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

Conversations

Robby Shelton

Robby Shelton

“When I went up to Canada, I told myself, ‘You’ve still gotta beat people.’ … A lot of guys will go up there, and they don’t think they should be there — they think they should be on the PGA Tour or the Web. But you just can’t have that kind of mindset.”

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.”

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.”

Congressman John Yarmuth

Congressman John Yarmuth

“I had about an 11- or 12-foot putt, Obama had a putt about a foot and a half inside mine on the exact same line. And then Perlmutter was out of the hole, and Courtney was like five feet to the left of the hole. And in order for us not to lose, I had to make and they both had to miss. So, I drained mine, the president ran his just over the edge, and Courtney — who kinda had the yips back then — didn’t even come close on his. So we ended up winning the three dollars.”