"How to land the toughest tee times in public golf"

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Even in the age of Google, I've recently gotten this question about a few courses--usually Torrey, Pebble and the Old Course--so it's nice to see Jason Scott Deegan put together a list of the tough tee time gets, and how to get them.

Bookmark this for yourself or your friends who ask!

He writes about all of the above mentioned and others.

The only thing I'd add is this story on East Lothian golf for Golf Digest that includes some links to the courses in that region, including Muirfield.

First Look: New 7th And 8th Holes At Royal Portrush

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Thanks to reader PG for catching photographer David Cannon's Tweeted first-look images of the new 7th and 8th holes at Royal Portrush.

The holes were created for The Open Championship's arrival in 2019, allowing for the use of the current 17th and 18th holes as staging.

Shipnuck: MPCC The Best 36 In America!?

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I hope The Knockdown's Alan Shipnuck lands a membership for declaring Monterey Peninsula's Dunes course America's "next great golf course" and the "best 36-hole club in America," nudging out Winged Foot, Baltusrol and, uh, Whisper Rock?

Shipnuck, resident of nearby Salinas and now eligible for Chamber of Commerce HOF status, writes:

Winged Foot and Baltusrol each have two courses with championship pedigrees but at both properties the tracks look and play pretty much the same. Whisper Rock is a cool scene and enjoys the starpower of various Tour players as members, but the outskirts of Scottsdale can’t compete with the grandeur of Pebble Beach.

No, the best 36-hole club in America is now Monterey Peninsula, with two very different courses that are every bit as good as those that share the same famous coastline.

The piece also features links to a slideshow of the Dunes, which is likely to host the AT&T National Pro-Am in 2018. It's sister Shore Course is currently hosting along with Spyglass Hill and Pebble Beach.

Nine Days Of Christmas: Simpson & Co. Golf Architects

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Some of this year's suggested gifts are personal items (here and here) that Santa will never leave under the tree. Others in the non-Santa category support worthwhile golf causes (here and here) while also making a great gift.

So while the new Simpson & Co. biography published by Rhod McEwan is one that you can proudly gift, I'm fairly certain that golf architecture aficionados will be placing this stunning production alongside their collection of classics. Scoop up a copy while they last!

Written by the late Fred Hawtree, the book is embellished by Donald Steel's foreword and afterword along with a long list of contributors featured in the Acknowledgements. The resulting sense of finding a fun visual or factual surprise on every page is befitting of Simpson's rich-but-mysterious life.

McEwan has put together a sturdy volume which, as with his other golf publications over the years, will age gracefully. Best of all, we have a highly readable, visually engaging tribute one of golf architecture's least understood characters.

The book is £28.00. Shipping is £4 in the UK, £10 in Europe and £15 for the rest of the world. Simpson & Co. is a limited printing of 750 copies, each numbered.

Here is the purchase page.

There is also a limited (50 copies) leather bound edition for £180.

Chambers Bay Turns White Again...For A Few Hours

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Isn't this about how it looked during the 2015 U.S. Open?


Looking at this and thinking about what looms this coming June, we'll be longing to return there for another major...

First Look At Pinehurst No. 4 Redesign Plans

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Architect Gil Hanse and Pinehurst's Tom Pashley were on Morning Drive today to discuss the exciting overhaul of Pinehurst No. 4. And while someone will surely be sad to see the eradication of Tom Fazio's pot bunker phase, the layout desperately deserves to look more like a Pinehurst course.

The Pinehurst page with today's Morning Drive chat and a few videos of proposed before/afters. Two of the holes here:

First Look: New 7th At Royal Portrush

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Welcome the busy and talented design firm of Ebert and Mackenzie to Instagram by following and checking out the first glimpse of their Royal Portrush renovation.

The firm is adding two holes to a course currently ranked 13th by Golf Magazine's esteemed panel.

We saw a preview of the planned changes here. While many of us feared tinkering with a classic to create a tent city on the current 17th and 18th, adding two holes was the only way for The Open to cone to Northern Ireland. Furthermore, losing the 17th hole's massive fairway bunker was a shame but it seems "Big Nellie" has surfaced at the new 572-yard 7th:

Architect Kidd Claims Media Seduced Him Into Excessive Design

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The media has been blamed for many things, but I'm fairly certain architect David Kidd took things to another level in suggesting his much-derided, since-renovated Castle Course at St. Andrews was the fault of others. 

Kidd was challenged by "the media", starting with former Golfweek publisher Alex Miceli:

This would suggest he designed to play to a ranking. While many architects have surely been influenced in some way by ranking criteria, blaming it for an unsuccessful design seems out of line.

And this reply to Golf World's John Huggan:

It is an unfortunate state of affairs when resistance to scoring is a ranking criteria. And the golf ball quickly outdated some pretty stellar courses. But blaming such outside forces appears short-sighted and, at best, should at least spark discussion toward remedying both blights on the game.

Getting In The Mood For Kingston Heath, 2016 World Cup

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Nothing evokes Thanksgiving memories like Kingston Heath, which returns to the tournament golf spotlight for the first time since the now infamous 2009 Austalian Masters. Even better, the return comes with the historic World Cup of Golf sporting a fun format featuring two rounds of four-ball and two rounds of foursomes.

John Huggan shares a few fun facts from the history of an event that was once more prominent.

The field has some very intriguing teams.

But it's Kingston Heath, the glorious sandbelt masterpiece, which is the star of proceedings starting Wednesday evening in the United States (Golf Channel 8 pm ET). Steve Keipert shares the views of many who believe this is Australia's best course.

What do I love about it? As much as any course on the planet, it checks off all the boxes: memorable, walkable, beautiful, bizarre at times and looks like no other course in the world. Many of its many subtleties probably don't translate well to television, but as these visual show, the bunkering most certainly does:

7th Hole @worldcupgolf (6th) @kingston_heath #sandbelt @visit_melbourne_victoria 393m Par 4

A video posted by Kingston Heath Golf Club (@kingston_heath) on Nov 1, 2016 at 11:05pm PDT

10th Hole @worldcupgolf (9th) @kingston_heath 330m Par 4 #sandbelt @visitmelbourne

A video posted by Kingston Heath Golf Club (@kingston_heath) on Oct 31, 2016 at 5:19pm PDT

15th green @kingston_heath 142m Par 3 @worldcupgolf 24-27 November #melbournesandbelt #sandbeltgolf @visitmelbourne @pgatour

A photo posted by Kingston Heath Golf Club (@kingston_heath) on Oct 21, 2016 at 8:09pm PDT

@kingston_heath 1934 & 2016 thanks to our course architect @cockingmike . Host of 2016 @worldcupgolf @melbournesandbelt 24-27 November

A photo posted by Kingston Heath Golf Club (@kingston_heath) on Nov 9, 2016 at 2:28am PST

Here is a nice promo video from the club website:

Kingston Heath Promo from Collier Creative on Vimeo.