Word comes today of the death of John Harbottle III, one of golf's most-honored course designers. He was 53, in the prime of his life and career. His latest project, not fully complete but done enough to let the golf world in to enjoy it, was the reworking and "softening" of White Horse Golf Club … [Read more...]
The Craft
In this corner of this space, we consider less often the people who play golf and more often the people who teach the game, tend the courses, build and care for the equipment, and otherwise work to support and encourage golfers playing golf.
It’s OK: The Concierge understands
by Bart Potter If I ever wanted to exercise my right to be truly golf-deranged, I know the guy who can set up my five-day 18-36-36-36-18 road trip. He’s in Bend, Ore., and he’s got 22 golf courses and the Central Oregon high desert at his fingertips. This means he knows where to hang … [Read more...]
A guy could get used to Bandon
BANDON, Ore.– There is a culture at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, pervasive and authentic, and it’s part of the deal when you stay in its lodging and play on its golf courses. It’s no secret you’ll spend some money at Bandon Dunes, but when it’s said and done the cost and the travel are far from your … [Read more...]
Communicator on the greens
by Bart Potter The scholarly journals of the golf turfgrass industry feature articles like “Effects of cultural practices on earthworm casting on golf course fairways” and “Disease control and fungicide rotations.” Pure geek science is no stranger to the golf-maintenance profession, but still … [Read more...]
Superintendent remembered with golf media award
by Bart Potter “COMMUNICATIONS” IS one of those big open-ended words that means far more than the massive industry that is its multi-headed modern-day expression. For Paul Backman, communication meant sharing information and fostering understanding among media members and golf industry … [Read more...]
At Sahalee, it’s about the trees
You can’t go over them, and you can’t get through them. You will be in them, but it wouldn’t be Sahalee Country Club without them. It’s the trees – mature, lush, resplendent. They’ll be in evidence and almost certainly in play when the U.S. Senior Open comes to Sahalee July 26 – Aug. 1. The … [Read more...]
Chambers Bay eco-awareness earns Audubon recognition
by Bart Potter IT WOULD BE easy to assume that everything in the care and feeding of Chambers Bay Golf Course – its maintenance, management and mindset – is all about the U.S. Amateur, in the near term, and the U.S. Open, in the not-so-distant future. But it was a golf course before it was a … [Read more...]
Palouse Ridge: The science behind the golf is the grass beneath your feet
PULLMAN, Wash. -- Palouse Ridge Golf Course flows seamlessly up and down and around and about the contours of the topographic region that gives the course its first name. It’s safe to say it’s the only golf course in the U.S. – the world? – that sits beside a nuclear reactor and a grizzly bear … [Read more...]
A walk on Chambers Bay with the superintendent
UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. — David Wienecke is playing golf on the fescue grasses and dunes of Chambers Bay, the course for which he is superintendent. He’s playing, but there’s a lot more going on. It’s part pride, part a professional’s critical sense of things. There’s a paternal fussiness, … [Read more...]
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