WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 2018

Photo: The third hole at the Chechessee Club in South Carolina, which was identified as a favorite place to play by two of our staff.

Like fishermen who find a lonely section of stream that yields a delightful bounty on the fly, golfers delight in coming across unheralded courses that can be played for a relative dime, challenge every club in the bag, appeal to the eye, and provoke the question: Do I dare start telling others about this place? We asked our staff to share such gems they’ve discovered through the years. Not headliner courses, but rather favorites that you don’t heard talked about so much. Some of these courses lie away from the big city boundaries, while others are darkened by the shadows of nearby masterpieces, such as Alister Mackenzie’s Pasatiempo. We hope you like our list—and get to play some of these places yourself.

Jeffrey Cranford
Ironwood South
Ironwood, a private club, is located in Palm Desert, California. The South Course regular hosts local qualifying rounds for the US Open.

Bill Euler, SW Texas Region Director
Beechwood Golf Club
Beechwood, a public course, is located in LaPorte, Indiana. It is a traditional course designed in the 1930s by William Diddle, who designed more than 300 courses while maintaining a game so strong that he shot his age more than 1,200 times, including a 74 at the Country Club of Naples, Florida, when he was 86!

Drew Hamilton, North Texas Region Director & Marty Jacobus, California Desert Region Director
Chechessee Creek Club
Chechessee Creek Club, a private club, is located in Okatie, South Carolina. Chechessee is a low country design of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, who also designed the much-talked about Trinity Forest course that will be the new host of the Byron Nelson classic later this month on the PGA Tour.

Tracy Hanson, Women’s Ministry Coach
Hayden Lake Country Club
Hayden Lake, a private club, is located in Hayden Lake, Idaho, Tracy’s home state.

Jeff Hopper, Chief Organizational Officer
DeLaveaga Golf Course
DeLaveaga, a municipal course, is located in Santa Cruz, California, right around the bend from Mackenzie’s famed Pasatiempo and across the bay from the Monterey Peninsula. DeLaveaga’s tenth may be the most challenging risk-reward par-5 you’ll ever play.

Bob Kuecker, Boston Area Representative
Laytonsville Golf Course
Laytonsville, a public course, is located in Gaithersburg, Maryland. A shorter course, tipping out at just under 6,400 yards, you’ll find Laytonsville to be an enjoyable loop.

Josh Nelson, Atlanta Area Representative
Ansley Golf Club – Settindown Creek Course
Ansley Golf Club is 106-year-old private club in Atlanta. The club offers a wonderful nine-hole option at is Midtown Course, but it is Settindown Creek that has hosted the US Women’s Amateur and the Nike Tour Championship.

Randy Wolff, South Central Region Director
Pine Dunes
Pine Dunes, a public course rated as best in Texas by Golfweek magazine, is located in Frankston, Texas. On-site accommodations can sleep 58 people, so it’s a great venue for a golf retreat.

Dereck Wong, Southern California/Las Vegas Region Director
Monterey Park Golf Club
Monterey Park Golf Club, a public course located in Monterey Park, in the heart of the Los Angeles metroplex. The nine-hole, par-29 course is coupled with a large two-tiered practice range.

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TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2018

As the PGA Tour moves to New Orleans this week, players have chosen partners for the four-ball format at the Zurich Classic, where Jonas Blixt and Cameron Smith defend. To give us an inside look at this type of play, we connected with College Golf Fellowship’s Matt Van Zandt, who has twice qualified with partner Drew Allenspach (also with CGF) for the USGA Amateur Four-ball Championships, advancing to the quarterfinals in 2016. This year’s USGA Four-ball will be competed May 19-23 at Jupiter Hills in Florida.

What do you like about team play?
“I think that there is a different level of experiential joy you get out of playing with somebody and the difference in camaraderie. It’s just nice to have somebody’s back and for somebody to have yours. It’s also fun because it helps cover some of your golf sins.”

Do you feel that there is a weight to carry when playing with your partner?
“Yes. Especially if your partner is out of the hole or something. It could be doubly the pressure. But as competitors, that is something we look forward to in being able to come through when you’re needed. It’s really fun, and in some ways you kind of get to serve your partner whenever they are or not in a hole and you get to come through in the clutch. It not only gives you the energy, but also gives your partner a lot of positive energy.”

If I’m in a team game, how can my partner and I be better four-ball players?
“Never say, ‘I am sorry,’ because we both know that we’re not trying to hit bad golf shots, so there is no reason when you hit a bad one to say you’re sorry. [Another] thing is that you just feel you need to contribute 50 percent and your partner needs to contribute 50 percent. But that just puts an enormous amount of weight on both parties. Sometimes one person is going to be absent and one is going to be present, or both are going to be present, or both are going to be absent. So, you just go and have a lot of grace while encouraging one another. Celebrate the other person and try to stay focused. I think it can be easier to lose focus because you can rely too much on your teammate. As a whole, I think just enjoy it and encourage one another.”

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 2018

As Links Players, it’s part of our mission to share the Good News of Jesus with those we meet, especially on the course or in our club. But how do we know who’s willing to listen? A new article by Jeff Hopper, Seeking Earnest Seekers, helps us identify ears that will hear. Check out this excerpt, then read the whole article for eight things to keep in mind when finding those who will listen. It’s here

Perhaps some time ago, you gained permission to leave some Links Players magazines on a table in the locker room where you play golf. One morning you walk in to see a member you know by name sitting in one of those leather chairs where the TV replays yesterday’s tour rounds. He has the magazine in his hands and is reading with apparent interest. You say, “Hi Pete, what are reading?”

It’s true. A lot of guys might be hesitant to answer, especially if they’ve come to the part of an article where a player explains their relationship with Jesus. You might get something like this, “Oh, just a magazine that was lying here.”

But if this story took the shape of Acts 8, your member friend might say, “This magazine where everybody keeps talking about their religion. I don’t know what to make of it.” This might be the answer of someone who is willing to talk more, especially if you were to say, “Well, I’m the one who put the magazine there. I’d be happy to tell you what I know about where they’re coming from.”

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