invitationals; and 4. The only Hogan’s Alley that consists of one hole...
Great, just great: Donald Trump’s “I love me some me” tour just circled the wagons in two new places. Eric Bergstrol sold him two courses: Branton Woods. (now Trump National Hudson Valley) and, worse still, Pine Hill, (now Trump National – Philly). I think I just threw up in my mouth. I used to love Pine Hill before I realized it was a little...
Though the economic downturn has dramatically reduced the number of new courses being constructed and opened in America, many architects are turning to restoration projects to stay busy until funding becomes available for building new designs. Some architects have built their own cottage industry specializing in one designer, becoming experts at recreating that...
Link is here. I’ll also be writing a longer piece on Sleepy Hollow for Cybergolf soon. Enjoy!
In one of the most interesting member-guest ideas I’ve seen, Torrington Coun try Club in CT is hosting “Yankees vs. Red Sox,” a team golf event for their members and guests this year. I’ll be playing and reporting live tomorrow. Guess what team I play for? Right first time: my beloved red Sox. I’ll have a course review and tournament...