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3 Key Considerations when Planning a Golf Trip
Over the past decade, I’ve planned dozens of golf trips. Many as part of the Crown Club, a golf society that I co-founded, and others as part of personal trips with friends and family. Some trips were certainly better than others, due to factors that were in and/or out of my control. In this article,…
Read MoreThe Punchbowl: Golf’s Most Beloved Template
Template holes were popularized by Charles Blair Macdonald, often referred to as the father of American golf course design, in the early 1900s. He identified “ideal” holes at famous courses in Scotland like the Old Course at St. Andrews, North Berwick and Prestwick and started incorporating them into his early designs, starting with the National…
Read MoreBig Cedar Lodge: A New Golf Mecca in the Ozarks
I was eager to visit Big Cedar Lodge, after the recent additions to it’s golf portfolio and the general positive feedback about the beauty of the Ozarks, and it certainly did not disappoint. The thing that impressed me most was how diverse Big Cedar’s golf offering was. Payne’s Valley is a course on a grand…
Read MoreThe Ultimate Bandon Dunes Golf Trip
Last month, I made my fifth journey to one of the great golf resorts on the planet, Bandon Dunes, in southern Oregon. My first trip to the original “Dream Golf” destination was in 2010. I have subsequently visited in 2011, 2014, 2017 and last month. I’ve learned quite a bit over the course of my…
Read MoreBest Value Courses in America (2022 Edition)
We are excited to introduce our “Value Series,” where we identify the best bargains across the U.S. golf landscape. The first step is to define what value means when it comes to golf. When thinking about value, you want the best possible product for the most reasonable price. Translating this to golf courses, we came…
Read MoreCourse Rankings Analysis (2022-23 U.S. Edition)
Golf Digest came out with its first top course ranking back in the 1960s, and these lists have grown in popularity ever since. We think there are many factors for this, including the advent of social media, improved accessibility, and the general increase in popularity of golf travel. While there are three separate major U.S.…
Read MoreOpen Links Course Ratings
The Open Links Course Ratings are split into two categories, Course and Experience. The course category is meant to capture aspects of the golf course itself. In contrast, the experience category is intended to capture other aspects of a golfer’s time at a particular club, such as the amenities and service. Both categories are scored…
Read MoreOpen Links Walkability Ratings
At Open Links, we try to make it easy for passionate golfers to find courses based on qualities that are important to them. Many of our users prefer to experience the game on foot, whether to better connect with nature, soak in the nuances of the course, spend more time with everyone in the group,…
Read MoreOpen Links Housing Index
At Open Links, we try to make it easy for passionate golfers to find courses based on attributes that are important to them. We’ve heard feedback from our advisory users’ group while building the product that playing a course with no housing or commercial development enhances the overall experience. On the flip side, playing a…
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