Major championships are not required to be a legend in this game. Unforgettable characters parade through No. 21, from Tiger’s biggest childhood rival to a Cypress caddie who squatted behind the 16th hole. Only in golf can the man who cares for Hogan’s irons at Merion stand alongside a hustler who used baseball bats off the tee. Good conversation abounds, whether it’s between Gil Hanse and a rising star architect or players begging the golf gods for a miracle in the shadow of a centuries-old church. Enjoy their company and even more inside.

Rarely is golf just about getting the ball in the hole. No. 20 is a meditation on the bigger picture, from a sojourn in Scotland to mourn a son to answering one of life’s toughest questions at Pine Valley. Meanwhile, Tom Doak shares an epiphany at Tara Iti, and a lifelong dream is achieved at Southern Pines. Our celebrated cover artist also paints some much-needed fresh perspective on the game. But as Tom Coyne discovers on his trip to Oakmont, sometimes the score really is the thing. Join them for more revelations inside.

Golf is a game of yarns, layered with tales to stir the soul. Some, like the ones in No. 19, stand apart. Like the unfathomable ball striking of Moe Norman and the duo that logged thousands of Royal Dornoch rounds, or the revival of Cal Club and the time Walter Hagen lost the PGA Championship trophy. Trips to the Old Course, Rosapenna and Martha’s Vineyard produce stories for the ages. And the one with Tiger, a putter and a basketball court proves they can happen anywhere. Enjoy them all, and more, inside.

The thrill is in the chase. For some, it’s gilded invitations to Pine Valley and Sand Hills. For others it’s tracing the steps of their literary hero at a quirky Minnesota classic. The pursuit can take unexpected turns, evidenced in meetings with the vagabond who shared the secret of golf with Player and Spieth and the woman, uninterested in playing the game, whose life’s work provided the foundation for Bandon Dunes. And sometimes, like on a reckless California road trip, we simply chase the sun. No. 18 celebrates the journeys and the destinations.

Every golfer remembers when they fell for the game. With scenes from Nepal to North Carolina, sparks fly throughout No. 17. Newbies and veterans alike share the passion in maiden voyages to Pasatiempo and a little-known Scottish nine-holer. Characters in a Cleveland caddie barn, a Japanese course tour and a jaw-dropping memorabilia collection could only be bound by golf. And we find that a former president and a muni hustler are not so different with clubs in hand. Find even more love stories inside.

There is magic in a fresh golf discovery. And No. 16 conjures plenty. A trip to view the bones of one of America’s greatest lost courses rides along with the rebirth of Hillcrest, a true LA star. Gary McCord cackles through tales he could never tell on air and a pilgrimage to a Connecticut church unveils one of golf’s beautiful minds. Revelations abound on Chambers Bay, the Alabama coastline, New Zealand and a Texas distillery. So grab the bourbon and join the ghosts of Hogan and Nelson inside.

Look good, feel good, play great. With Audrey Hepburn and Cleopatra alongside St. Andrews and Augusta, No. 15 is not afraid to strut. An excerpt from Tom Coyne’s latest book revels in the splendor of the American game from Alaska to Hazeltine, while the thrill of discovery is found in a jaunt to four little-known English tracks. Looking sharp isn’t always easy, as seen in the bloody origins of the turf at Kiawah and Sea Island, but Nicklaus, Jones, Seve and Snead prove a great ensemble is timeless. See them all inside.

Just one good bounce. It can change a round, and as No. 14 shows, it can also change a life. From an addict’s discovery of a sober league to a weary traveler stumbling on a golf paradise, the game delivers. Shocking twists abound in a quest to find a Masters ghost, the unearthing of a classic golf video game and a mission to a lost New Orleans course. Torturous tales of lipping out show that for every give there’s a take, but that it's always worth taking the shot. More good fortune inside.

Sometimes, what sticks with you most happens after the last putt drops. No. 13 basks in what the game gives us, on and off the course. A mystic surfer with lessons on life and playing Riviera. A walker bag that brought a global community together. An intimate portrait of Herbert Warren Wind, the legendary writer who coined Amen Corner and whose volumes still resonate. Beginners becoming diehards on transformed vacant lots. A happy argument over the best par 3s in Australia. Night golf and even more found inside.

Like a par save from the bushes, No. 12 defiantly makes its own way. Some names will be familiar, like Seve Ballesteros marauding onto the U.S. golf scene, Coore & Crenshaw turning trashed land into Trinity Forest and Fowler & Wolff returning to Oklahoma State. But some, like rebel architect Desmond Muirhead, and Wawashkamo, the island course stuck in time, must be read to be believed. It’s enough to make one long for a comfortable pint at an iconic St. Andrews watering hole. Scroll to get that too.

Jack driving a Pontiac. Hogan revving a Toro. Tiger’s iconic “Hello World” spot. No. 11 celebrates the art, power and influence of golf’s pitchmen and women in our first-ever special section. It includes so many essays and old-school stunners we had to add eight bonus pages. Then it’s on to a range sesh with 97-year-old legend Jack Burke, treks to Royal St. George’s, Silvies Valley Ranch, and Pebble Beach, and even a daring mission to a sand course in Libya. Scroll for No. 11’s full script.

A fever dream turned real at Cypress Point. From Pine Valley to a four-hole round, No. 10 toasts the fearless insurgents who dare to push our game’s boundaries. These visionaries have always been with us, seen in rare looks at the reversible course at St. Andrews and the revolutionary templates of National Golf Links of America. Visits to Ohoopee, the club that eliminated par, and Brough Creek National, the course shaped by bare hands, show that the spirit still burns. May the dreams never die. More immortalized below.

On the cover: An explosion of hope. TGJ steadfastly believes in golf’s ability to carry us to a higher place and that beauty can be found on the course, even in failure. No.9 features an oil painter who became a superintendent, a frustrated player turned world-famous photographer and a foul-mouthed preacher who first envisioned Sweetens Cove. It highlights the game’s remarkable way it faces tragedies like the shattering loss of a college teammate and the climate crisis’s effect on a Scottish gem. Ultimately, it stirs us with words and images from Tom Coyne’s round with poet laureate Billy Collins, Jim Dodson’s gorgeous paean to the solo round and the great John Updike’s golfing words to live by. Further inspiration continues below.

On the cover: A moment to cherish at North Berwick. TGJ No. 8 is a collection of unforgettable times on the course, from a champagne-soaked tee shot at Yale to the Solheim crowd roaring for Danielle Kang to a caddie’s son finally understanding his father. Timeless heroes appear throughout, including photographer Michael Faye’s series of trailblazers like Charlie Sifford and Renee Powell, the man who sculpted Payne Stewart and Arnold Palmer, and a band of road-trippers riding after Ben Hogan’s ghost. Take some more time and enjoy the moments below.

On the cover: A neon shout-out to those who paved the way. TGJ No. 7 tips its cap to the brilliance of golf’s past shaping its present. Cover photographer Leonard Kamsler’s pioneering work alongside death-defying drone shots. Carne’s legendary original 18 inspiring its newer nine. An unlikely poet and a master watercolorist meet the social media set. Shared inspiration between a Canadian man with his chainsaw and another with a bulldozer at Bandon. The lines are myriad, and they continue below.

On the cover: A moment of reflection as Mount Fuji peers down on Japan’s Taiheiyo Gotemba Country Club. No matter where it’s played, golf’s incredible connective tissue is revealed throughout No. 6. Whether it’s MacKenzie gems in Northern California and Melbourne or new legends at The Loop and Kiawah, the links are clear. Famous comedians and veteran club-fitters know, as do players in cities as different as Boston and New Orleans: Golf is always the tie that binds. Find your connections below.

On the cover: Ravi making his own course in Mumbai. No. 5 highlights diehards like Ravi and his friends, celebrating the places found and the lessons learned by those willing to make the effort and take the chance. From the world’s largest private golf library in Cleveland to Gil Hanse’s dream coming true on Pinehurst No. 4 to Tom Coyne’s tour of Scottish links with a dedicated duffer, No. 5 goes the distance. Explore digital golf course architecture wizardry, the controversy it inspires and why Stanford’s women’s team wins by going old-school. Adventure awaits below.

On the cover: No crowds, no phones, no cart paths. Just a golfer and his most faithful companion. No. 4 is a paean to the beauty and breadth of the game. At Machrihanish Dunes in Scotland, Tom Coyne finds joy in a modern course built with the Old Tom’s tools. In Harlem, artist Charles McGill valiantly showed how people of all colors can make golf a lifelong pursuit. There is heartbreak and redemption on a Nashville muni, a brash gamble in Las Vegas and three titans breaking the rules at Streamsong. Old stories of Arnold Palmer’s sensational Augusta caddie share a golfing soul with uber-talented young women making new marks on the game. And David Owen’s essay on club restaurants is a riot, but the point is clear: There is nothing better than golf.

One of the game’s most imitated illustrations. Ben Hogan has a grip on this issue, from the precision of South Korean golf to the power of Alister MacKenzie’s genius at Pasatiempo. Secrets, not unlike the one Hogan said he found in the dirt, abound in No. 3, including Tom Coyne’s unlikely discovery at Shiskine, Caleb Hannan’s revealing ride with some golf’s greatest hustlers and the new light we shine on the artist who drew Hogan’s hands. The Hawk doesn’t have the same hold on Will Leitch, as he discusses his troubles with golf in a challenging essay. But even doubters will see the beauty in a grass-roots success in Chicago, a rising young photographer at the PGA Tour, and a trip through the stunning Canadian wilds with architect Riley Johns.

On the cover: Payne Stewart, ignoring the roar at Pebble Beach, California, in 1991. Payne is watching over an issue full of style, substance, and soul that runs from Tom Coyne’s “Sacred Sand” to Caleb Hannan’s exploration of the outer limits of “pure golf” at the Bally Bandon Sheep Ranch. Excursions to an unlikely golf Mecca in Tennessee, a family-run hickory factory in Louisville, Kentucky, Gary Player’s stud ranch in South Africa, and a course called Rye for the annual Oxford vs. Cambridge old boys tournament make this a truly global affair. Representations of the game throughout range from Ballesteros, S. to Skywalker, L., and from oil on canvas to beyond the visible spectrum.

On the cover: “Evidence of the strike,” preserved in still life by Kohjiro Kinno. More images inside the book by Kinno and PGA Tour star(gazer) Jimmy Walker examine the universe on the course and beyond. Excursions to North Berwick, Askernish and Ballyneal are good for the mind and the soul, while Caleb Hannan’s trip to Tijuana borders on challenging. Meanwhile stateside, the far-fetched origin story of the LPGA combined with a look at the future of golf for the rest of us. All the while, Hunter S. Thompson and Colin Montgomerie are lurking.