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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
February 26, 2024
Places

The Backyard

Will Bardwell
February 26, 2024
Places
The Backyard

The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail’s short par-3 course is an important step forward from its monolithic collection of regulation-length designs, but it falls short of divorcing itself entirely from some of the Trail’s more mundane qualities.

Tagged: Alabama, Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, Pinehurst, Cradle

Will Bardwell
June 6, 2023
Podcasts

Dramatic Readings of Internet Golf Writing, Ep. 4

Will Bardwell
June 6, 2023
Podcasts
Dramatic Readings of Internet Golf Writing, Ep. 4

A dramatic reading of PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan's letter to Tour players concerning the merger of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.

Tagged: PGA Tour, Jay Monahan, LIV, Greg Norman, Saudi Arabia, Sportswashing

Will Bardwell
February 6, 2023
Pros

Pebble Beach and the Dark Side

Will Bardwell
February 6, 2023
Pros
Pebble Beach and the Dark Side

Long neglected by the PGA Tour, Pebble Beach and LIV could form a match made in Hell — but a match just the same.

Tagged: Pebble Beach, PGA Tour, LIV

Will Bardwell
January 6, 2023
Places

Pinehurst's Missed Opportunity

Will Bardwell
January 6, 2023
Places
Pinehurst's Missed Opportunity

Deciding No. 10’s designer was a moment that cried out for boldness. Instead, Pinehurst blinked.

Tagged: PInehurst, Pinehurst No. 10, Tom Doak, North Carolina, Streamsong, Forest Dunes, architecture, The Fried Egg, Gil Hanse, Coore and Crenshaw

Will Bardwell
August 17, 2022
Pros

Patrick Reed's Libel Case is a House Built on Sand

Will Bardwell
August 17, 2022
Pros
Patrick Reed's Libel Case is a House Built on Sand

Patrick Reed’s defamation lawsuit against Brandel Chamblee and Golf Channel digs a deep hole for itself.

Tagged: Patrick Reed, Larry Klayman, Brandel Chamblee, Golf Channel, LIV, Saudi Arabia, PGA Tour

Will Bardwell
August 10, 2022
Pros

Hell No T.R.O.

Will Bardwell
August 10, 2022
Pros
Hell No T.R.O.

Judge Beth Labson Freeman hands the PGA Tour an early win in its courtroom war against LIV.

Tagged: PGA Tour, LIV, Judge Beth Labson Freeman, Talor Gooch, Matt Jones, Hudson Swafford, Greg norman, Phil Mickelson, Mickelson v. PGA Tour, No Laying Up, Sherman Act, Jay Monahan, Pat Perez

Will Bardwell
August 3, 2022
Pros

And Here. We. GO

Will Bardwell
August 3, 2022
Pros
And Here. We. GO

Until now, Phil Mickelson versus the PGA Tour was a storyline. As of August 3, 2022, it’s a historic lawsuit.

Tagged: PGA Tour, LIV, Phil Mickelson, Gibson Dunn, Antitrust, Sherman Act, Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford, Bryson DeChambeau, Abraham Ancer, Ian Poulter, Fedex St. Jude

Will Bardwell
June 11, 2022
Pros

LIV Golf is the NWO

Will Bardwell
June 11, 2022
Pros
LIV Golf is the NWO

LIV is golf’s New World Order. But as wrestling’s NWO showed, that ascent brings no guarantee of permanence.

Tagged: New World Order, NWO, WCW, WWF, WWE, Vince McMahon, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, Greg Norman, Bryson DeChambeau, Lee Westwood, Patrick Reed, Ian Poulter, Chase Koepka, Slugger White, Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash

Will Bardwell
April 29, 2022
Podcasts

Dramatic Readings of Internet Golf Writing, Ep. 3

Will Bardwell
April 29, 2022
Podcasts
Dramatic Readings of Internet Golf Writing, Ep. 3

A dramatic reading of “The Wheels Up Experience,” by Patrick Koenig of The Fire Pit Collective (April 24, 2022).

Tagged: PGA Tour, California, Los Angeles, Wilshire, Nevada, Las Vegas, TPC Summerlin, Fire Pit Collective, Wheels Up, Paid Promotions

Will Bardwell
March 14, 2022
Podcasts

Dramatic Readings of Internet Golf Writing, Ep. 2

Will Bardwell
March 14, 2022
Podcasts
Dramatic Readings of Internet Golf Writing, Ep. 2

A dramatic reading of “Inside Golf Man’s 24-Karat Breakout at the Players Championship,” by Brentley Romine of GolfChannel.com (March 14, 2022).

Tagged: PGA Tour, Players Championship, TPC Sawgrass, Gold Boy, Golf Man, Florida

Will Bardwell
February 15, 2022
Pros

Blind Men and Blood

Will Bardwell
February 15, 2022
Pros
Blind Men and Blood

Sportswashing is not a new strategy. But through the Super Golf League, Saudi Arabia has found pro golfers to be a particularly eager lot.

Tagged: Olympics, Germany, Berlin, Nazis, Adolf Hitler, Jesse Owens, Joseph Goebbels, Saudi Arabia, Super Golf League, Sportswashing, European Tour, PGA Tour, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, Eamon Lynch

Will Bardwell
January 6, 2022
Places

In California, a Glimpse at the Bed Golf Has Made

Will Bardwell
January 6, 2022
Places
In California, a Glimpse at the Bed Golf Has Made

A California bill to support repurposing municipal golf courses has been miscast as a threat. In truth, it is an opportunity, if the golfing world will take it.

Tagged: California, Golfweek, Municipal golf, Tom Doak

Will Bardwell
December 30, 2021
Podcasts

Dramatic Readings of Internet Golf Writing, Ep. 1

Will Bardwell
December 30, 2021
Podcasts
Dramatic Readings of Internet Golf Writing, Ep. 1

A dramatic reading of “Pinehust is on the Move, and So is the Pinecone” by Matt Ginella of the Fire Pit Collective (June 24, 2021).

Tagged: Dramatic Readings, Pinehurst, Pinehurst No. 2, North Carolina, Matt Ginella, Fire Pit Collective, Pinecone

Will Bardwell
December 29, 2021
Stories

Maybe This Year Will Be Better than the Last

Will Bardwell
December 29, 2021
Stories
Maybe This Year Will Be Better than the Last

The end of another disappointing year, but perhaps with a glimmer of hope on the horizon.

Tagged: Refuge, Mississippi, COVID-19, Jackson, Tot Hill Farm, Southern Pines, Tobacco Road, North Carolina, Southern Hills, Shoal Creek, Pinehurst, Apocalypse Now

Will Bardwell
December 21, 2021
Wanderlust

Tobacco Road

Will Bardwell
December 21, 2021
Wanderlust
Tobacco Road

Tobacco Road Golf Club, near Pinehurst, N.C., is a paradox: a wild adventure among manmade features, through rugged conditions laced with sand and brush.

Tagged: Tobacco Road Golf Club, Pinehurst, North Carolina, Mike Strantz, Bradley Klein, Tom Doak, Ran Morrissett, Andy Johnson, Tot Hill Farm

Will Bardwell
December 10, 2021
Voices

Voices: Don't Disgrace Your Grandparents

Will Bardwell
December 10, 2021
Voices
Voices: Don't Disgrace Your Grandparents

Leif Skodnick, on the unexpectedly fine line between range sessions and Yiddish swear words.

Tagged: Leif Skodnick, Connecticut, Driving range

Will Bardwell
December 7, 2021
Wanderlust

Southern Pines

Will Bardwell
December 7, 2021
Wanderlust
Southern Pines

After a long overdue restoration, Southern Pines has transformed from a neglected local favorite into one of the heavyweights of the Sandhills.

Tagged: Abby Liebenthal, Donald Ross, Southern Pines, Mid Pines, Pine Needles, Kyle Franz, North Carolina, Pinehurst No. 2, architecture, Pinehurst Brewing Company

Will Bardwell
December 2, 2021
Places

Tot Hill Farm

Will Bardwell
December 2, 2021
Places
Tot Hill Farm

When it opened in 2000, architect Mike Strantz described Tot Hill Farm as “worlds apart” from his design at Tobacco Road. He was right. That’s its problem.

Tagged: tot hill farm, north carolina, tobacco road golf club, architecture, david mclay kidd, st. andrews, mike strantz

Will Bardwell
November 30, 2021
Places

Asheboro Municipal

Will Bardwell
November 30, 2021
Places
Asheboro Municipal

Even among the North Carolina Sandhills’ embarrassment of riches, Asheville Municipal’s Donald Ross design is a fun time at a preposterous value.

Tagged: Donald Ross, Pinehurst No. 2, George Wright, Asheboro Municipal, North Carolina, NAACP, Bojangles

Will Bardwell
November 28, 2021
Pros

For COVID-Skittish Tour, Mandate's Time Has Come

Will Bardwell
November 28, 2021
Pros
For COVID-Skittish Tour, Mandate's Time Has Come

Vaccines remain the world’s best weapon against COVID-19, and mandating vaccination has proven to be wildly effective. The PGA Tour should accept the pandemic’s changing nature and change along with them by requiring vaccination.

Tagged: PGA Tour, European Tour, Joburg Open, South African Open, Players Championship, Omicron variant, COVID-19

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