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Golf photography by a golf obsessive. 100% original golf course photos. All photos posted are my own and ©Jon Cavalier.
Philadelphia, PA
Joined August 2015
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Here’s your annual reminder that one of the best and most beautiful courses in the country is in Hurricane, Utah, and anyone can play there for under $100.
Sand Hollow Golf Course - if you haven’t been, you should go. Trust me - you’ll love it.
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Today we passed the Masters Equinox - the amount of time until the 2024 Masters begins (184 days) is now shorter than the amount of time since the last Masters ended (185 days).
We’ve rounded the far point of our orbit around the calendar and are now headed back towards Augusta
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Of the many things I’m thankful for this golf season, getting the chance to surprise my dad with a round at Pine Valley tops the list. Pops got me into this game we all love, and to share this experience with him was truly wonderful. Here’s the big reveal from that terrific day.
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Wolf Creek Golf Club, a publicly-accessible moonscape of a golf course an hour outside of Las Vegas in Mesquite, Nevada, is always a popular request. It’s one-of-a-kind adventure golf through the Mojave desert, like a video game come to life, and its as memorable as golf gets.
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Made an ace on the 5th at Stonewall yesterday during a solo sunset loop. Gracie was my only witness, and she forced me to buy her several rounds of treats before she would attest the card.
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The
#Masters
, and I can’t wait.
Like many of you, I’ll be watching on TV this year, and as you probably know, there are some things about Augusta National that just don’t quite come through on TV.
So here’s a photo thread of 10 things I think you might find interesting about
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Sleepy Hollow Country Club
Halloween Weekend 🎃👻
Peak of fall 🍂🍁
Sunny and 75 degrees ☀️😎
Great company 🏌️🏌️♂️
It’s difficult to imagine a more perfect setting for a day of golf.
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Since we are now in the final run up to the 118th United States Open at Shinnecock Hills, I’ve been thinking of doing a hole-by-hole “tour” of the course. Would you guys be interested in something like that?
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Today, I got my first look at the final pieces of the now-complete Gil Hanse-led restoration/renovation at Sleepy Hollow Country Club, and the results are incredible. Simply put, there aren’t 50 better courses in the US than Sleepy. And there may not be 25. It’s that good.
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Today, I got to surprise my dad with his first ever round at Pine Valley. He didn’t find out where we were playing until we got to the guardhouse. A truly amazing experience to be able to share a day like this with him and one of my oldest friends. On a perfect fall day to boot!
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Today, Pete Dye passed away at the age of 94. He now rests with Alice, his loving wife for 59 years, and who passed less than a year ago.
Pete Dye was a titan of golf course architecture to whom nearly every modern architect can trace his lineage.
Godspeed, Pete.
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Pops had to go to the ER today - got hit with a COVID diagnosis and is hurting pretty bad. Many of you have met or played with him over the years, so I thought I’d let you know. If you feel up to dropping him a note to lift his spirits, he’s
@rich_cavalier
. Get well soon, Pops.
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Request:
“Can you post that pic of the old 16th at Sleepy Hollow with the stupid smiley face bunkering?”
Here you go. The before photo here actually hurts my eyes to look at. If I were Gil Hanse, this would be my business card.
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Tons of chatter about the course at last week week’s U.S. Open at LACC. So I thought I’d ask you guys:
If you were king of golf and could have the U.S. Open anywhere you wanted, which course would you pick?
The only two requirements are:
1. The course in the the United States.
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Whenever I hear that someone decided not to play Chambers Bay because of the criticism surrounding the 2015 U.S. Open, I just feel bad for them.
They’re missing out on one of the most beautiful courses in the country, and a hell of a fun place to play links-like golf. Terrific.
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Imagine you’re an amateur golfer who won the U.S. Amateur or Mid Am. And the night before the biggest day of your golfing life, you spend the night with the ghosts of legends, in the Crow’s Nest, atop the clubhouse at Augusta National Golf Club. Must be an incredible experience.
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It’s Masters Week 😢 and despite the postponement of the 2020 event, I’ve been getting plenty of requests for photos of Augusta National and the Masters.
So this week, I’ll do a running hole-by-hole thread of the course, 1 through 18. Tough week - hopefully this helps a bit.
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Simply put, Pasatiempo Golf Club is one of the country’s finest publicly-accessible golf courses, and one of the few places a golfer can play a true Alister MacKenzie design without an invite from a member. I have yet to meet anyone who has played Pasa who didn’t fall in love.
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2 months.
60 days.
1440 hours.
86,400 minutes.
April 9, 2020: The 84th Masters Tournament.
Defending champion: Tiger Woods.
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No gentleman’s handshake awaits the players at the PGA Championship: Bethpage Black’s opener is more of a slap in the face. A 430 yard par-4 from an elevated tee above a minuscule fairway doglegging 45 degrees to a narrow, two-tiered green. Welcome to major championship golf.
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A pair of new aerial shots from Fishers Island - you can see all 18 holes in these two frames.
Every time I look at photos of Fishers, I’m amazed by two things - that Seth Raynor managed to build this course here 100 years ago, and that has survived for a century.
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Thanks to PGA of America for an incredible day today at Bethpage Black ahead of next week’s PGA Championship. The course is in remarkable shape and looking as good as I’ve ever seen it. Many more photos and some fun collaborations featuring this classic Tillinghast gem to come!
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A longtime follower requests “that dope aerial of Shinnecock with the fog.” How could I possibly turn a request like that down?
Here you go...enjoy!
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By request, an all-18 shot of the Chicago Golf Club.
Charles Blair Macdonald laid down the first course on the Wheaton property in 1894. In 1921, at Macdonald’s urging, Seth Raynor redesigned the course to what exists today.
Following his well-received work at National Golf
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What if I told you some of the wildest greens anywhere are at a pancake-flat course in New Orleans?
And what if I told you that Michael Wolf and I collaborated on a soon-to-be-published book capturing Metairie CC in all its glory.
Is that something you might be interested in?
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Still digesting, but it’s very clear that Pinehurst No. 10 is a very special course. Designed by Tom Doak and built by Angela Moser and Labar Golf, it’s an absolutely ideal addition to Pinehurst’s menu of courses.
Notable holes abound, but here are four of my favorites:
Hole 8:
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Newly opened Payne’s Valley at Big Cedar Lodge is the first public design by Tiger Woods, and it is excellent. Huge fairways lead to large, undulating greens open to ground shots. Add in the stunning views and a nice breeze and you’ve got a tremendously fun place for a game.
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Stewart Hagestad wins the 2023 Crump Cup!
The finishing touch on an incredible month of golf, his first Crump title comes after a win at the Walker Cup in St. Andrews and a Mid-Amateur title at Sleepy Hollow.
Just a legendary run for the world’s best mid-am. Congrats Stew!
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The sunsets at Sleepy Hollow really are out of this world.
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Big day for Sand Hollow - one of my favorite public courses. First, it debuted at No. 33 on GOLF’s brand new Top 100 Courses You Can Play list. Second, the
@ForePlayPod
crew released their SH Travel Play Series episode. Very happy to see this gem get the recognition it deserves.
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On really clear days over the Hudson, visibility stretches to amazing lengths.
Here’s a shot of a Gotham sunset looming over the Tappan Zee and 1st and the 9th on Sleepy Hollow’s Lower Course.
In the background, the George Washington Bridge is 20 miles downriver, while the
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In 1906, five years before he would design Sleepy Hollow, C.B. Macdonald said: “Trees in the course are a serious detriment.”
He would be quite pleased at the tree removal by Gil Hanse. Seen here are before-and-after shots of the 5th hole and from the back of the 5th green.
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I think Chambers Bay is one of the most beautiful golf courses in the country. I’d never seen Puget Sound before arriving on the first tee here, and found the views and the way this course planes out and down toward the water to be utterly captivating. I’m eager to return.
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Some buddies are escaping to Vegas and put in a request for some of my favorites in the area.
My number 1 recommendation for Las Vegas golf trips isn’t on the strip, in Vegas, or even in Nevada, it’s in Hurricane, Utah - it’s Sand Hollow Resort, and it is dazzling. A must.
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Pacific Dunes is, in my opinion, the best public course is America.
Yes, it’s hard to get to. Yes, it’s gotten more expensive. And yes, it’s tough to get a time for a group nowadays.
But this 2001 Tom Doak masterpiece would be worth it at twice the effort and double the price.
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By request, a set from the incomparable Tobacco Road Golf Club.
You can throw pretty much any adjective at this course you want and it’s likely to fit. “Wild” comes to mind for me. The green complexes here are utterly unique.
Breaks my heart that we only got 7 courses from Mike
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Sand Hills Golf Club is the only other course I can think of that I’ve never heard anyone criticize for any reason. It’s regarded by most as the quintessential modern golf course and ranks highly on the personal favorites list of almost everyone who has ever ventured to play it.
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A fall favorite: Old Sandwich Golf Club.
An hour southeast of Boston, this 2004 design by Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw is among their finest and is wonderful to play all season long.
But come late October, when the blueberry shrubs turn a burning autumn red, it’s truly magical.
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Stewart Hagestad wins the 42nd United States Mid-Amateur Championship 3&2 over Evan Beck at Sleepy Hollow.
Of course, the 36 hole final ended on the par-3 16th hole.
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A panoramic aerial view of TPC Harding Park, site of next week’s PGA Championship, the first major of 2020. Lake Merced is in the foreground, while the Golden Gate Bridge, the Marin Highlands, Angel Island, Alcatraz, San Francisco Bay, Twin Peaks and Oakland provide the backdrop.
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This was my most popular photo of 2018, as well as one of my favorites: the par-3 16th at Sleepy Hollow Country Club, with the thumbprint and bunkering restored by Gil Hanse. A remarkable hole at one of my favorite courses.
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Pops asked me to tell you guys that, much like his golf game, it wasn’t very pretty and it took a while, but he has finally beaten COVID. All of your messages and well-wishes made a huge difference and really lifted his spirits. He and I both owe you all a deep debt of gratitude.
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One. Month. Away.
A fall Masters at Augusta National. Tiger Woods as defending champion.
This is going to be so good.
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Just another day in paradise - a picture perfect afternoon and evening at Sleepy Hollow with
@RiggsBarstool
and
@fiveirongolf
. As they say,
#SAFTB
.
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The thrilling par-5 1st at Tobacco Road.
Lay up twice and wide fairways await, along with a good chance at par.
But this hole practically begs the player to challenge the twin mounds that guard this fairway like Scylla and Charybdis on a quest for a birdie or better start.
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The Bad Little Nine at Scottsdale National - the most fun I’ve ever had in 45 minutes on a golf course.
The imagination and creativity that Tim Jackson and David Kahn used to will this wild course from bare desert is off the charts. I loved every shot, every green, everything.😈
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“What’s the most beautiful golf hole you’ve ever played?” It’s a question I get a lot, including today.
My answer: the 16th at Cypress Point, which is as perfect a meeting of natural and architecture as exists in the world.
So, what’s the most beautiful hole you’ve ever played?
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The remarkable Raynor greens at Chicago Golf Club are some of the best he ever built. Endlessly fascinating, each green offers a near infinite number of interesting hole locations that impact strategy all the way back to the tee. Living testaments to Raynor’s brilliance.
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A different angle the popular par-3 16th at Sleepy Hollow: this look from back left reveals that this green is much more than just the horseshoe in the middle. The subtle movement on each side and the falloffs front-left and back-right ensure you’ll never face a boring putt here.
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More from the Charleston Muni…
I’m really jealous of the golfers of Charleston over this outstanding public golf course. I’m hoping the renovation of Cobbs Creek here in Philly cures that.
If I were appointed Sports King of America for a day, my first act would be to pass a
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Architect Alister MacKenzie claimed that Pasatiempo Golf Club was his best design - high praise coming from the guy who built Cypress Point and Augusta National. If there are ten better public access courses in the United States, I haven’t seen them. A personal favorite.
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Big news today for the Lido at Sand Valley Resort!
The USGA announced today that the Lido will serve at the primary host for the 2026 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship and the 2029 U.S. Junior Amateur.
Nabbing two
@USGA
national championships before it officially opens is quite a
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I don’t care if the winner ends up -24 - I love what I’m seeing at
#LACC
. Tough shots, easy shots, creative shots, imaginative shots. The ball rolling on the ground and feeding to pins.
Give me this classic gem all day over a bastardized course artificially set up for max pain.
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The 2023 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship (Sept. 9-14) promises to be outstanding. Sleepy Hollow, as the host venue, and Fenway GC, as the stroke play co-host, will undoubtedly dazzle competitors and fans alike. If you’ve never attended a
@usga
Mid-Am, this would be a great first.
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Golf season in the Hamptons ends as the sun makes a watercolor over the Atlantic and Stanford White’s masterpiece at Shinnecock Hills.
Until next year. ✌️
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A spectacular day at Fishers Island Club with a terrific group of first timers helping to celebrate Pops’ 70th birthday. Lots of photos to come.
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Wow. A great course for a great cause, Tobacco Road was sparkling today for the Take a Swing ForeBatten event (much more on this later).
This golf course was perfect today and gave us all a wild and fun ride around Mike Strantz’s genius. Kudos to the course staff and super.
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Fall golf is the best golf. Happy first day of fall.
(Pictured: the 16th at Somerset Hills)
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Tobacco Road is Mike Strantz’s most famous golf course and his most polarizing. Golfers either love this 1998 design with a passion or discard it as gimmicky. I fall in the former camp - it is tremendously unique, and every single shot brings a daunting and memorable challenge.
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A special day at a special place - Chicago Golf Club is always such a treat. Super Craig Smith has the golf course dialed in perfect - it’s so firm and fast right now it felt like a British links in summer. Many of Seth Raynor’s best greens are here, and every hole is terrific.
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A request came in today for the “best value in public golf I’ve ever seen.” There are many nominees for this award, but the winner can only be St. Andrews Beach near Melbourne, Australia. We paid $40US for this gorgeous 2005 Tom Doak gem; in the states, this course would be $350.
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I could not be more excited to announce my new book: The Golf Courses of Seth Raynor.
Those of you who have been following me know that I’m an enormous fan of Raynor’s work, and I’m thrilled to team up again with Michael Wolf to bring Raynor’s work to you.
This book is special,
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Secession Golf Club (Beaufort, SC) has been a very popular request in recent days. A funky mix of lowcountry and links, this 1991 Bruce Devlin design plays through a tidal marsh and feature revetted bunkers, a combination that seems like it shouldn’t work, but does and then some.
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Friday night lights on Kiawah Island.
The sunsets over the Ocean Course are truly something to behold.
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The 9th and final hole at Philadelphia Cricket Club’s St. Martins Course plays over Hartwell Lane to the foot of the beautiful brick clubhouse. No matter if you’re playing hickories or modern sticks: if you don’t love a 243yd par-4 to a squared green, you probably have no soul.
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The four par-3s at Pine Valley Golf Club...
3: 198yds
5: 238yds
10: 161yds
14: 210yds
...are generally recognized as the finest quartet of one-shot holes in the world due to the variety, challenge and strategic interest they present.
What are your favorite sets of par-3s?
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When it comes to Seth Raynor’s designs, there are none that I enjoy more than Fishers Island.
There’s so much to love about a round of golf here, and it’s hard to describe what makes it so special.
For me, I think it’s partially how delicate the course appears - it looks like
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Just a few things this American loved about golf in England:
1. Strong emphasis on match play.
2. Two ball matches preferred.
3. Firm turf.
4. Variety of courses (Heathland, Parkland, Links).
5. Ease of access to great clubs.
5. Creative, lyrical profanity.
6. Dogs on courses! 🏴
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National Golf Links of America dons its fall colors. The golfless winter in the Northeast is brutal, but at least the season around here goes out with a beautiful bang.
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Great to return to We-Ko-Pa Golf Club and its 36 holes of public access golf.
Cholla, a 2001 Scott Miller design, is dramatic desert target golf.
Saguaro, built in 2006, brings the natural, minimalist philosophy of Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw to the desert.
Both are must plays.
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“I do not expect anyone will ever have the opportunity to construct a course like Cypress Point, as I do not suppose anywhere in the world is there such a glorious combination of rocky coast, sand dunes, pine woods and cypress trees.”
- Dr. Alister MacKenzie
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Idaho is famous for three things:
1. Delicious potatoes
2. Gorgeous landscapes
3. Terrific golf courses
Numbers 2 and 3 collide at the Coeur d’Alene Resort and its Scott Miller-designed golf course. Most famous for its 14th hole with a true island green, this public course has
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If there’s a more beautiful view from a golf course anywhere in the world than the panoramic scene from the back porch at Cypress Point, I’ve yet to see it.
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The evolution of a golf hole - the par-4 12th at Sleepy Hollow:
2006: a boring hole through the forest
2013: fairway bunker added; some trees removed
2017: Gil Hanse installs a Road Hole-style green complex
2019: extensive tree removal opens views and allows in air and light.
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An enormous sea turtle plays through on the par-3 4th at the Tryall Club. We named him J.B. Holmes.
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Today, I had my first loop around Merion Golf Club’s restored East Course, and I was blown away. The members turned their course over to Gil Hanse for 18 months, and he delivered exactly what he promised, and despite a tough year locally, conditions were flawless.
#2030USOpen
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North Carolina’s funkiest course: Tobacco Road. Built in 1998, this wild ride is probably the Strantziest of all of Mike Strantz’s designs. Tobacco Road has been called a polarizing “love it or hate it” course, but I’ve known many who adore it and very few who go the other way.
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Another lovely afternoon today at Sleepy Hollow. I will never tire of watching the sun set over the Palisades, the Hudson and the 16th green.
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The grandeur of Shinnecock Hills
I took my dad out here yesterday - amazing that this course can challenge the best in the world while allowing players like pops (18HDCP) to get around without losing a ball or feeling overwhelmed. If that’s not architectural greatness, what is?
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From the air, it’s clear that Fishers Island shouldn’t exist. With just 4 square miles of land sitting an average of 16 feet above sea level, one bad day from Mother Nature could send it the way of Atlantis. That Seth Raynor built a golf course here will never cease to amaze.
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The Ocean Course at Kiawah is a long-time personal favorite. Pete & Alice Dye designed this course to host the 1991 Ryder Cup, and with the ever present wind here, it can play tough. But it’s also one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen, and home to some of the best
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Whenever I think about golf near San Francisco or in Northern California, I think about Pasatiempo Golf Club. Founded by Marion Hollins, designed by Alister MacKenzie, opened by Bobby Jones and restored by Tom Doak, it’s comfortably among the very finest public courses in the US.
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If summer was a golf course, it would be Maidstone.
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Tonight’s panorama: Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, draped in morning mist and bathed in the light of the dawn, as if it needed the help.
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A few from Tobacco Road in advance of the maiden visit to the Strantz Sanitarium by
@RiggsBarstool
,
@FrankieBorrelli
,
@BarstoolTrent
and the
@ForePlayPod
crew.
Have fun boys, and enjoy one of the late Mike Strantz’s greatest creations. And let us know who breaks first!
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A pair of before-and-after shots of holes 6 and 16 at Philadelphia Cricket Club showing the extensive tree removal (some 2500 in total) bunker work by Keith Foster in 2014, which brought A.W. Tillinghast’s Wissahickon Course back to its rightful place among Philly’s finest.
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By request, the Newport Country Club. Founded in 1893, USGA charter member in 1894, host of the first USGA national championships in 1895, and a proud steward of a magnificent Whitney Warren clubhouse and an A.W. Tillinghast-designed links, Newport drips with history and charm.
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Shinnecock Hills Golf Club - as pure as golf gets in America.
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The morning frost gives way to another perfect day over the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island.
Great to get back to the Charleston area this week after a few years away, even if only for a short trip. So much great golf here. New shots from some Chucktown gems to follow this week.
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Yesterday evening, on my way out of Southampton, I decided to take the scenic route down Tuckahoe Road, and was rewarded with this sunset shot of the beautiful clubhouse at Shinnecock Hills, shot from the window of my car. Glad I hadn’t packed the camera away just yet.
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The 368yd par-4 2nd at Pine Valley is an awe-inspiring golf hole, and the blind approach to a rolling green atop a wall of menacing bunkers is an unforgettable shot.
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