Courses
So my fellow GolfDashBlog partner, John and I finally got out to play some golf last Friday at
Hickory Ridge Country Club in Amherst, MA on about as nice a golf day as is possible.
I was a member of Hickory Ridge about 10 years for 5 years or so and never got tired of playing the course. It was built in 1969 and designed by famed architect
Geoffrey Cornish out of a pasture and farm land.
I actually re-did their logo way back then by refining it (it was in desperate need of an update) so it's still pretty cool to see it on all their apparel, equipment, etc.
There ...
Well, thank God LeBron has a new home now (Miami Heat) so we can be less distracted with his circus and on to more exciting things - like what's going on in golf!
All sorts of stuff! Yesterday 46 year old tour veteran Paul Goydas threw up an amazing 59 on his first round at the
John Deere Classic - That's 12 birdies! and get this - Steve Stricker shot a 60 with the chance to tie his 59 on the last hole! Talk about throwing darts! There were lots of low scores so this tourney looks to be super low scoring and extremely fun to watch.
Of course, the ...
I am planning a late fall golf trip to play Harbour Town golf links, (home of the PGA stop,
the Verizon Heritage Heron Point and the Ocean Course at
Sea Pines Resort in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
Of course, Harbour Town is famous for the iconic Harbour Town Lighthouse. The 90-foot, red-and-white striped tower of the Harbour Town Lighthouse on Hilton Head Island is the visual centerpiece of Sea Pines.
Construction on the hexagonal Harbour Town Lighthouse began in 1969 and was completed in the spring of 1970. This was the first privately financed lighthouse to be built since the early 1800s. Of course, it serves as the perfect ...
Rhode Island's newest and longest public course opened in April of this year. I had the chance to play it with a couple of friends last week. We're geezers so we played the Green tees at a little over 6500 yards. Had we been feeling our Wheeties we could have teed off on the Blacks which come in at just over 7400 yards.
This course is owned by the Hendrick family who have been in the golf business in the state for over 40 years and own two other good 18 hole layouts. A rarity these days in the golf business, they've proven that they know how to make money. Unfortunately, ...
That was fun yesterday watching Phil and his "birdie-barrage" yesterday at the US Open. Man, that guy can really turn it on at times. I guess that's why we all seem to love Phil.
I couldn't help but notice the inherent differences between Phil and Tiger yesterday. Even though Tiger is playing well he just looks a bit out of it - almost like he has lost his golf "superpowers" that he once held so near and dear. It's now this facadeless character who just doesn't look comfortable in his own shoes.
Compared to Phil, who is just an innately likable character. Just looks likes he's having a ball out there (I ...
I'll admit it but a golf holiday in France is not the first destination I think about when considering a golf getaway. Not for any particular reason, just for lack of knowledge about it's courses and golfing scene in general.
And it's not like they have just a few course. France boasts over 550 courses!
Maybe one reason is that France does not seem to have any iconic golf figures - like Norman for Australia, Seve or Sergio for Spain, Tiger or Phil for the US, Westwood or Poulter for the UK, Padraig for Ireland, etc. I can only think of one - Jan Van de Velde - and famous for rather ...
I was glad to see the article,
Is Brown the New Green? recently in the Wall Street Journal. John has written about this before in an article a few years back (he's always ahead of the trends!) called,
Brown Courses are Good Courses.
I really get tired thinking that Augusta (and many other PGA Tour stops) are really the epitome of a golf experience. They are almost getting to be a parody of themselves - like high-end costume jewelry.
Says Jim Hyler, president of the US Golf Association in the article:
"In my opinion, many of the standards by which we construct and maintain our courses have become, quite simply, unsustainable," ...
We are trying to plan our big family trip for early 2011 and have come down to a few destinations, including a Caribbean cruise and a a Hawaiian vacation.
I have been a on numerous cruises to the Caribbean so, I have to admit, the lure of Hawaii is strong. Just that we live in Massachusetts and it's half way across the world for us - so the travel distance is an issue with school schedules, etc.
That being said, I am secretly looking into deals at various
Hawaii golf courses - I mean, come on, I have to sneak on to at least 2 courses while on vacation, ...
I am going to make it a point to start covering more "world" golf here at the GolfDash blog. There are just so many cool courses, venues and styles of golf - particularly on the European Tour.
One upcoming tournament is the The Estoril Open de Portugal which will return to the
Penha Longa Hotel Spa & Golf Resort from April 1-4, one of Europe’s most avant-garde golf venues following a 2 million refurbishment program.
The Atlantic course was designed by Robert Trent Jones and is typically ranked in the top 30 courses in continental Europe.
To see the beauty of the course take this
Photo Tour.
Duarte Nobre Guedes, President ...
If you're in Houston and know a member at Lakeside, it's a must play. If you haven't played a Tour 18 course, they can be a lot of fun.
