Gary Williams, Author at Five Clubs Golf

The Card – Volume LV

by Gary Williams | Oct 6, 2024 | The Card

18 observations, thoughts and predictions for the week in golf…

Royal Dornoch was everything I was hoping it would be. The town square was charming, the new clubhouse being constructed behind the 18^th green and in closer proximity to the water will usher in a new era for the club and fortify it for the future. Getting to play the golf course in different winds over the course of three days allowed for an even better understanding of how the golf course changes and the people were fantastic.

There is a line at Dornoch about how difficult the second shot is at the second hole, a par 3. Suggesting that the greens raised position and narrower entry make it very hard to hit the green in regulation. Part of me wishes the hole was later in the round because of how good it is and the exacting nature of the shot from the tee regardless of the wind direction, but the hole is wonderful. We saw a front right pin, a middle left, and a back pin, just three paces from the rear of the green. The fall offs left and right are pronounced but full of options. The 8^th and 17^th are blind tee shots with options to stay on the plateau or drive it down to the lower fairway with a much shorter second but both holes are wonderful. Finally, the blend of holes from 12 through 17 is superior with a celebration of contrast in look and distance.

I’m not associated with “Links House” the boutique hotel right next to Royal Dornoch where we stayed the first four nights of our trip, so this endorsement is not motivated by anything other than to share how wonderful it is. Each building is different but all of them are so beautifully appointed, and the service and warmth is world class. The food was outstanding in their quant restaurant, Mara, and the library where we watched the Presidents Cup and college football games on Saturday night is a space to spend days reading and talking. It’s simply one of the best hotels regardless of size I’ve ever stayed at, and it enhanced our trip immeasurably.

Andrew Carnegie chose to spend ample time in the Highlands of Scotland and actually took some golf lessons from the legendary John Sutherland at Dornoch. He also purchased nearby Skibo castle and increased the size of the original structure to three times its previous footprint. Spending a day and night at the Carnegie Club allowed us to play the Carnegie course. The setting with natural water features, mountain ranges in every direction and the castle in the distance is sublime. The lower holes closer to the nearby loch are the ones that need a re-examination. The 7^th and 8^th holes are both short par fours, but the fairways are virtually nonexistent, and they should be redone. The holes in the “meadow” on leveler ground are aesthetically pleasing and overall, it’s an asset to the Highlands region. Ellis Short, the owner for 22 years, is determined to make the golf course the best it can be and the 8000-acre estate is a reflection of obscene wealth then and now.

Returning to Gullane for the first time in two decades was a hoot. The number #1 course was loved by my traveling crew and the beauty of the holes on the other side of the hill can hang with anything in Scotland. The 12^th hole is one of the most pleasing holes in the world. From the back tee looking back toward Muirfield and the Renaissance Club and then playing along the daunting dunes the hole is art.

North Berwick is one of the best, endearing and fun golf courses in the world. Playing with a long-time member it is frightening how much costal erosion the golf course has experienced and will continue to unless something very significant is done. When you turn for home the large dunes that used to insulate holes 11, 12 and 13 have been diminished and despite fortifying the shoreline in recent years the vulnerability of the course is evident. North Berwick is now the wealthiest town in Scotland, and it shows. The homes along the outward nine are regal but the holes are the show. It has it all and I would pick it among a select few to play the rest of my days.

I’ve always had a special fondness for Muirfield and you can read my thoughts on the day there with my boys at www.5Clubsgolf.com but needless to say its ascended into a place in my mind and heart previously unoccupied by any golf course.

This is my final overall thought about returning to Scotland for a week with lifelong friends. I assumed the responsibility of driving the entire trip. I drove from Edinburgh to Dornoch and back to East Lothian for the back half of our journey and I’m thankful that I was required to pay attention to where we were going. The drive into the highlands was therapeutic and similar to earlier drives this year across Oregon and from Indiana to northern Michigan. I was locked in on the destination while appreciating the journey simultaneously. What a gift.

Sanderson Farms announced this week, the report delivered by Todd Lewis of Golf Channel, that they will stay on for an additional year as the title sponsor for the event in Jackson, Mississippi. I hope the decision makes sense for them, but it is the latest example that 2025 is going to be the final year of what the schedule currently looks like for the PGA Tour. It does not mean that fall events will not be a part of 2026, but the tides appear to be shifting into a more dramatic reconstructive direction.

Kyle Porter has been writing and opining at CBS Sports for over a decade, but he announced this week he is breaking away with a new newsletter, Normal Sport, which included part one of a two-part conversation with Rory McIlroy. I applaud anyone with the belief to leave maybe more comfort and security to pursue something that may be more fulfilling but is associated with greater risk. Kyle will be my guest on Monday night on 5 Clubs on the SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio to discuss the move and his conversation with Rory.

The state of South Carolina is enjoying an embarrassment of new and widely talked about golf courses coming online in the Palmetto state. Broomsedge east of Columbia is ready for its big opening in addition to Tree Farm and Old Barnwell embarking on their second seasons with additional assets like lodging soon to be available for members and guests. Old Sawmill, designed by Tyler Rae has begun construction and the Kiawah Island club is adding their third golf course outside the resort gates being designed by Beau Welling. Plus, the 21 Club is a provocative project of 36 holes from King/Collins in the Aiken area and Coore/Crenshaw are building an additional course at Palmetto Bluff. South Carolina is going to be very DEEP.

I recommend the article from John Huggan in Golf Digest on the impact and role of Johann Rupert in men’s professional golf. A global business magnate, Rupert is the host of the Dunhill Links Championship and has been a champion for golf and South Africans in the game for decades. His reputation and voice with every important entity in the professional game make him the ideal stealth conduit to more harmony.

The Dunhill, as a stated last week is one of the great events in golf annually but this year it wins the award for being the most inclusive event in men’s professional golf for 2024. The size of the field, but with Johann Rupert running point, reflected what events can and should look like again. The combination of a few top Americans from the PGA Tour, the standard bearers of the DP World Tour and many LIV players was refreshing to see. I’ll say it again, it should be a co-sanctioned event with the PGA and DP World Tours.

The sight of Jay Monahan playing alongside Yasir Al-Rumayyan of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia was a nice photo op but the additional power players in the game and industry also being present has made the Dunhill Links the fall meeting of the weightiest voices in golf. This past week only amplifies that the Ryder Cup will include anyone and everyone who can help the respected sides.

Kingsbarns is part of the rotation for the Dunhill Links and Kyle Phillips has a great resume and reputation, but I would argue his construction and design of the course down the road from the St. Andrews will be his greatest triumph. It has rightfully received praise since opening over two decades ago and the course and facility are impeccable. The views of the North Sea and the natural presentation is a magnificent accomplishment.

Wenyi Ding won the Asia pacific amateur championship one year after losing in a playoff. The 19-year-old from China is the fifth ranked amateur in the world and is projected to make the transition to professional golf nicely. He is also the #1 ranked amateur in the global amateur pathway ranking and that position would make him fully exempt on the DP World Tour next season, similar model to PGA Tour U. It’s his journey and no one would begrudge him at all if he started his professional career immediately, however, you can be certain that Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament and to a lesser degree the R&A, which offers a spot in the Open Championship, to the winner will be disappointed if Ding passes on a Masters invitation.

Tyrell Hatton became the first player to win the Dunhill Links for the third time. Hatton had reached his loftiest perch in the men’s game when he left in the aftermath of the Jon Rahm departure for LIV. To have the type of record his has over the Old Course as well as Kingsbarns and Carnoustie is historic. Europe is coming to Bethpage to win a road game and you can book Hatton being on that side as a phenomenal irritant, and also, sadly, a target for fans because of his demonstrative personality on the course.

An itinerary this coming week for team 5 Clubs that includes Piping Rock, National Golf Links, Friars Head, Shinnecock and Maidstone and you can expect some videos and reflections from Long Island and the Great Gatsby trail this coming week. I call it research.

When the mind is quiet it is inclined to drift to the things that matter most. Those things are our people. The ones we love, the ones we’ve lost, the ones we choose to spend the most precious thing on…time. In September of 1995 I traveled to Scotland for the first time and did so with my dad. We returned in July of 2002, and on both occasions, we had the Muirfield day. Returning there again for the first time in 22 years with three dear friends in a head space with clarity and comfort made the conditions right for reflection and acceptance. Not your typical round of golf but rather an examination on the human condition.

In a world that has gone casual, having a day at the gathering place for the Honorable Company of Edinburgh Golfers has become golf’s most refined and glutinous costume party. The tie has died but at Muirfield neckwear is not only fashionable, it’s required. Truth is, we all clean up pretty nicely we just don’t do it much anymore. Fleece is the new cashmere and hoodies are today’s double-breasted blazers. Rarely would you ever think a room ensconced in tweed would be a cool room and maybe it only is because we are at the best defacto “golf gala”. Seeing the giddiness on the faces of dozens of men coming off the 18^th green at Muirfield knowing they are showering and putting on a coat and tie happily is counter intuitive to the way we sashay through life now. One of the top items sold in many of the finest golf clubs in America are logoed sweatpants. Sweatpants! Not your dad’s thick sweats from the local sporting goods store, but sweats, nonetheless. A spectacular item as I’m a card-carrying wearer of the soft bottoms.

At Muirfield you’re obligated to show a little respect. Respect for the place, for each other and for yourself. Among the other particulars of the Muirfield day is the requirement to play alternate shot in the afternoon after imbibing and ingesting enough food and drink to make a nap the most normal thing to do. That format gave me a cathartic moment in September of 1995, seeing my partner, my dad, hitting our tee shot on the 8^th hole with his silhouette painted against the Firth of Forth in the background. Standing 200 yards down the fairway I felt a sense of love and appreciation for the man who raised me, guided me, and championed me without condition or reservation my entire life. Being present with clarity and good intentions has allowed me to achieve something altogether lost while in the throes of alcoholism. Stillness. The still mind creates the full heart and being back at Muirfield with friends who have known me since I was a teenage freshman at Vanderbilt was humbling.

The clockwise outward nine direction at Muirfield takes you from the northwestern portion of the property riding along the dunes recessed from the shoreline of the firth. From there, you play on the interior of the property in the counterclockwise direction meandering through the native fescues and re-vetted faced bunkers. Our Muirfield day was breezy and by late afternoon the low clouds were breaking away and the light on the golf course was illuminating the ground into a high-definition landscape. The shades of tan, brown, and green of the fescues and gorse offset by the churn of the blue and white of the distant sea created a transient texture. I never once consciously reminded myself of moments at Muirfield with Dad, it was simply happening. It was a flow state of gratitude and introspection and coupled with the continuous reaction of Lawrence, Bill, and Jay to the reveal of each hole was the summit of what the game can give. A trip to Scotland gives you an appreciation of each place, it’s history and the respect for certain traditions. It provides endearing fellowship, a little edge of a competition and a togetherness that comes from the pilgrimage to simple be there. In what area of your life do you devote countless hours to be in the company of others by your own choice? Not just the hours being on the golf course but every waking hour eating, talking, and laughing. I fell in love with golf because of my dad and the time afforded and it was seminal moments at places like Muirfield that reinforced my affection for the game. To return there with men who I’m exceedingly proud of for their boundless successes, starting with their families, and to share an appreciation for pictures on the walls, the carving stations at the lunch buffet, the clearing bell on the 11^th hole, and the grand gathering room for a libation to cap the day.

I understand why people play favorites. It’s only natural to build proclivities for people and places and it’s why we choose to spend time with certain people and at certain places. For years I’ve resisted declaring which is my favorite golf course. I was never doing it to be cute or unwilling to make the declaration because it served any purpose. However, not long after we finished our round last Tuesday at Muirfield and we were gathering our belongings to head out into an increasingly colder Scottish evening I said to my guys, “this is my favorite course in the world”. The reasons are personal beyond the majesty of the holes, but isn’t our relationship with the game personal?