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Must Be The Season of the Witch

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 21:30:29 -0700

Here on the eve of Halloween, it's particularly fitting to post about my recent visit to Salem Country Club, which currently ranks No. 91 on Golfweek's list of the top 100 classic courses in the United States.

Located in Peabody, Mass., the club was originally founded in Salem, site of the famed Salem Witch Trials of 1692 and 1693. The city of Salem has long been a tourist haven; my younger brother and I visited with my father and stepmother during a visit to Boston University more than 30 years ago. And in October, Salem absolutely comes to life, leaning even farther into its witchy history and the happy haunts of Halloween.

Throughout the month of October, this city of about 45,000 full-time residents can see more than a million visitors from all around the world. And as a Halloween enthusiast myself, I love the many ways Salem has embraced its history and the spirit of the spooky season. For those who may be interested, here is a fun video about Salem in October that's worth a look for anyone who may be interested in visiting.

With that as context, it was especially fun to visit Salem and to see Salem CC in mid-October, when all of Salem's modern-day witches, warlocks, ghosts and ghouls so proudly prowled the streets of this wonderful corner of New England. Not only is there an energy about Salem in October that is hard to match, but Salem CC absolutely shines when the foliage is in full fall color.

No doubt about it; fall golf at Salem Country Club is something special. Even in a year when all of the experts say the fall colors are muted, the course looked absolutely magnificent with its trees ablaze with oranges, yellows, and reds against a clear blue sky.

Now, I should point out that the course had undergone aeration about a week before I visited, and my host worried that I wasn't quite seeing Salem CC in all its glory, with glass-like greens that can be near-impossible to putt from above the hole. But I've never factored...Read More

Having a Day at Harbour Town

Fri, 18 Apr 2025 03:30:00 -0700

The RBC Heritage -- a PGA TOUR signature event and a favorite of TOUR players -- is underway this week on Hilton Head Island. The tournament, first played in 1969, takes place on the famous Harbour Town Golf Links at Sea Pines Resort. The course opened that same year -- just in time for the for the inaugural Heritage tournament -- was designed by Pete Dye, with input from Jack Nicklaus, and has been a popular destination for competitive and recreational players ever since. Its 18th hole -- situated along the water of Calibogue Sound -- plays from tee to green in the direction of the Harbour Town Lighthouse. It is one of the most photographed and one of the most well-known golf courses in the world.

I've wanted to play Harbour Town since I first encountered the course in a video game in the mid-90s. I'd never had an occasion to visit, however, so it remained on my bucket list until just a few weeks ago, when my wife and I made the last-minute decision to take our son to Hilton Head for his spring break. It was a great time to see the course, which was in fantastic shape as the grounds crew prepared for the TOUR to arrive just a few weeks later. The grass was lush and green. The grandstands were under construction. And there was an energy that seemed to crackle among the staff -- from the bag drop to the pro shop and back outside to the caddies -- that show time was almost upon them.

Harbour Town has been critically acclaimed since its opening. It reflects a lot of the design philosophy Pete Dye would become known for over the decades, creating drama and visual intimidation with tight fairways, often angled opposite the direction of the teeing ground to give the illusion of...Read More

Streamsong Pt. 2 - The Black

Wed, 19 Jul 2023 19:14:07 -0700

I recently posted about my visit this spring to play the Red course at Streamsong Resort in Bowling Green, Florida -- an incredible piece of property unlike any other you'll find in the Sunshine State. Streamsong opened in 2012 on the site of a former phosphates mine. While so much of Florida -- and Florida golf -- is known for a lack of land movement or elevation change, the thousands of acres on which Streamsong sits are defined by deep lakes and towering sand dunes, windswept vistas, wild vegetation, and prairie grass that dances in the breeze. The resort's Red and Blue courses opened in 2012. The Black course was added in 2017, and today all three courses are ranked among the top 100 public courses in the country.

I was staying off property, so I didn't get to experience the lodge -- which I hear is magnificent. From my father-in-law's place in Lakewood Ranch, I made the hourlong trip to Streamsong on Monday to play the Red and returned on Thursday to play the Black and the Blue. I mention this only to say that if you find yourself in Florida with an opportunity to visit Streamsong, and if you're at all budget-conscious, try to play multiple rounds in one day. Golf at Streamsong is not inexpensive. Resort guests get a break on greens fees, but in April when I played, I believe the resort guest fee was still about $300 plus caddie or cart. And for non-guests like me, it was about $400. But, as I discovered on this particular day, the replay rate is pretty generous, and I paid less than half that for my second round of the day when I moved over to the Blue.

Joining me for my round, once again, was Chico, the same forecaddie I'd played with at the Red on Monday. I was fortunate to have him on the bag (or, techinically, in my cart since I rode) for all three rounds, and that...Read More

Streamsong Pt. 1 - The Red

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 14:05:36 -0700

Through the years, I've been all over the state of Florida. I've vacationed from St. Augustine to the Keys. I've driven across the panhandle, all the way down I-95, across Alligator Alley and up the Tamiami Trail. I've spent time on Marco Island and Siesta Key, visited Winter the dolphin at the Clearwater Aquarium and Mickey Mouse at Disney World. From Tallahassee to Gainesville to Naples to Pensacola ... I've seen Florida. So believe me when I tell you that there is no place else in the Sunshine State that looks or feels like Streamsong Resort.

Located about an hour and a half south, southwest of Orlando and maybe an hour southeast of Tampa, Streamsong Resort feels like it's about as remote as it gets in Florida. There are no nearby interstate highways. Or cities. Or really even towns. The resort is technically in Bowling Green, Florida, though Bowling Green is a solid 20-minute drive from the resort. Truthfully, I made the trip between Streamsong and my father-in-law's place in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, a couple of times when I visited this spring, and I saw almost as many alligators as cars on the back roads I had to drive to get there.

A former phosphate mine stretching across thousands of acres, the resort opened with a lodge and two golf courses -- the Red and the Blue -- in 2012. Until just recently, it was owned by the Mosaic Company, the phosphates producer that had mined the land for much of the last century. More than 100 years of mining had unearthed mountains of sands and created valleys left the land unlike just about any other you'll find in Florida.

In the early 2000s, when Mosaic sought to find a way to reclaim the property in an economically and environmentally sustainable way, the idea of Streamsong Resort was born. The company put in place plans to build a grand lodge and...Read More

Lasting Legacies

Mon, 29 May 2023 14:57:38 -0700

The people I meet along the way were always going to be the most meaningful part of the journey I've been on since I launched this effort to begin playing the great golf courses of North America. And as much as I've loved the experience of playing so many fantastic courses these last couple of years, the time I've spent with friends old and new has been the best part of the experience. And the strength of those relationships -- far more than the top-100 lists I may be able to check off over time -- will be the true legacy of this entire endeavor.

A little over a year ago, I connected on Facebook with a restauranteur and avid golfer from Ontario, Canada, named Andy. We shared an obvious passion for the game, and Andy invited me on more than one occasion to come and experience some of the great golf that Canada has to offer. We also talked about the possibility that I might be able to host he and his wife at Pete Dye Golf Club if they found themselves traveling through West Virginia. But we haven't yet found dates to make it work.

Then, in early April, my family and I were traveling to Florida over Easter, and it turned out we were going to be there -- in Lakewood Ranch, about an hour south of Tampa -- at the same time and in basically the same place that Andy and his wife would be vacationing. I had a pretty packed golf schedule lined up for my trip, but when Andy reached out to invite me to play his home course in Florida, Legacy Golf Club at Lakewood Ranch, there was no way I could pass up the opportunity to get together with him. I was in even before Andy told me that he'd shared my blog with the good folks at Legacy GC and that they wanted to comp my round. This would officially be the first time I've gotten anything for free because of this little passion project of mine. From here on out, you can call me Mr. Big Shot!

I'm not going to do a full review of the...Read More

Back to the Chase at Pinehurst No. 8

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 14:00:40 -0700

It was a long, restless winter without golf. I played my last golf of 2022 in early November with rounds at Scioto, Old Town Club and Dallas National all scheduled through early December but postponed for various reasons. Then in January, I had ankle surgery that I'd been putting off for the better part of two years.

Since late spring 2021, I've been limping around with two torn ("shredded," the orthopedic surgeon said) tendons running down the outside of my left ankle. I wore a brace and could still mostly swing the club, but walking 18 holes was pretty much out of the question. And most days, it felt like my foot was on fire. I'm Irish, though, which means I generally figure if it's not bleeding, it'll probably be fine.

So, I put off surgery in 2021 ... and then again in 2022. But by late last year, I knew the time had come, and so I finally went in to have it done in January. The plan was that I'd be laid up probably until late April or early May -- immobilized in a boot for the first seven weeks following the operation and then managing my way through physical therapy for a couple of months. By mid-February, I was watching the PGA Tour make its way up the coast of California and going crazy over not being able to play. After six weeks in the boot, I was hitting balls at Top Golf ... using the event of a NASH kNOWledge fundraiser as an excuse to explain to my wife that it would look bad if I didn't hit at least a few (or a hundred) balls, considering I'm on the organization's board of directors.

Regular people -- and most medical experts -- probably look at that photo and think I'm nuts. But golfers understand. So, it's probably no surprise to anyone reading this blog that my first question to the surgeon the day he released me from the boot was, "When can I start golfing again?" I still had a couple months of physical therapy ahead of me, but after a bit of negotiating,...Read More

A Round at Aronimink ... By Way of Switzerland

Sat, 01 Apr 2023 09:20:04 -0700

Since I set out to try to play the top-ranked golf courses in North America nearly two years ago, I've said all along that it was going to take good luck and the help of a lot of gracious people to gain access to the private clubs I hope to visit. I've also said from the beginning that I believed the friendships I'd form along the way would be the real treasure I'd find throughout this adventure. And the round I enjoyed at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, PA late last summer is a perfect example of how true that is.

I've wanted to play at Aronimink forever. Host site to multiple major championships, including the 1962 PGA, the 1977 U.S. Amateur, the 2003 Senior PGA, the 2020 Women's PGA Championship, and the upcoming 2026 PGA Championship, Aronimink is steeped in golf history. The club also hosted the PGA Tour's AT&T National for a time, as well as the 2018 BMW Championship. Aronimink currently ranks 94th and 89th, respectively, on the Golf...Read More

Chasing Sunset at Spring Creek

Wed, 22 Feb 2023 14:10:38 -0800

Following my round at Keswick Hall, I made the short, 20-minute, drive east on I-64 to Zion Crossing, Virginia, and Spring Creek Golf Club. Spring Creek currently ranks No. 100 on Golf Digest's list of the Top 100 Public Courses in the U.S. The course was designed by Ed Carton, a one-time disciple of Tom Fazio, and opened in 2006, when Golf Digest ranked it the No. 1 Best New Affordable Course in the Nation.

I didn't know much about Spring Creek coming into my visit. It was a new addition to the Golf Digest rankings in 2021, and in my haste to plan this overnight, 36-hole road trip, I hadn't taken much time to research the course. When I arrived, my first impression was that it felt very much like a private club. From the team of young staff waiting at the bag drop to the conditions of the grounds and impressiveness of the clubhouse, I started to understand that this would be an elevated public course experience. In point of fact, Spring Creek does have an active membership, but that membership seems to be focused more on convenience (earlier access to tee times, discounts on merch and golf fees for guests, etc.) versus exclusivity. And, playing in the fall, I was able to book a Saturday afternoon tee time for about $70, cart included.

Spring Creek may not win awards for architectural significance, but you'll be hard-pressed to find a prettier, better-conditioned public course that winds through a residential community the way this course does. Thoughtful routing has made it such that the nearby homes really never come into play as you make your way through the valleys and over the ravines that border and shape Spring Creek....Read More

Full Cry at Keswick Hall

Mon, 13 Feb 2023 18:56:25 -0800

Nestled into the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, just a few miles outside Charlottesville, Virginia, sits Keswick Hall, a sprawling resort that features fine dining; a world-class spa; European red-clay tennis courts; a jaw-dropping infinity pool; access to a wealth of regional attractions; and championship golf on Full Cry, one of Pete Dye's final designs. Only a short drive from Shenandoah National Park, Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, and James Madison's Montpelier, Keswick Hall offers a quiet respite or a bit of adventure, paired with all the classic southern charm one would expect of a top-tier resort in central Virginia.

I visited Keswick Hall in the fall with plans to play Full Cry in the morning and nearby Spring Creek Golf Club in the afternoon. Full Cry currently ranks No. 69 on Golfweek's list of the top 100 public courses in the country. Access to the golf course is reserved for resort guests and Keswick Hall members.

My understanding is that the accommodations at the resort are five-star but also quite pricey, and I was thrilled to have connected with a member who was able to host me (albeit unaccompanied), which helped to keep costs for the trip a bit more reasonable. (Chasing top 100 lists is incredible fund, but it ain't cheap!)

Built in 1912, Keswick Hall has evolved and expanded over more than a century. At various times it's been a private estate, country club and hotel. The original golf course was built by Fred Findlay in 1949 and renovated by Arnold Palmer in 1991. After a change in ownership in 2012, Pete Dye was brought in for what became an almost complete reimagination of the course. Dye's work to create a more walkable course, more playable and enjoyable for golfers of all skill...Read More

Swingin' in the Rain at Kinloch

Fri, 03 Feb 2023 14:01:51 -0800

I've been slow to blog the last couple of months. Work, holidays and a long-overdue ankle surgery have kept my focus elsewhere, but I've got courses still to cover from my golf adventures in 2022 before I get out of the post-surgery boot I'm stuck wearing until at least the end of February and can begin to start swinging the sticks again to start the 2023 season.

First up is Kinloch Golf Club in Manakan-Sabot, Virginia. Just a short drive west of Richmond, Kinloch currently ranks No. 66 on Golf Digest's list of the top 100 courses in the United States and is considered by many to be the best course in Virginia. Unlike many of the other clubs among the top 100, Kinloch has a relatively short history. The club is one of the few on the list to have opened this century and earned the distinction of Best New Private Course in America from Golf Digest when it first welcomed members to play in 2001.

Originally, the plan for Kinloch was to build a daily-fee course where players would feel like members for a day when they visited. That's worth noting if only because Kinloch is considered by many to have become a very exclusive retreat. With grand dreams, the club's founders -- Marvin "Vinny" Giles, III; C.B. Robertson, III; and Charles Staples -- realized during the very early stages of planning that a private club model would better suit their vision for the property. And once golf course architect Lester George signed on to design the course, the three men set out to create for Richmond a "first-class golf club emphasizing immaculate conditioning ... [featuring] a championship golf course and practice facility with service of the highest quality," as Giles noted in 1999. And by all accounts, they succeeded.

Giles is particularly noteworthy as he consulted closely with George on the design of the course and is often credited as co-designer. He and George also oversaw renovation work on the course in 2019. But Giles's real prominence in the game of...Read More