Kingdom 42

ISSUE 3 42 9

ARNOLD PALMER The King’s best replies to our best questions

Q UA R T E R LY

THE MAJORS Good reasons why this season will be epic

DS O UM U BMLEER I 2 S S0 U 1 7E

THEN & NOW Unbelievable changes in 15 years of the game

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A R N O L D PA L M E R D E S I G N . C O M

Reade Tilley

Matthew Squire

Robin Barwick

Matthew Halnan

m a n a g i n g e d i to r

a r t d i r e c to r

e d i to r

publisher

 founding director

Arnold Palmer special contributors

Cori Britt, Doc Giffin vp , operations

Joe Velotta head of advertising sales

Jon Edwards designer

Kieron Deen Halnan contributing photographers

Patrick Drickey, Dan Murphy / stonehousegolf.com, Getty Images, Meghan Glennon, Evan Schiller / golfshots.com, USGA

special thanks & contributors

Sam Abdelnour Richard Connolly Scott Dickson Marci Doyle Rickie Fowler Ree Hartwell Michael Henry Steven Parish Amy Saunders Dave Shedloski Alexander Sorloth Justin Thomas Paul Trow Carla Uzel Brian Wacker

cov e r i m ag e

arnold palmer

Arnold Palmer - early 1960’s (Photo by ABC Sports/ABC via Getty Images)

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Celebrating

15 years

WINNIE PALMER NATURE RESERVE S A I N T V I N C E N T C O L L E G E / / L AT RO B E , P E N N S Y LVA N I A

W

innie Palmer, the late wife of Latrobe’s legendary golfer Arnold Palmer, had a vision for preservation of the scenic land at Saint Vincent College. Today, thanks to the Palmer family and friends, that vision is being realized through the Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve, a 50-acre environmental education center established in 2000 that offers more than two miles of walking trails and 11 themed trails, environmental classes for students of all ages, workshops and special events. The Reserve has earned national certification as a Nature Explore Classroom from Dimensions Educational Research Foundation and the Arbor Day Foundation. With the support of the Arnie’s Army Charitable Foundation, the Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve continues to expand “hands-on” environmental experiences for children and families. Saint Vincent is proud of the stewardship the Palmer family inspired for this land and extends a warm welcome to visit whenever you are in the neighborhood.

Winnie Palmer nature reserve at

saint vincent college

L AT R O B E , P E N N S Y LVA N I A

724-532-6600 | www.stvincent.edu Saint Vincent College subscribes to a policy of nondiscrimination and equal opportunity and prohibits sexual harassment, including sexual violence. To read the full text, visit http://www.stvincent.edu/legal-info. 2539

Amy’s Letter

M

Stay the Course

y family has always thought long-term.

Whether it was my mother looking to secure the best healthcare for generations of women and children and working to create lasting protections for the environment, or my father building any of the numerous golf courses, businesses and other efforts on which he worked so hard (including his game), it’s never been about a quick fix or a fast result. In this instantly gratified modern world in which so much seems disposable or transient, the principle of commitment might seem an anachronism: “in it for the long haul” and “see it through” perhaps sound like phrases uttered by your grandparents, and they probably were. But in fact commitment now is more important than ever, and if you look closely beneath the noise and the crazy pace of modern events, you’ll find that the better actors in business, sport and in nearly every other field remain the ones who stay the course, put in the long hours and work beyond just a short-sighted view of tomorrow. Fifteen years of Kingdom magazine is a good example, not just because the publication co-founded by my father and TMC USA is still going, but because there are still so many stories worth telling in its pages. Each issue has been a carefully assembled collection

of substantive content (indeed, 100 years’ worth of bad stories are as disposable as the least-considered tweet sent in a flash) and so Kingdom has endured, a publication of integrity telling stories of integrity. Chief among those has been the story of Arnold Palmer and his community, a story that continues today in the Arnie’s Army Charitable Foundation. Dedicated to making lasting positive impacts in communities, in health care, in the environment and in the lives of children, AACF is just one more example of the rewards that can be realized when commitment is at the heart of every effort, no matter how small or how humble its beginnings. Because of my parents’ commitment to making a positive difference in the world their story continues, and so Kingdom will continue to tell it. I, for one, can’t wait to read what’s next.

Amy Palmer Saunders

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Editor’s Letter

“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards” — Søren Kierkegaard

W

Forty-two

hen a man begins by saying, “I’m not the sort who’s normally given to reflection…” you can bet he’s about to ladle heavy dumplings of long-pondered life lessons into your bowl, and so, at the outset of the 15th Anniversary edition of Kingdom, I won’t begin with anything like that; I’ll just start serving.

I am absolutely the kind of man who’s given to reflection, and I suspect I was that sort even before I had memories upon which to reflect. Often my ruminations tend toward an accounting of pace, measuring my time and how I’m using it. And so I’ve come to the question of how to consider 15 years of Kingdom.

Forty-two issues. Maybe 16” high when stacked. From one perspective, 15 years of hard work takes up less room than a Boston Terrier (though Kingdom is easier to catch, and you can’t set your drink on a terrier). Measured by physical presence, it doesn’t look like much.

Perhaps it’s better to think in linear terms: The distance between the first issue of Kingdom and the one you’re holding can be charted on the calendar, after all, and there have been design changes and editorial shifts that can be seen and measured. But looking at the cover today, the magazine is still immediately recognizable as the publication I met in 2003, and so the linear relationship fails as well in terms of offering any sense of time. It’s not like looking in a mirror, in which time’s passage is all too evident.

But when I begin to consider that I started editing

the publication before I was married, before I was a father, before I got to know Mr. Palmer, and before he died, it is then that I’m hit with the full substance of what 15 years of Kingdom has meant to me. The publication has been an underlying constant for more than a quarter of my life, as it has been for my Kingdom associates, for many of our partners, and for many of our readers. And the stories it has allowed us to tell have informed how we shape our own stories, the friends we’ve met, the places we’ve gone, and even the friends our children have made. Enjoying tequila in a gracious friend’s home, listening to great tales in a storied Chicago building, struggling to keep a camera still on course in a freezing London rain as an associate’s pen bleeds ink across his notebook, having a simple pint after work with the guys from the office.

Ultimately we are in the business of reflection: we put things on a page to be read and considered. Should you see yourself in some of what we offer, I hope that that you like what you see, because you are looking at us as well, at our subjects, at Mr. Palmer and at many lifetimes’ worth of longpondered life lessons. Thank you for sharing them with us, and here’s to many lifetimes more.

Considerately,

Reade Tilley

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Publisher’s Foreword

PALMER CUP

ROYAL LIVERPOOL GOLF CLUB HOYLAKE, ENGLAND AUGUST 15 – 16, 2000

I

Thank You

t’s incomprehensible to me: one moment I was sitting next to Arnie discussing the first edition of Kingdom, and here I am writing a foreword for our 15th Anniversary. If Kingdom and I were married— and believe me, sometimes it feels like that—I would be gift-wrapping something made of crystal this week.

(And I certainly wouldn’t mind receiving a bit of crystal for the empty shelves in my golf trophy cabinet!) But this is a business, of course, and one in which I take great pride. We built a concept into what many have told us is the world’s premier golf and lifestyle journal, and whether or not that is true we certainly have enjoyed the world’s premier partners and readers. None of this would have happened without Arnie or without the support and encouragement of our clients and audience. Thank you, from all of us here at Kingdom; this is your anniversary as much as it is ours.

I’ll never forget Arnold once telling me (in reference to yours truly, I’m afraid) that you cannot make a racehorse out of a mule but sometimes you can make a racehorse out of a jackass (!) and that he was very proud of what we had achieved together with this publication. He felt we had done a hell of a job and he hoped that we would have a 1,000 issues down the road. Sadly for all of us Arnold is no longer here, but his legacy is and he remains Kingdom’s guiding force.

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KINGDOM 42

Looking forward to covering more of his legacy, it is wonderful to witness the development of the Arnold Palmer Cup and congratulations to all the coaches and students who have been selected. Hosted this year at Evian in France, for the first time it will feature both male and female teams—strong evidence of where golf is, and where it is going. What a shame, then, that it won’t appear live on TV. If we are to grow this game, surely all golf media have a responsibility to promote youth golf’s pinnacle event.

In closing, I sincerely hope you enjoy our 15th Anniversary issue, which is issue #42. Whilst I might not be alive to celebrate #1,000, I look forward to creating many more—my passion for the game and for Kingdom are as strong as ever, and I have the room on my trophy shelves, after all.

Warmest regards

Matthew Squire

E X P E R I E N C E

A C I D

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Contents

Kingdom Magazine ISSUE 42

54 62 64 70 76 82 88 96

Q UA R T E R LY

DOUBLE EDITION

32

38

46

Listening to Arnie

Then & Now

Rickie’s Close Shave

More than a decade of thoughts from golf’s greatest authority

How much can a game change in 15 years?

You’d be surprised...

Looking ahead to the 2018 Arnold Palmer Invitational

Major Scenarios Contemplating who will make history in 2018 Arnie’s Big Idea Some of the simplest ideas turn out to be the greatest Augusta Homestead The epic tale of Augusta National’s clubhouse Standing the Test of Time Why Shinnecock Hills is sacred golfing ground Third Generation Professional Justin Thomas takes over the family business Turning back the clock How the 1958 Masters changed the game Cold Blooded Carnoustie Charting the winners & losers at golf’s toughest course Pride, Passion & Performance KitchenAid, Benton Harbor, and a beautiful friendship

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Contents

Kingdom Magazine ISSUE 42

DOUBLE EDITION

108

128

147

Jaguar

Just Down the Road

Human Touch

A classic for modern times, the F-Type 400 epitomizes the iconic brand

Be yourself in Key West— even if you’ve never been him before

Fifteen years of great conversations and greater personalities

102 114 120 136 160 171 180 184 192

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Loch Lomond Feuding clans, exquisite golf and award-winning whisky around the water’s edge Sail Away The allure of islands and digging for buried treasure on course Mauritius A place for hearts not content with short journeys, the rewards are immense Behind the Wheel Getting off road with 15 years’ worth of luxury autos Dollar Dozen Open to all, anyone can play—provided you have the cash Sunny Days All the tools you need to spend your time wisely (or otherwise) Splash A vibrant series of clearly spirited cocktails for the colorful season ahead Arnold Palmer Cup International appeal above Lake Geneva Driving Forward We check in with the excellent team at APDC

KINGDOM 42

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Contents

Kingdom Magazine ISSUE 42

Q UA R T E R LY

DOUBLE EDITION

108

128

Jaguar

Just Down the Road

Human Touch

A classic for modern times, the F-Type 400 epitomizes the iconic brand

Be yourself in Key West— even if you’ve never been him before

Fifteen years of great conversations and greater personalities

102 114 120 136 160 171 180 184 192

22

021-022 Contents.indd 2

147

Loch Lomond Feuding clans, exquisite golf and award-winning whisky around the water’s edge Sail Away The allure of islands and digging for buried treasure on course Mauritius A place for hearts not content with short journeys, the rewards are immense Behind the Wheel Getting off road with 15 years’ worth of luxury autos Dollar Dozen Open to all, anyone can play—provided you have the cash Sunny Days All the tools you need to spend your time wisely (or otherwise) Splash A vibrant series of clearly spirited cocktails for the colorful season ahead Arnold Palmer Cup International appeal above Lake Geneva Driving Forward We check in with the excellent team at APDC

KINGDOM 42

01/03/2018 16:21

24 00

KINGDOM 42

LOCH LOMOND

A

monk named Nennius, who wrote the Historia Brittonum in the 9th century, had it that four of the first five battles fought by the legendary King Arthur took place within a stone’s throw of Loch Lomond, the largest body of fresh water in mainland Britain. Whether or not the monk got it right, the vast Scottish landscape here certainly inspires one to thoughts of dramatic events

and grand, romantic epics. Our journey provided no royal confrontations but Loch Lomond’s beauty, combined with the enlivening presence of the region’s finest whiskies— once sunk into armchairs by the fire in the Loch Lomond Arms—might have compelled us to create a few myths and legends of our own. But then steeped in a setting such as this, myth can become indistinguishable from reality.

We’re not sure it matters.

Feature on page 102

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SHINNECOCK

I

t was the shot that defined the career of the “Gritty Little Bruin” Corey Pavin (below), a 4-wood drawn up the hill at the final hole to clinch the U.S. Open in 1995 at Shinnecock Hills. The U.S. Open returns to the Long Island course in June, making Shinnecock the only golf course to hold America’s oldest major in three different centuries. That’s the definition of enduring quality.

Feature on page 70

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CAR REFLECTION

T

hink of all the keys we might have lost— fifteen years’ worth of luxury autos parked in our driveway for test drives, fifteen years’ worth of great stories behind the wheel. More than a few of those stories happened off-road, in a manner of speaking, and here we tell them for the first time: weathering a hurricane with a $365,000 car, watching a drop-top drop its top without any prompting, and a navigation system that’s only good for finding wineries—all anecdotes lived to the roar of some of the finest engines ever built.

Feature on page 136

28 00

KINGDOM 42

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KINGDOM 42

When Mr. Palmer talked, we listened A highlight of producing every issue of Kingdom during Arnold Palmer’s life was the opportunity to interview him on a range of subjects. Here are some highlights from the archives

Arnold Palmer’s welcome to readers in Issue 1 I’d love to meet every last one of you and talk about all things golf. Obviously that would be impossible so Kingdom is not only my way of being able to say “Hi” to you all, but also to thank you for your support and for allowing me to keep on doing what I enjoy most.

If there is one regret?

I guess the one moment I wish I could relive would be when I went to the ropes and shook hands with a friend as I played the last hole of the 1961 Masters with a one-stroke lead. That was a big mistake because the job wasn’t done yet. I lost my concentration and wound up making six on the hole and losing the tournament by a stroke to Gary Player.

I departed from my own rules of playing. You must concentrate until the end, but I accepted congratulations walking off the tee and I had always been taught never to do that.

On debut as Masters Honorary Starter I was certainly a little bit nervous and the anticipation was something. The people were wonderful. They showed up in droves to see that happen and that pleased me very much.

Of course, I was happy that I was able to hit a reasonable drive off the first tee. I went to the practice tee first and hit a few balls, so I didn’t go to the first tee cold.

What did you think of the 2008 U.S. Open?

What Tiger accomplished on one good leg was remarkable.

It was a victory for the ages. As for Rocco, I thought he really excelled. He did a fantastic job. It’s too bad he didn’t win.

That’s the only thing I can say that isn’t positive. I’m sorry he didn’t. He proved to himself and the world he’s capable of winning a major. He really did the people of Western Pennsylvania proud.

What courses might prove to be a good venue for either the U.S. Open or PGA Championship?

It’s strictly a matter of opinion, but for a long time I’ve believed that Bay Hill might be a good place for the U.S. Open and certainly Laurel Valley, which has held some major senior events and the PGA Championship. I could go on and on about these courses.

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An opportunity to put down roots in a place where roots run deep.

We miss you every day but we have the ROYAL GOLF CLUB to remind us of you. Thanks for being my friend and for building us such a tremendous golf course Boss.

A true legacy to the KING.

Grand Opening Summer 2018 www.royalclubmn.com

Do you ever regret resisting calls for you to run for President?

There was a time when some people in America thought I should run for President. It was short-lived because I didn’t allow it to get out of hand. I think there are certainly some people who were better qualified than me, but a couple of them maybe weren’t!

In 1976 you were part of a three-man team with James Bir and Lewis Purkey that set a round-theworld flight record in just over 57 hours and 25 minutes. How did that opportunity occur?

I was at an NBAA [National Business Avaiation Association] meeting in New Orleans and I was flying a Lear 24 at the time. I was looking for another airplane because my lease on the 24 was running out. A guy named Harry Combs said, "Arnie, I'll make you a deal: if you fly around the world in a Lear 36 and set a world record then I'll make you a deal on a Lear 35", which is [the plane] I wanted. So my good friend Russ Meyer put a deal together with Harry Combs. It happened to be the year of the Bicentennial, 1976, and I did it. It was an incredible experience.

[In 2010 a Swiss crew tried to break Palmer's record, but fell short by more than half an hour.]

Palmer takes in the action on 18 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational

One of the things I am working on is trying to reduce the cost [of golf course maintenance]. That’s something we have to do to grow the game. And environmentally, we are working extremely hard to improve the environment by using less water, fewer chemicals and that is imperative. We must do that.

At the controls As Russ Meyer, former CEO of Cessna, put it: "[Arnie] was not just a pilot, he was an outstanding pilot. In aviation we describe the really special pilots as 'having good hands', and I can assure you that Arnie's hands were just as comfortable on the controls of an aircraft as the grip of a golf club." Having held a pilot's license for more than 50 years, in 2012 Palmer was honored with a Rolls-Royce award in recognition of his role an a longstanding ambassador for business aviation.

Can golf courses continue to lengthen in the future?

Certainly, they aren’t going to shorten golf courses. Making the golf ball less lively would solve a lot of problems.

It would help the great traditional golf courses remain challenging and relevant. The golf ball needs to be slowed down and the sooner we get to that the better off all of golf will be.

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The future of the PGA golf pro I hope there will always be pro shops. The pro shop and the PGA pro are very important to the game. The pro is as much the pro shop as the building itself. A really good pro is important to the membership. A good club pro creates an atmosphere where people want to come and play golf and enjoy the camaraderie of a day at the golf course.

And that is what your father did here at Latrobe…

Yes he did. I still think about him all the time and remain very thankful for all the things he taught me. For all the advice and the feelings he gave me in my youth. He was great and for that reason I do think about him. I was lucky to have him for a father.

On receiving the Congressional Gold Medal, aged 80, in 2009…

It was the most prestigious honor ever bestowed on me, at the White House by President Obama. He signed the act which made me the 141st recipient in the history of our great country. To realize that George Washington was the first recipient back in 1776 is truly humbling. Its recipients are among the more impressive people in American history; John Wayne, Roberto Clemente, Byron Nelson, Ronald Reagan, Colin Powell, Bob Hope, Louis L’Amour. A lot of great Americans.

Could there be a higher honor?

I guess not, but I wish somebody would give me a PGA Championship! But that’s not going to happen.

Destiny in Detroit The 1954 U.S. Amateur Championship was the denouement of Palmer's amateur career. In hindsight, it ushered in golf's modern era. Played at the Country Club of Detroit, Palmer was aged 24 when he was the last man standing in a relative golfing marathon, winning eight singles knock-out matches in six days, including a fifth-round victory over countryman Frank Stranahan, who had defeated Palmer in the World Amateur Championship the previous week, and who would win the U.S. Amateur in 1955 and 1956. Ultimately, Palmer would defeat another American, Robert Sweeney, at the closing hole of their 36-hole final. Within weeks, Palmer turned professional and began to push the game into the sporting limelight.

Did you know that some young people know you as “the iced tea guy”?

No, is that true?! I did not know that. That’s funny!

What was your greatest victory?

Even though I won seven major titles, the one that meant the most was the U.S. Amateur in 1954. I consider that to be my greatest victory. It meant everything to me and to my career.

Do they play golf in Heaven?

A Heaven without any golf sounds like Hell to me! I think the courses will be in outstanding condition and the views will be absolutely lovely. They’ll all be perfect, but our games still won’t be. It wouldn’t be any fun if every shot was a holein-one. There’ll have to be some stiff challenges and tricky pin positions. I believe there will be bogies in Heaven.

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KINGDOM 42

Palmer receives the Congressional Gold Medal from John Boehner, Speaker of the House [left] at the Capitol Building, Washington D.C.

In honor of my friend Financial Adviser, Dick Connolly was Arnold’s Palmer’s long-time trusted wealth manager and friend. A year on from the King’s passing, Dick pays a personal tribute to the man to whom the entire world of golf owes a debt of gratitude. “’In the 38 years I knew Arnold on professional and personal levels, he never changed as a person; not in the way he treated anyone from presidents to maintenance workers to locker room attendants. And when he made a commitment, he stuck to that commitment, no matter what. It is an ethos I have tried to maintain everyday in my professional and personal life.”

Richard.Connolly@morganstanleypwm.com

Then

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&

Now A lot has happened in the 15 years since Kingdom launched: wars, Olympics, technological advancements, pop culture wardrobe malfunctions and so much more. In golf, too, there’s been a lot of action, and some of it has involved changes that have altered golf’s shape, shifted how it is played, enjoyed and how it will progress as it swings on into the future. With so many from which to choose, in no particular order, here are 10 of the biggest changes in golf over the last 15 years, as decided by Kingdom’s staff

Arnold Palmer dies His contributions to the game and to the world beyond it are immense and well documented; his achievements as a professional golfer continue to be celebrated, and his personal story of rising from humble origins to become a global legend will be told for many, many years. Arnold Palmer’s death on September 25, 2016, was a sad day for the world, for America, and for golf. But more than just the loss of a dear friend and respected elder statesman, it could be argued that his departure also removed a key source of expertise and perspective for the golf industry and, perhaps, even a kind of accountability.

Few key golf decisions of far-reaching impact were made without someone finding out what Palmer thought or looking for his blessing—if not as an authority in later years, at least as a sounding board—and it’s certain that

he was informed before many major shifts in the game occurred. Additionally, the man behind Golf Channel, Arnold Palmer Design Company, this magazine and so many other businesses in and around the game had a tangible presence that made everyone in golf stand up a little straighter, tuck their shirts in a little tighter, and—as per Palmer’s preference—shave a little closer. It’s not that chaos has broken out or that standards have severely fallen since he’s been gone, exactly, but as a staff that worked knowing Mr. Palmer’s eyes would fall upon our efforts, we can tell you that when he was around the “i’s were dotted and the “t’s crossed two or three times before anything was delivered. No one wanted to disappoint Mr. Palmer, and working to meet the bar he set will continue to be a lifelong pursuit for many of us.

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Women are welcomed

Tiger Woods hits a fire hydrant Originally reported as a curious accident involving an inebriated legend and his golf club-wielding wife, Tiger Woods’ collision with a fire hydrant and then a tree at 2:25a.m., some hours after Thanksgiving dinner in 2009, launched one of the most incredible celebrity sex scandals in history and marked the end of the Tiger Woods era in golf. The game and many of its related businesses haven’t quite recovered. Studying the 13 trading days between the accident and December 17, one week after Tiger announced an indefinite hiatus from playing, a UC Davis economist estimated that shareholders in Tiger-affiliated companies had lost between $5 and $12 billion. Suddenly Tour ticket sales and television viewing numbers were [way] down, former friends and sponsors were running for the door (only Nike stuck around) and parents were steering their golf-curious children away from red shirts and TW caps.

Woods’ star power and sense of youth had grown the game beyond what was arguably a niche demographic in the early 1990s and made golf part of the diverse modern mainstream, drawing millions to watch and to play, including children (remember the “I’m Tiger Woods” commercials?). In the wake of the scandal, all of the numbers that had climbed for so many years began to fall and, with his life in turmoil, the chaos took its toll on Tiger’s once-bulletproof game.

The man who returned to golf at the 2010 Masters was not the man who’d left four months earlier. Suddenly the putts weren’t dropping, the swing wasn’t so confident and the year ended without Woods hoisting a single trophy—nearly unthinkable after 1996. What had once been a foregone conclusion—surpassing Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major wins—suddenly came into question for the star who’d seemed to get to 14 wins so easily. Today such a goal seems an impossibility, and so many are left wondering what could have been. But for the greater world of golf, even now struggling to find a hero to attract people back on course, the cost could end up being much greater than a few blank pages in the history books.

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In 2003, 436 years after Mary Queen of Scots teed it up, Annika Sorenstam accepted a sponsor exemption and played in the PGA Tour’s Colonial tournament in Texas, becoming the first woman to play a PGA Tour event since Babe Zaharias 58 years earlier. “She doesn’t belong out here,” said Vijay Singh at the time. “If I’m drawn with her…

I won’t play.” Could he or any other man express a similar sentiment today and keep his job? Not likely. Nine years after the Colonial, in 2012, Augusta National decided to admit women members for the first time in club history, and two years after that the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews did the same. Muirfield joined in last March, changing its men-only policy that had been in place since 1744, while Royal Aberdeen is opening its doors to women as well as of this February. With the R&A withholding The [British] Open from courses that maintain men-only memberships, certainly there’s an argument that not all of the “doors open” decisions have been motivated purely by altruism or a sense of gender equality. But that the R&A set that bar in the first place is evidence enough that the game has changed and that progress marches on while history remains still. For our part, we’re thrilled to have the ladies on course. And it’s about time.

Former LPGA pro Renee Powell was one of the first seven women admitted to the R&A Golf Club

Golf plugged in Military-grade rangefinders and GPS devices, watches with swing analyzers and a sports psychologist built in, online booking services, the now-ubiquitous Trackman (how did anyone buy (or sell) a driver before Trackman?) and, since the iPhone’s debut in 2007, apps to help you drive, putt, chip and find love on a golf course have all become part of the game. Just don’t forget to charge the batteries.

Hybrids become popularized Originally there was The Baffler, designed by Greg Norman’s friend Tom Crow, and The Ginty, designed by Midwesterner Stan Thompson. Both were utility clubs that sought to make it easier to strike well from long distances. In 2003 their role begat a genre with the debut of TaylorMade’s Rescue clubs, which were billed as “hybrids.” Love them or hate them, the easy-hitting long iron replacements have found their ways into millions of bags, including those of most Tour pros, eliminating so many swear words and “Even God can’t hit a one-iron” jokes from golf’s lexicon.

Street style appears on course

The long putter gets the short end Long putters, belly putters, broom-handles… Whatever you call them, longer putters facilitating an anchored stroke have been around for ages. The first documented anchored putting stroke was Leo Diegel’s, who would bend over, put his elbows out and anchor his putter at his belly button as early as 1924. A patent for a belly putter was approved in 1965, and the following year saw Phil Rodgers take two PGA Tour victories using an anchored stroke, bracing his 39.5-inch putter against his belly. Croquet-style putts were banned in 1968 (compelling Sam Snead to make a few changes) but anchored putting endured and went on to feature in prominent victories, notably in Rocco Mediate’s win at Doral in 1991 (the first PGA Tour event taken with a putter anchored to a sternum). In 2003 eight Tour events were won with long putters. In August of 2011 Keegan Bradley used one to take the PGA Championship (the first anchored-putter major win) and the next month Bill Haas took the Tour Championship with another. By 2012 the gates were open: Matt Kuchar won The Players with a braced putter, Webb Simpson the U.S. Open, and Ernie Els The Open at Royal Lytham. The runner-up there? Adam Scott, also with a long anchored putter. That same year the USGA and R&A discussed an anchored-putter ban that would start in 2016, giving Scott time to take The Masters with his broom-handle, which he did in 2013. The door began to close that July, with the PGA Tour adopting Rule 14-1b to ban anchoring at its events, and it shut firmly when the ban went into effect January 1, 2016.

It’s not all Rickie Fowler’s fault. Fred Couples’ spikeless Ecco Street Premiere shoes at the 2010 Masters—which he wore with no socks—let us all know that street style had come to golf. Gone were the carved-from-a-single-block-of-wood brogues with nails in the soles and the well-pressed pants in garish patterns. In were the looks-like-a-sneaker spikeless athletic shoes and high-tech pants in garish colors. Over the last 15 years, on-course and off-course fashions have blurred, and somewhere Walter Hagen is shaking his head.

Over 15 years, street and golf fashions have blurred, and somewhere Walter Hagen is shaking his head

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2003

Drivers go custom

2004 2005

In 2004 TaylorMade debuted the R7 Quad, the first driver to feature user-tweakable weights to shift the center of gravity.

Nike followed in 2009 with an adjustable hosel, adding club face and lie-angle adjustments to the mix. For the first time, average Joes had pro-like customizations—and no excuses.

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

2013

Lexi Thompson rues Decision 343/10 while So Yeon Ryu celebrates a playoff win at the 2017 ANA Inspiration, thanks in large part to an anonymous viewer

Laz-E-Boys told to put the phone down In a ruling last December that we at Kingdom heartily applaud, golf ’s governing bodies decided to stop accepting calls from armchair referees who rang in with news of rules violations spotted after scrutinizing recorded television footage from the comfort of home. As of this January 1, they can keep eating popcorn and stop dialing the Tour. Setting aside the fact that there are umpires on course, one trouble with armchair referees is that they’re essentially targeted officials. The TV cameras don’t follow all players equally and so only a few can get the scrutiny. Further, among the heavily followed leaders a viewer might have a favorite (or a villain); they might even have a wager on the match.

Long overdue (in our opinion), the ruling didn’t come soon enough for the LPGA’s Lexi Thompson, who received a four-stroke penalty during the final round of last year’s ANA Inspiration after a viewer emailed officials about a markand-replace mistake. The issue actually occurred during the third round but it wasn’t verified until the fourth, yielding penalties of two strokes for the infraction and another two for signing an incorrect scorecard—assessed as she entered the last five holes. Formerly ahead, she lost in a playoff.

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2014 2015

2016 2017

U.S. invades Iraq Facebook launches First YouTube video uploaded: “Me at the zoo” Human Genome Project publishes the last chromosome sequence Jan 9, the iPhone debuts Tesla Roadster debuts Barack Obama sworn in, first African-American U.S. President “The Decision” takes LeBron James to Miami The “Occupy” movement appears Lance Armstrong is stripped of all seven Tour de France titles and barred for life from the sport of cycling House of Cards debuts on Netflix with all episodes at once, launching binge-watching Beloved comedian Robin Williams dies U.S. Women’s Soccer team wins World Cup, earning first NYC ticker-tape parade on Broadway for a women’s sports team U.S. Presidential election Manatees taken off Endangered Species list

Balls keep rolling, and rolling, and rolling The Titleist Pro V1 debuted in 2000 and for some people golf ball development could have stopped there. But it didn’t, of course, and the last 15 years have seen design pushed forward even more, with the ultra-long TaylorMade TP5x perhaps the most recent amazer.

Five-layer, four-layer, six-layer, one-layer, take your pick. Balls are going further, straighter, higher, lower and every place else these days except where our editorial staff wants them to go.

No question, the development of the golf ball remains one of the most impactful ongoing changes in the game.

ASK YOUR DOCTOR if Myrbetriq® (mirabegron) may help you manage your overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms of urgency, frequency, and leakage If you’re dealing with urges, frequency, and leaks on your own, or if you have ever taken an OAB medicine and stopped, ask your doctor if Myrbetriq may be an appropriate treatment option for you.

Are bladder symptoms affecting you?

Myrbetriq® (mirabegron) is approved by the FDA to treat OAB symptoms of: Urgency

Frequency

TAKING CHARGE OF YOUR OAB SYMPTOMS STARTS WITH TALKING TO YOUR DOCTOR

Leakage

Visit MyBossyBladder.com for doctor discussion tips.

Ask your doctor if Myrbetriq may be right for you.

In clinical trials, those taking Myrbetriq made fewer trips to the bathroom and had fewer leaks than those not taking Myrbetriq. Your results may vary.

USE OF MYRBETRIQ Myrbetriq® (mirabegron) is a prescription medicine for adults used to treat overactive bladder (OAB) with symptoms of urgency, frequency and leakage.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION Myrbetriq is not for everyone. Do not use Myrbetriq if you have an allergy to mirabegron or any ingredients in Myrbetriq. Myrbetriq may cause your blood pressure to increase or make your blood pressure worse if you have a history of high blood pressure. It is recommended that your doctor check your blood pressure while you are taking Myrbetriq. Myrbetriq may increase your chances of not being able to empty your bladder. Tell your doctor right away if you have trouble emptying your bladder or you have a weak urine stream.

Myrbetriq may cause allergic reactions that may be serious. If you experience swelling of the face, lips, throat or tongue, with or without difficulty breathing, stop taking Myrbetriq and tell your doctor right away.

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take including medications for overactive bladder or other medicines such as thioridazine (Mellaril™ and Mellaril-S™), flecainide (Tambocor®), propafenone (Rythmol®), digoxin (Lanoxin®). Myrbetriq may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how Myrbetriq works.

Before taking Myrbetriq, tell your doctor if you have liver or kidney problems. The most common side effects of Myrbetriq include increased blood pressure, common cold symptoms (nasopharyngitis), urinary tract infection, constipation, diarrhea, dizziness, and headache.

For further information, please talk to your healthcare professional and see Brief Summary of Prescribing Information for Myrbetriq® (mirabegron) on the following page.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Myrbetriq is a registered trademark of Astellas Pharma Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2016 Astellas Pharma US, Inc.

All rights reserved.

Printed in USA

057-2352-PM

December 2017

• angioedema. Myrbetriq may cause an allergic reaction with swelling of the lips, face, tongue, throat with or without Myrbetriq® (mirabegron) extended-release tablets 25 mg, 50 mg Brief Summary based on FDA-approved patient labeling Read the Patient Information that comes with Myrbetriq® (mirabegron) before you start taking it and each time you get a

Myrbetriq for a condition for which it was not prescribed. Do not give Myrbetriq to other people, even if they have the same symptoms you have. It may harm them.

Where can I go for more information?

This is a summary of the most important information about Myrbetriq. If you would like more information, talk with your doctor. You can ask your doctor or pharmacist for information about Myrbetriq that is written for health professionals.

For more information, visit www.Myrbetriq.com or call (800) 727-7003.

What are the ingredients in Myrbetriq?

Active ingredient: mirabegron Inactive ingredients: polyethylene oxide, polyethylene glycol, hydroxypropyl cellulose, butylated hydroxytoluene, magnesium stearate, hypromellose, yellow ferric oxide and red ferric oxide (25 mg Myrbetriq tablet only).

What is overactive bladder?

Overactive bladder occurs when you cannot control your bladder contractions. When these muscle contractions happen too often or cannot be controlled, you can get symptoms of overactive bladder, which are urinary frequency, urinary urgency, and urinary incontinence (leakage).

Rx Only PRODUCT OF JAPAN OR IRELAND – See bottle label or blister package for origin Marketed and Distributed by: Astellas Pharma US, Inc. Northbrook, Illinois 60062 Myrbetriq® is a registered trademark of Astellas Pharma Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2012 - 2017 Astellas Pharma US, Inc. Revised: July 2017 17A004-MIR-BRFS 057-2250-PM

S:10”

take the place of talking with your doctor about your medical condition or treatment.

What is Myrbetriq (meer-BEH-trick)?

Myrbetriq is a prescription medication for adults used to treat the following symptoms due to a condition called overactive bladder: • urge urinary incontinence: a strong need to urinate with leaking or wetting accidents • urgency: a strong need to urinate right away • frequency: urinating often It is not known if Myrbetriq is safe and effective in children.

Who should not use Myrbetriq?

Do not use Myrbetriq if you have an allergy to mirabegron or for a complete list of ingredients in Myrbetriq.

What should I tell my doctor before taking Myrbetriq?

Before you take Myrbetriq, tell your doctor if you: • have liver problems or kidney problems • have very high uncontrolled blood pressure • have trouble emptying your bladder or you have a weak urine stream • are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if Myrbetriq will harm your unborn baby. Talk to your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

• are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if Myrbetriq passes into your breast milk. You and your doctor should decide if you will take Myrbetriq or breastfeed. You should not do both.

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Myrbetriq may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how Myrbetriq works.

Tell your doctor if you take: • thioridazine (Mellaril™ or Mellaril-S™) • ambocor®) • propafenone (Rythmol®) • digoxin (Lanoxin®) How should I take Myrbetriq?

• Take Myrbetriq exactly as your doctor tells you to take it.

• You should take 1 Myrbetriq tablet 1 time a day.

• You should take Myrbetriq with water and swallow the tablet whole.

• Do not crush or chew the tablet.

• You can take Myrbetriq with or without food.

• If you miss a dose of Myrbetriq, begin taking Myrbetriq again the next day. Do not take 2 doses of Myrbetriq the same day.

• If you take too much Myrbetriq, call your doctor or go to the nearest hospital emergency room right away.

What are the possible side effects of Myrbetriq?

Myrbetriq may cause serious side effects including: • increased blood pressure. Myrbetriq may cause your blood pressure to increase or make your blood pressure worse if you have a history of high blood pressure. It is recommended that your doctor check your blood pressure while you are taking Myrbetriq.

• inability to empty your bladder (urinary retention).

Myrbetriq may increase your chances of not being able to empty your bladder if you have bladder outlet obstruction or if you are taking other medicines to treat overactive bladder. Tell your doctor right away if you are unable to empty your bladder.

right away.

The most common side effects of Myrbetriq include: • increased blood pressure • common cold symptoms (nasopharyngitis) • urinary tract infection • constipation • diarrhea • dizziness • headache Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away or if you have swelling of the face, lips, tongue, or throat, hives, skin rash or itching while taking Myrbetriq.

These are not all the possible side effects of Myrbetriq.

For more information, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

How should I store Myrbetriq?

• Store Myrbetriq between 59°F to 86°F (15°C to 30°C).

Keep the bottle closed.

• Safely throw away medicine that is out of date or no longer needed.

Keep Myrbetriq and all medicines out of the reach of children.

General information about the safe and effective use of Myrbetriq Medicines are sometimes prescribed for purposes other than

Rickie’s close shave He lightened up (under his cap) for the event, but Fowler has always been serious about the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. Nearly a winner in 2013, could this be the year? Robin Barwick reports

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D

Do you remember the surprise when Rickie Fowler got his haircut, the one that saw the shaggy surfer boy locks shaved to the floor? It was a while ago now—February 2014, if we recall correctly. Arnold Palmer was surprised too, particularly when he learned the news—if you can call it “news,” it was just a haircut for goodness’ sake—as he was riding along in a cart at the annual member-pro outing at Seminole, down the Florida coast near Palm Beach Gardens. This young man bounded up to Palmer, whisked off his flat-brim cap and said, “You see, I got my hair cut for your tournament.”

Fowler and Palmer struck up a warm friendship over the latter years of Palmer’s life, and when Fowler fell just shy of defeating Tiger Woods in the 2013 Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, it was Palmer who personally consoled the crestfallen young pro over a locker room drink.

“I was lucky enough to spend a bit of time around Arnold as I usually play in his event,” Fowler told Kingdom, “so I got to know Arnold over the years and I am proud that I could call him a friend. It has been really special for me.

He did a lot for the professional game that I get to play today and it was a lot of fun to play golf with Arnold. Any time I could spend with Arnold I cherished.”

Playing golf with Palmer included Fowler shooting a 63 in the 2011 member-pro back at Seminole, as it happens, a performance which made a lasting impression on Palmer.

“When we were in the same group at Seminole it was an awesome day, a lot of fun,” Fowler told us. “And Mr. Palmer still had some game around the greens, still had a great touch. That was a day I won’t forget.”

But the point is that if Fowler needs another haircut soon, like during the week of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, the week of March 12-18, he won’t need to go far.

“This year we are going to have a haircut, shave and shoe shine station in the locker room,” explains Marci Doyle, Chief Operating Officer of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

“Mr. Palmer always liked to be clean-shaven and clean cut, he would take his cap off in the clubhouse and he would say how ‘shoes show you the man,’ and this station is a bit of a wink to him. We continue to make sure that Mr. Palmer is ever present in everything we do.

“I remember when Rickie had all that scraggle cut off, he did it for Mr. Palmer, and it will be interesting to see which of the guys get a shave or a haircut at the tournament.

We have a couple guys on tour with pony tails and with some caveman scruff, so we’ll see.”

Scraggle? Caveman scruff? For entertaining hair style phrasing, just call Marci.

The “haircut, shave and shine” will add another touch of class to the storied Arnold Palmer Invitational, and a light-hearted yet poignant reminder of Palmer’s values. This year the tournament will be staged for the second time since Palmer died in September 2016 and Doyle is confidant ticket sales will be in the same ballpark as in 2017 (sales were up by five percent at the end of February), when a record 140,000 fans made the pilgrimage to the Orlando resort. Palmer bought Bay Hill in 1976 and it has held this tournament since 1979, first as the Bay Hill Citrus Classic, while other titles have included the Hertz Bay Hill Classic and Bay Hill Invitational.

Rickie Fowler lines up a putt at the 2017 Arnold Palmer Invitational [far left].

Ten years previously, at the 2007 Walker Cup [left], there was a lot more hair under his cap

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Frenchman’s Reserve, a prestigious and sophisticated gated golf course community, is situated in one of the most desirable locations in Palm Beach County, Florida.

The private residential Club boasts a newly renovated 18 Hole Arnold Palmer Signature Golf Course and a remodeled state-of-the-art Grande Clubhouse. Throughout 2018, the Club will introduce spectacular new amenities that will truly enhance the Club experience.

Frenchman’s Reserve Country Club I 3370 Grande Corniche, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410 561-630-0333 I Visit www.frenchmansreservecc.com I Follow Us on Social Media

Fowler is part of a Host Committee for 2018, along with Peter Jacobsen and Nancy Lopez, and a traditionally strong field will feature two-time Masters champ Bubba Watson— already a winner on the 2018 PGA Tour—Australian trio Adam Scott, Jason Day, who won at Bay Hill in 2016; and the defending champ Marc Leishman; South Africa’s Ernie Els; Hideki Matsuyama from Japan; and leading UK duo Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose. It is a field as global as Palmer’s own reach.

As for eight-time winner Tiger Woods… We may know one way or the other by the time this issue is in readers’ hands, but indications as the presses begin to roll are that Woods is keen to continue his playing renaissance on one of his favorite tour tracks. And why wouldn’t he?

“It is a great field already,” confirms Doyle, “but the question of whether Tiger will play is all the talk around here, oh my gosh. I don’t know the answer but we have had some really good conversations with Tiger’s agent and it would be great if Tiger plays.”

No player has ever won the same PGA Tour event nine times, and goodness knows how much Palmer would have enjoyed seeing Woods give it another try.

“Even when Tiger is not in the tournament we always have one of the top fields on tour, and it is very important for us to honor the golfers who have shown such respect and loyalty to Mr. Palmer and this tournament,” adds Doyle. “Rory, Rickie—these are guys who recognise it was Mr. Palmer who took their profession to a whole new level for all of us.

“You should see the letters we get from some of the players, talking about how it was Mr. Palmer who taught them to make sure they had a legible autograph, how it was Mr. Palmer who reminded them to make sure they stay behind to sign autographs. It is so cool to see these young guys putting Mr. Palmer’s advice into practice. We really appreciate these players and what they are doing for the game today and they are representing Mr. Palmer’s legacy.

“These guys are men of action, like Mr. Palmer was. Mr. Palmer didn’t talk about it, he didn’t show off about it, he just did it. Like with Rickie last year, signing his shoe and putting it up for auction to raise $25,000 for the hospitals— that was an act in the spirit of Mr. Palmer. These young guys

“We really appreciate these players and what they are doing for the game today and they are representing Mr. Palmer’s legacy” 50

KINGDOM 42

Palmer with Marci Doyle at the 2012 Arnold Palmer Invitational [top]; Palmer with Tiger Woods after Woods had won the 2013 tournament [above]

acknowledge that it was Mr. Palmer who set the bar and it’s awesome to see them following his lead. I love it.”

On the eve of the 2018 Arnold Palmer Invitational, Fowler will be presented with the Player Philanthropy Award from the Arnie’s Army Charitable Foundation, which is accompanied by a check for $100,000 for charitable causes of Fowler’s choice.

“The award reflects what Mr. Palmer always did, which was to give something back,” adds Doyle, “and the AACF wants to pass that on to the tour players, to support their own charitable work. Certainly Rickie is a stellar example of someone who continues to give back to the community and to golf fans.”

Fowler has struggled for consistency early in 2018.

He jumped out fast with a tie for fourth in Hawaii at the beginning of January, but then missed the cut at Torrey Pines and at the Honda Classic at Palm Beach Gardens, where he was defending champion and where he last won a full tour event. “It’s not far off,” Fowler said at the Honda.

Bay Hill would be a great place for him to reach his best again, and how about another tussle with Tiger down the closing stretch? What a tribute to Palmer that would be.

Hertz. We’re here to get you there.

Hertz celebrates over 30 years of partnership with Arnold Palmer.

Š 2018 Hertz System, Inc. All rights reserved. CS118060

Enjoy every minute, we have you covered.

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The Majors In anticipation of golf’s Grand Slam tournamnets in 2018 we consider the contenders, offer some historical perspective, visit the U.S. Open’s longest-serving venue and hear from golf’s most recent major champ

THE MASTERS

U.S. OPEN

THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

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DJ Tracking Masters Glory 54

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THE MAJORS

Augusta National, Shinnecock Hills, Carnoustie Links and Bellerive Country Club shape the majors landscape for 2018.

Enduring fame is at stake, so can South Carolina’s finest— World No.1 Dustin Johnson—add to his single major victory after so often tripping over his own shoelaces?

Paul Trow contemplates the future Gary Player, perhaps the feistiest of golf’s “Big Three,” will cast his diminutive yet sprightly shadow across this year’s major championships. And rightly so.

Not only did the pocket battleship from South Africa, still vigorously exercising today at the age of 82, win the Masters three times, but he also edged Kel Nagle in the playoff for the 1965 U.S. Open at Bellerive Country Club in St Louis, Missouri, and will this summer celebrate the 50th anniversary of his second Claret Jug—at Carnoustie on the east coast of Scotland.

In 2018, the Championship Course at Carnoustie will host the 148th Open Championship (July 19-22) and Bellerive will stage the 100th PGA Championship (August 9-12). Along with Augusta National, Carnoustie and Bellerive are venues where Player, eschewing modesty, believes only the cream rises to the top. And this season he is talking up the chances of two golfers in particular joining him in the pantheon graced by the five names inscribed on the trophies of all four majors.

Rory McIlroy has won the PGA Championship twice and the U.S. Open and [British] Open once apiece while only the PGA’s gigantic Wannamaker Trophy stands between

Jordan Spieth and a place alongside the elite quintet of Player, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

“I always have high expectations for Rory,” Player said. “He has a magnificent swing and I like him so much.

I’m pulling for him and Jordan to win a major this year and perhaps join the five of us on a Grand Slam.”

McIlroy, whose most recent major triumph was the PGA at Valhalla in Kentucky in 2014, is feeling his way back to tournament sharpness after a prolonged absence due to a rib injury. He makes no secret of coveting a Green Jacket and is tailoring his season to peak from April 5-8. But whether his putting, rarely as consistent as desired, can cope with the glass-slick pace of the undulating greens at the Masters must be open to doubt.

Spieth, all of whose majors have come in the last three years, is a proven contender yet prone to unexpected frailties. While his stats are modest tee-to-green when compared with those of his fellow titans, on the dance floor he’s golf’s answer to Fred Astaire. Last July he waltzed to victory in The Open at Royal Birkdale via hundreds of feet of inspired putts and a Light Fantastic trip to the practice range during the final round.

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VETERANS’ DAY One major monarch hoping to turn five crowns into six is Phil Mickelson, who will celebrate his 48th birthday on the Saturday of this year’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island, from June 14-17. Mickelson, who skipped the 2017 championship at Erin Hills to attend daughter Amanda’s graduation ceremony, has won the Masters three times and the Open and PGA once each. Regardless, it’s his tryst with the U.S. Open that captures the imagination—six times he’s been the bridesmaid in pursuit of this holiest of grails. One of those second-place finishes came at Shinnecock Hills in 2004, and he also tied fourth there in 1995.

Remarkably, Player’s pontifications for 2018 also include Woods. The former world No.1 has inspired a lot of wishful thinking recently with the game craving an enhanced public profile and more grass-roots participants.

After four years of back trouble, several bouts of surgery and numerous false starts to comebacks, it seems the 42-year-old who dominated golf for two decades might once again be fit for purpose. Ties for ninth at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas and 23rd in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines have prompted optimism amongst his fellow competitors, and much media hyperventilation. And despite his missed cut in the Genesis Open at Riviera, talk is naturally centering on whether he can add to his 79 PGA Tour wins and, more significantly, improve his tally of 14 majors—a figure that’s four short of Nicklaus’ all-time benchmark.

“He’s swinging much better than I’ve seen for years, and we’re all pulling for him to come back and win a tournament, hopefully a major,” Player opined enthusiastically. “We all need him in the game because he was on his way to being the best golfer that’s ever lived. Nobody playing golf today can play like Tiger did at his best. I don’t know if he can win another major, let alone get near Jack’s record. These are difficult questions to answer.”

The question of whether anyone is playing as well as Tiger did in his pomp is surely a herring as red as his Sunday shirt. Equipment technology has relocated to a different planet since his last major success (aged 32, in the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines), course yardages have stretched, fitness levels have gone off the scale and the cast list of contenders has multiplied. Mickelson is still there from the Old Guard, but surely for not much longer. Leftie admits he’s only an “average” driver these days, though he’s still no slouch in terms of distance.

During his golden years, Woods’ contemporaries retreated into their shells whenever his name climbed the leaderboard. However, some—think Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose, centre stage at last year’s Masters, Henrik Stenson and Zach Johnson, winners of the 2016 and 2015 Opens, Matt Kuchar and Paul Casey, so close so often—have enjoyed a renaissance in his absence.

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Tiger Woods celebrates at Torrey Pines during the 2008 U.S. Open [above]; Gary Player at the 1965 U.S. Open at Bellerive [left]

Nobody playing today can play like Tiger did at his best, but I don’t know if he can win another major

THE NEW GUARD In truth, the compelling contenders are mostly in their twenties—young men neither fazed nor intimidated by the man who was their hero while growing up. Spieth and McIlroy are here to stay, ditto the nuggety Jason Day and FedExCup star Justin Thomas, winner of last year’s PGA at Quail Hollow. Hideki Matsuyama is Japan’s best bet for a major breakthrough and the silky Rickie Fowler is long overdue the reward his talent richly deserves. Newcomers like Tommy Fleetwood, Xander Schauffele, Tyrrell Hatton, Daniel Berger and Jon Rahm are also straining at the leash, but they have some way to go.

At 33 and bestriding these two generations like a colossus is the mighty Dustin Johnson. For most of the past two years, he has been undisputed World No.1. But—and with DJ there’s always a “but”—his capacity for shooting himself in the foot, or injuring his back as he did on the eve of last year’s Masters by tumbling down stairs at the house he was renting, knows few limits.

Prior to fulfilling his destiny—in the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont—DJ had slipped on more banana skins than Buster Keaton and Laurel & Hardy combined. In 2010, he could have won two majors. He led the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach by three shots after 54 holes only to implode with a closing 82. Two months later, the PGA at Whistling Straits

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was at his mercy as he played out of what he believed to be a waste area on the 72nd hole. He grounded his club, completely understandable as several spectators were actually standing in the trap at the time, incurred a two-shot penalty and finished two adrift of the playoff. The following summer he shanked a 3-iron out of bounds on the 14th in the Open at Royal St. George’s. His misfortune handed an “Indian Summer” win to Darren Clarke; Johnson then blew three putts from 12 feet at Chambers Bay that gifted the 2015 U.S. Open to Spieth and tepidly squandered a 36-hole lead a month later in The Open at St Andrews.

Even his triumph at Oakmont was under threat due to rules incompetence. On the 5th green in his final round his ball moved even though he wasn’t sure he’d addressed it. Playing partner Lee Westwood felt not, but, ever the sportsman, DJ drew an official’s attention to the potential infringement. Ridiculously, it took till after the round, with the Sword of Damocles hovering over his last 13 holes, before a decision was reached. The one-shot penalty he eventually incurred meant he won the title by three, not four shots. The USGA, naturally, breathed sighs of relief that the outcome was unaffected.

Johnson, understandably, is a fans’ favorite. His glamorous partner and mother of his two sons, Paulina, is

THE MAJORS

He’s been the undisputed World No.1, but—and there’s always a “but” with Johnson...

Johnson hits his fateful second shot on 18 during the final round of the 2010 PGA Championship [above]. U.S. Open defending champ Brooks Koepka [below]

the daughter of all-time ice-hockey great Wayne Gretzky, DJ’s on-course demeanor is the epitome of cool, and he drives the ball further than any man who’s played tournament golf.

Since adopting a stricter workout regime, presumably to push those 350-yard tee shots beyond the 400 mark, he’s been raising eyebrows as well as the stakes. After he nearly holed out on the 433-yard, par-4 12th at Kapalua in Hawaii during the final round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January, fellow Tour pro Brendan Steele said: “He’s gone to crazy, crazy long. I was the 16th longest driver on Tour last year, and he still hits it 30, 40 yards past me. Stats won’t show it, but that’s the reality. What’s more incredible is he hits it so straight.”

In addition, DJ’s short game, vastly improved from 100 yards in, is a little-mentioned but now potent weapon in his armory and could well prove decisive at Augusta.

The immediate future, alas, isn’t so rosy for his gym companion, Brooks Koepka. The 27-year-old, an impressive winner of last year’s U.S. Open at Erin Hills, made light of the Wisconsin gem’s 7,800 yards with a superb display of power and accuracy (88% of fairways and 86% of greens hit).

Currently troubled by a wrist injury that’s forced him to sit

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out the build-up to the Masters, Koepka has every intention of teeing up at Augusta, but his game will be rusty and his chances slim.

However, none of this should detract from his contribution to a memorable U.S. Open last June, made possible by the confidence that USGA executive director Mike Davis places in new layouts. Chambers Bay was not a success when it staged the 2015 championship less than eight years after opening, but Erin Hills, which dates from 2006, definitely was. Of course, it helped that the property, spanning 652 acres, offered the ideal on-site infrastructure and that the club’s competitions director, John Morrissett, is a former USGA official.

What separates Erin Hills from most new courses is its affinity with the game’s traditions. “This is a walking-only course,” Morrissett says. “We have fine fescue fairways which simply don’t tolerate cart traffic. We find that golfers like it too. They appreciate the traditional atmosphere that comes with walking on this wonderful piece of natural, rolling terrain.”

Tradition will certainly be in evidence at Shinnecock Hills, founder member of the USGA, where Willie Dunn’s majestic links layout, dating from 1891, will measure 7,445 yards and play to a miserly par of 70. Thanks to the addition

Carnoustie, site of seven previous Open Championships, is one of the hardest tests in golf of seven extra acres, it will be 533 yards longer than in 1995 when your humble scribe witnessed first-hand one of the finest shots ever to secure a major title—Corey Pavin’s low, drawing 4-wood up the hill at the 18th to seven feet below the cup. Wearing a media armband, I was standing just 20 yards behind him on the fairway.

Augusta National, where Fred Ridley has taken over from Billy Payne as chairman, will remain at 7,435 yards and fingers will be crossed for a spectacle as exciting as last year’s duel between Garcia and Rose. Carnoustie, the stage for seven previous Opens, is generally rated the hardest test of golf in the British Isles while Robert Trent Jones’ 1960 design at Bellerive, which also hosted the 1992 PGA won

by Nick Price, will peg out at 7,547 yards of narrow fairways and thick rough. Draining, seasonal humidity will add to the players’ discomfort there, so no doubt they will welcome the championship’s move to May next year.

For the immediate future, though, it’s clear the 2018 Majors will be tests of fitness and will as much as skill. Gary Player, of course, wouldn’t have it any other way.

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THE MASTERS Augusta National Golf Club, Georgia April 5—8

1 1 8 TH U . S . O P E N CHAMPIONSHIP Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, N.Y June 11—17

T H E 1 4 7 TH O P E N Carnoustie, Scotland July 15—22

PGA CHAMPIONSHIP Bellerive Country Club, MO August 9—12

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The “Impregnable Quadrilateral”: Bobby Jones [left] in 1930 with his trophy haul from The [British] Open, U.S. Amateur, British Amateur and U.S. Open. In 1960, Arnold Palmer won the U.S. Open [below, left] and the Masters [below, right]

Palmer’s presence saw gate receipts from the previous year nearly double

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THE MAJORS

Four corners of greatness There’s no denying it, some of the best ideas are greased by vodka and caviar, or at least one idea anyway; Arnold Palmer’s vision to establish professional golf’s modern “Grand Slam”

“I

was naturally drawn to the exploits of Bob Jones,” wrote Arnold Palmer in his book, “A Golfer’s Life”, in recalling his childhood hero. “I remember thinking if I could fashion a golf career along the lines of his, that would be a dream come true.”

The pinnacle of Jones’ peerless career came in 1930 when in a single season he won what became known as the “impregnable quadrilateral”, in claiming the U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur, The [British] Open and British Amateur titles.

Thirty years later, Palmer was the best golfer in the world. He won his second Masters title in that spring of 1960, followed up with an incredible late charge to win the U.S. Open at Cherry Hills, and was drawn to St Andrews that July to make his debut in The Open. He wanted to emulate Jones—three times The Open champ—but with the rapid evolution of the professional game since the end of the Second World War, Palmer saw the potential for a modern equivalent to Jones’ quadrilateral.

“I remember flying over in 1960 with my journalist friend Bob Drum from Pittsburgh,” Palmer said. “When we were drinking vodka and eating caviar on the flight we were talking about The Open and I began to philosophise. I said there was no way an amateur would ever win another major championship, let alone all four like Bobby Jones did

in 1930, but it wasn’t beyond the realms of possibility that a professional could win a modern ‘Grand Slam’ made up of the Masters, the U.S. Open, the British Open and the PGA Championship. Eventually Bob came round to my way of thinking and the idea was born.”

The idea resonated with golf’s media and governors alike. The R&A was delighted to have Palmer in The Open field for the first time—particularly in 1960, marking its centenary—and The Open’s organizers were doubly pleased when Palmer’s presence saw gate receipts from the previous year nearly double. Like the profile of golf ’s oldest major championship, profits soared.

Palmer could not quite claim the third corner of his Grand Slam at the Home of Golf in 1960, finishing, agonizingly, just a shot shy of Australian champion Kel Nagle, but a new precedent had been set and when he returned to British shores in 1961 Palmer recalled, “The Open and I had some unfinished business”. He lifted the Claret Jug at Royal Birkdale and successfully defended his title at Troon in 1962.

Palmer could not complete his career Grand Slam, try as he might. The PGA Championship would remain elusive, but since 1960 there has been no doubting which quartet of tournaments remain pre-eminent in professional golf.

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Building Berckmans’ Place

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THE MAJORS

If walls could talk, the stories coming out of the clubhouse at Augusta National would make for an epic movie. We chart the history of the most famous clubhouse in American golf

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n the middle of the 19th century, businessman Dennis Redmond developed a nursery and fruit farm called Fruitland on the fertile ground of a 400-acre property in the northern reaches of Augusta in eastern Georgia. Just a mile further east as the crow flies is the Savannah River, serving as the border between Georgia and South Carolina.

It has been regularly and mistakenly reported that Redmond established an indigo plantation on his property.

Indigo was big business in the South at this time as it provided the dye to color denim, which is sometimes known as the “Devil’s Blue Dye”, as the crops were often operated with slave labor. But research carried out by the University

of Virginia shows Redmond not to have beeen a plantation owner but a nurseryman.

In 1857, Redmond completed the construction of an innovative and impressive, 14-room manor house on the top of the hill on his property. The late Charles Price, who authored ‘A Golf Story’—on Bobby Jones and the evolution of Augusta National—wrote that the house became a point of local interest: The Manor had a degree of fame in the area for the stately simplicity of its architecture and the historical significance of having been the first house in the South to be constructed of ‘artificial rock’ or what would become known as concrete.

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In 1858, 160 years ago yet just a year after finishing construction of the house—and three years before the beginning of the Civil War—Belgian baron Louis Mathieu Berckmans bought the property and collaborated with his son Prosper to develop Fruitland Nurseries. The nurseries lived up to the name of the younger Berckmans and as well as producing a broad variety of fruit, and peaches in particular, Fruitland became renowned in the South for its azaleas. The Berckmans lined the 300-yard carriage path up to the front of the ‘Manor’ with orderly rows of magnolia trees. Berckmans’ magnolias, which provide a shady canopy over what has become known as Magnolia Lane, have flourished in the century that has followed Berckmans' life.

The Berckmans clan moved away from Augusta after the death of Prosper in 1910, and after a failed attempt by a Florida developer to build a hotel there, the property was left unoccupied until 1931, almost two years after the Wall Street Crash. Wrote Price: “On July 15 [1931], the [Augusta] Chronicle carried its largest headline since the Armistice of 1918: BOBBY JONES TO BUILD HIS IDEAL GOLF COURSE ON BERCKMANS’ PLACE.” Jones described the Manor as “charming” when he

first visited, although it had fallen into a state of disrepair, with cracks in the 18-inch concrete walls—the result of an earthquake in 1886.

Ultimately, the Manor was well positioned for the golf course conceived by Jones and designer Alister Mackenzie, and Jones, a man with keen appreciation for history, was keen for it to serve as the hub of the new golf club. So the original Manor survives to this day as the clubhouse of Augusta National, and it is a silver model of the clubhouse that sits upon the Masters Tournament trophy.

It was not until 1938, four years after the inaugural ‘Augusta National Invitation’, that the old Manor was fully restored and renovated to serve the golf club. The cost of renovations far outweighed the expense of razing the Manor to the ground and building a clubhouse from scratch, illustrating an enduring philosophy at Augusta National to value its heritage, and also not to let budget considerations restrict development.

The original three-story manor house has been extended over the years, with a short walkway today linking the main building to the Men’s Grill and locker room to the west, with the pro shop and bag room further down the slope, parallel to the start of the first fairway.

Berckmans lined the carriage path to the Manor with rows of magnolia trees

Bobby Jones [left] congratulates Henry Picard, winner of the 1938 Masters

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THE MAJORS

The Fruitlands Manor in the 1890s, when it was home to the Berckmans

The inside story The cozy Library on the second floor of the clubhouse is used as a members’ dining room, leading out to an idyllic verandah that is touching distance from the famous and ancient, sprawling oak tree behind the clubhouse. Beneath the shady boughs of this tree is the famous meeting area for media, golfers, members and their guests during Masters week, and the Library’s verandah is the perfect spot to soak up the Augusta atmosphere, whether during Masters week or any other time of year, as it must also have been 160 years ago.

On the Tuesday evening preceding every Masters Tournament the Library receives undoubtedly the most famous annual meal in golf, the Champions’ Dinner. To get an invitation it is straightforward: either win the Masters or become chairman of Augusta National. No one else gets a seat, without exception.

The Library is decked with bookshelves and display cabinets devoted to Jones, his co-founder Clifford Roberts and President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was a committed and popular member despite his lousy golf. The Library door is adorned with the Augusta National crest at about waist height, and as Jim Hawkins recalls in his book, ‘Tales

from Augusta’, Sam Snead—the Masters champion three times, (1949, 1952 and 1954)—devoted particular attention to the crest. As a man never slow to remind people how limber he remained into his senior years, the late Snead would kick the crest as he entered the Library for the Champions’ Dinner, and the ritual became a Champions’ Dinner tradition. Writes Hawkins: Without warning one year, Snead walked through the door and announced: “The old man can’t do it anymore.”

Fitness fanatic Gary Player groaned, “Man, I never thought I’d see the day when the great Sambo couldn’t kick that door seal.”

Immediately, Arnold Palmer challenged Player. “I’ll bet $100 he can kick it if he tries,” Palmer said.

Snead, who long ago had earned a reputation as quite a hustler, walked out of the room, came in again and kicked the seal, just as he had always done. Reportedly, Palmer and Snead then split Player’s $100.

Also on the second floor of the clubhouse, behind a large oak door opposite the Library, is the Champions’ Locker Room, and like the Champions’ Dinner, only past champions are permitted entry (and their guests). While

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the media at the Masters are allowed access to the main locker room downstairs, the Champions’ Locker Room remains ‘OB’.

As part of what was the original Manor, the Champions’ Locker Room is not as spacious as you might imagine, to the extent that Masters winners share lockers, as allocated by the club. On arriving at Augusta for their spring tradition, past winners enter the Champions Locker Room to find their Green Jackets hanging up, ready and waiting (one of Augusta’s many rules is that Green Jackets may only be worn at Augusta National, apart from by the reigning champion, who is entitled to wear the jacket away from the club until the following year’s Masters).

The Champions’ Locker Room leads out to the verandah at the front of the clubhouse, squarely behind Magnolia Lane, and despite its position right at the center of Augusta National, it remains a welcome, calm haven—and largely out of view—for the past champs.

“I love going back to Augusta National each year,” says Germany’s Bernhard Langer, Masters champion in 1985 and 1993 and now the man to beat on the PGA Tour Champions.

“I have a lot of memories from Augusta, and it is a unique place. Being able to go into the Champions’ Locker Room, and up to the Champions’ Dinner on the Tuesday evening, show some friends around, share some stories, it’s amazing.”

Along the way, obscurely through a door marked ‘Telephone’, down a modest corridor, through another, smaller side-door and up a narrow staircase is the Crow’s Nest. The Augusta clubhouse is not fitted with convenient directional signs like the Holiday Inn up the road, so a newcomer would struggle to find the Crow's Nest.

This third-floor accommodation is reserved for use by amateur golfers competing in the Masters. Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods are among the golfers who have stayed in the Crows’ Nest, so staying there comes with compelling omens.

"It's the one room, the one spot at Augusta National that is off-limits to everybody but the amateurs,” American PGA Tour player Brandt Snedeker told Golf Digest magazine, having stayed in the Crow’s Nest in 2004. “It's our escape."

The Crow’s Nest is a modest suite of four ‘rooms’ behind partitions, all off a central living room, and there is a single shared bathroom. It has the feel of a college dorm, but without the beer stains. Like the golf course, the floor of the Crow’s Nest is green (carpet) and the walls, ceilings and window frames are white.

Legend has it that a young and brazen Ben Crenshaw ventured out of the Crow’s Nest and onto the main roof of the clubhouse on the Thursday morning to watch the honorary starters, wearing just his underwear. A 20-year-old Phil Mickelson snuck out one night just to stand alone on the 18th green, letting his imagination run wild. “There in the pitch black,” he once said, “dreaming about one

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The clubhouse is not fitted with convenient directional signs like the Holiday Inn up the road

Inside the Crow’s Nest

day winning the Masters on that green." Some dreams are crazier than others.

The walls of the Crow’s nest are decorated with black and white photographs of Masters players: among them is Palmer in his prime, but bigger than the others is one of Jones from 1930—the finest amateur in golf’s history.

Jones, who died in 1971, would be proud of how Augusta National has preserved the clubhouse that he spared from demolition in the 1930s, and no doubt Berckmans before him, and Redmond before Berckmans, would share the sentiment.

STANDING THE TEST OF TIME Shinnecock Hills Country Club has a connection with the U.S. Open that no other club can match, as Dave Shedloski reports

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THE MAJORS

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When Shinnecock Hills Country Club welcomes the 118th U.S. Open this June, it will become the first course to host the national championship in three different centuries. The distinction is well earned and appropriate, given the club’s history as a trailblazer for American golf.

Newport Country Club, Chicago Golf Club, Myopia Hunt Club and Baltimore Country Club are the only other sites to host the U.S. Golf Association’s premiere event prior to 1900, but Shinnecock Hills, which hosted the second U.S. Open in 1896 and now prepares for its fifth, set certain standards from its inception that make it a blueprint for golf in the U.S. “Shinnecock was the prototype for the modern country club,” William Quirin wrote in his book, America’s Linksland: A Century of Long Island Golf.

“History here just oozes all around the property,” said Jeff Hall, managing director, rules and Open Championship for the U.S. Golf Association. “The natural setting here, the way the elements play into the test of golf is unique and iconic. There’s something special about the U.S. Open at a place like Shinnecock where a lot of history of the game converges.”

“This is sacred land in the world of golf,” said U.S. Open general chairman Jack Curtin, a longtime member of the club founded in 1891 and which was added to the National Registry of Historic Places in 2000. Golf Digest ranks it third among its list of America’s 100 greatest courses.

“As you would imagine,” Curtin added, “we treat it with great respect.”

One of the five founding members of the USGA, Shinnecock, located in the sandhills of Southampton, N.Y., in the “south fork” of Long Island, was not the first club in America. That was St. Andrew’s Golf Club in Yonkers, N.Y. It wasn’t the first 18-hole course either, narrowly edged out by Chicago GC for that distinction, when its original 12-hole rendition was expanded to 18 holes in 1895. Where Shinnecock differed was in its conception. It hired Willie Davis, then the head professional at Royal Montreal, to lay out its original 12-hole track in 1891, making it the first U.S. club to have its course designed by a golf professional. It also built a nine-hole ladies-only course in 1893 and ladies were welcome from the beginning. In-between, the clubhouse,

designed by renowned architect Stanford White, opened in ’92, and it is believed to be the oldest golf clubhouse in the country.

Soon after, the club’s leaders hired another Scotsman, Willie Dunn, Jr., to be its club pro. His father, Willie Sr., and uncle, Jamie, were both highly esteemed players and club makers, and Dunn was responsible for extending the course to an 18-hole configuration, completed in 1895.

On July 18, 1896, James Foulis shot 152 to defeat inaugural champion Horace Rawlins by three strokes over a course that measured 4,423 yards, making Shinnecock— undoubtedly forever—the shortest course in U.S. Open history. In the previous three days, the club hosted the second U.S. Amateur, won by H.J. Whigham, son in law of the ’95 champ Charles Blair Macdonald.

A subtext to the championship at Shinnecock was the uproar over the entry of two black players, John Shippen and Oscar Bunn, who were caddies at the club and had become proficient golfers under Dunn’s tutelage. Some entrants threatened to withdraw on the eve of the championship if the USGA allowed the two teens to compete, but Theodore Havemeyer, then president of the fledgling organization, stood his ground and permitted their entry.

Paired with Macdonald, Shippen, just 16 years old, opened with a 78 while Macdonald shot 83 and withdrew in frustration. A second-round 81 gave Shippen a respectable 259 and a tie for fifth place. That performance soon earned him a job at Aronimink GC in Philadelphia, making Shippen the first U.S.-born golf professional.

It took 90 years for the USGA to return to Shinnecock, and in the interim, the club collected more design bona fides by bringing in Macdonald and Seth Raynor for a redesign of all but five holes in 1916. William Flynn gave Shinnecock its modern configuration with an upgrade of 12 holes in 1931, which also included lengthening the course to 6,740 yards. It remained that yardage when the 26th Walker Cup was contested at Shinnecock in 1977. The U.S. skated to a 16-8 victory over Great Britain & Ireland in the biennial match play competition.

Yet more length was added prior to the 1986 championship, bringing it to 6,912 yards. Ray Floyd, 46 years old, emerged from a 10-man skirmish that year to finish as the only player under par, 1-under 279, to become the oldest winner of the championship. Just nine years later, Corey Pavin won his only major title by outdueling Greg Norman with an even-par 280.

Shinnecock’s most recent turn came in 2004 when Retief Goosen finished at 4-under 276 and beat Phil

History here just oozes all around the property—This is sacred land in the world of golf

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THE MAJORS

From top-left, clockwise: Willie Dunn, Shinnecock’s first club pro; John Shippen in 1913; early members outside the clubhouse; Shinnecock Indian caddies, circa 1890s; (ghostly) portrait of an early lady member; James Foulis, winner of the 1896 U.S. Open, alongside his medal. Images courtesy USGA Archives

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Corey Pavin wins the U.S. Open in 1995 [above]; the recently extended 14th hole,“Thoms Elbow” [below]

Mickelson by two strokes—the only two men to break par.

But it is perhaps best remembered for its extreme set-up conditions on a dry and breezy final day when the famous Redan hole, the par-3 7th, had to be watered several times mid-round because it had become virtually unplayable; an admittedly drastic step. No one broke par, and the scoring average that day was 78.7. In the wake of severe criticism, the USGA established a set of protocols that has since guided the organization in its championship set-ups.

“They got it a bit ridiculous on that Sunday 13 years ago but it’s still one of my absolute favorite venues,” said two-time U.S. Open champion Ernie Els, who played with his South African compatriot Goosen the final day and shot 80. “If you get wind, you could play [Shinnecock] at 7,000 yards. It’s a great design.”

Funny he should mention yardage. Shinnecock was 6,996 yards in 2004. But yet another renovation, which also included significant tree removal to restore more of its links-style flavor, has the par-70 layout topping out at 7,445 yards. The tandem of architect Bill Coore and former Masters champion Ben Crenshaw oversaw the creation of 17 new tees in consultation with the USGA’s Mike Davis and course superintendent Jon Jennings. The holes extended the most were the par-4 14th hole and the par-5 16th hole, which each gained 76 yards and now measure 519 and 616, respectively.

“There really wasn’t that much to do,” Coore claimed.

“Our work was mainly to realign some of the fairways in relation to new tees and maintain the original intent of the angle of play.”

Less invasive was expanding the run-off areas on a few of the more severe greens, including the 7th. Finally, Coore added that he and Crenshaw consulted on fairway

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widths. Narrow fairways have long been a staple of traditional U.S. Open set-ups—until last year at Erin Hills, when the combination of wide corridors, softening rains and tapering winds allowed the contestants to fire away off the tee and break a slew of scoring records, led

by Brooks Koepka’s 16-under 272 winning score.

Nearly seven acres of fairway at Shinnecock were returned to rough, but Coore said the duo mostly offered direction on fairway width in the “competition areas,” referring to the distant expanses today’s best players reach. Last year, Jennings further tightened the driving zones. Nevertheless, widths are still more generous than during the 2004 championship, averaging 28-34 yards, though the twists and turns of the new edge lines will dictate more variation to shot selection off the tee. Because of these changes, the grounds crew had to remove 280 sprinkler heads. The USGA wants to make sure the fairways will run out, if the weather cooperates.

“It will truly be a complete examination,” Hall proclaimed. “We want to make sure accurate driving is still part of the test, especially if the wind lies down.”

In essence, it will be a throwback U.S. Open, one more in line with Oakmont in 2016 after less traditional presentations at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2014, Chambers Bay in ’15 and Erin Hills last year. It might not always look traditional with today’s unapologetic long hitters bringing their bomb-and-gouge style to the stately club, but the anachronistic proceedings will surely produce an entertaining championship and worthy winner.

“To see the younger stars of the game play a U.S. Open on an old, traditional golf course like this one is something that will be very special for the game,” said Jack Druga, head professional at Shinnecock. “It’s going to be memorable.”

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Third generation professional Brian Wacker reports on the compelling rise of Justin Thomas, the son and grandson of pro golfers who is now a major champ, headline act and the toast of Kentucky

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hen Justin Thomas was eight years old he won his first golf tournament, a 12-and-under junior event at Sun Valley Golf Course in Louisville, Kentucky. His parents wanted something as a memento so they decided to keep the ball, marking it with the winning score, the date and the name of the course. Justin’s dad, Mike, threw it on a shelf in his office.

A couple of days later, Thomas won another

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tournament. And another. Within a few weeks, the shelf count was up to half a dozen balls.

“It just happened,” Mike Thomas said of a collection that has since grown to over 130 balls following a 2016-17 campaign on the PGA Tour in which Mike’s son won five times, including his first major at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, captured the FedEx Cup and was named Player of the Year. His season also included a 59 in Hawaii and a 9-under 63 in the U.S. Open at Erin Hills to break the record for lowest score in relation to par in a major. Justin’s dad found a place for those balls, too.

Said the elder Thomas, “We didn’t have any idea that it would become a thing.”

That thing, which includes a box containing balls with which JT has made holes-in-one, is on display inside the golf shop at Harmony Landing Country Club in Goshen, a small suburb nestled along the Ohio River 20 miles northeast of Louisville, where Justin’s dad has been the head pro for

THE MAJORS

Thomas splashes his way to victory on the final hole of the 2017 PGA Championship

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nearly three decades. It’s also where Thomas first honed his skills.

The first time Thomas picked up a club—a MacGregor persimmon 2-wood that his father had cut down to child size—he was just 18 months old. Some of the first words out of his mouth were “bag of balls,” and as soon as he could walk Thomas tagged along with his father whenever he could. Mike often asked Justin if he wanted to go to the swimming pool or to play basketball. Other activities were secondary—golf was an obsession for Mike and his wife Jani’s only child.

“I played other sports; I played basketball through middle school,” insists Justin. “But I wanted to be like my dad. I was around him and around the golf course my whole life.”

By the time he was seven, Justin would often call on his way home from whatever tournament he had just finished. He wanted to go play nine holes with his dad. This led to a lot of late-night dinners for the Thomas family.

It also led to rapid development for Justin, with his dad providing the guidance. Most of their lessons would last just 10 or 15 minutes, in part because his dad had a busy schedule teaching and competing and because Mike didn’t want to be overbearing or pushy, but they took hold quickly. Not that Thomas needed any pushing. He was all-in from early on.

It was at the same time that Thomas also remembers being in the clubhouse at Valhalla when Tiger Woods battled Bob May at the 2000 PGA Championship. The autograph he wanted that week? It wasn’t Woods’, but that of golf ’s all-time major winner Jack Nicklaus.

Golf was in Justin’s DNA. His grandfather Paul Thomas was the head professional at Zanesville Country Club in Ohio for more than 25 years and played in the 1962 U.S. Open at Oakmont, when Nicklaus won his first of 18 majors with a playoff victory over hometown hero Arnold Palmer. Later, Paul Thomas was paired with Palmer in a Senior Tour event, and there’s a photograph of Palmer and the eldest Thomas hanging on the wall in the golf shop.

Justin’s dad is also a longtime PGA of America professional who in his early years traveled golf’s mini tours before turning his attention to teaching.

“My grandparents would always come to Kentucky from Columbus and I spent a lot of time playing with my grandpa and my dad,” Thomas said. “My grandpa would share stories of hustling people for money back then when the paychecks weren’t what they are now. It was just really special and I’m still really close to him.

“The best piece of advice he gave me was he always used to say, ‘some days it’s chicken, some days it’s feathers.’

It’s very cliché I guess but the point was there are days when things go your way and days when they don’t.”

Plenty has gone Thomas’ way, and it wasn’t long until the chicken dinners far out-numbered the feather pillows.

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Thomas hugs his father Mike after 2017 PGA Championship [above]; with Jordan Spieth after chipping in at last year's Sony Open

THE MAJORS

SWIMMING WITH THE TIDE As a teenager, he won three times on the AJGA circuit and twice earned Junior All-American honors. He also made the cut in the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship in 2009 aged 16. When he got to the University of Alabama in 2011, he became the first player in the school’s history to win his first career start. He took home five more titles that year and was named college golf’s player of the year.

The following year he helped lead the Crimson Tide to the national championship before going on to represent the U.S. in the Walker Cup. It was little wonder that Thomas never considered doing anything else for a career.

“When you’re young you think you can do anything,” he says. “When I was winning tournaments, doing anything else never entered my mind.”

Signs that he could win were there even earlier.

“When he got to the finals of the U.S. Kids national tournament, that was like ‘Wow,’” Thomas’ mom Jani says.

“That was the first time he experienced playing kids that were outside the state and you thought maybe he could play and compete in national events.”

“I never projected out what he was going to do,” Thomas’ dad added. “He just consistently surprised me.

For me, there wasn’t one moment, there were 20 or 30 moments. When he won six tournaments in college as a freshman, we were like ‘Wow, he’s really good.’”

Thomas turned pro in 2013 and earned his card for the Web.com Tour via qualifying school that December.

The following summer, he captured his first professional tournament at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championships and ended the year third in the Web.com Tour finals to secure a PGA Tour card for 2015.

By this time he’d developed into one of the game’s best ball-strikers and, despite being slight in stature at 5-foot-10 and 140 pounds, one of golf’s longest hitters.

The latter stemmed from his early days when as a child he was too small and too short to generate enough power to reach the green in regulation on any given course. Thomas’ swing-out-of-his-shoes move had the unintended benefit of becoming something that he could trust.

But despite seven top-10s and finishing second in the Rookie of the Year voting, Thomas felt the burden of expectation. Part of a vaunted high school class of 2011 that included Spieth and Daniel Berger, among others, he watched as Spieth—whom he had grown close to and competed against regularly since the two played against one another in the Evian Junior Masters a decade earlier— reached superstar status after winning the first two majors of 2015 and had a healthy stab at completing the Grand Slam.

[Top] At the Junior Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, 2010. [Above] With the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship trophy, 2014

“The best advice he gave me was he always used to say, ‘Some days it’s chicken, some days it’s feathers’”

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I had the same game plan whether I was playing bad or good— you can’t do that

Thomas also grew frustrated because he had thrown away a handful of opportunities to win. So he took Nicklaus up on an offer made when he first moved to Florida, to call if he ever needed anything. Nicklaus invited him to his house in Palm Beach and the two talked for nearly three hours.

There was one big takeaway that stuck with him.

“I had the same game plan when I was playing bad as when I was playing good; being just as aggressive, hitting at every flag,” Thomas said. “You can’t do that. When I’m playing bad I need to just hit it on the green. I remember that talk a lot.”

Coming from Nicklaus it’s impossible to forget. The success of Spieth also helped.

“It was maybe a little frustrating sometimes seeing friends and peers my age do well,” Thomas said. “It’s not like I wasn’t cheering for them—it was because I felt I was as good as them.”

Last year, he proved it. He opened with back-to-back wins in Hawaii, then put on a blistering performance at Quail Hollow to win the PGA Championship. He added a FedEx Cup Playoffs victory at TPC Boston and capped off the year with one more victory at the CJ Cup in Korea.

“It started to sink in a little in the off-season and with going to sporting events where players [from other sports] wanted to meet me,” Thomas said, who added the Honda Classic to his honor roll in February. “That’s something I wasn’t used to. It was cool.”

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[Top left] After scoring a 59 at last year’s Sony Open in Hawaii; with Jack Nicklaus receiving the award for Player of the Year at The Bear's Club in October, 2017

At one point, he also reached out to his good buddy Spieth on how to handle the newfound stardom.

“It was just more from the expectations standpoint,” said Thomas, who has really been blessed with the finest mentors throughout his life. “I understand there’s going to be a lot more not only from fans and peers, but from you all and I’m probably going to be reminded of that quite often, so I just have to deal with it.”

It’s a good problem to have.

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The day that changed golf

Arnold Palmer is helped into the Green Jacket for the first time in 1958 by Doug Ford, Masters champ of 1957

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THE MAJORS

It was 60 years ago that Arnold Palmer claimed his first major title at the 1958 Masters, a win that marked the beginning of a new era for professional golf.

Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player played integral roles in the subsequent transformation, and so did Rolex

A

pril 6, 1958 was the day golf changed forever.

Now 60 years ago, it was the day Arnold Palmer became a major champion by winning his first Masters title at Augusta National.

The final day of the ’58 Masters did not pass without a hint of controversy. Palmer was paired with fellow American Ken Venturi and by the time they reached the tee of the iconic par-3 12th hole, Golden Bell, it seemed likely that the winner of their duel would claim the title.

Palmer led Venturi by a solitary shot as they prepared to play this iconic short hole. True to tradition, the Sunday pin was positioned treacherously in the far-right corner of the green and also in keeping with custom, the wind was gusting and swirling.

Venturi and Palmer both hit their tee shots over the shallow putting surface and into the bank at the back. Venturi’s ball kicked down onto the far side of the green, from where he two-putted for par. However, Palmer’s ball was embedded in the bank.

It had rained heavily overnight and subsequently, play that day was subject to wet-weather rules (allowing the lifting, cleaning and placing of golf balls).

Following an animated discussion with a rules official, Palmer was inexplicably refused a drop, so he chopped at the plugged ball and shifted it 18 inches. After eventually

holing out for a five, Palmer returned to the spot where his ball had been plugged and with a second ball, took the drop for which he was convinced he was allowed. This time he chipped stone-dead and holed the putt for a three. So Palmer had scored a five and a three but did not know which would count. If three, he still led by one; if five, he trailed Venturi by one.

This question was still hanging in the air when Palmer struck one of the shots of the tournament at the next hole; a 3-wood approach to the back of the green on the par-5 13th, from where he holed the 20-foot putt for a brilliant eagle three. Two holes later he received word from Masters founder Bobby Jones that his three at 12 would stand. “I knew the rule and believed I was within my rights to do what I had done,” Palmer later said.

He still required a birdie three up the 18th to claim the Green Jacket, and Palmer duly delivered to win by a single shot. “I was so tense and focused, I don’t even remember the walk up 18,” he confessed.

Aptly, it was after the 1958 Masters that reporter Herbert Warren Wind christened the low-lying section of Augusta National—from the end of the 11th fairway to the beginning of the 13th, with the 12th hole in between—as “Amen Corner”.

Palmer birdied the last hole to win by one. “I was so tense and focused, I don’t even remember the walk up 18”

1958 MASTERS 1 T2 T4

FIRST PRIZE $11,250

ARNOLD PALMER DOUG FORD FRED HAWKINS STAN LEONARD KEN VENTURI

70 74 71 72 68

PAR 72 73 71 75 70 72

68 70 68 73 74

73 70 71 71 72

284 285 285 286 286

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ENDURING PARTNERSHIPS The incomparable Palmer would win a total of seven major titles between 1958 and 1964, bookended by his first and fourth victories at Augusta. Led by Palmer’s dashes of drama, which attracted international, prime-time television coverage, golf in the 1960s emerged from the fringes of professional sport to take up a permanent position at its vanguard.

People converged on tournaments in their droves, and week in, week out, the same three faces dominated living-room screens, newspaper pages and trophy presentations: Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, “The Big Three”.

“What comes to mind with Arnold and Jack is that we wanted to win so badly,” recalls Player. “But when one of us won, the other two would put out their hand and say, ‘well done, you beat me today, but I’ll get you tomorrow’.”

The Big Three brought three distinct personalities and styles of play to the golf course, and a competitive streak that propelled the game forward. Throughout their heralded careers, they exemplified power, grace, dedication and sportsmanship.

Subsequently, just over 50 years ago in 1967, as Rolex looked to strengthen its association with golf and its support for the sport, Palmer was the perfect fit to become the first Testimonee for Rolex in golf. The relationship between Palmer and Rolex is among the longest associations between any professional athlete and a company, with Nicklaus and Player joining their great friend and rival in the Rolex family soon after, and where they both remain today.

The Big Three set the benchmark to which others aspired—not just in golf but in other sports and walks of life. The trio forged partnerships with Rolex based on a common quest for perfection and excellence. Like the Swiss watchmaker, the first golf Testimonees were committed to preserving great traditions while looking to the future and embracing innovation.

“Rolex is the timepiece of golf,” Palmer told Kingdom in an interview in 2007, and indeed, a Rolex clock still stands by the practice green at Palmer’s beloved Bay Hill Club in Florida, just as other Rolex clocks embellish many more of the world’s finest golf clubs. “Rolex has supported the game so whole-heartedly through the years and they continue to do so.”

Today, after half a century of support, Rolex is part of the fabric of golf, the partnership stretching to every level, including the elite players and legends of the game, the major men’s and women’s championships and their professional tours, and the leading team competitions. Rolex also supports global amateur tournaments, international federations and organizations representing golfers of all ages and abilities.

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From the foundations laid by The Big Three, Rolex has built lasting alliances with many of the world’s finest players.

Renowned for the precision and unfailing performance of its timepieces, Rolex has brought the same principles to its sporting associations.

Tom Watson, who would eventually succeed Nicklaus as the best golfer in the world, winning The Open five times between 1975 and 1983, became a Rolex Testimonee, and was joined by Bernhard Langer, Germany’s first major champion, and multiple major winners from the United States, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

Annika Sorenstam, who won 10 majors during her stellar career, and present-day stars Brooke Henderson, Brooks Koepka, Lydia Ko, Anna Nordqvist, Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Lexi Thompson—major champions all—are also members of the Rolex family of Testimonees. Potential major champions, including Rickie Fowler, Hideki Matsuyama, Thomas Pieters and Jon Rahm, are also in the fold.

The new guard of Rolex Testimonees is already asserting its authority on the game, accepting the mantle from its predecessors with the same grace and gusto as Palmer and Co. six decades ago.

The Big Three at Rolex headquarters, Geneva, 2007 [Picture courtesy of Rolex]

The relationship between Palmer and Rolex is among the longest associations between any professional athlete and a company

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THE SPIRIT OF THE OPEN

The cold blood of Carnoustie Carnoustie is the longest of The Open golf courses, it is the most northerly and with often unrelenting, icy winds whipping off the North Sea, it has staged some of the toughest championships the game has seen. It treats the summer season with contempt. The Open at Carnoustie is a cold-blooded test of stamina, pushing golfers to their limits and often reducing them to tears, some of joy, but most of despair

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THE MAJORS

Tommy Armour receives the Claret Jug from the Earl of Airlie in 1931

1931 “Silver Scot” shows metal Edinburgh-born Tommy Armour emigrated to the United States in the 1920s and took US citizenship, but not before he had served in the First World War as a staff major in the Tank Corps. In a mustard gas explosion in the war he lost his sight and required metal plates to repair his skull and left arm. During his convalescence Armour regained the sight of his right eye, and such was his golfing talent that half of his sight was enough.

The U.S. Open champ of 1927 and PGA Championship winner of 1930, Armour timed his challenge to perfection when The Open was first played at Carnoustie in 1931.

Jose Jurado from Argentina shared the second-round lead with England’s Henry Cotton, before Jurado took a three-shot lead into the final round. Three shots back was Carnoustie-born Macdonald Smith—who like Armour, had emigrated to the United States as a young man—with Armour a further two strokes back.

Crowd favorite Smith faded in the final round while Armour came to life. He tied the course record of 71 with a

3-4-5 finish, leaving Jurado in need of a modest 75 to claim the Claret Jug. But this is the back nine at Carnoustie—an enigmatic, ruthless stretch of golf that plays tricks on a golfer when pressure mounts. Jurado’s composure slipped down the closing stretch but even so, by the 18th hole he needed a birdie-four to take Armour to a play-off. But in the days before electronic scoring and scoreboards, the Argentine mistakenly thought he needed a 5 to tie. He played the notorious par-5 18th cautiously, realising only as he was about to putt for birdie that he needed the ninefooter to tie, and he missed.

Armour, the “Silver Scot”, would become a member at Winged Foot in later life, and would remain the last Scottish-born golfer to win The Open until Paul Lawrie 68 years later. More on that in a moment.

First Prize £100 1. Tommy Armour 2. Jose Jurado

73 75 77 71 76 71 73 77

296 297

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MEMBERSHIPS • JET CARD • SKY ACCESS

THE MAJORS

1953 Hogan’s 100 percent

The always sharpsuited Henry Cotton in 1937 [right], and [below] the fluid follow-through of Ben Hogan at Carnoustie

1937 Durable Cotton The weather was so awful for the third and final day of The Open in 1937—on which the final two rounds were played— it was reported that every clothes shop in the vicinity sold out of any kind of protective wear.

The conditions were brutal on this exposed stretch of Angus shoreline, rain pelted down upon the players and it played into the able hands of Englishman Henry Cotton, the Open champ of 1934. Dapper and mild-mannered on the outside, when the going got tough Cotton’s inner steel was revealed.

Although the victorious American Ryder Cup team were among the field, having travelled up from Royal Birkdale for The Open—including Sam Snead and a young Byron Nelson—it was England’s Reg Whitcombe who took charge of The Open, perhaps spurred by his omission from the GB&I Ryder Cup team. Whitcombe led after the second and third rounds, but the conditions took their toll in the final 18. On the 7th tee, Whitcombe’s driver slipped on his downswing, the leader topped his ball 40 yards into the rough and dropped a shot. He shot 76 to finish on 292.

Playing behind Whitcombe, Cotton came into his own in the final round and produced one of the finest closing rounds in the history of The Open. Despite the wind and rain Cotton never carded worse than a five and took just 26 putts over 18 holes, finishing on 290 and winning by two.

First Prize £100 1. Henry Cotton 74 73 72 71 2 Reg Whitcombe 72 70 74 76

Ben Hogan had already won the Masters and U.S. Open in 1953, when he made his debut in The Open, although an Open rookie had not won since Willie Park Jnr. in the inaugural championship of 1860. Hogan had never played in the UK before, although the Texan made the trip two weeks early to adjust to the Scottish “summer” and the smaller golf balls that were compulsory on that side of the Atlantic.

Hogan—notoriously blunt—criticized Carnoustie’s greens before the championship and during the first two rounds, poor putting saw him slip behind a global leading pack featuring American amateur Frank Stranahan, defending champ Bobby Locke of South Africa, popular Scot Eric Brown, Welshman Dai Rees, promising Australian Peter Thomson and Argentine Roberto de Vicenzo.

Hogan warmed to the task as The Open progressed.

His early 73-71 was complemented by a third round of 70 for a share of the 54-hole lead with de Vicenzo.

As de Vicenzo and the rest of the chasing pack faded in the final round, Hogan produced his best golf, closing with a masterful birdie at the 18th to shoot a new course record of 68, to win by four. Hogan lifted the Claret Jug but never returned to play in The Open again—the only golfer in the history of The Open with a 100 percent record.

Hogan returned to his Dundee b&b and was stunned when the staff retrieved personal good luck charms from pockets of his golf bag. He had no idea they were there.

In the era before the majors “Grand Slam” was recognized, Hogan couldn’t compete in the 1953 PGA Championship as it was held in the same week as The Open.

First Prize £500 1. Ben Hogan 2. Tony Cerda Dai Rees Frank Stranahan Peter Thomson

73 71 70 68 75 71 69 71 72 70 73 71 70 74 73 69 72 72 71 71

282 286 286 286 286

290 292

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THE MAJORS

1968 Player’s finest shot

1975 Watson opens account

Like previous Carnoustie champs, Gary Player was one of the most dogged competitors of his generation. By 1968, 50 years ago, a trend was emerging on Scotland’s east coast.

“Carnoustie is a real golf course alright, a true championship golf course,” says Player, now 82, and who set a record with 46 consecutive appearances in The Open, from 1956 to 2001, lifting the Claret Jug three times. “The Open of 1968 was the toughest of all my major wins and Carnoustie was the most challenging of all the major venues.”

American Billy Casper, in his prime and twice the U.S. Open champion by ‘68, held the lead after rounds two and three at Carnoustie, before the final round became a tussle between four golfers of heavy caliber: Casper, Player— with four major titles at this point, and the career Grand Slam—1963 champ Bob Charles from New Zealand and Jack Nicklaus, who was already a seven-time major champ and Grand Slammer.

It was late in this final round when the irrepressible Player played what he believes is the finest shot of his career.

“At the 14th, The Spectacles–483 yards, par five and the toughest hole on the course—it was time for something special and thankfully it was my turn to be chosen by the golfing gods. I played a decent drive and then I went for the green with a three-wood. I hit the ball straight and true and it rolled to within eight inches of the hole. I holed the putt for an eagle and it won the title for me. That three-wood was the best shot of my career, bar none.”

Tough? The winning score was one over par, yet Player didn’t card anything higher than a 5 through all four rounds.

Even though Tom Watson lifted the Claret Jug five times, when the Kansas City golfer embarked on his Open career at Carnoustie in 1975, he plainly didn’t like links golf.

“I didn’t like links golf and I was not a fan of the luck of the bounce,” admits Watson, now 68. “I was an ‘American golfer’ who wanted to hit the ball through the air and stop the ball quickly. Links golf didn’t fit into that paradigm.”

Remarkably, Watson did not change his mind until 1979, by which time he had won it twice. “I finally figured out that my poor attitude was holding me back. I told myself to stop fighting and start enjoying it.”

Watson, aged 25 on his 1975 Open debut, certainly had a fight on his hands, even though the conditions were uncharacteristically mild and the leaderboard was decorated by scores in the 60s. Watson shot 71-67-69 and then a final round of 72 in windier conditions to set a clubhouse lead at 279, which was matched only by powerful Australian Jack Newton, who shot the low round of the championship with a second round of 65, seven under par, which matched the championship record set by Cotton in 1934.

In a tight, 18-hole play-off the next day—The Open’s last 18-hole play-off before a shortened format was introduced—the now rain-soaked golfers exchanged the lead before heading up the 18th with nothing to split them, both at one under par. Both played a two-iron approach, and while Watson safely reached the middle of the green, Newton pulled his shot into a greenside bunker. Watson two-putted for a steady-handed par-four but Newton failed to get up-and-down. Watson won by a shot, becoming the third American to win The Open on his debut after Ben Hogan and “Champagne” Tony Lema in 1964.

First Prize £3,000 1. Gary Player 2. Bob Charles Jack Nicklaus

74 71 71 73 72 72 71 76 76 69 73 73

289 291 291

First Prize £7,500 1. Tom Watson 2. Jack Newton

71 67 69 72 69 71 65 74

279 (Playoff 71) 279 (Playoff 72)

Gary PLayer in 1968 [right], and [far right, l to r], Jack Newton and Tom Watson in 1975

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1999 French folley

2007 “Home” advantage

The R&A did not feel like partying like it was 1999. The rough at Carnoustie was tall, thick and greedy for golf balls, the fairways were as narrow as 15 yards at some landing areas, and with strong breezes in the first round, mayhem broke out. Australian Rodney Pampling led outright after 18 holes with a level-par 71, but then followed with an 86 to miss the cut. Defending champ Mark O’Meara also shot 86 for an early departure. England’s Nick Faldo, three times The Open champ, missed the cut for the first time in 24 years. Sergio Garcia, 19 and playing in his first major as a pro, shot 89-83, 30 over par, and wept in his mother’s arms after finishing last, while golfers on 154, 12 over par, made the cut.

Yet Frenchman Jean Van de Velde shot 75-68 to lead, with pre-tournament favorite Tiger Woods chasing. Van de Velde continued regardless, putted beautifully for a thirdround of 70 and held a five-shot lead with 18 to play.

Scot Paul Lawrie, ranked 150th in the world, had to pre-qualify for his place and began the final round 10 shots adrift, but shot 67 to post an early clubhouse lead at six over par that no-one believed could endure. Woods and others all faltered though, while 1997 champ Justin Leonard finally matched Lawrie’s clubhouse lead with a workmanlike 72 (a par on 18 would have won it, but he dropped a shot).

On the 18th tee Van de Velde led by three, but a rash approach rebounded from a grandstand into deep rough, before his third flopped into the Barry Burn. Having stood in the burn with water rising, he finally backed out for a drop.

Via a greenside bunker, Van de Velde gathered himself to hole the seven-foot putt he required to make the playoff. It was The Open’s most spectacular final-hole collapse.

Remaining composed in the four-hole playoff while his rivals were error-strewn, Lawrie won by three and become one of the most unexpected Open champions.

Ultimately, The Open in 2007 was defined by a trail of heart-wrenching misses by the last remaining protagonists— Padraig Harrington and Sergio Garcia—on Carnoustie’s renowned 18th hole, the simply named “Home”. Neither had claimed a major title at this point of their careers and all who viewed the closing action could see why, but in the end one of them had to win.

Harrington, aged 35 at the time, had five top-five finishes to his name in the majors going into the 2007 Open (in fact all five were fifth-place results), while Garcia, at 27, had seven top-five major finishes, most notably his brilliant chase of Woods in the 1999 PGA Championship—when the Spaniard was 18 and had only turned professional a few weeks before—finishing a brave runner-up.

Garcia played brilliantly for three days at Carnoustie— every bit the major champion-in-waiting—opening with a 65, six under par, to take the first-round lead, and after rounds of 71 and 68, he would hold the lead as he played the 18th hole of his final round.

Up ahead and having begun the Sunday six shots back, Harrington’s excellent final-day charge came to a splashing halt. He found the Barry Burn off the 18th tee not once but twice, and closed with a double-bogey six that meant Garcia needed par to win The Open. But this is the 18th at Carnoustie, as treacherous as they come, and after Garcia found a greenside bunker with his approach, his 10-foot putt to win looked as if it would drop yet skirted the rim of the hole and stayed out.

Crest-fallen, Garcia fell two shots behind Harrington in the four-hole playoff before finishing a single stroke back.

So Harrington—not Garcia—became the first European major winner since Lawrie at Carnoustie eight years earlier.

First Prize: £350,000 1. Paul Lawrie 73 74 76 67 2. Justin Leonard 73 74 71 72 Jean Van de Velde 75 68 70 77

290 (Playoff 15) 290 (Playoff 18) 290 (Playoff 18)

First Prize £750,000 1. Padraig Harrington 69 73 68 67 2. Sergio Garcia 65 71 68 73

277 (Playoff 15) 277 (Playoff 16)

Jean Van de Velde in rising water [far left], Paul Lawrie steals the show [center], and Padraig Harrington celebrates his first major win.

It is anyone’s guess who will win in 2018, to be toasted with The Spirt of The Open, Loch Lomond whisky

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Pride, Passion & Performance The KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship is more than just great golf—it’s an example of the game’s fantastic potential

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THE MAJORS

B

Benton Harbor, Michigan, was barely 50 years old when Louis and Emory Upton founded what would become Whirlpool Corporation, building their first electric washing machine in 1911 in a machine shop on the town’s West Main Street. Today, still headquarters to Whirlpool Corp., the former wetlands just two hours east of Chicago around the southern tip of Lake Michigan is a town in transition, with a burgeoning arts scene and a newly reinvigorated downtown.

As much evidence of that renewal as driving forces behind it, Harbor Shores Golf Club and the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship stand as an example of what can happen when good things come together.

“We have always been very heavily engaged in the Benton Harbor/St. Joe community,” says Sam Abdelnour, Whirlpool’s VP of Sales, North America Region and General Chairman for the 2018 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship. “There was this 500-plus acres of pretty decimated land that over time had become an unofficial junkyard—and not just garbage, but abandoned vehicles and concrete and building materials and whatever big things people wanted to dump there. But underneath the layers of debris were these phenomenal wetlands and beaches on the shores of Lake Michigan, incredible topography and dunes, painted turtles, wildflowers, butterflies… All kinds of natural phenomena that were just lying under these acres of refuse. It had always been there but it just got covered over time. The folks here at Whirlpool got connected with the idea of doing something in the community that would tie-in with this incredible land, with the setting on Lake Michigan, with the tourism opportunities throughout southwest Michigan, and this idea of creating work and jobs for the Benton Harbor community took hold.”

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Every stroke. Every tap-in.

Every fried egg. Every birdie.

Unforgettable, by design.

Presenting a collection you’ll definitely want to add to your scorecard: The Salamander Golf Collection.

Showcasing nine of Florida’s most iconic courses, designed by greats including Nicklaus, Packard, Palmer and Watson. Now it’s your turn to tee up a legend.

TAMPA BAY, FL | ORLANDO, FL | PALM COAST, FL

THE MAJORS

Patrick Drickey | stonehousegolf.com

Thus Harbor Shores was born, opening in 2010 following extensive construction that required the removal of more than 3 million square feet of derelict manufacturing sites and 140,000 tons of waste material. Today, the area around the community’s Paw Paw River and Jean Klock Park features public areas that include 12 miles of walking trails, beaches, and numerous recreational, shopping and dining opportunities. At the center of it all is the Jack Nicklaus-designed Harbor Shores Golf Club, a beautiful 18-hole layout of top-quality golf that includes 10 holes along the river and wetlands and four through rolling hills, ravines and a hardwood forest. There are roughly 800 home sites as well, with lovely residences and vacation homes now sharing the reclaimed land with the golf and public facilities. Unsurprisingly the project has earned

It's like we were made for each other...

While the history of the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship goes back to the 1937 event at Augusta National, the tournament seems beautifully at home at The Golf Club at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Michigan. This year marks the fourth time the course has hosted the event, which provided great drama in 2012, 2014 and 2016.

Most recently, Rocco Mediate made a 15-footer for par on the last to set a tournament record four-day total 265, besting Sam Snead's 1973 score of 268 at PGA National. Likewise, 2014 saw Colin Montgomerie's first victory on U.S. soil and the 2012 event saw Roger Chapman become the first European to win the Alfred S. Bourne Trophy— Major champs all, at a fantastically beautiful venue.

numerous awards, including accolades from the Golf Course Superintendent Association and from Golf Digest for Harbor Shores’ environmental efforts and commitments, which also include studious management of water, wildlife and habitat resources, an integrated pest management program, and numerous conservation and education/outreach efforts. Beyond the golf, Parents magazine listed the beaches among the “Best Beaches for Families,” Money Magazine named the community a “Best Place to Retire” and Harbor Shores has found its way onto myriad state and local “best” lists as well.

Perhaps the best indication of its quality, however, is its continued selection by the PGA of America as host to the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship.

“This is going to be our fourth event at Harbor Shores,” says Ryan Ogle, Championship Director at PGA of America. “It’s a great championship course. And one of the biggest things regarding Harbor Shores from the PGA of America’s perspective is that it’s a not-for-profit community development project. We don’t put on as many championships as we’d like at public courses, though we’re slowly starting to integrate more, and this is a great opportunity for us to have a larger impact on a community.”

Indeed, Harbor Shores operates as a not-for-profit, with greens fees and revenue covering its expenses and contributing to the city’s maintenance costs of the beaches and public areas.

The 15th at Harbor Shores [above], and Rocco Mediate after winning the 2016 Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid

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KITCHENAID SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP Where:

Harbor Shores, Benton Harbor, MI When:

May 22-27, 2018

harborshoresgolf.com for more

“The reasons why this course is here, the redevelopment, the goals of the course, its so great to be part of that. And when you look at all we’re trying to do to grow the game of golf, to create diversity in participation, to open the game to everyone and how we must do that to be successful in growing the game, Harbor Shores gives us the opportunity to have an impact on the community.”

In addition to hosting three past tournaments (2012, 2014 and 2016), Harbor Shores will be the site of the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship in 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024 as well, and who knows what the future holds beyond that?

It’s certain that the golf will continue to be incredible as the tournament is open only to PGA pros, not to amateurs.

“We field one of the strongest examples from PGA Champions, more top-ranked players than any other event.

Rocco [Mediate] has won here, Colin Montgomerie, in every event it’s kind of the ‘who’s who’ in the top five or top 10. You don’t tend to find those outliers; it’s the skilled, experienced players who tend to come to the top here, we’ve noticed.”

Part of that is due to Harbor Shores sincere challenge, which includes wide fairways that tend to narrow toward the greens, which are themselves quite severe. But if it’s tough, it’s also beautiful, befitting from a great design and a fantastic setting—one that looked quite different not that many years ago.

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The course, the landscape and the people in the community—they all come together, and it’s amazing “Restaurants, microbreweries… We opened up the waterways so that the Paw Paw River is on the golf course, Lake Michigan is on the golf course,” says Abdelnour. “And with those waterways all opened up, even vendors are now on the edges of the golf course renting equipment for people to use on the rivers and lake. As you play these 18 holes, you might see paddle-boarders and kayaks and sailboats, people on the beaches, big ocean liners out on Lake Michigan.

“I’ve lived all over the country working for Whirlpool and I’ve never seen the communities like we have here, along with Whirlpool Corporation and other big companies around the area, come together so often and so well for the general benefit of the greater community. Not just during the Senior PGA Championship, but in dozens of other events and activities that take place during the year, they come from their parts of the country and are astounded by the support and the positive impact on the community. Part of it is Harbor Shores, part of it is the tournament, it’s the people in the community, and it’s just amazing.”

The distinct closing hole at Harbor Shores

Š 2018 A l l ri g hts res erv ed .

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of Loch Lomond Loch Lomond, 24 miles from top to bottom, is the largest loch in Scotland. Despite its relative proximity to Glasgow, there is a remoteness and serenity surrounding Loch Lomond, but that was not always the case

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The Battle of Glen Fruin, fought in the bitter freeze of February 1603, was the last ever combat purely between two Scottish clans. It was a brutal clash between the defending Colquhouns and pillaging MacGregors, with much blood spilt. The dispute was over the fertile land of Glen Fruin, to the west of Loch Lomond, which was within Colquhoun territory, while the MacGregors descended from more barren, mountainous lands to the north. Outflanked and outnumbered by 400 northern attackers, the local Colquhouns suffered heavy losses but maintained control of their territory.

The Colquhoun region stretched along the southwesterly shoreline of Loch Lomond. Not just fertile land alongside Scotland’s largest loch, this was, and remains today, a landscape of awe-inspiring beauty and for the most part—when the ransacking MacGregors were in retreat anyway—a place of utter tranquility.

The village of Luss is at the heart of the Colquhoun clan lands and has been for over 600 years. The Colquhoun family built their original family home there in the 16th century, Rossdhu Castle—which counted Mary Queen of Scots among its many distinguished guests—and while a single ruined façade is all that remains of the castle today, the Colquhouns replaced it in the 19th century with the magnificent Rossdhu House. The family seat for many generations, Rossdhu House is now leased to the exclusive, members-only Loch Lomond Golf Club, which preserves the historic building with painstaking care. The golf course, designed by Tom Weiskopf, occupies one of the most enchanting and secluded properties in world golf,

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on a peninsula just to the south of the village. The club is shielded by towering woodlands to the west and by the Loch to the east, affording unforgettable views across Loch Lomond and its chain of islands.

For a while, for 15 years from 1996 to 2010, Loch Lomond Golf Club would open its electric gates to the public when it hosted the Scottish Open, which was understandably one of the tournaments most cherished

by European Tour pros. While Tom Lehman was the only American winner at Loch Lomond, in 1997, Ernie Els twice lifted the trophy—a silver model of Rossdhu House—and Germany’s Martin Kaymer won there in 2009.

“Loch Lomond is a great, traditional parkland golf course,” Kaymer tells Kingdom, “with small greens and as a golfing challenge it is totally pure. I usually play better at golf courses with beautiful surroundings and at Loch Lomond it is lovely to walk down those fairways with the forests on either side. The setting creates a great golfing environment.”

Just half an hour from Glasgow airport, Luss is an ideal place to visit to get a true sense of Loch Lomond’s timeless atmosphere, whether you have a tee time or not. The Lodge at Loch Lomond is a reasonable four-star hotel at the northern end of the village, with rooms very close to the water’s edge—that are equipped with private saunas—although a more intimate experience that oozes local character and tradition can be found down Luss’s main road at the Loch Lomond Arms Hotel. Whether the day has been spent on the golf course, on the water or exploring the hills, there is no better way to finish than with a drop of a local whisky in the bar at the Loch Lomond Arms, with the warmth from its open fire very welcome on most nights, summer included.

Local spirit One of the most popular whisky labels behind the bar at the Loch Lomond Arms is Loch Lomond whisky itself, which has journeyed from the Loch Lomond Distillery in the town of Alexandria, just beyond the southern tip of Loch Lomond, all of seven miles away.

Loch Lomond produces a broad range of single malts with a range of flavor profiles, a few of which are stocked at the Loch Lomond Arms, but a decent starting point—in case you are asking—would be with the beautifully crafted Loch Lomond 12 Year Old, a fresh and balanced single malt that belies its age with a real depth of flavors, and which earned Gold Medal recognition at the 2016 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

“The Loch Lomond 12 is strongly representative of the distillery,” says Michael Henry, Master Blender at Loch Lomond Whiskies. “A very balanced flavour profile has some fruit coming through, some sweetness and also some peatiness.”

If Loch Lomond whisky has not been on your radar yet—despite being founded back in 1814—let this serve as a preview, as its international profile is about to boom thanks to a new role as The Spirit of The Open. That being the British Open and also the Ricoh Women’s British Open.

The Open heads up to Carnoustie in July and attracts a broadcast audience of 600 million households in almost 200 countries, in addition to tens of thousands of fans at Carnoustie who will get the opportunity to sample Loch Lomond first hand.

The beautifully crafted Loch Lomond 12 Year Old belied its age with a real depth of flavors [Clockwise from top left] One of the panoramic views from Loch Lomond GC; the distinct straight-neck pot stills at Loch Lomond Distillery; Rossdhu house, built by the Colquhouns and now clubhouse for Loch Lomond GC

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“Loch Lomond Whiskies achieves the highest standards of excellence and was a natural choice to become a new partner of The Open and the Ricoh Women’s British Open,” says Martin Slumbers, chief executive of the R&A, which organizes both championships. “We will be working closely with Loch Lomond Whiskies to introduce an inspiring range of activities which demonstrate the R&A’s shared desire to offer golf fans the very best experience at our championships.”

The distillery promises to introduce some special limited-edition whiskies specifically for The Open, which are more than likely to become instant collectors’ items.

Loch Lomond Whiskies’ current malt and grain distilleries were built in the 1960s and are among only a few in the industry to maintain an onsite cooperage.

Its malt distillery also features a unique combination of traditional swan-neck and distinctive straight-necked pot stills, enabling it to produce such a diverse range of flavor profiles.

Special limited-edition whiskies for The Open are likely to become collectors’ items “We are extremely proud to have agreed this prestigious partnership with the R&A,” says Colin Matthews, chief executive of Loch Lomond Group. “There is an incredibly strong alignment between the worlds of whisky and golf, two of Scotland’s most iconic gifts to the world. Our partnership with the R&A is the perfect means for Loch Lomond Whiskies to grow further, both in the UK and internationally, and it demonstrates our strong commitment and ambition to becoming a premium global brand.”

If only the Loch Lomond Distillery had been established a few centuries earlier. A great single malt is best enjoyed when shared with company, with its warmth and depth arousing reflective mood. It is a glass of collaboration, not obliteration. It was just what the clan chiefs of the MacGregors and Colquhouns needed during the winter of 1603. If they had savored a few sips of Loch Lomond 12 Year Old together, sitting by the warmth of a fireplace at Rossdhu Castle perhaps, they may have discovered they had much more in common than they thought.

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[Clockwise from top] The cooperage at Loch Lomond Distillery; Loch Lomond's awardwinning Signature blended whisky; Master Blender Michael Henry

B R E A K

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A W A Y A blown-out setting sun, the world a lemon-amber blur, ripping through the desert with the wind all around, squinting at the brilliance and drunk on the sound, like canvas being torn to shreds, a sublime engine note severing the last few threads that bind me to an otherwise unremarkable day. Some cars offer sanctuary, others escape. The Jaguar F-Type is among the latter, able to outrun—if only for a moment—the pile of mail on the counter, the buzzing phone, the ever-filling inbox and all the mind’s chatter. Tearing a hole into twilight the Jag offers so much, but tonight I only need the engine, and so the windows—and the pedal—are down

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Some vehicles host drivers. Extensions of their owners’ well-appointed homes, they insulate the satisfied from the mayhem outside. Exit the garage, circle the block, enter the garage, and you’ve never left the sofa; the car is just another room in the house. Then there are cars that partner with their restless owners like the hero’s horse in a classic Western, always ready to bolt over the next horizon and with a near-psychic ability to respond to input. I don’t need to watch movies or to put my feet up and get a massage in my car. I want wheels, engine, seat, a way to control it and a gas pedal that feels no pain. That the Jaguar F-Type 400 Sport gives me this is enough. That it gives so much more— and in such style—is a gift. Heigh ho Silver.

The 400’s original big brother is a thug, but it kicked and loudly belched its way into my dream garage back in 2013 when the F-Type launched. That car, the 495hp V8S, has since been replaced by the F-Type R and the rather special SVR, both of which use the S’s 5.0-liter V8, which now makes 550hp/502lb-ft of torque and 575hp/516lb-ft, respectively.

Compared to those the 400 is eminently refined, if still growly. Personally I remain charmed by the angry 8 I met five years ago—less easy to drive and flaunting other issues (particularly in the weight category)—but while I was willing to overlook certain questions in that car, I’m not sure I find any to ask in the 400, which is rather complete. The engine is superb, a specially tuned version of the 3.0-litre Supercharged V6 found in most other F-Types that’s so good it seems like it should be the model’s standard. It makes a claimed 400hp (hence the name) and 339 lb-ft of torque, hitting 0–60 in 4.8 seconds on its way to a top speed of 171mph; not the SVR’s 200mph (195 in the SVR convertible) but faster than most owners will go regardless.

Likewise, the 400’s mechanical limited-slip differential, small touches such as improved seats, and its modestly sporty (in my opinion) “400” badging all contribute to make a car that might be the best iteration of the brand’s ethos in some time. If an alien from another world were to ask, “What’s Jaguar all about?” The F-Type 400 Sport would be a good answer.

There’s a 2.0-litre 4-cylinder “Ingenium” F available for 2018 as well, but we won’t bother with that here. Lighter, it’s in a different lane to the 400, which is probably the best of the F bunch—and what a shame the 400 is limited to a single production year, according to Jaguar. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if a variation of this mill shows up again.

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If someone were to ask, “What’s Jaguar all about?”

The F-Type 400 Sport would be a good answer

The worst reviews of the F-Type begin with someone saying, “It’s no E…” and it’s a silly comparison: the latter’s mythical status is due as much to its timing—in the midst of a Brit-friendly sexual revolution—as it is to its many innovative attributes as a pioneering (and beautiful) sports car. Still, if you must, there are a few E cues here, most evident perhaps in the head-on view with the headlights and grill clearly taking some notes, in the long sloping nose and in the rounded bum (as the Brits might call it). References or no, I find the F-Type to be simply stunning in the looks department.

At 3,514lbs it’s no ballerina despite so much aluminum (including the chassis) but then it carries the weight well, with a nicely balanced and adjustable sport/performance ride and, in the 400’s case, handling and power that feel not at all compromised. There has been an 16-lb (or so) weight savings thanks to redesigned seats, which are thinner without (to me) seeming any less supportive or comfortable.

Interior space and comfort are fine for the class, benefitting from the formidable 80-inch width (the Cadillac Escalade is 79.5 inches wide, the Porsche 911 is 74) and there are the tucked-away storage areas for sunglasses, phones (full hookups in the console for charging and integration with the nav/entertainment systems) plus two cup holders. The coupe’s trunk is good for weekend trips,

a usable 14.4 cu ft, halved in the convertible to 7.3 cu ft with the wind in your hair also adding an additional 44 lbs of curb weight. I like the size of the large-ish steering wheel and its race-flavored flat bottom. I like the driver-centric cabin, which puts nearly everything at hand for the pilot and only an “oh s**t bar,” glove box button and seat/window controls on the passenger side. The paddle shifters are very responsive but you’ll really have to want to use them because the 8-speed ZF automatic transmission is so good that someone could call it “flawless” and they wouldn’t start many arguments. No manual option in the 400, but if you live in a traffic-prone region like I do (Southern California) then you probably shouldn’t care, and the ZF is great anyway.

There’s the sophisticated and effective saveyour-a$$ traction system and “Configurable Dynamics” (Jag parlance) driving modes that take you from smooth cruise to aggressive track outing with the flip of a console switch. You can also adjust individual setup parameters (e.g. steering response, engine behavior) via the fine 8-inch console touch screen, part of the “InControl Touch” system.

Swipe and pinch like a smartphone to control navigation, entertainment, ambient lighting and a lot more. There are Jaguar-specific apps available that connect your phone to the car for all kinds of functions and a new feature called ReRun that lays driving data like speed, lateral acceleration,

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2018 JAGUAR F-TYPE 400 SPORT COUPE Base MSRP: $89,500 Loaded: near $114,250 Engine: Supercharged 3.0-litre V6 Power: 400hp with 339lb-ft of torque Transmission: ZF 8-speed automatic Zero–60: 4.8 seconds Top speed: 171mph

gear selection, throttle position and more over footage from a paired GoPro camera so you can show your friends that you weren’t going as fast as you thought you were.

(Actually I’d love to use this on a track.) The screen also controls the excellent Meridian 10-speaker audio system (there’s a 12-speaker option available), it displays a good backup camera view and can show info related to optional Reverse Traffic Detection and Park Assist features. Braking is great, with new stock 380mm fronts and 376mm rears with “400” badging or optional yellow 398/380mm carbon ceramics, and why not for anyone who plans on throwing the 400 around a track. There are three roofs available: the standard aluminum, a panoramic glass and a pricey-ish, lighter carbon fiber option as well if you need it—plus the well-insulated soft-top convertible for the roof-averse. We like the standard spoiler, which deploys at speed, but there’s a fixed spoiler available, too, if you’re counting milligrams.

The headlights are adaptive LEDs that change beam shape based on speed, and there’s all kinds of less-visible tech as well that doesn’t get in the way.

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As for appearance, there are only three color options: white, black and silver (Jaguar has fancier names for those).

I like this. The 400 Sport isn’t a “red” car to me, and if I’m going to stick with my idea that it’s perhaps the best current representation of the marque, then I’m good with the monochromatic limitations. Should they have added British Racing Green to the palette, which would have looked nice with the yellow “400” badging? Dunno. In any case, the only real choices with the 400 are convertible or coupe and rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. Beyond that and a few options, as I mentioned, it’s rather complete.

Mileage is a claimed 19/27mpg, and that seems about right so long as you don’t make your daily commute in “dynamic mode” or take the twisty scenic route everywhere.

But you’ll want to take the twisty scenic route, and that’s rather the point of this particular F-Type I think. Evaluating the 400 while driving it, focusing on the car, I was impressed at every turn, loved the handling, didn’t find any real faults, and so on. But it wasn’t until I stopped thinking about it, when I felt like getting out of the house, grabbed the key off the counter one evening and headed for the mountains, that the joy of the F-Type really hit me. It wasn’t in front of me and it wasn’t behind me; it wasn’t something carrying me or floating me along. I wasn’t fighting it, I couldn’t ignore it, but I didn’t have to think about it. It was just right there with me, its glorious engine note roaring in through the open windows and mixing with the laughter and the perfect calm in my head as we drove off into the last blinding burst of a brilliant sunset and turned the end of an otherwise unremarkable day into something quite beautiful.

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Island courses entice with their stunning views, but those looking for laid-back lofts often can be shocked to find tricky tradewinds, tight lies and plenty of opportunities to get wet—never mind all that incredibly distracting beauty. Whether you find a great escape or a pirate’s adventure, island courses do offer one surety along with their sea views: there’s always a cooling, perhaps consoling, cocktail nearby. Start here, then explore Mauritius on p120 and hop down to Key West on p128 to finish. In all, take heart, brandish your irons well, and shiver your timbers. Welcome to island golf

KO’OLAU GOLF CLUB

Kaneohe, Oahu, Hawaii

So many great Hawaiian golf courses tout ocean views and the chance to see surfers just off the fairways, but one of the islands’ best tracks is actually inland on Oahu. Ko’olau Golf Club sits in the foothills of a majestic mountain range of the same name, and though it’s unlikely that an errant sunbather will be found greenside, its relative isolation gives it perhaps one of the best settings anywhere. Tranquil, perhaps even meditative, the essence of Hawaii is on offer here if you’re attuned to catching it. Get there early to catch the morning mist, and bring your Aloha spirit. koolaugolfclub.com

Evan Schiller | golfshots.com

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TPC DORADO BEACH, RITZ-CARLTON RESERVE

Puerto Rico

Talk about storm-tested: Puerto Rico was hit by two hurricanes last year, including the devastating Maria, which claimed lives and wreaked havoc across the entire country.

The island is still recovering, and TPC Dorado Beach is just one of its heartening stories. The course and club supported members, locals and staff with food, shelter, water, Internet access and myriad other things during the entire ordeal, and the property’s return has been nothing short of incredible.

The Sugarcane Course was open within three weeks of Maria and the famed East Course followed shortly thereafter. One of the Caribbean’s great golf destinations, the original home track of Chi Chi Rodriguez is worth traveling for, with a Tour-tested layout and an abundance of class. Great course, great staff, and one of the best offerings in the Ritz-Carlton portfolio nearby, we can’t recommend it enough. tpc.com/doradobeach

THE GREEN MONKEY

St. James, Barbados

Best course in the world? Some people think so. We’ll hold off on going that far for now, but there’s no question that this course at Sandy Lane Resort in Barbados is one of the most amazing places to play the game. Tom Fazio carved this exclusive 7,343-yard beauty into an old limestone quarry, making for dramatic and—dare we say—unique views. Lots of serious elevation changes, the knowledge that you’re playing an exclusive property and the namesake green monkey in the bunker on No.16 make for a satisfying experience. Two other top courses on site and a fantastic resort might make it an experience that’s necessary. sandylane.com

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SOUTH SEAS ISLANDS RESORT

Captiva Island, Florida

A former Key Lime Plantation and longtime fishing destination near Fort Myers, the South Seas Island Resort manages to capture the best of Florida’s classic charms while delivering a thoroughly modern experience. The 2.5 miles of exclusive white sand beaches are just one of the reasons to travel to this exquisite destination that also offers beachside golf, top shopping, great dining, abundant family activities and, perhaps best of all, the kind of tranquility of which the best island dreams are made. Highly recommended. southseas.com

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HOW TO GET THERE Embraer Perfect for island-hopping or for longdistance travel, Embraer’s new Phenom 300E light jet continues the firm’s tradition of aircraft innovation, inspiration and customer experience. Designed from a “clean sheet” to take advantage of the latest technologies and to allow for customer personalization, the Phenom 300E is the latest in a sophisticated series that has redefined its class since entry into service in 2010. The best-selling light business jet for the last six years, the Phenom 300 has become a class standard for its comfort, performance, operational range and efficiency as well as a high-utilization reliability, a result of its low-maintenance design. The Phenom 300E continues that and implements Embraer’s DNA Design philosophy, a holistic approach to cabin ergonomics, craftsmanship and design that emerged during the creation of the revolutionary Legacy 450 and Legacy 500 medium cabin platforms. Essentially, the jet was

designed around the humans who will occupy it, both passengers and pilots. This means optimized seating configurations, enhanced space, mobility and comfort within the cabin and elegantly integrated appointments and controls, all of which add to the flying experience and to the long-term value of the aircraft. Craftsmanship is superlative, employing layered metal, wood and leather in meticulously executed applications to suit customer needs and wishes. The on-board technologies are some of the latest and best available, as in the case of the market-first centerline Upper Tech Panel that incorporates Lufthansa Technik’s nice HD inflight entertainment and cabin management, with personal device integration capability. All of this in one of the most dependable platforms flying means years of efficiently and comfortably getting where you need to go to close the deal—or to celebrate it. embraerexecutivejets.com

CAP CANA (PUNTA ESPADA), PUNTA CANA

Dominican Republic

One of three Nicklaus designs at Cap Cana, Punta Espada Golf Course was listed as Golfweek’s No.1 in Mexico and the Caribbean for eight consecutive years—no small feat, with so many options. Host to the PGA Champions Tour’s Cap Cana Championship on several occasions, it’s a top-drawer game to be sure. Look for dramatic crashing of waves alongside fairways, clever bunkering separating the green stuff from the blue, and some seriously challenging greens. puntaespadagolf.com

Evan Schiller | golfshots.com

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Another few days in Paradise Visiting far-flung locations to play golf for the benefit of readers is a tough life, but someone has to do it.

So when Paul Trow was invited to Mauritius for the fourth time, he was finally quick enough to say “yes”

S So what makes Mauritius unique? The Dodo, its flightless national bird, has long expired; sugar and tea sweeten the coffers less each year; and textiles, the other historic source of income, can now be stitched up anywhere.

Yet this isn’t just anywhere. There might be no direct flight from the United States to this Indian Ocean haven, but it comfortably lives up to its billing as an idyllic, once-in-alifetime destination. Ringed by turquoise-blue sea, mint-green coral and gleaming white sand, this fertile island radiates enough color to put a kaleidoscope’s spectrum to shame.

And since the 1990s, heaven and earth, not to mention several thousand tons of terrain, have been moved so

Mauritius can stake its claim to a share of golf ’s international tourism boom. Aided by a fecund mix of sun and rain, always with a trade wind in the air, its subtropical climate is ideal both for playing the game and nurturing its courses.

Before 1994, the year of my first visit, the only concession Mauritius made to visiting golfers came via two rather basic nine-holers—the Gary Player-designed Le Saint Geran on the east coast and Maritim near Trou aux Biches in the northwest.

Inland was the 18-hole Gymkhana Club at Vacoas, a colonial legacy dating back to 1902 which, while open to visitors, remains predominantly a local members’ club.

The golf-tourism initiative teed off in earnest on the east coast when the fairways and ubiquitous water hazards of the Legend layout at Constance Belle Mare Plage were shaped out of bush-covered volcanic rock and flood plains

by South African Hugh Baiocchi. Pleased with the outcome, the resort later hired Peter Alliss to design its second 18 holes, the Links.

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O Our group landed at 6.30am at the polysyllabic Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport, named after the first prime minister.

Bleary-eyed but baggage-intact, our first port of call was Bel Ombre on the south coast for a tee time at Golf du Chateau on the Heritage Le Telfair resort. I’d played there twice before—a dozen years ago when the course, carved from a hillside sugar plantation by designer Peter Matkovich, was distinctly raw, and five years later when its condition was more refined. Now approaching maturity, it will be appreciated by participants in the third Amateur Golf World Cup from June 11-16.

Featuring wide, undulating fairways, and large, sloping greens protected by a plethora of water, sand and African elephant grass, the course presents many tricky elevations and blind approaches while two of the 37 rivers that divide Mauritius up like a patchwork quilt, Citronniers and St Martin, meander slyly across the property.

This photogenic venue recently staged the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open—a joint venture between the PGA Tours of Europe, Asia and southern Africa—and Matkovich will return soon with fellow South African Louis Oosthuizen, the 2010 [British] Open champion, to fashion its second, and the island’s 11th, 18-hole layout.

The next morning we tackled Paradis Golf Course, plotted onto a 300-acre peninsula by another South African, David Dutton, as a faux links, totally exposed to the wind.

Some holes run by the sea, like the spectacular par-5 16th (overshoot the green and next stop Madagascar), or across the inlet which almost turns the peninsula into an island.

Our round, 23 years after my previous game there, convinced me it’s now mainly a parkland course—due to modifications by Zimbabwe’s Tony Johnstone and the flourishing stone pines and palm trees that frame its narrowing fairways.

Towering 1,824 feet above like a vigilant schoolmaster is the basalt Le Morne monolith which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2008 and, to some eyes, resembles Rio de Janeiro’s Sugar Loaf Mountain in miniature. Despite the proximity of the mountain, though, the course itself is totally flat and easily walked.

Once your round is over, it’s only a short stroll to the sanctuary of the Dinarobin and Paradis hotels, their numerous bars, restaurants, beaches, spa treatments and swimming pools. And for those with energy still to burn, six floodlit tennis courts are on site.

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Sunset view of Paradis Golf Le Morne; a “typical” scene in the region; lovely beachside Paradis bar

M Measuring just 40 miles from north to south and 28 at its widest point, Mauritius is a botanist’s dream, home to a bewildering variety of trees, some indigenous but many introduced. Red flames and purple jacarandas were in full bloom during our visit, along with the more perennial Banyans and palms.

Established a millennium ago as a trading outpost by Arab sailors, Mauritius became a Portuguese stop-off en route to the Far East in the early 1500s. The Dutch settled a century later and named the island after Prince Maurice van Nassau. It was claimed by France in 1715 and eventually came under British control 200 years ago, after the war with Napoleon.

Slaves were imported from Madagascar to tend the plantations, but when slavery was abolished workers arrived from India, thus establishing the cultural diversity that characterizes modern Mauritius.

The official language is English though French is also taught in schools. Meanwhile, the majority Indian community speaks mainly Hindi or Bhojpuri along with Creole, a popular though ungrammatical patois that, bizarrely, contains no verbs.

The cuisine is an enticing blend of Indian, French and Chinese influences, spicy without being too hot. Among the highlights are chicken, wild boar sausages, shoals of fresh fish and cornucopias of fruit.

The Christian, Islam, Hindu and Buddhist religions happily co-exist and the native population, 1.26m at the last count, has risen above the poverty line thanks to a 5% annual growth in tourism (a record 1.34m visitors came in 2017).

Fortunately, overcrowding seems not to be an issue at the hotels because the influx of tourists is spread evenly across the year—good news in 2018 with Mauritius celebrating its 50th anniversary as a parliamentary democracy.

To keep pace, the road network, clogged up a decade ago by 10mph tractors, carts bulging with cane and rickety push bikes, has made a swift transition from the dark ages to the 21st century—witness the freshly-surfaced highways that now circumnavigate the island, and lead in and out of Port Louis, the capital.

Measuring just 40 miles from north to south and 28 at its widest point, a lot of beauty fits into a relatively small area

H Heading up the peripheral highway on our final day, we arrived in good time at Mont Choisy, a new Matkovich course built near Trou aux Biches on a 200-year-old sugar farm owned by the wealthy Harel family.

Its gently rolling fairways are lined with thousands of baby palm trees that have much growing to do, imaginative mounding, pervasive bunkering and snaking waste areas covered with black volcanic soil.

Decorating the boundaries are brick structures, chimney stacks and fermentation vats that date back to the property’s 19th-century plantation days. On the back nine are three memorable holes—the short, risk-reward par-4

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Mauritius Tourism: tourism-mauritius.mu Currency: Mauritian Rupees (33 rupees = $1) Tipping: Neither expected nor mandatory, recommended amount is 50-100 rupees 240v with UK-style 3-pin plugs; Electricity:

international adaptor needed

[Above] Mont Choisy 13th hole; [Right] Anahita 4th hole

13th where the fairway is split by a ravine yet the green is reachable for longer hitters; the long, straight par-5 14th once used as an air strip; and the island-green par-3 16th.

Alas, our visit coincided with an outbreak of unseasonal weather—icy wind and horizontal rain. Ever the pragmatist, I left my clubs on the bus and made my inspection from the safety of a cart. Even then I ended soaking and shivering! Let’s hope Mauritius has one more invitation up its sleeve so I can return to Mont Choisy in more clement circumstances!

Four other excellent 18-hole resort courses have opened in the last 15 years. They include Ile aux Cerfs at Shangri-La’s Le Touessrok and Four Seasons’ Anahita—an east-coast duo designed respectively by Major champions Bernhard Langer and Ernie Els. Accessed by land via a wooden bridge that leads to the Langer layout and the Michelin-starred Safran Indian restaurant, Le Touessrok can also be reached by helicopter and private boat. The compact though florally resplendent course reverberates with risk-reward options, but usually there’s a mangrove carry to be navigated.

Anahita, a longer though more pedestrian layout, is defined by its signature hole, the par-5 4th. Assuming an accurate and sufficiently lengthy drive, the second shot should be shaped left to right into a raised, undulating platform of a green guarded by a front bunker and two traps behind that provide a modicum of protection from the ocean.

Completing the Mauritius golf roster are Tamarina, on the west coast (near the oldest of the island’s growing number of designer shopping malls), Matkovich’s newlyopened Avalon Golf & Country Club in the south, and a 9-hole pitch-and-putt aimed at beginners at Beachcomber’s Shandrani resort near the airport in the southeast.

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H It’s true to say of most upscale exotic destinations that where there’s golf there’s realty. Mauritius, no exception, is keen to attract investors to the estates that adjoin its courses.

On offer are permanent residency rights for individuals or couples (and their offspring up to the age of 24) spending at least $500,000. Knowing that people might baulk at splashing out on a home so far away, the government is dangling an additional carrot that might appeal, especially to retirees—reside for a minimum of 183 days per year and enjoy the island’s personal income tax rate of 15%.

Anyone taking up this offer will have opportunities to explore thoroughly the beaches, lagoons and reefs we only fleetingly glimpsed through our bus window, and maybe even acquire a passion for surfing, snorkeling, quad-biking, zip-lining or fishing.

For those turning their attention inland, there’s much to gladden any environmentalist’s eco-sensitive heart. The Black River Gorges National Park, for example, teems with rainforests, waterfalls, hiking trails and wildlife like the flying fox.

Meanwhile, the attractions in Port Louis include the Champs de Mars horse racing track, Eureka plantation house and 18th-century botanical gardens.

Mark Twain, habitually prone to exaggeration and hyperbole, wrote during his round-the-world tour in 1896: “You gather the idea that Mauritius was made first and then heaven was copied after Mauritius.”

Hyperbole, yes, but not too much of an exaggeration!

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It’s the literal end of the road, the last stop. You can’t drive any further south in a car and there’s not much left for a boat either.

“The southernmost point in the continental United States,” as Key West is known, is actually nine miles north of that, which is at Ballast Key. But Ballast Key is a 14-acre private island (for sale at $15,800,000) and if people come to Key West to get away, they don’t necessarily come to be alone

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A And why would you? The whole world is here, and anyone sitting next to an empty barstool could be your new best friend—and you theirs. Supremely social, the only caveat to interactions in Key West is that the people you meet might not be the people they used to be. Of course this applies to you as well, for if there’s one rule in this town it’s “be yourself”—even if you’ve never been him before. And who knows: with a strong local business community, vibrant culinary scene and solid cultural options, the new you might just decide to stay. Where better to begin than at the end of the road?

One longtime resident in a TripAdvisor forum pondered the question of last names among Key West locals: “It has always astounded me since I came here that people DO NOT use their last names,” he wrote. “After a while it was pretty much a simple reason why...tax evasion or alimony....then I stopped asking. Up north I always said my full name, now I don’t after many years of being here.”

Indeed. Others in the forum indicated their mobile phones were filled with contacts like Scooter Bob, Big Steve, Marrying Sam, Scrubby, Bicycle Joanie, Big Bill, Tall Bill, Dollar Bill and so on, a collection of potentially reinvented characters, untethered to the their old lives.

Just Down The Street

D Dispossessed or grounded, at least everyone here is well fed. The Thirsty Mermaid is evidence of that, serving oysters, seafood and top wine and beer in a clean contemporary setting on Fleming Ave. It’s a great example of what the combination of out-of-state transplants and local talent is doing for the city, and for themselves. The wine list is refreshing and solid, the decor is minimalist perfection and the oysters are absolutely amazing. One surprise was the clam chowder with Maine lobster, which took the whole meal to another level—and if ordering soup on a hot, humid day made little sense when we did it, we’re glad that we did.

Beyond that, everything we tried here was superb: Bahamian Conch, Yellowfin Tuna Carpaccio, Ceviche, Mac & Cheese Croquettes with truffle aioli… We made several visits here, and if you made it your only food source on a Key West visit you’d leave town happy. Still, that means you’d miss the other eateries, and there are plenty. DJ’s Clam Shack is a longtime go-to for paper-napkin fare, a walk-up place that serves its famous lobster rolls, the ubiquitous (in the Keys) conch fritters, fried clams and so on. Pricier than some other street options, you probably won’t find better for the genre. There’s the long-established Blue Heaven, which remains good, and Louie’s Backyard, another staple that sounds the “fine dining” Caribbean note and which provides a nice ocean-side setting, perfect for a sunset cocktail if nothing else. Santiago’s Bodega, a tapas bar known for its sangria (a bit sweet for us, but we loved the wine we had afterwards) has other locations in Florida, but the Key West spot offers a nice atmosphere and is worth considering. For sweet teeth there’s Better Than Sex, a dessert restaurant that rides a nice line between feeling like a naughty private club and a tourist-oriented spot for bachelorette parties.

Drink names like “Caramel Over Me” and “Push My Button” are more fun than dirty, while the kitchen’s award-winning desserts are evidence that the sauciness is not all tongue-incheek, so to say.

Beyond that, would-be chefs should check out Isle Cook, a kitchen boutique opened by Eden and Bill Brown in 2015. The transplants left high-powered jobs in the Northeast to launch the business, which doubles as a cooking and wine school. If nothing else, attend a wine event here.

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Brilliant lunch at Thirsty Mermaid, above; Chef Martha Hubbard at Isle Cook, left; Almond Tree Inn, opposite top; a bit of local color, opposite below

N No visit to Key West is complete without a cocktail or three, and there are watering holes aplenty, many thankfully within walking distance of nice hotels (we like Almond Tree Inn for sleeping/swimming pool/camaraderie). A 2015 study found that there were more bartenders here per capita than anywhere else in the States, 13.3 per 1,000 residents, which is six times the national average. Not surprising, then, that at least one local tour guide claimed 119 drinking establishments on Duval Street alone, just 15 blocks and roughly a mile long. Rum Bar, Sunset Pier, Bull & Whistle… Where does one start? The Green Parrot is one of the oldest. The place opened back in 1890 as a grocery that featured live music and served booze, and aside from a name change or two (and dropping the groceries) it’s still going. Capt. Tony’s Saloon is on the site of the original Blind Pig, a speakeasy that later became Sloppy Joe’s. And of course there’s Sloppy Joe’s itself, the iconic bar named (and frequented) by Ernest Hemingway after a favorite drinking spot in Havana, Cuba, which he often visited during fishing trips. A rent increase of $1 per week in 1937 prompted Hemingway’s friend, bar owner Joe “Josie” Russell, to move Sloppy Joe’s down the block—in characteristically Key West fashion. Customers were asked to pick up their drinks, their barstools and anything else they could carry and move it all to the new location at the corner of Greene and Duval Streets, where Sloppy Joe’s remains today, as filled with tourists trying to get pictures as it is with folks trying to get drinks.

Whether dispossessed or grounded, at least Key West locals are well fed

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HEMINGWAY Just three-quarters of a mile from Sloppy Joe’s you’ll find the great writer’s house at 907 Whitehead Street much as he left it. This is especially true of his writing studio, which is complete with his desk, typewriter, hunting trophies and more. There’s a urinal in the garden—torn from the bathroom of the original Sloppy Joe’s the night the bar relocated (Russell owned the plumbing fixtures) and installed by Hemingway in his backyard as a drinking fountain for his famously six-toed cats, which are also here. There’s a penny under glass pressed into the cement by the swimming pool, put there by Hemingway’s wife Pauline, at whom he threw the coin after learning how much she’d spent on the pool, which was meant to be a surprise gift for the writer. There’s a basement (incredibly rare for Florida homes, much less those in Key West), Hemingway’s furnishings and more. He spent just over a decade here, during which time he completed A Farewell To Arms, worked on For Whom the Bell Tolls and wrote Death in the Afternoon, among other works (see sidebar). Beyond the house, Hemingway’s visage permeates the town, filled with plenty of salty, bearded men who could pass for him—and who often try, at Sloppy Joe’s annual Hemingway LookAlike Contest, held on the writer’s birthday in July. The 2016 contest marked the first time someone with the Hemingway name won—Dave Hemingway, on his seventh attempt—but it turned out he was unrelated to the author. There’s even a Hemingway Look-Alike Society, which runs a scholarship program for students attending Florida Keys College. And more recently, Hemingway has been celebrated with Papa’s Pilar, a top-shelf rum named for his treasured boat and distilled in town (see sidebar: Papa’s Pilar). In addition to featuring tastings and a tour, the distillery features fantastic Hemingway displays, perhaps unsurprising as the brand has been closely coordinated with the Hemingway family.

Scenes from around Hemingway’s house and writing studio, and the excellent Papa’s Pilar Dark Rum

PAPA’S PILAR You’d think it would have happened ages ago, but then Ernest Hemingway’s name wasn’t going to appear on just any product. Papa’s Pilar rums, however, are different. Premium spirits, every step of their creation, from source, to blend, to aging and packaging is top-shelf, with proceeds going to charities supported by the Hemingway family. Premium rums are sourced from classic Caribbean and Central American ports of call and solera-aged in Bourbon barrels and in Port wine casks (for the Dark) and in Bourbon barrels (for the Blonde). Both are finished in Spanish Sherry casks, resulting in rich experiences with plenty of character. Named for Hemingway’s treasured boat, Pilar, the company encourages the “Never a Spectator” lifestyle championed by Papa himself. For adventurous spirits and armchair travelers alike, these premium rums in the distinctive “canteen” bottle are the perfect partner for a life well enjoyed. Find out more at papaspilar.com

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FINALLY One can’t drink all day (well, one can, but it’s ill-advised, even for legendary writers) and so there are ample opportunities for fishing, paddle-boarding, touristing and the like. Key West isn’t known for beaches, exactly, but there are a few: Smathers Beach is big and beautiful, but we found little cover on a hot day. Fort Zachary Taylor State Park is also gorgeous and worth an afternoon. Here, palms line the sand so there’s plenty of shade, plus there are showers, beach chairs for rent and a little café. There are also BBQs and picnic tables if you want to bring your own food. Walking distance from town, South Beach was our favorite despite being quite small. With its sandy shore and gentle waves, it’s a great place to sit and watch the horizon or to wade out into the shallow water. Also, there’s a restaurant here that serves a nearby hotel, and if you want to drink a beer with your feet in the sand, this is the place—but then every place is the place in Key West, no matter who you are when you arrive, or who you are when you leave. Just get here.

GOLF Not many opportunities for the game down here, but there are a few. Key West Golf Club features a Rees Jones design and 200 acres of tropical landscape. It’s worth a stop for the “Mangrove Hole,” a 143-yard par-3 that plays over a dense field of the ubiquitous local foliage. Another option is up the road on Marathon Key at Florida Keys Country Club, which also has nice tennis facilities, and there’s a fun par-3 course nearby at Key Colony Beach if you feel like a friendly hit-around. Finally, Boondocks Grill, Draft House & Miniature Golf on Ramrod Key offers everything in the name and is a lot of fun—you have to eat, might as well have a beer and putt around while you do.

An area of palm-shaded beach at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park, far left; paddleboards in the sand

HEMINGWAY’S WORK IN KEY WEST While living in Key West, Hemingway completed A Farewell To Arms, worked on For Whom the Bell Tolls and wrote Death in the Afternoon, Green Hills of Africa, The Fifth Column, The Spanish Earth and To Have and Have Not. Short stories written here include The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Hills Like White Elephants, and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.

The Old Man and the Sea, while not written here, was most certainly influenced by the area. The cracked, aged hands of Santiago, the “Old Man” in the novel, are said to have been modelled on the hands of Bra Saunders, a Key West fisherman and close friend of Hemingway’s.

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BEHIND THE WHEEL One of the great perks of being Kingdom’s editor-in-chief, surely, is having the chance to drive so many incredible automobiles. Here are just a few rest-stop moments from 15 years in the [premium leather] driver’s seat…

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IT’S TRUE: I put dad’s brand new Datsun through the wall of a mobile home kitchen—I broke everything but the kitchen sink! But it was only a small pickup and no one would say the clutch wasn’t touchy. And I was 10. That was before back road races in high school, before the summer job when I dumped the clutch and tried to catch a wheel in a garbage truck (bad result), before I jumped my Acura over some tracks near Mud City, Arkansas... And it was certainly before Kingdom, before someone decided to trust me with cars that cost more than my childhood home. “Have fun!” they’d say as they handed me the keys, and boy would I, pulling away with nary a tire squeak as the representative from Maserati or Aston Martin or Bentley or whichever looked on. But once I got around the corner, well, you don’t read car features to learn about the radio.

I’ll pause to mention that somewhere along the road I picked up some training, had a short stint in Spec Racers, little 1.7L Renaults that were great fun, I grew out of my teens and I stopped being stupid. Mostly. Still love speed and driving aggressively when it’s warranted, but I haven’t hit a house since my pre-teen years and I haven’t dumped a clutch since forever. So much the better as the cars in Kingdom tend to be works of art, often requiring hundreds of hours to hand-build. Variously thrilling, boring, temperamental and puzzling, whether we loved them or not, the cars we’ve reviewed over the last 15 years have yielded some great behind-the-scenes stories. Here are just a few: NAVIGAZIONE In 2013 I called Maserati’s new GranTurismo Convertible Sport “one of the company’s best offerings ever” because its high-performance fun could be shared thanks to “two actual, real, adult-sized rear seats,” impossibly rare in the class. I took a light touch with the non-performance aspects of the car and specifically with the navigation system, which I understated as “basic.” In fact it was hilariously awful. We tested and photographed the car on California’s Central Coast, which is covered in well-mapped good roads that connect a network of known wineries and five-star destinations. And yet the Maserati’s nav screen didn’t offer many clues off the highway, failing to display not only buildings and waypoints but also not showing any roads.

No lines. Nothing. We spent the week as an arrowhead moving through a grey field, sometimes passing a blue dot, sometimes approaching green squares. Still, the nav system had one use: it showed little pictures of wine bottles and glasses where wineries were located, a trick that delighted my wife when it first occurred. “Italian navigation!” she laughed at the time. “Who needs to know where you are?

The wine’s over there—just point the car and go!”

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For the price ($142,000 as tested) I reckoned consumers could expect better, but on the other hand, as I pointed out, “you don’t—or you shouldn’t—buy a car like this for electronic gewgaws and cup holders.” Performance was great and it knew where the wine was. Saluti!

The only other tech peculiarity of note came on a Bentley, a convertible Continental. Bentley had dropped the car at our hotel earlier in the day and left the keys at the front desk (again in wine country). Excited at the prospect of three days rushing past vines with the top down, my wife and I were at first dismayed, and then amused, to find that, once opened, the electronic top was reluctant to close. And once you’d coaxed it up, it waited until you walked away and then it re-opened itself. Locking the doors also dropped the top—and set off the alarm—and so the car remained

Locking the doors also dropped the top—and set off the alarm

This page, cw from top: Our sun-loving Bentley GTC in 2009; Jag's exciting 2014 F-Type; the Bentley Flying Spur in 2016 Opposite: Aston-Martin's Rapide S in 2015; Bentley V8S convertible in Napa, 2014; Jaguar XJL in Miami, 2011

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unlocked and exposed. But funniest of all, perhaps, was the elegant Breitling clock on the dash, which would suddenly spin backwards at high speed, or maybe forwards, then stop, reverse, jump forward again and then quit altogether On our first morning, pre-coffee and with a full schedule of shooting and location reviews ahead of us, my wife and I got into an argument about something. “Hell!” I exclaimed.

“I wish we could just rewind this morning and start over!”

Suddenly the clock started spinning wildly backwards, immediately causing both of us to laugh and to forget the fight, whatever it was about. I decided the car’s quirks weren’t all bad. In fact, the culprit wasn’t a Bentley issue per se, but a problem with one of the car’s two batteries. Bentley sent a tech and sorted the problem that very afternoon, and the car performed marvelously for the rest of the weekend.

‘Can I sit on the hood and take a picture?’

No. ‘What if I just lean on it?’ No. CROSSFIRE HURRICANE I’d already driven nearly everything Bentley made (for ages of 2 and 92 who could get there. “Dat a Rolls-Royce?” consumers) when I got a call from their representative one No, it’s a Bentley. “A what? Can I sit in it?” No. “Can I sit day: “You want to take the new Mulsanne out for a spin?” on the hood and take a picture?” No. “Is it expensive?” Yep. she asked. Hmm. It might surprise you, but I didn’t jump “C’mon, what if I just lean on it?” No. And so on, until my at the opportunity. Usually I’d take a car for a few days wife came downstairs. and give the vehicle a proper going-over. This necessitated Tony held the rear door open while we climbed aboard, having the time to take a trip or, if I stayed home, a safe then we headed to pick up a photographer friend and his place to park the car. It was the autumn of 2012 and my wife. This particular friend of mine is a tremendous artist wife and I were living in Brooklyn, in a neighborhood then whose photos regularly appear in top publications, and over described as “up and coming,” and so parking a $300,000+ years of wine-fueled dinners he’s emerged with sentiments luxury auto on the curb overnight was not an option (unless some might call anarchist or even communist. Accordingly, Bentley wanted it re-painted, and they certainly did not). I thought picking him up in a chauffeured Bentley would Also I was busy, and so I tried to throw the rep off: “That confuse him, and the look of stunned bewilderment on thing’s huge,” I said. “Do I get a chauffeur?” She didn’t blink: his face when we arrived gave me tremendous satisfaction.

“What time do you want him to pick you up?”

After a pause, he got in and we took off, suddenly realizing Tony arrived downstairs around 10 in the morning that the back seat of this huge, lush car is really only built on Saturday, and to say the Mulsanne caused a stir on our for two. I sat in front while my wife ended up between block is putting it lightly. Mrs. Lee came out of her deli to our friends in the back, her long legs perched on the floor stare, as did the guys from the pizza place across the street, “hump,” not at all comfortable. We had Tony drive us up the ladies from the laundromat and every male between the to the town of Sleepy Hollow to find Washington Irving’s

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A hurricane on the way, I was not getting stuck with this car

grave (it was Halloween), we had lunch and everyone had a great time. Then, just as we were driving my friend home, he leaned forward—a little anxiously—and said, “Wait, aren’t we going to go through Central Park? You can’t be in a Bentley with a chauffeur and not go through Central Park!” So we did, and he had a blast watching pedestrians and people on bicycles scatter out of the way and glare at us as he sat in the back seat and waved. Anarchist behavior of a sort, I suppose, and it was tremendous fun.

The story could end here, but there’s an epilogue: We only had Tony for the Saturday and we still had to drive and to photograph the car before returning it to Bentley, which meant it was mine for at least one night. For insurance reasons most NY parking garages won’t take cars worth more than $200,000 (at the time, anyway). Our Mulsanne clocked in well north of that but I managed to convince a hotel to hold it until sunrise Sunday, when I picked it up.

We had to shoot early because, you might remember, this was the year Hurricane Sandy hit New York and landfall was forecast for Monday. We photographed the Mulsanne in several locations, including one by a graffitied blue fence, then wrapped early and called Bentley: “Come get your car,” I said. “No can do,” their rep replied. “The storm

has us scrambling and all our drivers are out. It’s yours ’til Wednesday at least. Take good care of it.” Living one block from the water in our up and coming neighborhood, with a large storm surge predicted, the hotel garage now refusing to take the car and my name on the dotted line taking responsibility, I started dialing numbers—I was not getting stuck with this car. An answer to the problem came via Tony, who suggested Lincoln Center: “Those opera singers, they’re always in Rolls-Royces,” he said. The sky was growing dark, the rain had started and the streets were filled with billowing bags, leaves and trash flying around.

Plenty of traffic signals were already malfunctioning, but I piloted the elegant, handcrafted liability out of Brooklyn and up the West Side Highway to the garage under Lincoln Center, where it was received. I put the keys in an envelope, dropped that at the garage office, texted Bentley the address and then I walked into the rain to grab a cab, never so happy to be rid of a nice car. Days later, while I was working in London, my wife emailed a picture: the blue fence covered in graffiti near our apartment where we’d taken some photos. Sitting almost exactly where the Bentley had been parked was a boat, lifted by the surge and set down on the cobbled street. Bullet dodged.

What a difference a day makes: Bentley Mulsanne photo location in Red Hook, Brooklyn, the morning before and the morning after Hurricane Sandy, 2012

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OTHERS A formidable car in terms of both comfort and drivability, the Mulsanne isn’t personally my cup of tea (yet?). Nor were the various Rolls-Royces I’ve driven for Kingdom. Make no mistake: they’re superlative machines and, as with a few other top motors in the class, you’ll catch a lot of looks from others when you’re in them. However, the ogling hordes aren’t looking at you, they’re trying to see into the back seat because, if we’re being honest, that’s where you want to be sitting in cars like these. How else could you enjoy the monogrammed crystal decanters and full-recline massage seats? Still, cruising south at 80mph on I-405 in Los Angeles in a Phantom II, I put my foot down and got a surprise. I remember thinking, “Weird; nothing.” But then I glanced at the speedo and saw that I was at 120 and climbing fast—with almost no sense of acceleration. I could have had a glass of Chardonnay on the dash and not a drop would have spilled. Astoundingly impressive, and an argument for sitting behind the wheel.

Far less expensive but nonetheless impressive, BMW’s 750i xDrive wowed us with its “functional luxury,” a nearperfect integration of user-friendly tech and the driving experience. If the tech here is obvious (heads-up display, “air gesture” controls, usable in-seat massage functions and more), the tech in the 2017 Acura NSX is all under the hood, but what an impact it makes. It took a few days to get acclimated, but once I and a photographer friend (who’s also a top driver) grew comfortable with the car’s incredible electronics and systems, our driving experience was taken to another level. Repeatedly navigating a near-right-angle turn on a road I know like the back of my hand, we kept increasing our speed until—well past my comfort level—I gave up trying to find the car’s limit. It exists, certainly, but the NSX’s sophisticated stability and cornering system

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had so far eclipsed my own abilities at that point that we’d entered pants-wetting territory, and for the next pass my friend was ready to climb out and watch me go it alone. As I wrote in the piece last year: “You’re faster in this car, though I’ll pause to mention that it doesn’t make you a better driver, exactly, even if it yields better performance.” My friend and I finally concluded that, “it’s a strong bet that the supercars of the future will more closely resemble the 2017 NSX than they will anything else currently on the road. For those who want to drive on the cutting edge, this is it.” And I stand by that today.

The incomparable Phantom II in 2012; the future-minded 2017 NSX; the usabletech showcase 750i xDrive in 2016

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Land Rover's 2010 LR4 just got it right; the calm exterior of that year's Jaguar XFR belied the 510hp monster inside

Everything from Aston Martin was top drawer, absolutely fantastic, but you pay for it of course. Likewise, everything from Jaguar has been superlative, and at an unassailably reasonable price point, and not just compared to Aston. When we reviewed the 2010 XFR, there were only two 500hp+ business sedans available for less than $100,000: The standard-setting 500hp BMW M5, with a base price of $85,700, and the 510hp Jaguar, based at $62,000—hardly pocket change in terms of a difference, and with no loss of performance or quality. Likewise, the 2013 launch of the F-Type thrilled us: the V8S trim we tested was “wind in the hair, passenger hanging on for dear life, slammed back in the seat laughing like a maniac as you roar down the highway” fun, I wrote, while the as-tested price of $104,620 offered more bang for the buck than others in the class, making the F-Type one of our hands-down favorites ever driven for Kingdom. Plus, who doesn’t feel like a rock star in a Jaguar?

We drove various SUVs over the years as well, with Mercedes’ offerings coming through as what you’d expect from a top brand—fine, good, lovely, more than capable— but without delivering the pleasant surprises of, say, the marque’s redesigned SL550, which we loved. Land Rover's 2010 LR4 was a more than capable SUV as well (to be expected), but it had a little something extra. In fact, along with the F-Type, it emerged as one of my favorite Kingdom test vehicles, preferable even to its more expensive siblings.

Hard to say why a car ultimately feels right, and of course that’s subjective, but we did have favorites. With bottomless pockets I’d have everything that’s appeared in Kingdom’s pages, though facing the daily conundrum of what to drive

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would be daunting indeed. For now I’ll content myself with the knowledge that there are years of good drives and great stories yet to come and miles of open roads to explore, all of them free of pesky mobile homes that can get in the way of young (and young-hearted) drivers who just want to go, go, go.

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Our kind ’a people We've met some great people over the past 15 years: celebrities, TOUR pros and the occasional inexplicable personality. Golfers or no, they've all become part of the Kingdom universe, and we're happy to know them

Ian Poulter Ryder Cup hero, bold personality and car enthusiast, Poulter entertained us at his home in Orlando

“Looking at the tour schedules, with something like 70 percent of the qualifying events based here in America, why would you live in Europe?”

KINGDOM 25, 2012

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Bo Jackson Perhaps the greatest athlete who ever lived, the former baseball and football star weighed in on golf:

“I said baseball is tougher because you have to go out there and do it every day... football you only play on Sunday. Golf is a whole other planet... Just when you think you’ve mastered a certain part of it, it jumps up and bites you in the butt” KINGDOM 13, 2009

Morgan Freeman A screen legend and avid golfer with the voice of God (in the movies, anyway), we caught up with Freeman at the Insperity Challenge—kind of— and he offered us this quote:

“Let's meet at 18 tomorrow” Sadly, he left after 9. But that didn't stop our intrepid writer from celebrating the actor in our pages, which we happily did KINGDOM 22, 2012

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Herb Kohler Chairman of the Kohler Company and owner of the Old Course Hotel in St Andrews, he sat down with us at the latter to talk life and golf

John Ruskin's quote: “Life without labor is guilt; labor without art is brutality.� That is the essence of what Kohler is all about KINGDOM 16, 2010

Photo: Leon Harris

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Andy Garcia Fresh off a round at St Andrews, the actor from Ocean’s Eleven, The Untouchables, Internal Affairs and so many more sat down with us at the famed Jigger Inn

“Golf is what it is; one day you feel great and the next you just don’t have the feel.

Lee Trevino says you play with what you’ve got on the day, and he’s right” KINGDOM 21, 2011

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Angie Everhart Model, TV personality and golfer, Everhart opened up about surviving cancer and the challenges of balancing work and life in the public eye

“I was doing so many celebrity golf tournaments that I used to tell [son] Kayden I was going to work. At one point I played six in a row, and when I left for one he asked me, ‘Do you have to go to work, mommy?’”

K I N G D O M 3 0, 2 0 1 4

Huey Lewis Longtime frontman for The News, the singer and golf fan ruminated on the game's benefits

“Golf is about the smelling of flowers, as Walter Hagen once said...

I love its integrity; everyone who plays is transparently honest” KINGDOM 18 2010

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Annika One of the greatest golfers ever to have lived—male or female—the legend shared a lot of time with Mr. Palmer and with Kingdom

“When I arrived on tour... a lot of people treated me as if I was the new Nancy Lopez.

But I’m not Nancy and that was hard for me. I was not there to replace her, I was there to be myself ” KINGDOM 14 2009

Vince Gill One of the most successful artists of all time, the country music star likely could have been a pro golfer

“My mother still talks about what a great babysitter the golf course was: ‘I gave you $2 for the green fees, a cheeseburger and a Coke and you could play 36 holes and I’d pick you up when it was dark. That’s pretty cheap babysitting’” KINGDOM 15 2009

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James Walker, Jr One of the first African Americans on the PGA Tour, “Junior” spoke with us about growing up in rural North Carolina and staying out of sight on course as a boy

“Everything was nice on the tour. That’s the best life you can have, I think, a guy playing on the tour. I haven’t seen any better” KINGDOM 21, 2011

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Kelly Tilghman One of our favorites, the Golf Channel presenter brings integrity and a strong knowledge of the game to work each day, thanks in part to her years playing professionally in Europe

“Priority ‘A’ was to make the cut. Priority ‘B’ was, if you didn’t make the cut, head to all the historical sites, to the riverfront, contemplate life with your best friend who also missed the cut... It was one of the most fulfilling times in my life” K I N G D O M 3 9, 2 0 1 7

Photo: Della Bass

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Don Felder Longtime Eagles guitarist and composer of the music for their greatest hit, Hotel California, Felder was all about the game when he spoke to Kingdom

“I first got involved with golf in Miami when I was on tour with The Eagles...

Three of us went out, rented clubs, wore jeans and sneakers, took a load of alcohol with us and we had a wonderful time.

As time went by I fell in love with the game” KINGDOM 28, 2014

Samuel L Jackson The tough-guy actor with the billiondollar smile is far less intimidating on course—if he’s winning...

“Golf saved my life.

When I got out of rehab it became my new addiction. It settled my mind, something that I wanted to get better at, and I became as hooked on it as I had been on drugs” KINGDOM 8, 2007

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Cheyenne Woods We spoke with the impressive LPGA pro back in 2013 when she was still playing in Europe and learned the obvious: that there's much more to her than just her last name

“I have a picture of me from when I was 8 or 9 years old. I was doing an interview after my event and I had literally six cameras surrounding me.

I’m just this little girl on a chair. It was big, I guess.

You know: Tiger Woods’ niece is playing golf ” K I N G D O M 2 7, 2 0 1 3

Dennis Hopper One of the original Hollywood rebels, the Easy Rider and Apocalypse Now star credited golf with helping him slow down and stay on track

“I am mild mannered now. I may have been a little out of control when I was yonger, but I didn’t play golf back then” K I N G D O M 1 0, 2 0 0 8

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Floyd Leverton One of the most remarkable people we’ve met, he told our editor that a tree (which had stood for 40 years and which looked to be in good health) was about to fall over. “How do you know?” the editor asked. “The tree told me,” Floyd said. “You're crazy,” the editor thought. And less than 8 hours later, the tree fell over. Think what you like.

“Now as I work with my trees, I just try and do the best I can.

I make them safer so they’re not going to fail, have a branch break or fall over, but I really, really, really try and listen” KINGDOM 36, 2016

Photo: Leon Harris

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Bill Campbell Bill Campbell was a Hall of Fame golfer and one of the greatest American amateurs, never defeated in eight Walker Cup singles matches and U.S. Amateur champ in 1964. Later President of the USGA, we met Campbell aged 90, and sadly just weeks before this true gentleman died

“Golf is a game of misses and how you react to them. That applies also to life. We know bad breaks occur, but always hold out the hope that from a bad place, we might make a great recovery” KINGDOM 26 2013

Tom Watson Eight times a major champion, by the time Tom Watson had won The [British] Open five times in the space of nine years he had usurped Jack Nicklaus as the word’s best golfer. Watson’s hero?

That was Arnold Palmer

“I first played with Arnold in an exhibition in 1965 when I was 15. He was already my hero. He remained my hero all the way through his life and he is still my hero today” KINGDOM 15, 2009 & K I N G D O M 3 7, 2 0 1 6

Photo: Leon Harris

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Dollar Dozen

No Pebble Beach here. In Kingdom we like to celebrate the most beautiful courses we can find (and Pebble is epic, of course) but beauty is in the eye of the beholder and we thought it might be nice to champion courses that are more widely beheld, so to say. So, here are 12 tracks anyone can play and which offer great visitor experiences—all beholders

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TORREY PINES, California For those who live in the San Diego area, the South Course at Torrey Pines represents the golfing deal of the century: $63 for 18 holes, Monday through Thursday. That’s $63 to play the venue of the 2008 U.S. Open, the event that local hero Tiger won with a broken leg, and this is also the annual stage for the PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open, as won this year by Australia’s Jason Day. Not bad for a golf course owned and operated by the City of San Diego.

Taking golfers along the rocky hillside overlooking the Pacific, one of the signature shots on the South Course is the tee shot on the par-three third hole, as golfers aim for a green that slopes away towards the ocean. The bail-out is to head short and left, but a broad bunker awaits.

Originally designed by William F. Bell and opened in 1957, the South Course occupies a site that had been a military training base. Decorated with the indigenous Torrey Pine trees, Rees Jones updated the course in 2001 and extended its max yardage to what was at the time a staggering 7,607. Not so staggering anymore, and the U.S. Open is slated to return in 2021.

Green fees: $63-252 Torreypinesgolfcourse.com

BIG CEDAR LODGE, Missouri While there are three magnificent golf courses at Big Cedar Lodge, golf is just part of the story at this stunning 4,600acre resort hidden amid the Ozark mountains of Missouri.

Fishing, boating, nature trails, skiing and horseback riding are all available at this rustic nature reserve.

Big Cedar Lodge owner and wilderness fan Johnny Morris brought in Tom Fazio to design the acclaimed 18-hole Buffalo Ridge Springs course, before Gary Player created the 13-hole Mountain Top Course. Completing the set is a nine-hole, par-three course of breathtaking beauty, Top of the Rock, for which Morris collaborated with Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Arnold Palmer.

And overlooking Top of the Rock and Table Rock Lake is “Arnie’s Barn,” a restaurant in a barn that Morris had re-located from Palmer’s land at his home in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, where Palmer grew up. Timbers, some of which measure 46 feet, were painstakingly disassembled and numbered in Latrobe, transported to the Ozarks and re-assembled above the par-three course as the resort’s tribute to Palmer.

Green fees: $80-135 Bigcedar.com

Patrick Drickey | stonehousegolf.com

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CAPE KIDNAPPERS, New Zealand It is no wonder the golf course at Cape Kidnappers hugs the cliff edge of North Island so tightly. New Zealand is a narrow stripe of land in the South Pacific. Split into two islands, the land of the long white cloud (the translation of the Maori name of Aotearoa) features 9,400 miles of shoreline, yet no matter where you are in NZ, you can never be more than 80 miles from the ocean.

Cape Kidnappers is one of the world’s most dramatic golf courses—no question—perched high above the ocean on the east coast of the Bay of Plenty on the North Island.

The 18-hole, par-72 layout was designed by Tom Doak and opened to immediate acclaim in 2004, with the course rising and dipping along the ridges and valleys of this singular landscape. The highest points of the golf course are 800 feet above sea level, and at points such as the 15th green, if golfers overshoot the target their ball will remain airborne for an estimated 14 seconds before disappearing into the surf.

Cape Kidnappers offers limited yet exquisite lodges and a spa, while the ultimate Kiwi two-stop tour brings in Kidnappers’ sister property further north, Kauri Cliffs. The helicopter transfer between the two comes recommended.

Green fees: $228 Robertsonlodges.com

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BAY HILL CLUB, Florida

TPC SAWGRASS, Florida The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, built in 1982 specifically to hold the Players Championship, features the renowned par-3 17th with its island green. Course creator, Pete Dye, only envisaged the 17th after being forced to dig out tons of dirt to fill other pits and chasms around the layout. With no land left, the hole had to be 90 percent water, like it or not.

Once described as bringing a dash of Evel Knievel to the most genteel of sports, this is golf’s most nervewracking hole. We all know what it looks like: tee, water, island green, dropping zone, bunker. Then there’s the huge crowd baying for glory or disaster, with no room for compromise. The permutations are Satanic, especially if there’s a breeze blowing. That’s when even the world’s finest are grateful for landing in the sand trap, even though they are often just floating in a nine-iron.

In 1984 gusts reached 40mph during the first round and 64 balls splashed in the lake. The day’s stroke average of 3.79 was the highest for a par three in PGA Tour history.

Green fees: $325-499 TPC.com/sawgrass

The seeds for what would become the Arnold Palmer Invitational were sown in 1965, when Arnold Palmer first encountered Bay Hill in an exhibition fourball with Jack Nicklaus, Dave Ragan and Don Cherry. It was love at first sight for Palmer, particularly after posting a winning 66 that day.

Bay Hill, designed four years earlier by Dick Wilson and intertwined with Orlando’s Butler Chain of Lakes, was raw. Apart from the course, there was a tiny pro shop, a small guest lodge and a handful of bungalows carved out of orange groves and razor brush. It was a canvas of rural Floridian ambience. “I loved Bay Hill from the first time I saw it,” Palmer later reminisced. “It was near perfect, a golfer’s paradise.”

After a decade of negotiations Palmer bought Bay Hill in 1976 and he and design partner Ed Seay advanced the layout into one of the finest championship tests in America.

Bay Hill has been home to the Arnold Palmer Invitational since 1979, with a winners’ roll call including Fuzzy Zoeller, Payne Stewart, Paul Azinger, Fred Couples, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Jason Day. But the stand-out has been Tiger Woods, winner eight times between 2000 and 2013.

Green fees: $385-450 including mandatory lodge room (see special offer for Kingdom readers on page 177)

Bayhill.com

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Tralee Golf Links

without doubt arnold palmer’s finest links course in europe

‘Voted among the World’s Top 10 Ocean courses’ the golf channel

‘I may have designed the first 9, but surely God designed the back’

West Barrow, Ardfert, Tralee, Co. Kerry

www.traleegolfclub.com

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arnold palmer

. +353 (0) 66 713 6379

Follow us on Facebook at: facebook.com/traleegolfclub

TRALEE, Ireland Tralee dates back to the 19th century, although its existing links in West Barrow represents Arnold Palmer’s much heralded European debut in course design. Like many of the greatest links courses, the layout of much of Tralee did not require bulldozing or shaping, so naturally does this landscape facing out to the Atlantic Ocean lend itself to golf.

The game was born from such stretches of linksland.

“I have never come across a piece of land so ideally suited to the building of a golf course,” Arnold Palmer once said of Tralee, which he created in collaboration with long-time design partner Ed Seay and which opened in County Kerry, southwest Ireland in 1984. “I may have designed the first nine,” he said, “but surely God designed the back nine.”

Tralee occupies a stretch of land which is as historic as it is stunning. A stone watchtower behind the third green dates back to the 12th century, the seventh tee overlooks a small harbor called the Randy which was a haven for smugglers in centuries past, while many ships ran aground along the beach by the 16th and 17th holes, including one ship which had sailed astray from the great Spanish Armada of 1588.

Green fees: $234 Traleegolfclub.com

“I may have designed the first nine, but surely God designed the back nine” —Arnold Palmer, on Tralee

LEOPARD CREEK, South Africa Leopard Creek Country Club represents southern hemisphere golf at its best, and it is hard to beat its setting along the edge of the Kruger National Park, in South Africa’s northeast. This famous course is bordered by the National Park and the Crocodile River, with bushveld koppies (hills that are typical of the African bush landscape) dominating the backdrop. Streams and watering holes help to define the Leopard Creek course, with resident crocodiles, hippo, antelope, buffalo and elephants occasionally spectating.

The 13th hole of this Gary Player design is among its most memorable, a 550-yard par five that bends from right to left, with its green sitting on the edge of Crocodile River, but 32 meters above the water, thereby affording golfers panoramic views into the National Park.

The elegant clubhouse occupies a prime spot by the river too, from where golfers can view the action on the ninth and 18th greens and enjoy panoramic views across Kruger National Park.

Green fees: $168

Leopardcreek.com

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STRAITS COURSE, WHISTLING STRAITS

ERIN HILLS, Wisconsin

Running along the banks of Lake Michigan, the Straits Course at Whistling Straits, built by Herb Kohler and designed by Pete Dye, is one of the great modern American golf courses. It opened in 1998 and has already hosted a trio of PGA Championships, in 2004 (won by Vijay Singh), 2010 (won by Martin Kaymer, over Bubba Watson in a playoff after Dustin Johnson played his way out by grounding his club in a scrubland bunker on the last hole), and in 2015 (when Jason Day finally became a major champ). What is more, the Ryder Cup lands here in 2020.

“I may live to be as old as Methuselah,” Dye said of the site which had been an army base, “and never get another chance to build something like this.” He wasn’t kidding. On this walking-only course, eight holes occupy two miles of Lake Michigan’s border, including all four par-3s, and when the winds whip up from across the lake, this par-72 test becomes one of the most demanding imaginable.

“If the wind doesn’t blow, then this course is a lot of fun,” said 14-time major champ Tiger Woods in 2010. “But if the wind howls, it’s so difficult. It’s hard for us as players to describe how difficult it is because we’ve got to hit all these shots from uneven lies and with a crosswind.”

The U.S. Open’s first visit to Wisconsin last summer took it to Erin Hills, a modern course with a traditional feel— having opened in 2006—and which was built with the specific ambition of hosting major championships. The design saw collaboration between Michael Hurdzan, Dana Fry and Ron Whitten, and the trio has made spectacular use of this 652-acre expanse of Kettle Moraine post-glacial terrain, which is hemmed in by wetlands and the Ashippun River, 35 miles to the northwest of Milwaukee. What is more, Erin Hills is refreshingly a walking-only golf course, partly to protect the fine fescue, partly to strip the game back to the way it was originally played.

The course played to its maximum yardage of 7,800 yards in the U.S. Open—for the longest U.S. Open ever— and big-hitting Brooks Koepka took full advantage, winning by four with a 16-under-par final score that tied Rory McIlroy’s U.S. Open scoring record.

Five sets of tees ensure Erin Hills provides a great challenge to all players, with the yardage coming all the way down to a possible 5,100 yards. For golfers hoping to play there this year, get in quick as many tee times for 2018 are already booked, with September particularly popular, before the course closes for winter at the end of October.

Green fees: $25o-540 including taxes and mandatory caddie Americanclubresort.com

Green fees: $295 Erinhills.com

Wisconsin

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INNISBROOK, Florida The Copperhead Course at Innisbrook, on Florida’s Gulf Coast, has a proud PGA Tour heritage as home to the Valspar Championship each spring. Recent winners on the famous Copperhead course include Jordan Spieth, who clocked his second career win on the PGA Tour here in March, 2015, aged 21, shortly before shooting the lights out at Augusta National and becoming the youngest Masters champ since Tiger Woods.

Designed by Larry Packard and defined by mature pine woodlands, rolling fairways and a variety of lakes and ponds, Copperhead is Floridian golf at its very best, with abundant wildlife including the state’s renowned gators. The year that Spieth won, tournament play was briefly delayed by a gator crossing the third fairway.

Three more 18-hole championship layouts—all designed by Packard—complete the varied offering at 900-acre Innisbrook, with all greens and bunkers on the North course renovated last fall.

Beyond the golf, the property offers 500 guest suites and rooms, a variety of restaurants and bars, 11 tennis courts, six heated swimming pool complexes and a luxury spa—all gator-free, presumably.

Green fees: $75-115 Innisbrookgolfresort.com

Patrick Drickey | stonehousegolf.com

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KINGSBARNS, Scotland They have played golf on the linksland of Kingsbarns since the 18th century at least, but considering it lies just seven miles south of St Andrews, that’s not saying much. The championship course here offers a golfing experience of such outstanding quality that we have included Kingsbarns in this select dozen ahead of the Old Course itself, another golf course which can be enjoyed by all comers. We are not suggesting golfers should opt for Kingsbarns ahead of the Old Course—that would be a ludicrous denial of the peerless, prefatory heritage at St Andrews—but as a golf course on which to enjoy a game, Kingsbarns is plainly superior. And also, we like to throw the occasional thistle among the rose petals.

The Kingsbarns Golf Society was formed in 1793, and the championship course as it stands today was designed

by Kyle Phillips and built by American Mark Parsinen.

Making spectacular use of the rugged North Sea coastline, Kingsbarns opened to immediate acclaim in 2000. The great advantage the course has over its older links cousins up the road at the “Home of Golf” is higher altitude, offering golfers the far-reaching North Sea views that low-lying St Andrews cannot match, while avoiding the recurrent blind tee shots that plague golfers on the Old Course. Kingsbarns has joined the Old Course at St Andrews and Carnoustie as the host courses for the European Tour’s annual Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Green fees: $313-375 Kingsbarns.com

Playing Castle Stuart should almost be a prerequisite before you can design golf courses

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Patrick Drickey | stonehousegolf.com

CASTLE STUART, Scotland Created by Gil Hanse and built by Mark Parsinen—of Kingsbarns fame—Castle Stuart only opened in 2009 although it looks as if it has hugged the Moray Firth coastline for centuries. It has already staged three Scottish Opens, the most recent won by Phil Mickelson, and entertains ambitions to host the [British] Open.

Castle Stuart offers a carefully crafted challenge that all golfers can enjoy, with hazards geared towards the lower handicapper and forgiveness directed towards the higher.

Having won the 2013 Scottish Open here, Mickelson went as far as to say that playing Castle Stuart “should almost be a prerequisite before you’re allowed to design golf courses nowadays.” And with that he went to Muirfield and won the Claret Jug. As golfers tee up on the par-three fourth and take aim at the pin, the unmistakable backdrop is the majestic Castle Stuart itself, which was built in 1625 by James Stuart, 3rd Earl of Moray, ascendant of Mary Queen of Scots. The castle fell into disuse during the English Civil War and lay derelict for three centuries before being restored.

Green fees: $202-384 Castlestuartgolf.com

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Sunny Days Time to hit the road, time to stay home.

Time to get out, time to stay in. With the days longer and the weather fine, your time is yours to do as you like.

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Submariner Date Rolex The first Submariner was launched back in 1953, and its robust and functional design quickly took hold as a design classic.

Featured here is the Submariner Date in a 904L stainless steel case, with a distinctive green dial and oyster bracelet. Recognizable as a Rolex in milliseconds, it’s yet another icon from the world’s greatest and most enduring luxury watchmaker. rolex.com

Weekend Satchel J.W. Hulme This weekend bag is from J.W. Hulme, a company of craftsmen and women who have been hand-constructing American-made-to-last leather goods for over a century. Employing exceptional American leathers from small craft tanneries, the goods that leave J.W. Hulme’s Minnesota workshop are understated and classic in style, but given they are guaranteed for life are certainly built for the future, too.

Buy for yourself, leave for your grandkids. jwhulmeco.com

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Big Green Egg Often imitated, never duplicated: Big Green Egg, the original and awardwinning kamado-style cooker, is still— by far and away—the best.

Smoke, roast, grill or bake, whatever cooking style you want, the Big Green Egg will deliver—and with more moisture, juiciness and flavor locked-in than you can believe. Based on an ancient cooking method, this modern-design kamado-style cooker just plain works, a fact born out by the countless “Eggheads” around the world who’ve loved it since it first appeared in 1974. Try one and enjoy the best outdoor cooking experience you’ve ever had—and the best meals. Available in numerous sizes, all of them brilliant. biggreenegg.com

Glen Scotia Distillery

Liebherr Wine Cabinet

Victoriana

Vinidor range

Founded in 1832, today Glen Scotia is one of only three distilleries on the Kintyre peninsula, an area rich in spirit history. Reflecting those deep whisky roots is the Victoriana. From casks that were hand-selected for their rare character and exceptional maturity, the liquid is finished in deep-charred oak.

Bottled at 51 proof, the result is not just a Scotch evocative of the Victorian era but an exceptional whisky that is strong, dark and rich with spice, caramelized brown sugar and Christmas pudding. It warms the soul so well it is almost worth getting cold for.

High quality wine demands high quality storage, and with typically innovative German Engineering, Liebherr’s Vinidor range delivers just that. Offering cutting edge design, noise all but eliminated and solid beechwood shelves on telescopic rails for easy wine access, Liebherr has satisfied every possible consideration.

The wine cabinets even come with a presentation shelf option for those labels that really should be shown off before they’re shared.

glenscotia.com

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liebherr.com

GIFT GUIDE

Duca del Cosma Kuba Established in 2007, Duca del Cosma has brought inimitable Italian fashion values and sophistication to the golf world for over a decade. Featured here is the white-green-red Kuba.

The shoes are carefully constructed using a soft, full-grain waterproof leather and feature a breathable and waterproof membrane system. Ergonomic and supremely comfortable on the foot, the Airplay III outsole’s 5mm nubs provide extra traction and stability on course, while the eye-catching shoe design makes for a perfect fit off the golf course too. ducadelcosma.com

Austen Heller Chathams Austen Heller had a simple start. The company wanted a pair of well-made driving loafers to throw on for work, travel, clubhouse or dining with friends. When they couldn’t find exactly what they were looking for, they simply decided to make their own. The result are loafers cut, sewn and crafted by hand from the world’s finest European shoemakers, with style and quality paramount. austenheller.com

Nebuloni golf shoes Milano For those who would enjoy shoes that are specifically tailored in terms of fit, finish, styling and colours, Nebuloni provides a host of classic custom options. After more than 100 years of shoemaking the quality of the Nebuloni family’s workmanship is ingrained. The shoes are entirely handmade in Italy using artisan techniques which have been passed down from generation to generation. Only the finest materials are used and with the utmost of care. We feature here the Milano in brandy and white with a combination of calf leather and luxor. Go online to customize the leather finish, style, sole and color. nebulonigolfstore.com

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Pitchfix Divot Repair Tool

La Vieja Habana

Fusion 2.5

Connecticut Shade

There is something fun and oddly satisfying about flicking out the prongs to use a Pitchfix.

On a practical level Pitchfix makes ball mark repairs easier, and thus leaves greens in a better condition, too. Their latest edition, the Fusion 2.5, is another mark on Pitchfix’s innovative engineering path and offers the award-winning 3-pronged metal retractable system in a compact “switchblade” design. Awarded Best Divot Repair Tool by Golf Digest for the second straight year, this also a firm Kingdom favorite.

Nothing quite beats opening a high quality humidor at home or in your club. However you can’t take it out on course with you, so those clever folk at Drew Estate have come up with a range of fresh pack single cigars. We feature the exceptionally smooth La Vieja Habana Connecticut Shade. Pick one up in your pro shop pre-round— and if they don’t stock it yet, tell them to start.

pitchfixusa.com

drewestate.com

Stonehouse Golf Framing treasured golf memories Arguably there is no entity that captures the depth and breadth of a golf hole as well as Stonehouse. Welcomed into the most prestigious clubs of America and Europe, the extensive Stonehouse catalog of great golf holes ensures golfers can purchase a stunning keepsake from a treasured round. The “Giclee prints” by Stonehouse combine highresolution technology with archival inks and fine art watercolor papers for rich color saturation and dramatic effect that is vivid and lasting. stonehousegolf.com

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GIFT GUIDE

Stitch Golf Headcovers Stitch Golf, based in Cary, North Carolina, are one of the foremost producers of top quality, perfect-fitting golf gear, travel bags and luxury gifts in America. The company is honored to offer a new line of high-specification headcovers that pay tribute to Arnold Palmer and his life well played. These products have been inspired by Palmer’s style and are designed to have timeless appeal. Each headcover is a Stitch original design sharing the King’s attention to detail and commitment to quality—all the way down to the last stitch.

Start your collection today at

Olivera Cejovic

stitchgolf.com

Golf Art Gripping imagery is created with passion and vision by golf artist Olivera Cejovic. Produced in collaboration with select photographers from the sporting world she produces unique limited-edition pieces of golf art for your home, boardroom or golf club. Featured here is PGA champion Keegan Bradley in action at Bay Hill, a piece that is sketched from an original photo by Kingdom’s very own Joe Velotta. oliveragolfart.com

XXIO Easy Distance In stark contrast to the marketing philosophy of most manufacturers, who design their equipment for the world’s best players—those with swing speeds far beyond the capability of most club players—and then use the tour players to promote the equipment, premium manufacturer XXIO have designed a range of clubs specifically for the discerning player with a moderate swing speed. It is a refreshing option to have (particularly for those of us no longer in our 20s). Discover more at: xxiousa.com

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Indian Head Double Eagle Gold coin Commissioned by President Roosevelt, the $20 Gold Double Eagle is known as one of the most beautiful coins ever produced by the U.S. Mint. Originally, though, sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens preferred a profile of Liberty wearing an intricate feather headdress, and before a late change of mind a single “Indian Head” Double Eagle was struck. Today, that coin is estimated to be worth $20 million.

In partnership with the National Park Foundation, GovMint.com has brought back to life what could have become America’s most beautiful coin. Struck in a full ounce of 99.99% gold, the 2017 Saint-Gaudens Gold Double Eagle Indian High-Relief Proof is pure American luxury, and comes in a wood display box accompanied by a free gift: Jeff Garret’s 100 Greatest U.S. Coins.

GovMint.com

David Norman Design The Trunk A representation of the trunk of your car as you head to the club for a round with friends, this piece tugs at the emotions of true golf fanatics.

12 Louisville Golf Persimmon headed clubs on authentic hickory shafts are housed in four signature David Norman design solid mahogany bags to form the eye-catching base. Each bag is finished with African Water Buffalo hide trim, hand crafted by master leather-smiths that take you back to a Sunday bag of yesteryear. The Trunk is finished off with steam-bent Black Walnut legs and supports accompanied by Walnut trim. davidnormandesign.com

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Cheers to 15 years, Kindgom.

Stay at Bay Hill for two nights and receive 15% off your accomodations with code KINGDOM15*. Call (888) 422-9445 or book at BayHill.com. ©2018 Bay Hill Club & Lodge. All rights reserved. Arnold Palmer® the "Signature" and the “Umbrella” Logo® are registered trademarks owned by Arnold Palmer Enterprises, Inc. *KINGDOM15 promotion is based on availability, valid until December 31, 2018 and applies to accomodations only, not golf or other club amenities. Promotional terms & conditions subject to change.

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Kingdom magazine has always been available on a complimentary basis, as a gift from the King himself, to the private members of Arnold Palmer designed and managed courses. Now the magazine is also available, on a subscription basis, to all Arnold Palmer fans and golfers with a taste for fine living. If you would like to subscribe, or are a member and would like to gift a subscription to a friend, then simply tear out and fill in one of the below forms.

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THE MAJORS Good reasons why this season will be epic

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Issue 42

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35 MINUTES FROM LONDON Your ideal place to relax when in London. Enjoy the ambience and luxury of a private club away from home

CHAMPION SH IP GOLF

CENTURION CLUB +44 (0) 1442 510 520 www.centurionclub.co.uk

D I NI NG BY GALVI N

I NT E R NAT I O NAL M E MBE R S H IP

Hemel Hempstead Road, Hemel Hempstead, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, HP3 8LA

Nature reintroduces color to its palette when winter falls away, and you can as well. Whether you’re trying to capture a crisp evening in a similarly cool libation or to trap the flames of a searing afternoon in a pitcher to please your guests, clear spirits are the perfect blank canvases on which to create your masterpiece. A touch of vibrant cranberry for red, perhaps a dash of grapefruit for a bold gold… It doesn’t take much—just a splash will do

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F R E S H PA LO M A A margarita alternative that's popular in Mexico, La Paloma typically is made over ice with grapefruit soda. We opt for cold, fresh-squeezed juice in a chilled glass but leave the rest well enough alone. Use Pasote for a touch of mint and herbal tones, but any good blanco tequila will do.

• • • •

2oz Pasote blanco tequila 1/2oz Lime juice 3oz Fresh grapefruit juice 3oz Club soda

Combine tequila and lime juice in a chilled glass of your choice, then top with chilled grapefruit juice and club soda.

STO L I KO S M O With the rich bass notes of orange liqueur and marmalade and light floral aromas of orange blossoms and zest in Stoli Ohranj, you’ll also find hints of mandarin and kumquat, a bit of cream, a touch of lemon and perhaps, down deep, the slightest flicker of dark chocolate, all making for an epic—and colorful—Cosmopolitan.

• • • • •

1.5oz Stoli Ohranj 1/2 oz triple sec 6oz cranberry juice 1/3oz lime juice Juice from one lemon

Shake all in an ice-filled shaker and serve in the chilled glass of your choice.

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G I N A L E MULE In this gin approximation of a Moscow Mule, we lose the copper and the ginger beer, instead using homemade ginger syrup mixed with club soda in a rocks glass. The mint leaves and fresh ginger add nose and taste—and color.

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2oz Tanqueray 3oz Club soda Ginger syrup to taste* Fresh mint leaves and sliced ginger

Stir ginger syrup (to taste) with gin and pour in a glass with ice. Add club soda, then introduce mint leaves and a slice or two of fresh ginger. * Ginger Syrup On medium heat, combine 3/4 cup of water with 1 cup of sugar, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Add 1 cup of sliced, peeled fresh ginger and bring to a simmer, cover for 15 minutes. Once the sugar has dissolved into a syrup, remove from heat and let it sit for 30 minutes to an hour. Strain out the ginger pieces, blend to taste with your cocktail, then bottle the rest to enjoy later.

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KETEL L E M O N B E R RY Far from being a simple “flavored vodka,” Ketel One Citroen is infused with the essence of four different types of lemons and two types of limes, yielding a sophisticated, fresh experience in every drink. Easy to make, this cocktail is even easier to enjoy.

• • • •

1.5oz Ketel One Citroen 3 oz Club soda Blackberries (2 or 3 should do) Lemon wheel

Fill a rocks glass with ice, add the Ketel One Citroen, then the club soda, then the fruit.

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Palmer Cup enters new dimension Now in its third decade of competition, the Arnold Palmer Cup reaches a particularly significant milestone in 2018 as, for the first time, women golfers will compete alongside the men and as the European team expands to become “International”

T

he Evian Resort golf course sits majestically on a hillside far above the southern shores of Lake Geneva, at an altitude of 500 meters.

This is the French side of the crescentshaped lake, while the northern shores and its famous cities of Lausanne and Montreux lie within Swiss jurisdiction.

The dramatic golf course winds through 148 acres of verdant woodland, the first nine holes of which were built by the Evian mineral water company in 1904, making it one of the oldest golf courses in continental Europe. The nine became 18 in 1922, and Cabell B. Robinson renovated the course in the late 1980s, before the Evian Masters—the predecessor of the Evian Championship—was first played there in 1994 on the Ladies European Tour. A course of beguiling beauty, it was lengthened in 2003 and the Evian was played there as a major for the first time in 2013.

The epitome of European golfing chic, the Evian Resort remains home to the final major of the women’s season each year, and there could not be a more fitting

venue for the 2018 Arnold Palmer Cup this July, as the event not only makes its inaugural landing in continental Europe, but as well as college golf’s finest men, the event welcomes, for the first time, the finest college golfing women.

“We are delighted and honored to host an event as prestigious as the Arnold Palmer Cup,” said Franck Riboud, chairman of the Evian Championship. “Both for the tournament’s namesake—one of the greatest players in the sport’s history—and for the chance it gives the top US & International college golfers.

“This competition resonates with the policy pursued by the Evian Resort and the Evian Championship of giving the youngest players the opportunity to experience a major, as this is part of their learning process and we are pleased to help them along this path. The future of golf lies with these young players already on the verge of success.”

While the player line-ups for the 2018 Palmer Cup are yet to be finalized, the team coaches have been selected on the strength of their own exceptional achievements and leadership in college golf.

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Therese Hession of Ohio State and Ryan Hybl of Oklahoma will coach the United States team with Susan Rosenstiel of Alabama and Ryan Blagg of Baylor serving as assistant coaches, while the International side will be led

by Anne Walker of Stanford and Scotland and Herb Page of Kent State and Canada, with Jan Dowling of Michigan and Canada and Adrien Mörk from Texas Christian University and France as able assistants.

Hession is ideally qualified to lead the first US women’s contingent in the Arnold Palmer Cup, as she has served for 26 seasons as head women’s golf coach at Ohio State and has seen her teams claim 10 Big Ten Championships. Alongside Hession for the men’s team, OU’s Hybl will become the first US Arnold Palmer Cup player to serve as head coach in the matches. Hybl helped Team USA to victory over GB&I in the 2002 Palmer Cup, and he has been head coach of the Sooners since 2009. He led OU to the NCAA title in 2017 and his teams have posted the three best single-season scoring averages in school history.

Hybl will relish the opportunity to put his team up against an International line-up coached by one of the legends of college golf, in Kent State’s Page. Having first arrived at Kent as a three-sport student in 1970, Page has since spent 39 years leading the golf program for the Golden Flashes. He has led Kent State to 21 Mid-American Conference titles and garnered 22 MAC Coach of the Year awards.

Page will form a dynamic duo with his assistant coach Mörk, a former European Tour pro who once shot a 59 on the European Challenge Tour, in the 2006 Morocco Classic.

Mörk is in his first season as assistant coach at TCU, having spent two years as assistant coach at the University of Central Florida, and he has also coached for the French Golf Federation, when he supported the national side at the 2015 European Team Championship.

Alongside Hession, Hybl will become the first US Palmer Cup player to serve as head coach [Top to bottom] Ohio State’s Therese Hession; Kent State’s Herb Page; TCU’s Adrien Mork; Oklahoma’s Ryan Hybl

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T H E

P E O P L E .

T H E

T R A D I T I O N .

T H E

THERESE HESSION 2018 PALMER CUP U.S. TEAM COACH

THE PALMER CUP 2018 U.S. TEAM COACH

The Ohio State University Department of Athletics congratulates head coach Therese Hession on her selection as United States coach at the 2018 Arnold Palmer Cup.

E X C E L L E N C E .

THE LEGACY CONTINUES

[Top to bottom] Dustin Johnson with Arnold Palmer at the 2007 Arnold Palmer Cup; the coveted Arnold Palmer Cup; Graeme McDowell, twice a Palmer Cup golfer and 2010 U.S. Open champion, with the US Palmer Cup team at Royal Portrush in 2010

It’s amazing how fast two decades can pass. It hardly seems possible it was 21 years since the Arnold Palmer Cup made its inauguration at Palmer’s beloved Bay Hill Club in Orlando. Palmer said: “I had long thought that an international competition such as this would enrich the lives of young men through the universal bond of the great game of golf.”

Back then, an eight-man US team of college golfers— including future tour star Bo Van Pelt—defeated Great Britain & Ireland in the Ryder Cup-style, match play format by a score of 19-5.

Not for the first time or the last, Palmer, one of golf ’s great visionaries, was proved right. Created in collaboration between The Golf Coaches Association of America and Palmer, the event has gone from strength to strength.

For the young, aspiring players the Arnold Palmer Cup represents a career highlight to cherish. Some golfers who have played Palmer Cup have gone on to find fame and fortune on the world’s professional tours—49 of them at the last count—while for others the Palmer Cup has remained the pinnacle of exceptional amateur careers.

No fewer than six Palmer Cup collegians have gone on to win major titles: Ben Curtis (2003 British Open), Lucas Glover (2009 U.S. Open), Graeme McDowell (2010 U.S. Open), Webb Simpson (2012 U.S. Open), world number one Dustin Johnson (2016 U.S. Open) and Justin Thomas (2017 PGA Championship). PGA Tour stars Rickie Fowler and Billy Horschel also have Palmer Cup pedigree, while one other world No.1 has come through the event, England’s Luke Donald.

As the Arnold Palmer Cup has grown in stature, the teams have grown to include 10 golfers each, with GB&I following the Ryder Cup example and expanding its parish to include all European college players, from 2003. The European team has now expanded to the “Rest of the World” for the first time in 2018.

The Evian Resort in France—as a Palmer Cup venue this year—extends the tradition of the event playing at golf courses of peerless quality, often even eclipsing the Ryder Cup stages. From Bay Hill in 1997, the Palmer Cup headed across to St Andrews in Scotland, the “Home of Golf ”, and played over the hallowed Old and New courses, while subsequent venues have included Royal Liverpool, Baltusrol, Irish classic Ballybunion, Whistling Straits, The [British]

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PALMER CUP Open’s original home Prestwick, 1960 U.S. Open venue Cherry Hills in Colorado (remember who won the 1960 U.S. Open with a blistering final round of 65?), and also Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, where The [British] Open will return in 2019.

Meanwhile, in 2019 the Palmer Cup will move to the stunning Alotian Club in Arkansas—where the Tom Faziodesigned golf course is ranked among the very finest in the United States—before heading to Ireland’s magnificent Lahinch in 2020.

The exclusive Alotian Club was built by businessman Warren Stephens, whose late father, Jackson T. Stephens, was chairman of Augusta National from 1991 to 1998 and a friend and confidant of Palmer’s. When Warren Stephens took the call from Palmer in 2016 asking if Alotian would host the Palmer Cup, he knew there was only one answer, no matter how much his club prizes its privacy and low profile.

There is a lot to play for at the Evian Resort, July 6-8.

The all-time Arnold Palmer Cup record stands at 11 victories for the US, nine for GB&I and Europe and one tie, and reflecting how Palmer conducted himself throughout his life, there is something other than victory for the Palmer Cup players to play for: a place in the Arnold Palmer Invitational on the PGA Tour for the golfer from the winning team who best displays Palmer’s core values of sportsmanship, camaraderie and courtesy. All 20 Palmer Cup golfers vote for the golfer who they think best represents the “Arnold Palmer Legacy”, and the winning player and his caddie will head to Bay Hill the following year to compete in one of the most prestigious pro tournaments in world golf.

The first Arnold Palmer Cup API Exemption was awarded to Maverick McNealy of Stanford in 2016 while Matthias Schwab, of Vanderbilt and Austria, received the 2017 honor.

Winning the Arnold Palmer Cup is very important to all those involved—naturally—but it is a fitting tribute to the event’s founding patron that winning really isn’t everything, and it is not even most important.

As Palmer once put it: “Golf, more than any game on Earth, depends on simple timeless principles of courtesy and respect. I don’t think it’s by accident that golf is the most polite and well-mannered game I know, a sport where every man or woman rises on the merits of his or her own skills and personal integrity.”

The Arnold Palmer Cup is supported by Arnie’s Army Charitable Foundation. ArniesArmy.org

ROYAL LIVERPOOL GOLF CLUB HOYLAKE, ENGLAND AUGUST 15 – 16, 2000

“Golf is a sport where every man or woman rises on the merits of his or her own skills and personal integrity”

The Alotian Club in Arkansas, venue of the 2019 Arnold Palmer Cup

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consecutive NCAA regional appearances

Texas Christian University congratulates men’s golf assistant coach Adrien Mörk on his selection as 2018 Arnold Palmer Cup International assistant coach HOME OF PGA TOUR MEMBERS J.J. HENRY AND TOM HOGE Texas Christian University 

2800 S. University Dr., Fort Worth, Texas 76129  817.257.7000  tcu.edu

It Takes a Village

Even as time passes and things change, the sun comes up each morning, my golf balls continue to roll past the cup, and the extraordinarily talented team at the Arnold Palmer Design Company carries on creating some of the world’s most exquisite fields of play.

Take a moment, breathe deeply, and answer one simple question: Can you handle the game when it’s this good? Let’s find out…

“Everybody’s been talking about this for a long time,” says APDC Senior Golf Course Architect and VP Thad Layton, and he’s not wrong. After years of careful planning and consideration, Palmer Park at The Village at Penn State, in Happy Valley, Pennsylvania, is set to begin construction.

Arnold Palmer himself announced the first-of-its-kind venture in 2013 at an event there, a retirement community on the grounds of Penn State University that shares some facilities and opportunities with the school. Part of the Liberty Lutheran family of services, The Village has long had a large green space that has been under-utilized, according to David DeLuca, who made the connection with Palmer and with APDC and who invited the golf legend to meet the residents and to discuss the new project four years ago.

“We had this piece of ground, there were no real amenities there, not even a walking trail,” he says. “We asked people what they liked to do, and golf was discussed. It’s not big enough for a course, but I had worked with APDC and with Mr. Palmer before when I worked with Toll Brothers, and I got to thinking well, could we do a sort of ‘lite’ version of a usual APDC engagement? Would Mr. Palmer even be amenable to even thinking about something like this; we don’t have a lot of ground but could we do a neat little thing somehow? I asked, and the next thing I know I’m talking to Thad Layton about what we could include.”

Residents will soon enjoy a large recreational area in a “Village green” setting that will include a fantastic putting and chipping complex, bocce courts, beautiful gardens and

Driving Forward

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Here and Waiting walking areas (thanks to APDC working closely with a top landscape designer), a terrace off an annex of Penn State’s famous ice creamery and so much more. The first Palmer Park to be developed, it’s an innovative approach to active living and wellness, and it complements The Village’s commitment to engaging residents physically and mentally, as they’re also able to access certain academic opportunities here.

“In addition to having more opportunities to be physically active and mentally acute, Palmer Park will also provide the opportunity to be more involved with families that visit. Other than just stopping in for a meal and leaving, now there are trees and flowers, this great golf area and games… There’s just something about walking around in nature and being out there, this is going to be great.

“Honestly, we’re excited about this one as it seems to embody so much of what Palmer was about: using the game, great design and camaraderie to improve everyone’s quality of life. Brilliant.”

Just down the road in Sylva, North Carolina, Balsam Mountain Preserve showcases another Palmer commitment: preservation. Here, the environment is a top priority, and it shows on the acclaimed 18-hole Championship Course designed by APDC. Currently the firm is working on a new driving range and practice area here. Including a multi-use golf facility that will offer a kind of loosely organized par-3 “course” along with warm-up areas and more, it’s an example of where golf is headed, softening the formerly hard definitions of what a practice area entails.

Palmer Park at The Village at Penn State is a first-of-its-kind design, an innovative use of space that will improve lives

It’s not all “coming soon”; some of APDC’s great works have been open and are really starting to find their pace. A great example of top Palmer design exists at Frenchman’s Reserve Country Club, an elite community in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. One of the country’s top-rated clubs, its stately residences are organized around a world-class Palmer Signature Course, driving range and practice area. Making great use of local pines, wildflowers and palms, the course winds its way through the lush South Florida landscape and offers an immersive golf experience in the heart of one of the most desirable communities anywhere. Off course, Frenchman’s Reserve offers top amenities, including an award winning state-of-the-art clubhouse, great formal and casual dining options, a resort-style pool, spa and fitness center, and so much more. Living here, we wonder why anyone would travel—but then there are other APDC courses to play, and so we must.

Our next stop is a pair of courses at the Royal Golf Club in Minneapolis. The opening is set for May, and it’s likely to be an emotional affair. An effort that will see the first nine holes in the U.S. designed by Annika Sorenstam (“The Queen’s Nine”) opening alongside the last nine holes designed by Palmer, “The King’s Nine,” the opening will be as much a time for reflection as for looking ahead, but look ahead we will because the incredible setting, the incredible designs and the incredible story prove, as a Royal GC statement has it, “that it’s possible to be a historic course on opening day.”

“We really didn’t need to do a lot of shaping,” says Layton. “The site was really good, just that kind of Minnesota geomorphology you get where glaciers have ripped through and created great topographic features. There are elevation changes within single golf holes that are up to 60 feet! We let the contour be the hazard, and so we didn’t add many bunkers, just 26 on the entire course. And still, we managed to make a course that’s accessible for every level of player, that’s something that was always important to Mr. Palmer.”

6 new luxury cottages

[L-R] Frenchman’s Reserve; Palmer Park plans; Royal Golf Club

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Stone Cold Stunners Abroad Most recently opened is Naples Lakes Country Club in Naples, Florida, which threw open the doors on its full APDC makeover this February. “We went down and cast a fresh set of eyes on what we did 20 years ago when the game was in a different spot,” says Layton, pointing out that APDC did the original layout. “Mr. Palmer was always a progressive person, and it’s really a continuation of the innovation we’ve always had.” Naples Lakes members are sure to enjoy the update, a fresh take on a solid design foundation, Palmer through and through.

Meanwhile, the renovations at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens are being very well received after being revealed in November, according to APDC Senior Golf Course Architect and VP Brandon Johnson.

“We expanded the greens back to their original configurations and made modifications to shape and contours, bunker restoration, re-grassed the fairways… It was proof that you don’t need to spend a ton of money to get strategic and aesthetic and agronomic enhancements, and it’s really brought up the level of the course.”

Likewise, APDC’s work at Silver Rock Resort in La Quinta, California, has been well reviewed. It opened in November of last year “and they’ve been slammed, just packed, since opening day,” Johnson says. Changes there included significant adjustments to at least five holes, changing the route, moving and converting a few holes, adding strategic options and working to open the course up to more opportunities.

“Philosophically it falls in line with the risk-reward heroic kind of golf that Mr. Palmer’s legacy is all about and which our design fundamentals are all about. It’s a great example of that.”

Grabbing our passports, Las Piedras in Punta del Este, Uruguay, sits in one of the region’s hot spots, a beautiful getaway for South Americans in search of a little sunshine and game time. APDC built a fantastically integrated nine hole course there roughly five years ago, and they’ve been asked to fly south again for another round. “We start construction this May” on another nine, says Layton, who worked on the original layout. “They called us and said they’re ready.” Part of an upscale real estate development, the property also features the ultra-modern Fasano Las Piedras resort property, an architectural gem in its own right. With wide fairways and expansive views, it’s easy to get lost in all of the clean visual composition, and golfers who find their way to the area will no doubt get to enjoy a special experience.

So far from Uruguay that it takes a while to reach it even in the same sentence, Aomori Spring Ski Resort in the most northerly prefecture of Japan’s Honshu island is also set to benefit from ADPC’s globally proven vision. In winter the resort is one of the area’s best ski destinations, and it served as an Olympic training ground for some athletes who headed to Pyeongchang this year. When the white stuff melts, however, it’s game on, and with the resort’s course needing a little refreshing, APDC was called in.

“It’s on the side slope of a volcanic mountain,” says Layton. “They have these hot springs that run through the hotel and it’s just beautiful.” APDC squeezed-in some work last October, just before the weather hit, and Layton says “we’re going to hit it this spring with everything we’ve got, renovate everything on the golf course, new lines, add fescue to add color and texture, reduce irrigation inputs…

They want skiing up top and golf down below. They get 50 feet of snow out there, it’s incredible.”

Sounds like the kind of place we’d like to stay for a while, alternating between the slopes and the fairways, but can you imagine the baggage fees for all of the gear you’d need over a multi-month trip skiing and golfing? Probably cheaper to buy your clubs a seat in coach. While we ponder that, we’re circling spots on the map, far and away, where APDC courses are getting ready to open— see you there!

Silver Rock 10th hole

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KINGDOM 42

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