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The Commons at Sand Valley, Nekoosa, Wis.
Architect: Jim Craig
Opens: Summer 2026
Inspired by the “common land” layouts of the UK, Sand Valley’s new 12-hole short course is similarly egalitarian in spirit. Wide, welcoming fairways allow for play along the ground, while thoughtfully contoured greens create compelling targets for golfers of all stripes, from accomplished players to beginners just learning to bunt it around.

Old Petty, Inverness, Scotland
Architect: Tom Doak
Opens: Spring 2026
Like its sibling course, Castle Stuart, Doak’s design occupies stirring ground near the Moray Firth, but it works farther inland across heaving terrain. Though the sea comes into view on several occasions, it’s the course itself that commands attention, with its emphasis on angles and nuanced demands around the greens. Its arrival further elevates Cabot Highlands and cements the resort as a must-stop on any tour of the Scottish Highlands.

Ponta do Pargo, Madeira, Portugal
Architect: Nick Faldo
Opens: Late 2026
More than two decades in the making, Faldo’s design occupies a site that needs to be seen to be believed, draped across arresting bluffs on the Portuguese island of Madeira. In its vertiginous drama, the property recalls Ireland’s Old Head, transplanted to a balmier climate. But it has a character all its own—tree-less and wind-swept, with eight holes skirting cliffs that plunge some 300 feet to the Atlantic.

Oleada, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Architect: Ernie Els (with Greg Letsche)
Opens: Fall/winter 2026
Els’ first design project in Mexico sits where high desert spills toward the Pacific. The routing underscores that contrast, beginning on cactus-dotted ground before unspooling largely along the coast. In deference to the winds, Els and design partner Greg Letsche provide ample width off the tee while placing a premium on positioning, yielding a links-like challenge on a layout that is not technically a links.

The Patch at Augusta Municipal Golf Course, Augusta, Ga.
Architects: Tom Fazio, Beau Welling; TGR Design
Opens: Spring 2026
When the people behind the Masters lend their influence to a muni project, the marquee fills with prominent names. By the time the next green jacket is handed out, Tom Fazio and Beau Welling will have completed their remake of the Patch, giving a fresh face to Augusta’s beloved if bedraggled city-owned 18. The effort is part of a broader initiative to improve public golf access, expand junior opportunities and open career pathways into the game. Tiger Woods is involved as well, with TGR Design adding a 9-hole short course called the Loop. It is slated to open later in the year.

Rodeo Dunes, Roggen, Colo.
Architect: Coore & Crenshaw
Opens: Spring 2026
The first 18 holer at Rodeo Dunes marks the opening chapter of a headline golf development less than an hour from downtown Denver. In the year ahead, tee times will go largely to founding members and their guests, with a grand opening for the public in 2027. A second course is already underway, making Rodeo Dunes the farthest along of three major projects by Sand Valley co-developer Michael Keiser, who is also pushing forward on destinations in Texas and Florida.

Streamsong (New Course), Bowling Green, Fla.
Architect: David McLay Kidd
Opens: Winter 2026

Streamsong’s fourth 18-hole course doesn’t yet have a name, but its features are already clear. McLay Kidd’s layout will sit alongside the Black Course, sharing its clubhouse while carving a distinct identity through the sculpted landforms of a former mining site. With an engaging mix of drivable par-4s and reachable par-5s, the course will strike an entertaining balance of risk and reward, with relatively small and subtle greens that invite creative recoveries.

Wildcreek, First Tee of Northern Nevada, Reno, Nev.
Architect: Brian Curley (Curley Wagner)
Opens: Summer 2026
In an era dominated by high-end private development, Wildcreek offers a populist counterpoint. Formerly a county-owned 18-holer, the property joined the First Tee network in 2021. Curley has reimagined it as a flexible, community-first venue featuring a new 9-hole course, a 9-hole par-3 layout, and a three-tier practice facility built from repurposed shipping containers.

Wild Spring Dunes, Texas
Architect: Tom Doak
Opens: Fall 2026
Set across 2,400 acres of dunes, meadows and spring-fed creeks in East Texas, Wild Spring Dunes is developer Michael Keiser’s next big swing — and Tom Doak’s latest minimalist canvas. Roughly equidistant from Dallas and Houston, and even closer to Shreveport, La., the course will be joined by a second 18-holer, a Coore-Crenshaw design, as part of a resort and real estate development where golf remains the central draw.

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The post What TGL’s new hole designs reveal about golf and travel appeared first on Golf.

The post What TGL’s new hole designs reveal about golf and travel appeared first on Golf.

Tiger Woods’ team, for instance, will take on a par-5 called “The Jup Life,” with an island green and a virtual rendering of Jupiter’s red lighthouse looming in the background. Rory McIlroy’s squad, meanwhile, will contend with “Storrowed,” a snaking par-5 framed by the Charles River and Storrow Drive.

You get the picture: fanciful holes, real-world landmarks.

On the most obvious level, the idea is branding. Anchoring each team to a recognizable place underscores civic identity and, in theory, helps cultivate fan loyalty. But there’s something else going on here, too. Like all thoughtful golf architects, the designers behind these holes — among them Gil Hanse, Beau Welling and Agustín Pizá — are trying to create a sense of place.

Which is central to golf’s appeal. The best courses are transportive. They take you on a journey through a memorable landscape, shaped by unmistakably local features. Every round can feel like a form of travel, even when the terrain is imagined, the landmarks are digital, and you’re watching from your couch.

Or can it? As technology mediates more of daily life, the line between the physical and the virtual keeps blurring. Fiction borrows from reality, and reality increasingly resembles a simulation. In that sense, TGL’s new holes feel very much of their time — and in step with where golf finds itself these days, a traditional game testing its boundaries and experimenting with new formats.

Simulation has its limits, though. I grew up in Boston, and as much as I appreciate a digital rendering of my hometown, I also know I’m not really on Storrow Drive if I can’t hear a Mass-hole honking or imagine a delivery truck about to wedge itself under an overpass. And I’m not sure I’m in L.A., either, if there’s no smog, brake lights or creeping anxiety about being late. TGL’s L.A. hole, dubbed “Showtime,” has the ocean and a play on the Hollywood sign, but none of the rest.

In that sense, the virtual league works as form of primetime escapism, and I have no doubt it signals where parts of the game are headed. In the future, more golfers will “play” with headsets on and “travel” instantly to far-flung courses. But more than anything, the league’s new holes sharpen my appreciation for what can’t be replicated. A virtual lighthouse can frame a shot nicely. It can’t give you wind off the water or the salt in the air. That’s another way of saying that I might tune in to TGL for the spectacle, but I’ll look elsewhere for my golf and travel.

There’s no faking the real thing.

3 things I’m thinking

7 Mile Beach Opens: I’d heard about this project for so long that I’d begun to think it might be a simulation. But this is real: After multiple delays, 7 Mile Beach, a Mike Clayton and DeVries design on a dreamy coastal site in Tasmania is officially open. It tops my wish list for 2026.

Rodeo Dunes rides on: This first 18-hole course is finished, and a second is in the works, along with a 7.5-acre Himalayas-style putting course, slated for completion in 2027, when the clubhouse is also expected to be ready. Amid a blizzard of activity at Rodeo Dunes, in the chop hills less than an hour from downtown Denver, ownership has put out a call for “founders” — a membership program whose benefits include free play for spouses and children and half-price green fees for accompanied guests, among many other perks. The founders deposit is $95,000 through Dec. 31. More info here.

Travel Planning Tips? As I map out my own 2026 travel plans (St. George, Utah, the Dominican Republic and New Zealand are already on the docket), I’d welcome thoughts on public-access courses and destinations that deserve more attention. It’s a big world with more than 58,000 courses, so I know my coverage has plenty of gaps. Any suggestions on which I need to fill first? My email is josh.sens@golf.com.

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The post The 8 most dramatic course changes from 2025 appeared first on Golf.

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Poppy Ridge Golf Course

Livermore, CA

On rolling hills an hour east of San Francisco, Jay Blasi repurposed the best land from three existing nines to create what amounts to a brand-new 18-holer. The result features gentler elevation changes, far shorter walks from greens to tees, and more intrigue throughout. Owned and operated by the Northern California Golf Association, Poppy Ridge remains a rare Bay Area bargain, with sub-$100 green fees for NCGA members. The combination of quality and accessibility makes Blasi’s work a top contender for most notable public-course opening of the year.

Corica Park, North Course

Alameda, CA

Delayed by a series of pandemic-era snags, renovations on the back nine were completed this spring, rounding out a full 18 that nods to old-school links golf with firm turf, sod-wall bunkers, and wildly contoured greens and surrounds. Alongside the Rees Jones–renovated South Course, the North (by Rees’s brother, Robert Trent Jones Jr.) has been a game changer for daily-fee golfers — a municipal facility with multiple options and conditions on par with many private clubs.

The Reversible

Medina, OH

Everything old is new again, including reversible routings. This one comes courtesy of architect Dave Zinkand, who reimagined a former nine-hole course at Medina Country Club (not to be confused with Medinah Country Club outside Chicago) into a clever layout that plays in two directions. Whether tackled clockwise (the Purple routing) or counterclockwise (the Green), the course begins and ends on a shared double-green par 3, with inventive, rollicking golf in between.

Great Dunes Golf Course

Jekyll Island, GA

It was both a Golden Age and a gilded one when Walter Travis completed Great Dunes on an island that doubled as a winter retreat for dynastic families like the Rockefellers, Morgans, and Vanderbilts. Nearly a century later, Travis’s original nine holes were refreshed by Brian Ross and Jeffrey Stein and combined with land from an adjacent Dick Wilson design to create a full 18. The course now meanders through dunes toward the coast and back, reconnecting the site with its architectural and cultural roots.

Lake Oswego Municipal Golf Course

Lake Oswego, OR

As a counterpoint to today’s boom in extravagantly priced private clubs, muni golf continues to gather momentum. For proof, look just south of Portland, where Dan Hixson transformed an underused 18-hole par-3 course into a compelling nine-hole executive layout. It’s modest in scale but rich in interest—a reminder that good design doesn’t require excess.

Quarry Oaks Golf Club

Ashland, NE

A renovation by original architect John LaFoy introduced new turf, a dozen new tees, and freshly shaped bunkers, while opening long-suppressed views across a property that ripples over a former mining site. Highlights include the ninth hole, converted from a par 4 to a risk-reward par 5, and a new tee on the 15th, perched atop an abandoned dynamite shack with sweeping views of the Platte River.

The International, Pines Course

Bolton, MA

In its former incarnation, the Pines stretched past 8,000 yards and once laid claim to being the longest golf course in the world. Bill Coore’s redesign pulled the layout back from that extreme, trading sheer length for far greater interest. Routed across a wrinkled New England landscape of pines, ponds, and rocky outcrops, the course now offers a richer mix of shots and strategy, including tantalizingly short par 4s, reachable par 5s and a wonderfully varied collection of par 3s.

Meadowbrook Golf Course

Fort Worth, TX

Fresh off its centennial, on Forth Worth’s revitalizing east side, an endearing muni has been refreshed: every hole rerouted, turf and paths upgraded, drainage improved and ponds deepened with the aim of creating more pleasant environs for favorite local character: the black-bellied whistling duck. In addition to having a better place to bathe, the birds now enjoy elevated status as the inspiration for Meadowbrook’s new logo.

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Weekley captured three PGA Tour wins from 2007-2013, and he was a part of the winning American team at the 2008 Ryder Cup.

With that kind of resume, you’d think Weekley would have known just how good he was a golf from a young age. But you would be wrong.

During a recent round with GOLF’s Josh Sens, Weekley revealed the surprisingly late juncture when he finally knew he was good enough to play on the PGA Tour.

Boo Weekley turned pro before he knew he was good golfer

Weekley hails from Milton, Fla., and though he later became a PGA Tour-winning pro, golf wasn’t always on his radar.

At the Punta Mita Invitational — an exclusive event set against the backdrop of one of the most scenic golf destinations in the world — Weekley played alongside Sens, a senior writer at GOLF, with cameras rolling.

When Sens asked Weekley when he first knew he could hang with pro golfers, Weekley provided a shocking answer.

Travel

“I would say…” Weekley began, before pausing to think, “when I turned pro.”

He then provided more detail, explaining that while he knew he could play, it took playing golf’s mini tours to make him realize he could hang with golf’s best.

“I knew I could hit it, but I didn’t think I was good enough to play real pro golf or anything like that,” Weekley revealed. “So I got out and started playing the mini tours… and the next thing I know I kind of like made it.”

And golf wasn’t always a priority for the three-time Tour winner in his youth.

“I quit golf for like three years, more or less. My mom kind of got me into it. I’d run out of sports. I use to play baseball, football, all the normal things,” Weekley explained. “It just kind of got to a point where I was like ‘Alright, I gotta do something.’ Daddy said, ‘You aint gonna lay around the house, son,’ you know what I mean?”

So Weekley did just that, playing pro golf’s mini tours from 1997-2002, when he finally earned his PGA Tour card for the first time. Five years later, he was a PGA Tour champion.

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The post At Omni La Costa, a rich history meets modern updates (and amenities) appeared first on Golf.

The post At Omni La Costa, a rich history meets modern updates (and amenities) appeared first on Golf.

For nearly three decades, a single tournament, played on the same course, produced a list of winners that reads like a Hall-of-Fame roster. At La Costa, fans could count on being treated to compelling leaderboards.

Built in 1965 on what had been an equestrian ranch just north of San Diego, the property known today as Omni La Costa Resort & Spa was conceived partly as a stage for the game’s best. In 1969, it was selected as the home of the Tournament of Champions — Player won that inaugural edition — a role it would retain for the next 30 years. When the event moved to Kapalua in 1999, La Costa remained in the televised picture, hosting the newly created WGC-Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship. Jeff Maggert claimed the first title. Tiger Woods won three times. He also suffered one of the event’s most memorable defeats in a finals upset at the hands of an unintimidated Darren Clarke.

You get the picture: Championships are part of the property’s DNA. But so is the recreational game.

La Costa has always been, first and last, a resort, designed for family trips, romantic escapes and every kind of getaway in between. More recently, that dual identity has been burnished by a multi-million-dollar restoration. Completed in the spring of 2024, the project refreshed nearly every corner of the property, from accommodations and event spaces to the spa and — natch! — the golf.

La Costa offers two complementary 18-hole layouts. The North Course, formerly the Champions course, reopened in 2024 following a renovation by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, undertaken to ready the resort as it picked up the tournament thread once more. The work coincided with La Costa being named the site of the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Championships through 2028. Stretched to 7,500 yards from the back tees, the par 72 is fit for elite competitions, with risk-reward options well suited to match play. Notable examples include the drivable par-4 11th, a repositioned par-3 16th green that nods to the 12th at Augusta, and a closing par-5 that plays long and demanding into a prevailing wind.

The South Course, previously known as the Legends Course, poses a different kind of test, with fairways that bend gently past mature trees and humpback greens and tight-lie surrounds that call for a deft touch and creativity.

The courses anchor a property that has evolved alongside them. Omni La Costa Resort & Spa now encompasses more than 600 guestrooms, suites and villas of Spanish Mission-style architecture, with eight pools, expansive racquet sports facilities, a full athletic club and an award-winning spa. Families will find no shortage of diversions, from two 100-foot water slides, a Sandy Beach Family Pool and Kidtopia programming to s’mores roasting and dive-in movies by the pool. Even getting around has taken on a lighter touch: The same ground once walked by Nicklaus, Woods and Mickelson can now be covered on Golfboards and scooters.

La Costa also sits within a broader golf footprint. It is part of Omni Hotels & Resorts’ growing portfolio of 28 courses across 12 U.S. resorts, a collection that spans Golden Age architects and modern masters alike, from Donald Ross and A.W. Tillinghast to Tom Fazio and Hanse himself.

The next tournament chapter unfolds in May, when the NCAA Championships return. Until then — and long after — La Costa will remain what it has always been: a year-round destination, open in every season, and to anyone who wants to play.

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For starters, they have a lot more money. They also tend to play a lot more golf courses. Nowadays, that seems particularly true.

If you keep up with golf headlines, you’ve noticed the trend. Every turn of the news cycle seems to bring word of yet another exclusive enclave in the making, targeting a tiny membership with staggering invitation dues.

Clearly, there’s a market for such projects.

There’s also a place in golf publications for stories about them, offering a gauzy sneak peek at playgrounds that most golfers will never see in person. But there comes a point when the audience tires of hearing about the out-of-reach and starts to think: How about some coverage of a course where anyone can, you know, get a tee time?

Maybe that explains our best-read travel story of 2025.

The article traces the unlikely arc of Dunedin Golf Club, a Donald Ross design on Florida’s Gulf Coast, just north of Tampa, born in the boom years of the 1920s, humbled by the Depression and reborn as a municipal course long before “muni” became a bootstrapping badge of honor. Along the way, it served as the PGA of America’s headquarters, hosted 18 straight Senior PGA Championships and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, even as it drifted from its Golden Age roots.

You can probably see where this is headed. Earlier this year, a $6 million restoration of Dunedin was completed. Overseen by Ross expert Kris Spence, the work peeled back layers to reveal Ross’s original greens, routing and strategic intent, returning the course to its century-old self. With its revival, Dunedin joined a short list of top-flight, rejuvenated Florida munis that includes Winter Park in Orlando and The Park at West Palm Beach.

That’s more like it, our audience seemed to say. If the story resonated with them, the green fees probably did, too. They start at under $100.

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The post The world’s happiest golf destination? Why it might be Bhutan appeared first on Golf.

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Cutting through clouds into sunshine, our Bhutan Airlines Airbus A319 begins its maze-run of mountains into 7,333-foot-high Paro Airport. This approach is a slow-motion video game; a double-black slalom of green terraced hills and bright dzongs (fortress-monasteries) so technical, fewer than 30 pilots are qualified to fly it. Those who do often say a prayer before the approach. This is to honor a nearby hilltop Buddhist monastery, but, you know, still …

Coffee is on my mind. I’ve slept two hours in two days, crossing 11 time zones from New York City to Doha, on to humid Bangkok, then Kolkata, India, before this final 90-minute hop to Bhutan. It’s late-August. My first visit to Bhutan. My seatmate for the last leg is a friendly 30-year-old Bhutanese man. He tells me he moved to Canberra, Australia, 18 months ago to join his sister. This is his first time home since moving. In Bhutan, he was a teacher. In Australia, “I clean houses and drive Uber.” He is visibly excited to be heading home. On the approach, I see the man glued to the right-hand window. His eyes scan the hills. Counting down his return.

“Kindly fasten your seatbelts.”

Our pilot banks us left, toward a rapidly approaching hillside. I notice a traditional Himalayan white khada scarf — given to travelers by loved ones for safe passage — wedged into the top of our economy section divider for good luck. I look back out the window and feel it again: We’re heading somewhere special.

With a thwump, we touch down on Paro Airport’s runway No. 1 of 2 in an endless valley of green. We exit the plane to silence. It’s as if we’ve stepped into a land lost to time. A land in which I have a tee time, tomorrow.

Bhutan is a country of 780,000. It’s slightly larger than the state of Maryland — 1/8 the population — landlocked in the high Himalayas between China and India. It has always done things differently. In the 1970s, by Royal decree, Bhutan adopted a policy ofGross National Happiness. Family, friendship and cultural traditions were emphasized. A “Gross National Happiness Commission” was formed. Students were assigned two minutes of meditation each day. Happiness reminder signs sprouted alongside roads and hill paths.

Today, Bhutan still prioritizes these values, including respect for nature. Sixty percent of Bhutan’s land must remain forested. All mountains, considered sacred, are closed to climbers, giving Bhutan the world’s highest unclimbed peak: 24,835-foot Gangkhar Puensum (take that, Everest). There are no traffic lights. The first Bhutanese TV set didn’t arrive until 1999. And there is golf. Which is why I’m here.

I’d first heard about Bhutan’s golf scene in, of all places, Nepal. It was 2022. I was heading to the world’s highest golf course, Mustang Golf Course, 15,239 feet up in Nepal’s remote Upper Mustang. For two days, 40 Nepali golfers and I had rattled upwards in a mud-caked caravan of twelve 4×4 Mahindra Jeeps, bound for Mustang’s opening tournament, the “Top of the World Golf Classic.” The night before our arrival, in the town of Kagbeni, I overheard several golfers talking about the beauty of Bhutan’s golf courses. Intrigued, I asked my table-mate, a Nepali golf pro named Deepak Magar, if he’d ever played in Bhutan. The older pro smiled back:

“In 1993, I won the Bhutan Open.”

Ever since that evening, I’d been obsessed with visiting Bhutan. A country that prized happiness. A country long hidden from the outside world. A country that, unexpectedly, had golf.

“We’ll head out in a minute.”

Phuntsho “PG” Gyaltshen, 49, the soft-spoken president of the Bhutan Golf Association, leads me to the outdoor patio of Royal Thimphu Golf Club, baking in the afternoon heat. The terrace overlooks the par-3 1st hole, with soaring hills beyond. We’re in Bhutan’s capital of Thimphu. Phuntsho wears a fancy maroon robe called a gho, standard men’s attire in Bhutan (women wear similar robes called kiras). My host motions to a table of golfers drinking butter tea — a Bhutanese staple involving tea, yak butter and salt.

“I want to introduce you to some people.”

Bhutan has only about 300 golfers, including those in the armed forces. Not exactly Scotland numbers. Yet those who play are as obsessed as St. Andreans. Around 20 Bhutanese golfers are below a 5 handicap, with five holding plus-handicaps, and Bhutan’s best golfer, Tshendra Dorji, a +5. (Fittingly, he is the national coach.)

Golf came to Bhutan in the 1960s. An Indian Army officer, with the blessing of Bhutan’s Royal family, built several holes in Thimphu. Today, Bhutan’s golf community plies its slices over the country’s four courses — Drakpoi Golf Club (owned by the Royal Bhutan Army), India House Eco Park (on the grounds of the Indian Embassy in Thimphu), Haa Nature Park (two hours from Thimphu) and Royal Thimphu Golf Club (Bhutan’s oldest course, formally established in 1972). All are nine-holers, with separate front and back-nine tees. All are above 7,500 feet in elevation. I’ll be playing each course on this trip. And mustering the courage to try ema datse (chilies in cheese sauce, Bhutan’s national dish, said to be some of the hottest food in Asia).

“Please sit with us,” says a cool-looking member named Dru, whose gho and sunglasses give him an actorly look, like Adrian Brody’s character in Succession. Dru makes space for me beside him. “We’ll order some butter tea for you.”

Royal Thimphu, I’m quickly learning, has a lively social scene. Within the club’s membership are other smaller social clubs — each with monthly medals, complicated handicapping systems and memorable names.

“The largest two clubs at RTGC are Weekend Golfers Association and Frenemies,” Phuntsho explains, as I’m served a steaming cup of butter tea. “Frenemies has, like, 100 golfers in it. We’ve also got subgroups within Frenemies.”

“Do those have names too?” I ask. There are nods, then a volley of examples.

“Dragon Boys.”

“Bogie Boys.”

“Chocolate.”

“Any others?” I ask, prompting one more (my favorite): “Stylish.”

Fifteen minutes later, we head onto Royal Thimphu. Peach and pine trees line fairways. Woodpeckers dart between them. From the 5th tee, golfers casually aim at the maroon and white towers of Tashichho Dzong, the capital’s government building — the equivalent of American golfers carving fades off the White House. (PSA: On the 4th hole, shouting FORE! is banned, due to the hole’s proximity to the King’s private office). Spirituality is everywhere. On the 2nd hole, the ideal line from the tee is on an ancient hilltop monastery. On the 7th tee, a 17th century stone stupa (a religious monument) stands 50 yards past the tee, on the course, with white prayer flags surrounding it. I recognize these white flags from my drive into Thimphu. The same flags cover Bhutan’s hills — memorials placed by families for departed loved ones.

“Hey, Phuntsho,” I call out.

Phuntsho walks back over to me. “Yes?”

I point to the white flags in front of the stupa, eager to impress my host. “Are those flags in memory of club members who have passed?”

Phuntsho seems puzzled.

“No, they’re to stop balls hitting the stupa.”

Yet the most unique sight at Royal Thimphu comes on the 9th tee. The aiming point for tee shots? A 167-foot-tall gold Buddha atop a distant hill. (For those seeking inner peace for golf games, this is the right tee box.) As I stare, a member lining up his drive turns back to me, makes a pre-shot confession: “We all start on the Buddha … but we don’t all finish on the Buddha.”

The next day, I drive to Drakpoi Golf Club on the northern edge of Thimphu, passing smiling schoolkids in ghos and kiras walking to class. DGC is owned by the Royal Bhutan Army. It’s played mostly by generals and soldiers, although civilian Royal Thimphu members will flock here for practice rounds before DGC’s “Royal Wedding Tournament” each October.

I’m glad I flocked too. DGC’s 1st tee opens onto a valley of technicolor-green. Fir trees hug fairways, stretching into breathtaking hills of the Kabisa Valley. I feel as if I’m in Montana or Colorado or Switzerland.

“Kuzuzangpo la!” [Hello!] I hear from behind me. The others have arrived.

My playing partners for this round are Mila Palden Penjore, a cool 24-year-old Bhutan Airways pilot who attended flight school in Florida, Dechen Lhendup, 24, who played in the Bangladesh and Nepal Amateur Opens this year, and Tshendra Dorji, 32, intensely humble, yet the best golfer in Bhutan, with the course record at Royal Thimphu: an 11-under 59. Tshendra coaches Mila and Dechen, as well as practically every other golfer in Bhutan.

“You can go first,” I tell Mila. The pilot, a 4 handicap, jet-stream-launches his opening drive 290 yards down the middle. The others match him. I’m playing with three of the longest hitters in Bhutan, who in this 8,200-foot altitude, have tee-shot trajectories evoking PGA pros. Nervously, I bunt a 3-hybrid down the left side, evoking nobody. I need lessons from Tshendra.

DGC has its own spirituality. On the 3rd tee, our target is another centuries-old stupa, this one in the middle of the fairway. “Just aim on the stupa and you’ll be good,” Mila says, drilling his drive over it. Dechen does the same.

“Where else are you playing in Bhutan?” Tshendra asks me.

“Oh, all the courses. Even the one in Haa,” I say.

“Great. You’ll love that one,” Mila replies. “On the drive to Haa, you go over the Chele La Pass — highest driving road in Bhutan, 13,083 feet. Some golfers even stop and a hit a golf ball from there.” The others smile. I think about what golf means here. How, in a nation prioritizing happiness, golf is my playing partners’ source of joy. I think of the hundreds of rounds I played with my dad in his life (he passed in 2020); bump-and-running from Van Corlandt in the Bronx to the Old Course in St. Andrews. I think about how much happiness the game brought him; how many giggles we shared like Bhutanese schoolkids. America and Bhutan may be deeply different, but when it comes to what golf gives us, we’re cut from the same Gore-Tex.

My group reaches the 4th hole. And another unlikely course feature. An array of solar panels along the left side of the fairway. “It’s called the ‘DSP-Solar Initiative,’” Tshendra explains. “There are over 3,000 panels.” “Oh, wow,” I reply, impressed, and tee up my ball. As I’m over my drive, Mila casually makes another announcement.

“By the way, if you hit the solar panels, you need to pay 40,000 ngultrum.”

I back away. “Wait, what?”

“Yeah. Well actually, it depends on which type of panel you hit. It’s 29,000 for the small panels, 40,000 for the large panels.” Tshendra points to a sign confirming this. There’s an uncomfortable pause.

“How much is 40,000 ngultrum?”

“About 500 dollars.”

There have been moments of greater Zen in my life.

I re-address my ball, now consumed by the solar minefield to my left. I’m so sure of a coming pull-hook, Bob Rotella would be ashamed. I swing, then open my eyes. Miraculously, I’ve seared a slice into the other fairway.

“Next time, tell me about the panels after my shot,” I mutter. I don’t ask what happens to the fine for a ricochet between multiple solar panels, in case we’re playing the back nine.

Gross National Happiness is only one part of Bhutan’s focus. A largely Buddhist nation, Bhutan bans the killing of any animal. All meat is imported from other countries. So many protected wild animals roam Bhutan, the country has been called a “Noah’s Ark,” with Bengal tigers, Indian rhinos, snow leopards, red panda, black-necked cranes, plus Bhutan’s national animal, the moose-like takin.

There are other initiatives, too. Bhutan is net carbon negative. Bhutan has a nationwide ban on plastic bags. Bhutan is planning, near its southern border in Gelephu, a 1,000-square-kilometer “Mindfulness City,” to be built around a series of habitable bridges, prioritizing well-being for residents.

A constant in Bhutanese life is a connection to nature. It’s one of the best reasons to visit. Everywhere you turn, there are adventures to be had. The country’s jewel, the iconic Tiger’s Nest monastery near Paro, is perched on an airy cliffside, reached by a memorable hike. The famed Snowman Trek, a 25-day expedition through Bhutan’s wilderness, is considered one of the toughest treks in the world. Even from a car, the landscapes are breathtaking. On drives linking Thimphu and Punakha, Haa and Gangtey, prayer wheels sit beside roads. Trees cling to slopes so steep, it doesn’t seem possible they could hold on. Monasteries dot distant ridges. Prayer flags hang from hills.

Golf fits Bhutan more than meets the eye. There is a long tradition of outdoor sports. Archery and khuru (outdoor darts) are popular. So is a rock game called digor. Recently, mountain biking has exploded in Bhutan. And in 2024, to the nation’s pride, two Bhutanese athletes competed in the Paris Olympics, while Jigme Pelden Dorji, a lieutenant in the Royal Bhutan Army, became the first Bhutanese climber to summit Mt. Everest.

When you look at Bhutan on the international golf stage, you don’t yet see a lot of wins. But Bhutan is trying. The loftiest goal for the Bhutan Golf Federation is to have a winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur (which provides entry into the Masters). Mila Palden Penjore has played in five Asia-Pacific Amateurs, plus the Singapore Amateur Championship. Bhutan also sends competitors to the South Asian Games, the Asian Games and the All-India Championship, as well as to the Nepal and Bangladesh Amateurs.

“We do get other invites,” Phuntsho says, as we sit on the patio at Royal Thimphu having lunch. “Hopefully we can start sending our players elsewhere. But our next goal is to win anything outside Bhutan.”

The kids are grinding. Each July and December during school holidays, Bhutan holds month-long junior coaching camps at Royal Thimphu. Around 200 children join, some as young as 6-years-old, many from remote areas of the countryside. The camps meet five days a week (snacks and school stationary provided), all coached by Tshendra.

“We’re trying to get Tshendra extra coaching certifications too,” Phuntsho says, as another cup of butter tea is set down for me.

Talk turns to what everyone loves about golf.

“I mean, we get to hang out; that’s the most fun,” says Mila. “You chat about stupid things with your friends. It’s like a break from everything else — it’s so nice.” Phuntsho nods.

“If I’m in Thimphu and I’m not playing golf, I feel off,” he says.

It’s one of my last days in Bhutan. I’m at India House Eco Park Golf Course, on the grounds of the Indian Embassy, trying to dodge a lightning storm.

“We should hurry.”

Phuntsho is with me. So are thunder clouds, rumbling closer with every pitch shot. I remember that I did get blessed by a monk this morning (my hotel’s “in-house monk”), although I’m not sure how deeply I want to test that protection.

The sights are worth the storm. India House Eco Park is unlike any other course I’ve played. With limited land (this is, after all, Embassy-first, agronomy-second), India House’s designer had to get creative. Very creative. Like, think a “Wild Man Open” with tees and greens scrambled. Here at Eco Park, there are holes over trees without obvious lines, holes to tiny shared greens, holes with approach shots over other greens. It is wild. And wildly fun.

“Uh, where do we hit now?” I ask Phuntsho, as we stand on the 3rd tee. We’ve just finished a short, demonic par-3 to a steeply-uphill green, approach blocked almost entirely by fir trees. Our reward is this blind tee shot toward a wooded wilderness.

“On that tree,” Phuntsho says, unfazed by a symphonic thunder-clap. “Par-5.”

Maybe it’s the compact layout, or the seclusion, but this course feels like someone’s secret garden. A garden in which everyone playing is connected to the Indian Embassy. India House does occasionally open to the public. Each November, when fairways turn firm and butter-yellow, India House Eco Park hosts the “India House Open,” played since 1995 with roughly 200 competitors each year.

One hole scares them all. India House Eco Park’s claim to fame is having Bhutan’s hardest hole, by far. The 8th, a short par-4 with a raised greenkeeper’s revenge-style green (cut fiery-fast for the tournament), water hazards sandwiching the putting surface, and a forced drop zone in front. It is a card-wrecking nightmare. Which nobody knows better than Bhutan’s best golfer, Tshendra Dorji. In 2015, Tshendra was leading the India House Open, until the 17th hole, the back-nine 8th, where he made a 44. (A lot of water, a lot of drop zones). Tshendra received a consolation medal at the award ceremony. To this day, the Bhutanese van-de-Velde-ian moment lives on.

“Yes, that should be good,” Phuntsho calls out, as my drive fades into the unknown.

“Thanks, Phuntsho.”

I pick up my tee and get moving. As I walk, I catch myself scanning the hills, like my seatmate on the flight in. Maybe it’s the setting. Or the kindness of my golfing hosts. Or all the butter tea. But I feel it again. I’m somewhere special.

What can we learn from Bhutan? The country’s happiness initiatives aren’t a magical antidote to suffering. Lives here can still be difficult. But it’s moving to see a government grapple with the big questions: What gives life meaning? What is helpful for a happy life? For Phuntsho and Mila and Tshendra, golf is part of the answer. For me too.

Another rumble. Phuntsho looks back. “Want to play a few more holes?”

Absolutely.

YOUR TURN: Here’s how to play in Bhutan

When: April-June and September-October are the prime golf months.

Where: Thimphu, Bhutan (plus extra sightseeing in Paro)

How to get there: The cheapest routing is generally via Kathmandu, Nepal. Cathay Pacific flies there from multiple U.S. cities, with round-trip fares starting at $730. From Kathmandu, Bhutan Airlines — the only carrier besides Drukair to fly into Bhutan — flies to Paro, Bhutan, with round-trip fares starting at $440. Flights into Bhutan are also possible via cities like Delhi, Dubai, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong, although these are more expensive.

How to get in touch: Contact the Bhutan Golf Federation for more information, email here. You can also simply show up at Royal Thimphu Golf Club to play as a walk-on (club rental available). Green fees at Royal Thimphu: a very reasonable $60.

Where to stay in Bhutan:

In Thimphu:

Budget Option: Zhiwaling Ascent Thimphu. From about $205/night. Located in a peaceful, wooded area just above the city, with a magnificent rooftop yoga studio and sauna.

Mid-range Option: Pemako Thimphu. From about $545/night. In Thimphu-proper, with seriously stylish rooms, four restaurants and architecture modeled on Thimphu’s dzong.

Lux Option: Six Senses Thimphu. From about $1,450/night. Stunningly-situated above the Thimphu Valley, with integrated wellness programs, organic ingredients picked from the property’s garden, plus a gorgeous pool. A tremendous place to unplug.

In Paro:

Paro Zhiwaling Heritage. From about $650/night. Bhutanese-owned and exquisitely decorated. Set on 12 acres with archery fields, a fantastic fitness cetner, a greenhouse open to guests, and a Royal Raven Suite with private in-room shrine.

Visa logistics: U.S. citizens must obtain a visa in advance ($40 per person). You’ll need to also show proof of travel insurance as part of the application.

Other logistics: Bhutan does their tourism differently than you’re likely used to in other countries. There is a $100/day Sustainable Development Fee (the ‘SDF,’ which goes towards supporting education in Bhutan). If traveling outside the capital Thimphu, you’ll need a guide and driver. This means that the best way to visit Bhutan — by far — is through a tour company. They will arrange all logistics for you, including a guide, driver, hotels, food. Booking the trip independently doesn’t really make sense yet for Bhutan.

What else to do while in Bhutan:

In Paro, hike to the famed Tiger’s Nest Monastery (around two hours up), where you’ll marvel at one of the most extraordinary sights in the Himalayas. When you’re back in Paro, visit the stunning Paro dzong, then relax in a traditional Bhutanese Hot Stone Bath overlooking tranquil rice paddies (many Hot Stone Baths are available at farmhouses around Paro; your tour company can easily book one for you).

In Thimphu, visit Thimphu’s dzong, as well as the gigantic gold Buddha Dordenma (on which you aimed at RTGC’s 9th tee). Also visit the cool multi-use ChoeGo Center, run by the De-suung (Bhutan’s version of the Red Cross), where you can eat, rent bikes and even get a great haircut. Also check out the National Textile Museum and the Royal Takin Preserve (where you can see Bhutan’s national animal). At night, cheer on Thimphu’s soccer team, Thimphu City FC, at Changlimithang Stadium. And rent a gho or kira for the day or evening, which will delight locals. Finally, try ema datse (chilies in cheese sauce). But be warned: it’s hot.

Oliver Horovitz is a New York City-based golf writer and the author of “An American Caddie in St. Andrews.” A former 11-year caddie on the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland, he has competed in the Mongolian National Open, the All-Japan Park Golf Championship, Iceland’s midnight golf “Arctic Open,” and on the world’s highest golf course: Nepal’s Mustang Golf Course at 15,239 feet.

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That one tee shot gets the fame, but Machrihanish’s ranking isn’t built on a single postcard moment. It’s the run of holes — especially a front nine that unfolds like a masterclass in classic links design — that makes the course more than a pilgrimage for architecture devotees. Machrihanish proves itself over and over, hole after hole, in every wind.

On the cusp of its 150th anniversary, Machrihanish has an origin story that reads like a Scottish golf primer. Like many clubs, it began with less than a full 18. The original course was 10 holes and known as the Kintyre Club, after the peninsula it occupies. A few years later, the club brought in Old Tom Morris, who fleshed out the routing into a full 18 while establishing that unforgettable first tee position, tucked between what is now the pro shop and the Atlantic.

Part of the charm of Machrihanish is the setting — and the effort it takes to reach it. On the map, the course sits closer to Northern Ireland’s great links than it does to many of Scotland’s marquee courses, and getting to this corner of Argyll still feels like something of an expedition. That remoteness has long appealed to those looking for an escape. Paul McCartney found his own version of it here during the height of Beatlemania in the 1960s.

Even the club’s identity fits the place. If there were a World Top 100 for logos, Machrihanish would have a case: its badge is a simple oystercatcher — black and white, with a bright orange beak — native to these shores. Like the course itself, it’s understated, unmistakable, and perfectly at home on the edge of the Atlantic.

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The same rule that governs books and their covers applies to golf courses and their scorecards. You can’t judge one by the other.

Shoreacres illustrates the point.

This alluring layout on Chicago’s North Side tips out at just over 6,300 yards, making it the shortest of GOLF’s Top 100 Courses in the World. (Yes, some holes at Shoreacres can be stretched back for competitions, but we’re going by daily-play setup and the distance printed on the card.)

Its story, though, is more than a tale of the tape.

Shoreacres is the work of Seth Raynor, the engineer-turned-architect who was tutored in the trade by the father of American architecture, C.B. Macdonald. Like his mentor, Raynor incorporated templates into his designs, archetypal features that he adapted to suit each site. If you’ve played a Raynor course — this can be a challenge, as most are private — you’ve probably heard the terms: Biarritz, Redan and Eden. Shoreacres has them all, on an intimate site beside Lake Michigan.

Shoreacres starts benignly, with a gettable par-5 and a pair of short par-4s. Bank some birdies while you can. The front nine is relatively flat, but the land grows more dramatic as you make the turn, with a particularly thrilling stretch from holes 11-15 that plays over and round ravines. From start to finish, the layout’s main defense comes on and around its greens. At some point during an outing here, you’re apt to hear the phrase, “You’ve been Raynored,” which can happen in all kinds of ways. An approach shot, for instance, defied by a false front or shrugged off by a green-side shoulder. A putt that breaks in some confounding fashion. A ball that glides past the cup… and down into a bunker.

Classic courses filled with templates are often describes as architecture “museums.” Really, they’re more like interactive exhibits. In that regard, Shoreacres demands your full engagement, without requiring you to play the power game. Strategy and shot-making are priorities here. 

All the more impressive is that Raynor pulled this off without having access to what many regard as the property’s best land. The clubhouse occupies that acreage, on a bluff overlooking the lake. It’s an idyllic place to soak in views while recounting your highlights from the day. Self-glorification is fair game in golf. Just do your friends a favor and keep those stories like the golf course: short.

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The post What it’s like playing golf after dark at Cabot Citrus Farms appeared first on Golf.

I’d like to recommend a younger tradition: golf after sunset, when the other stars are out.

This isn’t something you can do just anywhere. Even under clear skies and a full moon, night golf depends on artificial light. Such on-course extras are relatively common in golf-mad, land-cramped countries like Korea, where unmet demand spills into the evening, and in desert climates where no one wants to play while the sun is set on broil.

Here in the U.S., though? Night golf is catching on, but it’s harder to come by. One place you can find it is Cabot Citrus Farms.

Travel

A destination resort on Florida’s Nature Coast, roughly an hour north of Tampa, Citrus Farms provides a banquet of golf from dawn to dusk, with two full-length 18-holers, the Roost and the Karoo, and a pair of short courses, The Squeeze and The Wedge. The Squeeze has 10 holes that range from 100 to 550 yards. The Wedge, by contrast, is an 11-hole, par-3 layout — and the only course on the property designed to come alive after dark.

That’s where I found myself not long ago, teeing it up with a colleague as twilight fell. Since it was cocktail hour, we’d brought a few drinks with us, along with a small quiver of clubs stuffed into the lightweight carry bags that come with your greens fee. No need to haul a full set on an outing of this kind. If you find yourself grinding, you’re getting it wrong. Night golf is for shifting into mellow mode.

You know those blinding floodlights used to illuminate roadside construction projects? The Wedge doesn’t have those. Its greens and tees are cast in a soft, golden glow, just enough to let you see exactly what you need. At first, the shadows might play tricks. Is that really a ball between your feet, or a shimmering phantasm? But it only takes a moment for your eyes to adjust, and a few swings to recognize that you’re playing the same game you’ve always loved, freed of the pressure that so often nags you.

That, at its core, is the beauty of night golf. Once the sun is gone, the expectations go with it, leaving only the pleasures of the game. There’s no score to protect. No pace to keep. No sense that you should be somewhere else. Just the feeling that you’re getting away with something but guilty of nothing.

Our round breezed by. By the time we finished, cocktail hour had given way to dinnertime, which seemed about right. Night golf is gravy. It also fits neatly with the game’s shape-shifting away from convention toward more relaxed forms: shorter courses, looser structures, and experiences built less around tradition than around pure enjoyment. Call it golf for a younger generation, except that it’s open to anyone. The Wedge exemplifies that, day and night. As the kids might put it, the course is lit. Literally.

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