Stories
Will Bardwell
Too Big to Trail

Imagine building 26 golf courses at the height of the golf development bubble, with nine figures in public pension money — in an effort that now loses money year after year. Welcome to the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.

Too Big to Trail
Stories
Will Bardwell
Rebirth and Reimagining in Mississippi

In theory, 12-hole designs should be cheaper to play, build, and maintain. But in the staid industry of golf course development, there’s been no rush to test the theory. The minds behind Sweetens Cove are ready to change that.

Rebirth and Reimagining in Mississippi
Stories
Will Bardwell
Rob Collins and the Long Road Out of Hell

Rob Collins had one shot. At Sweetens Cove, he took it — and he bet on himself over and over again. Somehow, impossibly, it worked.

Rob Collins and the Long Road Out of Hell
Pros
Will Bardwell
Coffee, a Dark House, and the Open

Waking up at 1:30 a.m. to watch golf isn’t conducive to work, or anything else really. But it’s become my favorite TV viewing experience of the year.

Coffee, a Dark House, and the Open
Pros
Will Bardwell
History will Judge the PGA

Through its silence in the face of Donald Trump’s racism, the PGA of America is not merely acquiescent in his behavior — it is complicit.

History will Judge the PGA

Augusta National

At Augusta, Memory and Forgetfulness Walk Hand in Hand

At Augusta, Memory and Forgetfulness Walk Hand in Hand

Augusta National’s failure to make a clean break with its ugly past leaves fans clinging to a flimsy distinction between the club and the tournament it hosts.

Champions Retreat

Champions Retreat

If the Augusta National Women’s Amateur is an important golf tournament, then Champions Retreat is an important golf course — to the tournament’s players, and to the fans who watch the tournament. That’s a heavy expectation to bear. But Champions Retreat vindicates that importance.

Black Numbers

Black Numbers

Even by golf’s standards, golf course architecture badly underrepresented Black people. That failure endangers the game’s viability for Black and white players alike.

John Boyette

John Boyette

“A lot of people still will come to Augusta as long as they’re playing the Masters, but some of the hospitality might be slowed down. Whenever this coronavirus scare is over, who knows how bad that’s going to affect some of these corporations and big spenders. I think there’s just a lot of unknowns in that area.“

Whippoorwill

Whippoorwill

Whippoorwill is largely treeless, frequently presenting no discernible playing corridor — just a teebox (if you can find it) and a flag in the distance (if you can read it). If it sounds disorienting, it is. But the result isn’t chaos — it’s adventure.

David Brandt, on the 2019 Masters

David Brandt, on the 2019 Masters

“So they turned Molinari’s number over first, they turned Finau’s over next — and everybody was just sitting there — and then they turned Tiger’s over, and it was “14” again. And there was just this huge roar, like you were watching Jack Nicklaus in ’86.”