Golf Archives - Hal Phillips

Patriots Super Bowl Fortunes go with Overseas Travel Rituals like Black and Tan

Hal Phillips — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 12:42:48 +0000

The last time the Patriots met the Seahawks in the Super Bowl, I watched the spectacle in a quiet corner of the clubhouse at Victoria GC, surrounded by a dozen septuagenarian bridge women — and Ben, my buddy’s Aussie brother-in-law. None of these folks knew the first thing about “American football” and it wasn’t so […]

The post Patriots Super Bowl Fortunes go with Overseas Travel Rituals like Black and Tan appeared first on Hal Phillips.

Golf Wallpaper: Home-Screen Takeaways from Royal Lytham & St. Annes

Hal Phillips — Mon, 29 Dec 2025 23:49:21 +0000

I tend to spend a lot of time at the computer. In 2025, I started collecting fun golf course images to use as wallpaper on my oversized monitor. The better ones stay in place for several weeks, allowing for detailed scrutiny and study. I decided to share some of the most thought-provoking examples here. 1) […]

The post Golf Wallpaper: Home-Screen Takeaways from Royal Lytham & St. Annes appeared first on Hal Phillips.

Fescue Programs: A Roadside Meditation

Hal Phillips — Sat, 20 Dec 2025 22:58:00 +0000

Driving home from a dreamy golf excursion, author Hal Phillips noticed wispy grasses glistening alongside a newly widened stretch of a busy interstate. Their presence raised questions about the agronomics of incorporating a linksy feature into inland settings. [Ed. This essay was first published in the November 2026 print edition of Golf Course Industry magazine. […]

The post Fescue Programs: A Roadside Meditation appeared first on Hal Phillips.

In this Age of Identity, has Augusta National Gone Aussie?

Hal Phillips — Wed, 08 May 2024 19:45:39 +0000

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Is it me, or did the 2024 Masters Tournament concluded last month exude a subtle-but-fascinating Antipodean vibe? I’m not talking about the field itself (though I do think ESPN and CBS could have done with an Aussie Cam, to track the progress of Mssrs. Davis and Smith), but rather the course itself. […]

The post In this Age of Identity, has Augusta National Gone Aussie? appeared first on Hal Phillips.

Developers Gonna Develop, So Let’s get Real about Golf Course Flexibility

Hal Phillips — Sat, 02 Mar 2024 16:20:06 +0000

This story in The New York Times, published mid-February 2024, struck a chord. Not because I’m a golfer, but because I’ve written quite a lot about abandoned golf courses, the re-wilding of courses, even the resuscitation of courses gone fallow. As long ago as 1994, the NYT has even seen fit to quote me on […]

The post Developers Gonna Develop, So Let’s get Real about Golf Course Flexibility appeared first on Hal Phillips.

What’s a Design Nerd to Think, “When Nines Don’t Match”?

Hal Phillips — Fri, 16 Feb 2024 15:44:14 +0000

[Ed. This piece appeared 25 years ago in a magazine called TravelGolf Maine founded by a fellow named Park Morrison. It didn’t last long (1998-2001) and, sadly, Park passed away last year, in 2023. I’m including the story here because surely it never made it online — and because it appeared, in print, under a […]

The post What’s a Design Nerd to Think, “When Nines Don’t Match”? appeared first on Hal Phillips.

Playing the UnDead: Ponky Revived & Revisited

Hal Phillips — Mon, 14 Aug 2023 14:51:03 +0000

[Ed. This feature was published by McKellar magazine in the spring of 2019. True to its motto — “a golf companion” — McKellar exists entirely as an analog/print entity. It maintains no online incarnation. Accordingly, please see below at PDF version of the story, to read here or via download.]

The post Playing the UnDead: Ponky Revived & Revisited appeared first on Hal Phillips.

Golf’s Historical Migration Marches Onward

Hal Phillips — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 13:49:52 +0000

[Ed. The fine folk at Global Golf Post saw fit to publish this column of mine back in June, when the PGA Tour’s partnership/merger with the Saudi Public Investment Fund took everyone by surprise. You can find the full text here.]

The post Golf’s Historical Migration Marches Onward appeared first on Hal Phillips.

If a Tree Falls (or falls ill) at Augusta National, Does it Make a Sound?

Hal Phillips — Tue, 04 Apr 2023 19:16:09 +0000

Ed. I’ve contributed dozens of stories to GOLF Magazine through the years (I’ve served on the mag’s world top 100 course-rating panel since 1997). But none landed with such a thud as this one, published in the March 1999 edition. In 24 years, I had heard nothing re. the ill-health or subsequent removal of diseased […]

The post If a Tree Falls (or falls ill) at Augusta National, Does it Make a Sound? appeared first on Hal Phillips.

Late-Nineties Flashback: The Great Maine Golf Course Binge

Hal Phillips — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 14:37:43 +0000

[Ed. This piece from 1998 was assigned and purchased by, but to my knowledge never appeared in, Downeast Magazine. At that time, the U.S. was opening 400 new golf facilities every year. When I moved to New Gloucester that same year, only Fairlawn GC and Poland Spring existed nearby. In 2-3 years, Fox Ridge in […]

The post Late-Nineties Flashback: The Great Maine Golf Course Binge appeared first on Hal Phillips.