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.
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.
For a golf course in south central Tennessee and designed by one of the world’s most famous architects, comparisons between Sewanee and nearby Sweetens Cove are inevitable.
Tom Doak’s renovated design at Memorial Park in Houston strikes the balance between a high-profile, PGA Tour-worthy venue and a lovable municipal course that’s accessible to its community.
If, as the PGA has explained, holding the 2022 championship at Bedminster “would be detrimental to the PGA of America brand,” then Shoal Creek alone offers the PGA a mulligan.
The 6,300 yards that Tillinghast baked into Swope undoubtedly play shorter today than they did when the course opened nearly 90 years ago. But its bizarre yardages create awkward yardages that still challenge, even in the Twenty-First Century.
Whether Pebble Beach is America’s “best” public-access golf course is debatable. But it’s unquestionably one of the worst examples of public-access golf in America.
Oxmoor Valley’s Short course runs across some of the same dramatic land as the site’s two solid regulation-length courses, but at a third of the price.
“Am I gonna be nervous? Absolutely. But I’m gonna look at it as that the worst thing that could happen is that I don’t hit a good golf shot. I made it, I earned it, I qualified. No matter what happens, I made it, and I’m gonna enjoy the walk.“
“It’s just golf, man; 150 yards at Bethpage in New York is the same as 150 yards in Port Orange, Florida. I don’t drive it exceptionally far, and…I think game planning for the longer hitters, who are prone to take chances off the tee with different driving lines, becomes a little more difficult.”