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

Mossy Oak

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.

Tom Coyne

Tom Coyne

“When we organize ourselves in groups — yeah, that kinda stinks, because we start to shout; we start to divide. But person to person, there hasn’t been a person that I haven’t enjoyed meeting and getting to know.”

Rod Perry

Rod Perry

“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.”