“The enormity of [Chambers Bay] was unlike anything I had experienced: On the crest of the gravel mine, we could see for miles across the sound and its wooded islands. Peering down into the pit, the variety of landforms looked like giant children had started sandcastles, but run off halfway through.”
Yardage Book: Beached
“As the sun set on the first night of lockdown, we had to find a place to sleep for the foreseeable future. But before that: chipping.”
A Simple and Stunning Kindness
Racing against the COVID clock in New Zealand.
“From an era not long ago when parents were sternly reminded about the dress code if their child playfully turned a hat backward, the about-face is startling.”
Celebrity Makeover
The process took years, but Hillcrest Country Club has finally made it from fusty to family.
“My agent sends a script. Tin Cup. Warner Brothers. Starring Kevin Costner, written by Ron Shelton. The first thing you do, you look through it really fast to see how many times you see your name. I started to read it and [saw] two things in there I did for real that no one should know about.”
4 Iron, I Guess
At home with Gary McCord, who would rather hunt for Sasquatch than do what he’s told.
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“Attempting to solve the mystery of sporting greatness through in-depth reporting and writing is ambitious for anyone, let alone an autistic 54-year-old native of Argentina who now lives in Hartford, Connecticut, with the assistance of her local church.”
Claudia
What does it take to make it in golf when you’re different? Patience, tenacity and, in this case, sensibility.
“Those who slept at all that night mostly did so in our cars. We were awakened, shortly after dawn, by the smell of the many pounds of bacon that Bob was frying on the club’s propane grill.”
Long Live Every Hacker
A toast to some of the most important people in the game.
“It wasn’t a grail or a diamond, and we weren’t the first to find it, but for guys in golf shoes, it felt no less miraculous: We had located a lost Redan par 3 by Charles Blair Macdonald and Seth Jagger Raynor.”
Home Is The Sailor
One of America’s greatest lost links can still be found at Gibson Island.
“How much whiskey went into the decision to give the Challenge Belt to the first guy who won the Open Championship three years in a row? Probably a lot!”
Minor Majors
Golf’s biggest stages weren’t always so.
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“Its potential as a bucket-list golf destination is on par with almost any of the newly constructed outposts in this era of the build-it-and-they-will-come golf resort. I know it, and Dale Snellman, the man single-handedly keeping Isle Dauphine open, has staked his career on it.”
The Ghost Links of Alabama
One man’s daily struggle to raise an American golf dream from a sandy grave.
“Look it up. Good luck finding anything. I personally have better things to do than fact-check three generations of immediate family scoring holes-in-one on the same hole. Sorry, Siri, you’re out of your depth.”
One (Actually Three) for the Ages
A generational tale of a family that can’t stop making aces.
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“Today, the sixth and seventh fairways that Hogan and Nelson knew so well are home to one of the largest whiskey distilleries west of the Mississippi River. But the rest of the golf course has been largely preserved and is a living shrine to Glen Garden’s remarkable history.”
How to Rescue Your Garden
In the case of Hogan and Nelson’s boyhood course, all it took was a couple million bottles of whiskey.
“The stage was clear for Peter to redeem himself. Just hit the green from 145 short yards. Back, back, back went his club. But, somewhere along the way, Peter traded his 9-iron for a backhoe.”
The New Gospel of Peter
When there’s food and drink on the line, lessons will be learned.
“It was a rude awakening for me: I had been spending too much time focusing more on where I played than who I played with.”
When It’s Time to Trash the Top-100 List
How a simple text forced a rethinking of golf goals.
