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Lying Four

Stories
Places
Conversations
Wanderlust
Pros
Voices
Podcasts
January 26, 2020
Stories
Will Bardwell
Too Big to Trail

Imagine building 26 golf courses at the height of the golf development bubble, with nine figures in public pension money — in an effort that now loses money year after year. Welcome to the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.

Too Big to Trail
December 17, 2019
Stories
Will Bardwell
Rebirth and Reimagining in Mississippi

In theory, 12-hole designs should be cheaper to play, build, and maintain. But in the staid industry of golf course development, there’s been no rush to test the theory. The minds behind Sweetens Cove are ready to change that.

Rebirth and Reimagining in Mississippi
July 29, 2019
Stories
Will Bardwell
Rob Collins and the Long Road Out of Hell

Rob Collins had one shot. At Sweetens Cove, he took it — and he bet on himself over and over again. Somehow, impossibly, it worked.

Rob Collins and the Long Road Out of Hell
July 18, 2019
Pros
Will Bardwell
Coffee, a Dark House, and the Open

Waking up at 1:30 a.m. to watch golf isn’t conducive to work, or anything else really. But it’s become my favorite TV viewing experience of the year.

Coffee, a Dark House, and the Open
July 16, 2019
Pros
Will Bardwell
History will Judge the PGA

Through its silence in the face of Donald Trump’s racism, the PGA of America is not merely acquiescent in his behavior — it is complicit.

History will Judge the PGA
Will Bardwell
September 2, 2025
Wanderlust

Brora

Will Bardwell
September 2, 2025
Wanderlust
Brora

In the Scottish Highlands, it’s easy to feel small. That begs the question: is there something bigger out there?

Tagged: Scotland, Brora, Golspie, Pulp Fiction

Will Bardwell
August 26, 2025
Stories

Tommy Fleetwood, Come Play the Sanderson

Will Bardwell
August 26, 2025
Stories
Tommy Fleetwood, Come Play the Sanderson

Let’s eat gas station fried chicken together.

Tagged: Tommy Fleetwood, Sanderson Farms Championship, Mississippi, PGA Tour, Baskin Robbins

Will Bardwell
August 19, 2025
Stories

Tired of Winning

Will Bardwell
August 19, 2025
Stories
Tired of Winning

Even by the PGA Tour’s standards, returning to Doral is not a good look.

Tagged: Donald Trump, Brian Rolapp, Jay Monahan, PGA Tour, Doral, Tim Finchem

Will Bardwell
August 15, 2025
Stories

TopGolf is the Present

Will Bardwell
August 15, 2025
Stories
TopGolf is the Present

Also, proposing a teeny-tiny Braves rebuild.

Tagged: TopGolf, Sweetens Cove, Rob Collins, New York Times, Blade Runner, Tom Fazio, Donald Trump, Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, Brian Snitker, A.J. Smith-Shawver, Austin Riley, Spencer Strider, Chris Sale, NHL, Reynaldo Lopez, Adam Fonseca, The Godfather, Reddit

Will Bardwell
July 24, 2025
Stories

Upon Losing the Hulkster

Will Bardwell
July 24, 2025
Stories
Upon Losing the Hulkster

2025 claims another real one.

Tagged: Hulk Hogan, Tampa, Andre the Giant, Ted DiBiase, Wrestlemania X8, The Rock, Cody Rhodes, Big Boss Man, WWE

Will Bardwell
July 1, 2025
Stories

It is Your Patriotic Duty to Watch "Jaws" on the Fourth of July

Will Bardwell
July 1, 2025
Stories
It is Your Patriotic Duty to Watch "Jaws" on the Fourth of July

Somebody get me a Pop-Tart.

Tagged: Jaws, Pop-Tarts, VHS, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Ozzie Albies, Nintendo, Hattiesburg, Scottish Open, Open Championship, Cucumbers, Frodo, Lord of the Rings, Hunter S. Thompson

Will Bardwell
June 26, 2025
Stories

Cry, Crybaby! Cry!

Will Bardwell
June 26, 2025
Stories
Cry, Crybaby! Cry!

Scott Farkus would not be impressed.

Tagged: Rory McIlroy, Rocky, Collin Morikawa, PGA Tour, U.S. Open, NHL, Washington Capitals, John Carlson, Washington Nationals, Superman

Will Bardwell
June 14, 2025
Stories

Spencer Strider is Not Dead Yet

Will Bardwell
June 14, 2025
Stories
Spencer Strider is Not Dead Yet

And assorted thoughts on the U.S. Open and the Stanley Cup Finals.

Tagged: Spencer Strider, Atlanta Braves, Truist Park, J.R.R. Tolkien, Sam Burns, U.S. Open, Oakmont, Florida Panthers, Edmonton Oilers, Stanley Cup, NHL, Father's Day

Will Bardwell
June 12, 2025
Stories

Someone's Gonna Die at the U.S. Open

Will Bardwell
June 12, 2025
Stories
Someone's Gonna Die at the U.S. Open

Also, a return to the bad place — and I don’t mean Oakmont.

Tagged: Guy Clark, Black Mountain, North Carolina, J.J. Spaun, Si Woo Kim, Michael La Sasso, Ole Miss, Texas, Scottie Scheffler, U.S. Open, Phil Mickelson, Batman, Twitter, Atlanta Braves, Colorado Rockies, Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka, Min Woo Lee

Will Bardwell
June 11, 2025
Stories

Now, Where Were We?

Will Bardwell
June 11, 2025
Stories
Now, Where Were We?

Let’s try this instead.

Tagged: U.S. Open, LIV, PGA Tour, Scottie Scheffler, Baseball, Power Rangers, Hunter S. Thompson, Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, Spencer Schwellenbach

Will Bardwell
November 6, 2024
Stories

Election Day

Will Bardwell
November 6, 2024
Stories
Election Day

America’s next four years under Donald Trump will not be without their challenges. But our battles against those challenges must begin with hope.

Tagged: Dancing Rabbit, Donald Trump, Tom Fazio, Mossy Oak, Overton Park, Mississippi

Will Bardwell
October 23, 2024
Wanderlust

Golspie

Will Bardwell
October 23, 2024
Wanderlust
Golspie

At the foot of one of Scotland's most controversial monuments, meditations on accepting history without honoring it.

Tagged: Scotland, Golspie, Brora, Tain, Royal Dornoch, Mississippi, Civil War

Will Bardwell
August 21, 2024
Wanderlust

Grove Park Inn

Will Bardwell
August 21, 2024
Wanderlust
Grove Park Inn

Maybe the authentic Donald Ross golf experience isn't actually what you're looking for. If not, then Grove Park Inn might be for you.

Tagged: Donald Ross, North Carolina, Asheville, Grove Park, Seinfeld

Will Bardwell
July 17, 2024
Pros

Eight Years Gone By

Will Bardwell
July 17, 2024
Pros
Eight Years Gone By

The world has changed since Royal Troon’s last dance with the Open Championship. Withstanding that change’s permanence will not be easy.

Tagged: Open Championship, Royal Troon, Henrik Stenson, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Carnoustie

Will Bardwell
June 28, 2024
Places

Black Mountain

Will Bardwell
June 28, 2024
Places
Black Mountain

Sprinting through Donald Ross’ nine-hole design just east of Asheville, N.C., and mid-round reflections on midlife juggling.

Tagged: Black Mountain, North Carolina, Donald Ross, Egg McMuffin

Will Bardwell
June 17, 2024
Pros

Golf Media Cheer DeChambeau But Silent on His Consequences

Will Bardwell
June 17, 2024
Pros
Golf Media Cheer DeChambeau But Silent on His Consequences

Coverage of the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst failed to tell the full, ugly truth of LIV Golf and Bryson DeChambeau’s complicity in Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses.

Tagged: Bryson DeChambeau, LIV, Golf media, Winged Foot, Pinehurst No. 2, Brandel Chamblee

Will Bardwell
May 27, 2024
Pros

Remembering Grayson Murray

Will Bardwell
May 27, 2024
Pros
Remembering Grayson Murray

Grayson Murray deserves to be remembered most of all for the bravery he showed in normalizing recovery from alcoholism and depression.

Tagged: Grayson Murray, PGA Tour, Depression

Will Bardwell
May 14, 2024
Pros

Jimmy Dunne, Rory McIlroy, and a Lesson in Missing the Point

Will Bardwell
May 14, 2024
Pros
Jimmy Dunne, Rory McIlroy, and a Lesson in Missing the Point

Rory McIlroy was LIV’s loudest critic. His opinion has softened, but reality hasn’t.

Tagged: Jimmy Dunne, PGA Tour, Rory McIlroy, Saudi Arabia, LIV, Patrick Cantlay, Patrick Reed, Jordan Spieth, Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau

Will Bardwell
April 29, 2024
Places

Langston

Will Bardwell
April 29, 2024
Places
Langston

Langston Golf Course in Washington, D.C., serves a community with experience being ignored then heard. Its new nonprofit operator wants to change that.

Tagged: Washington, East Potomac, National Links Trust, Langston

Will Bardwell
April 13, 2024
Pros

The Masters and Me

Will Bardwell
April 13, 2024
Pros
The Masters and Me

There’s nothing new that I can write about the Masters and Augusta National. But I know how it made me feel.

Tagged: Augusta National, Masters, Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas, Open Championship, PGA Championship, U.S. Open

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