Once again, Golf Course Trades does a splendid job of running my story about New Hampshire’s Rees Jones-designed marvel, Baker Hill. Truly one of the best Rees courses I’ve played, the club also will have one final year to celebrate the career of the only head superintendent they’ve ever had: Bob Turcotte, a.k.a. Baker Hill Bob. All across the east...
MOULTONBOROUGH, N.H. -You don’t see a lot of New Hampshire golf courses on many mainstream top-100 lists. Why not? When pundits discuss the best states for golf, they often overlook New Hampshire, and that’s a shame because Donald Ross, a colossus of golf course architecture, left behind a legacy of exceptional golf in the Granite State, easily the equal...
Call it an encore: the USGA has announced their second U.S. Open Anchor site, and it is being met with the same widespread acclaim as when they announced the inaugural site at Pinehurst. Fabled, venerable Oakmont Country Club in Pittsburgh has been given the honor, and will host the 2025, 2034, 2042, and 2049 U.S. Opens, with an eye toward eventually hosting the...
So Golf Course Trades has posted the link to the webinar I did on Forsgate’s Banks Course with course owner Chris Schiavone, architect Stephan Kay and head superintendent Don Asinski. It was a brilliant redux of the Banks Course, and the Macdonald-Raynor-Banks canon. The link to the video is here. Forsgate’s Banks Course just hosted the 13th annual Writer...
In anticipation of my webinar this Thursday on Forsgate Country Club (click here to register for free), Golf Course Trades also ran my latest article . We interview course owner Chris Schiavone, golf architect Stephen Kay, and head superintendent Don Asinski at 12pm on Thursday July 29. From the article: Knowing full well that Forsgate was the last course he would...
Big shout out to Golf Course Trades for running another in my webinar series, this time on my beloved Forsgate Country Club and their magnificent Banks course. The webinar will feature course owner Chris Schiavone, restoration architect Stephen Kay, and head superintendent Don Asinski, and will be a fascinating look at how they rediscovered, then recreated the lost...
We’ll be writing the Open Championship at St. George’s in just three short weeks, but in the meantime, here’s a sneak peak at some coming attractions for Golf News Net and Golf Course Trades – two of New Hampshire’s best private courses: Bald Peak Colony Club and Baker Hill. BALD PEAK COLONY CLUB In the shadow of Lake Winnepesaukee...
Golf Course Trades has posted the webinar I did with Philly Cricket Club PGA Head Professional Jim Smith, Jr. and Director of Grounds Dan Meersman on YouTube. What a great time we had talking about Tillinghast and the amazing Keith Foster restoration. The link to the video is here.
The companion Golf Course Trades article I wrote is here.
I’ll be hosting a half-hour Golf Course Trades event with the folks from Philly Cricket Club on May 27, 2021 at 12pm. PGA Head Professional Jim Smith, Jr. and Director of Grounds Dan Meersman will join me for a talk about their wonderful renovation by architect Keith Foster, their upcoming 100th year anniversary celebrations, and where they fit in A.W...
It’s still a sure bar bet winner: what’s the oldest country club in America? It’s Philadelphia Cricket Club, founded in 1854. It’s always a joy to get a day at Philly Cricket, but now that restoration architect Keith Foster and head super Dan Meersman have their recent restoration firing on all cylinders, the sky is the limit for A.W...
What makes a truly great 18th hole? Easy: It must be a summation of all that came before. The most iconic courses in the world finish with the grandest of flourishes. Some prefer the grandeur of a majestic, sweeping par-5 so the golfer has a chance to close with a birdie. Others prefer 18 to be the hardest par-4 on the course, demanding your best drive and best...
It’s its 97-year history, and over the course of six U.S. Opens, this is the only time you can’t say “Winged Foot won this Open.” 27-year old Bryson DeChambeau claimed the 120th U.S. Open with a closing 67 and total of 6-under, breezing past third round leader Matthew Wolff, who finished second, a distant six shots back at even par. South...
Tiger Woods was among seven former U.S. Open champions to miss the cut at the 2020 U.S. Open. In clear but windy conditions at Winged Foot Golf Club’s West course, Woods followed Thursday’s milquetoast 73 with a ghastly 77, 10-over par, four shots over the cut line and 14 back of leader Patrick Reed. It’s the third missed cut in the last four U.S...
On a cool, windy day, Winged Foot turned the tables on the 2020 U.S. Open field, playing almost three strokes harder than Thursday’s opening round that saw record red numbers for a U.S. Open played over the fabled West course. Only three players broke par on Friday, and just seven more shot even par 70, including leader Patrick Reed, who finished at 4-under at...
On a day when a soft Winged Foot surrendered its lowest scores ever in a U.S. Open, Tiger Woods let his round slip away late, culminating with a ghastly double bogey at 18. As we go to press, Woods’s 3-over 73 has him in a tie for 70th, eight strokes behind leader Justin Thomas. Woods’s mercurial round included five birdies, but also six bogeys and the...