My twitter feed, set afire a week ago by the announced changes to St. Andrew's Old, has finally calmed down. The surprisingly swift - and broad reaching - uproar over the changes dominated like no other issue in the past year. Naturally, this is a result of my bias toward golf-related accounts and issues and... Continue Reading →
Lake Nona
I met with a golfing companion yesterday at Lake Nona. While walking to the putting green awaiting his arrival, I noticed a golf cart with two Notre Dame Football bumper stickers and a lanky man sitting in it. I nodded and moved along to the putting green. Thinking it over, I realized the man bore... Continue Reading →
Lifetime Memory
Sometime earlier this year Ben Crenshaw made a site visit to Streamsong. I drove up to speak with Rusty Mercer, our superintendent and my boss, about some trivial matter while Ben hit a few chip shots into the ninth green of the Red Course. Ben turned to Rusty with a beaming smile on his face:... Continue Reading →
Development of the NPOR Style Guide: Attacking the Hole
Many of the posts on this site use the phrase, "attack the hole." In context (from this post): "The wise player will drive to the larger portion of the fairway away from the bunkers and attack the hole with a full pitch from a level lie." In general, attacking the hole indicates a shot played... Continue Reading →
Development of the NPOR Style Guide: Introduction
Inspired golf writing occurs when the writer is able to capture the spirit and story of a round of golf. As with many games and sport, golf requires emotional control. Uniquely, golf features a passive antagonist which incites and compels players to certain emotional states throughout the round. A golfer can dissociate himself from an... Continue Reading →
An Opening Hole: Tobacco Road Golf Club
Mike Stranz managed to inject moments of sheer terror and excitement into actually gentle opener, so much so that a 160-yard lay-up on an opening 550-yard hole can feel exhilarating!
The Golf Industry’s Adolescence
My best friend of well over a decade allows me to indulge in conversation about golf and the golf industry frequently and I very much respect and consider his insight. He does not play or even enjoy the game but our desire to have lively discussion tends to trump those seeming shortcomings. I convinced him... Continue Reading →
Strategic Hazards: Why Every Dogleg Doesn’t Need a Bunker
I am currently in a discussion on Golf Club Atlas about the strategic nature of a bunker on the fourth hole at Galloway National. Elements of the discussion highlight some of the differences in perception of strategy in golf, as well as what features introduce strategic thinking. No single authority exists which define the nuances... Continue Reading →
Know Your Turf: Annual Bluegrass
Know Your Turf seeks to improve the reader's understanding of the turf aspects of the golf course. Each post will explore and explain the uses of a species of a turfgrass in a golf course setting and how the management of that species influences the game. The majority of the information presented is from my... Continue Reading →
Who put that $%&#@* hole there?
...or how I learned to stop worrying and love the game. Last week's topic of general setup guidelines begs a few questions, especially on definitions for difficulty. Golfers constantly encounter hole locations or course setup nuances that are quickly labeled as "unfair" or "difficult." Seeking a fair examination of one's game is in the nature... Continue Reading →
