Notes

The Club’s informal writing: golf history, course architecture, the traditions of the Club year, and the arguments underneath them. The formal record — bylaws, notices, minutes — lives elsewhere on this site.

• The Last Hickory-Shafted Champion October 28, 2026

  Recounts John W. Fischer's 1936 U.S. Amateur victory over Jack McLean using hickory-shafted clubs, the last such win before steel shafts fully supplanted wood, with details on the storm-plagued semifinal, decisive putts, and the 1924-1929 USGA/R&A steel-shaft legalization timeline.

• The Cayman Ball, Britannia, and Rights to Play September 28, 2026

  Traces the Privy Council's 2025 ruling restoring Cayman homeowners' non-exclusive golf playing rights over the defunct Britannia course, linking it to the short-flight Cayman ball, MacGregor Golf, and the 1552 St Andrews charter precedent.

• The Endless Golf Equipment Fee September 16, 2026

  Why golf equipment spending never truly ends—real fitting needs braided with manufactured obsolescence and identity.

• The Backup Club Effect September 15, 2026

  How golfers cycle between clubs via selective memory, and what that reveals about a general bias toward the absent tool over the present one.

• Solo Play in Golf History September 14, 2026

  Traces how solo golf evolved from unregulated origins on Scottish links to a persistent but non-default form of play.

• Solo Golf Book Review September 13, 2026

  Gary Belsky's 2026 book argues solo golf rounds are the game's purest form, reviewed for its merits and overreach.

• Kingdom of Shivas Irons Review September 12, 2026

  Compares Michael Murphy's 1997 sequel to Golf in the Kingdom—deeper mysticism, lesser mark on golf literature.

• A Gentleman's Game Novel and Film September 11, 2026

  Tom Coyne's 2001 novel and its little-seen film adaptation dissect country-club hypocrisy through a caddie's coming-of-age.

• American Golf Writing, 1950–1970 September 10, 2026

  Covers the key figures, publications, and three modes of golf writing from 1950–1970, centered on Herbert Warren Wind.

• Hickory Era Golf Writing Survey September 9, 2026

  Survey of literary golf writing from the hickory shaft era, covering key journalists, instructional authors, and essayists across Britain and America.

• Sam Snead's Legacy September 8, 2026

  Snead's swing, his majors, his longevity records, and the contested arithmetic behind 82 PGA Tour victories.

• Michigan Golf September 7, 2026

  Why Michigan's glacial landforms make it an underrated golf destination, with Golfweek's top-20 ranking as the evidence.

• Golf Courses Near Harbor Springs September 6, 2026

  A ranked comparison of the Harbor Springs–area courses in Michigan's northwest Lower Peninsula.

• Camp Lake Golf Course History September 5, 2026

  Traces the golf course on the west shore of Camp Lake from Charley Broman's eighteen holes in 1930 to the nine held by Moose Lodge No. 50 today.

• North American Links Courses September 4, 2026

  Links-style golf courses across North America, listed with their city and state or province.

• Modern Golf Course Architects Compared September 3, 2026

  Contrasts Dye, Fazio, Nicklaus, and Palmer with Coore-Crenshaw and Doak across earthmoving, strategy, and design philosophy.

• Golf Course Design Principles September 2, 2026

  Eight principles prioritizing playability, walkability, pace, and simplicity in golf course design.

• Essential Golf Architecture Books September 1, 2026

  Ten essential books on golf course design, from the Golden Age treatises to the modern minimalist accounts.

• MacKenzie's 13 Golf Course Principles August 31, 2026

  Alister MacKenzie's thirteen principles for an ideal golf course—strategy, variety, natural beauty, and enjoyment for every class of player.

• Ranking Rockford Golf Courses August 30, 2026

  Public golf courses near Rockford, Michigan ranked against Alister MacKenzie's thirteen design principles.

• Modernization's Corruption of Golf August 29, 2026

  Argues that steel shafts, carts, television, residential development, and the equipment arms race have eroded golf's essential character.

• Golf Match-Play Tournament Structure August 28, 2026

  How match play scales up into tournaments—brackets, stroke-play qualifying, pool play, and the team points of the Ryder Cup.

• Understanding Golf Match-Play Scoring August 27, 2026

  How to read a match-play result: why "3 & 2" states a lead in holes rather than a total in strokes.

• Golf Competitive Formats Chronology August 26, 2026

  Eight golf formats from match play to skins, ordered by historical origin with key dates and defining rules.

• Golf Rules History 1830s to Hickory Era August 25, 2026

  Traces continuity in golf rules from Scotland's 1829 St Andrews code through the U.S. hickory era of the 1910s–1930s.

• 1744 Golf Rules Modernized August 24, 2026

  The 13 original 1744 rules of golf restated in plain modern English.

• Designing a Golf Ladder League July 31, 2026

  A blueprint for a simple, low-bureaucracy golf league using a challenge ladder, handicapped match play, and a season-ending playoff.

• GB&I vs American Golf Culture July 30, 2026

  Contrasts British and American golf club traditions across competition, pace, access, and format to propose a hybrid bogey club model.

• Random Golf Club July 29, 2026

  Kindred-club note on the Random Golf Club — the populist 'room for everyone' community the C&RBGC counts as its on-ramp cousin.

• Scrambles July 28, 2026

  The Club's position on the scramble—affectionate disdain for the format, genuine respect for its everyman social availability.

• Zen Juice Appreciation Day July 27, 2026

  The Club's annual, tongue-in-cheek celebration of course-side scotch and the calm it lends a shaky stroke.

• Shivas Irons Society July 26, 2026

  Kindred-club note on the Shivas Irons Society — the spirit-over-score argument made into a society, now more pilgrimage than community.

• Dew Sweeper Championship July 25, 2026

  The Club's sunrise tournament near the summer solstice—a championship that filters for devotion rather than skill.

• Founders' Day July 24, 2026

  The Club's annual tribute to Mark Ayers and Dean Chase, and to the founding conviction that a bogey is an honest result.

• Commons Day July 23, 2026

  The Club's annual round on common or public ground, in tribute to golf's birthright as a game played on land open to anyone.

• Walkable Public Golf Courses Ranked July 22, 2026

  Force-ranked list of top walkable public golf courses weighted by walking policy, terrain, routing, and course quality.

• Golden Age Walking Courses Near Grand Rapids July 21, 2026

  Force-ranked list of minimalist/Golden Age walking courses within ~6 hours of Grand Rapids, with drive times and ferry logistics.

• Colonel Bogey and the Bogey Competition July 20, 2026

  How the 1890s ground score became Colonel Bogey, how bogey drifted from good score to one over par, and why the C&RBGC plays match play against him.

• The Colonel's Cup July 19, 2026

  The Club's season-long bogey championship, awarded for the best aggregate margin against Colonel Bogey.

• Recovering Golf's Original Orientation July 18, 2026

  Argues that golf has drifted from its roots and outlines practical ways to recover its original spirit of walking, simplicity, and connection.

• Match Play Guide July 17, 2026

  A primer on match play—golf's original head-to-head format—covering scoring, concessions, handicaps, formats, and the strategy that sets it apart from stroke play.

• History of Public Golf in America July 16, 2026

  Traces the rise of American public golf from 1895's Van Cortlandt course through WPA expansion, desegregation, and postwar growth.

• Golf's Original Constraints July 15, 2026

  Early golf's rules and tools created difficulty and richness, while modern innovations erode the game's vernacular origins.

• Minimalist Golf Architecture School July 14, 2026

  Genealogy of minimalist and Golden Age revival golf architects from Pete Dye through Doak, Coore, Hanse, and their protégés.

• Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers History July 13, 2026

  Traces the governance evolution of the world's oldest golf club from its 1744 founding at Leith to Muirfield.

• Scottish Golf in the Regency Era July 12, 2026

  Overview of Scottish golf clubs, course layouts, social culture, and institutional decline during the Regency period (c. 1811–1820).

• Early American Golf's Decline July 11, 2026

  How colonial-era golf clubs in Charleston and Savannah faded after 1811, leaving a 70-year gap before the sport revived.

• Hickory Era American Golf July 10, 2026

  History of American golf from the 1880s to 1935, covering key figures, clubs, tournaments, and equipment of the hickory shaft era.

• Golf's Transition from Hickory to Steel Shafts July 9, 2026

  How steel golf shafts displaced hickory over a decade through competing governing bodies, patents, and cultural resistance.

• Hickory Era Golf Club Names July 8, 2026

  Maps historical hickory-era golf club names (mashie, niblick, cleek, etc.) to their modern iron/wood equivalents.

• Hickory Golf Starter Guide July 7, 2026

  Step-by-step guide to buying first hickory clubs, balls, and joining play organizations with a minimal viable setup.

• Hickory Golf Resources Directory July 6, 2026

  Curated links to clubs, makers, collectors, and event orgs for hickory golf equipment and play.

• Society of Hickory Golfers Overview July 5, 2026

  Overview of the Society of Hickory Golfers: its origins, equipment guidelines, replica club debate, and U.S. Hickory Open.

• Tad Moore Hickory Golf Clubs July 4, 2026

  Overview of Tad Moore Golf's hickory-shafted club reproductions, their craft, niche market, and role in competitive hickory golf.

• Society of Hickory Golfers July 3, 2026

  Kindred-club note on the Society of Hickory Golfers — the take-the-bit-seriously society closest to the C&RBGC's own register.

• Roger Hill Hickory Golf Profile July 2, 2026

  Profile of Roger Hill: Grand Rapids photographer turned hickory golfer, SoHG co-founder, and Michigan Hickory Tour commissioner.

• Rules of Golf 1744 July 1, 2026

  The 13 original rules of golf written by the Gentlemen Golfers of Leith in 1744, with a 1758 amendment.

• Rules of Golf 1858 June 30, 2026

  The 1858 Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews rules covering play, teeing, hazards, and ball handling.

• Rules of Golf 1891 June 29, 2026

  The 1891 R&A rules covering stroke play, teeing, hazards, ball handling, and match format.

• Rules of Golf 1925 June 28, 2026

  Full text of the Rules of Golf as approved by the R&A in 1920 and amended in 1925, covering definitions, general rules, and medal play.

• Dream Golf and Cabot Portfolio June 27, 2026

  Complete property listing for Mike Keiser's Dream Golf and Cabot Collection, including courses, architects, and dates.

• Hanse Golf Course Design Portfolio June 26, 2026

  Comprehensive catalog of Gil Hanse's original designs, restorations, and renovations from 1992 to present.

• Coore Crenshaw Course Portfolio June 25, 2026

  Comprehensive list of Coore Crenshaw golf course designs, renovations, 9-hole additions, and Bill Coore's pre-partnership work.

• Tom Doak Course Chronology June 24, 2026

  Chronological list of all 18-hole original Tom Doak / Renaissance Golf Design courses from 1989 to 2026.

• Fried Egg Golf Club June 23, 2026

  Kindred-club note on Fried Egg Golf and its members' club — the architecture-and-municipal-golf ally of the C&RBGC's editorial side.

• The Golfer's Journal June 22, 2026

  Note on The Golfer's Journal — the member-supported quarterly of long-form golf writing and photography, and its Broken Tee Society community.

• Tom Coyne Golf Writer Profile June 21, 2026

  Profile of Tom Coyne: MFA novelist, author of the "Course Called" trilogy, and editor of The Golfer's Journal.