One of the United Kingdom’s most comprehensive golf course rankings is giving a little more love to the Duke’s Course in St. Andrews. Top100GolfCourses.co.uk placed them at 37th in crowded Scotland, up from 44th in its last rating. I’ve played the Duke’s twice now, and it’s really quite a good heathland course that is getting better. It has some phenomenal views of St. Andrews, most notably from the back tee box of the 500-plus yard par-4 7th hole and the clubhouse. Herb Kohler of Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run fame bought the Old Course Hotel and Duke’s Course back in ...

My buddy and I were at the store yesterday looking for some casual Sunday six packs, and we left the beer aisle with two Oregon brews: Deschutes Mirror Pond and Widmer Hefeweizen. It got me thinking later that night, about a week removed from my second trip to Oregon for golf, that it’s probably the best golf state in the union for a lot of reasons. And I say that as a devout supporter of Michigan’s golf scene - where I’ll be headed on Friday for a week of golf, mostly in northern Michigan. Oregon simply has land diversity and ...

Before looking forward after a fantastic Solheim Cup, one that had me glued to the TV from practically start to finish and was more involved than any other women’s golf event I can remember (except for those I’ve covered on the ground), lets give credit where credit is due: Undefeated Michelle Wie was the tournament MVP, and this appears to be a galvanizing moment for her moving forward. When she lost her 3-up lead to Helen Alfredsson on the back nine today and her putter was wavering, I thought we were looking at the same ol’ Wie. But she finished ...

I know the Europeans are the socialists and all, but American Beth Daniel is the captain who has been spreading the wealth around in the first two days of Solheim Cup competition. Eurpean Captain Alison Nicholas was quite lopsided with her pairings Day 1 and 2, apparently banking on Suzann Petterson to carry the team by playing each match thus far. But that’s backfired. Petterson is probably going to have to be carried around the back nine in singles tomorrow the way her body has given out. She’s 1-3-0 and looks gassed. While Laura Davies’ sidelining was justified after she was ...

I feel a little bit guilty writing this, considering on the back nine of the Solheim Cup fourballs this morning, Michelle Wie seemed to be carrying her partner Morgan Pressel. But the fact is, Wie still couldn’t come through on the last two holes of her match and let half a point get away. On the 17th, Pressel cold topped her approach shot from the fairway into the water, but Wie had a chance for a routine up-and-down to win the match. She couldn’t convert. Their European opponents, Catriona Matthew and Maria Hjorth were let off the hook and had ...

Not every city can have a municipal gem worthy of professional tournaments like Harding Park in San Francisco or Chambers Bay in Seattle-Tacoma, two munis I just played on a Pacific Northwest trip I’m still unpacking from. I was just talking with a buddy of mine who is back home in Ann Arbor, Michigan and he said he went out and played our old stomping grounds, city-owned Leslie Park Golf Course, and was plesantly surprised at how good of shape it’s in. It was a bit shocking to me, because I’d heard a few years ago that in the midst ...

PHOENIX, AZ – I should be home by now, cuddling up in my own bed after 11 days in the Pacific Northwest from San Francisco up to Tacoma, checking out such prolific golf courses managed by Kemper Sports as presidents Cup host Harding Park, Bandon Dunes and Chambers Bay (along with some lesser-known courses along the way). But I just couldn’t get off the dang golf course this afternoon. You probably wouldn’t either if you were in the middle of a round on Chambers Bay in mid-70s heat, hardly a breath of wind and nary a cloud above. I thought ...

BANDON, OR – The Man Upstairs must be an avid reader of WorldGolf.com, because the howling winds finally showed up at Bandon Dunes a night after my bickering about two days of uncharacteristic calm on the coast. In the stiff breeze Friday afternoon, I had the chance to preview Bandon Dunes Resort’s 4th course set to open in the summer of 2010, Old MacDonald, and it was a hoot. My preview wasn’t some exclusive, golf media deal either. The resort has been allowing preview play on the course’s 10-hole loop to anyone willing to pay the $100 plus mandatory $50 ...

BANDON, OR – It doesn’t matter what links golf course you’re on, no matter how bad the weather is, a local will tell you, “Oh, this is nothing. Not like this one time…” In Scotland, I’ve played in wind so bad my face went numb and I was hitting drives about 200 yards, and have been told in the clubhouse it’s actually kind of calm out, perfect scoring conditions, really. Though Bandon Dunes has a couple hundred years of catching up to do, those who have been here since the first golf course opened in 1999 already have their tall tales. ...

BANDON, Ore. - I was last at the Bandon Dunes Resort last April, visiting for the first time. This year, I’m here on a pretty similar itinerary, but America’s quintessential links golf resort is a little different for a lot of reasons. The facilities have expanded. The new 39-room Inn has opened next to the original Bandon Dunes Lodge and Pacific Dunes has a proper new clubhouse to replace their little one-story shack. I’ve also been hinted that everyone’s favorite hole they love to hate, the tricky little par-4 14th on Bandon Trails, has since been slightly remodeled to receive ...

No, San Antonio isn’t as boring as a Tim Duncan post-game news conference - and the Riverwalk is certainly more than a “muddy-watered thing,” as rival Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban infamously said a few postseasons ago. I learned that earlier this summer when I made the short drive down to San Antonio from Austin for a few days of golf. Click here for the GolfTexas.com feature story. Far more than the famous Alamo, San Antonio is rife with historical attractions, restaurants and bars along the Riverwalk. Here, you learn just how multicultural the city is, from Mexican to German ...

Maybe it’s Tom Watson’s display at the Open Championship at Turnberry, or maybe it’s just been word of mouth from the droves of golfers who trek over to Great Britain and Ireland for an old world links experience and return with their gushing tales. But more and more golf courses have realized it’s okay to let mother nature do the talking rather than a steam shovel and a seven-figure beautification budget. Natural, rugged links golf courses are as hot as ever. At Half Moon Bay Golf Links near San Francisco on the California coast, they’ve embarked on an initiative ...