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John Strawn

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Rory Plays the White Tees: A Fantasy in 18 Holes

January 20, 2015 by John Strawn

Heron Lakes is a 36-hole golf complex located in the flood plain near where the Columbia River flows into the Willamette, not far from downtown Portland.   Oregon’s second-largest city, Vanport, once stood here.  Housing migrants who’d come to work in the Kaiser Shipyards during WWII, Vanport was destroyed when the Columbia’s dikes burst in 1948, […]

Donald Ross and Jack Nicklaus: Unexpected Kinsmen in Design

May 28, 2014 by John Strawn

Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw deserve kudos for their restoration of Pinehurst #2. Their exertions amount to an extended homage to the genius of Donald Ross. The rejuvenation was overdue.  As long ago as 1974, when he was playing in the World Open Championship on #2, Jack Nicklaus said he was “shocked” that the course’s […]

Carne Golf Links’ New Nine

August 25, 2013 by John Strawn

Carne Golf Links in County Mayo, by general acclaim an exhilarating and formidable addition to the world’s roster of great links courses since its opening in 1995, recently debuted a third nine to complement its original Eddie Hackett-designed 18,.  There are good reasons, especially on a course with heavy play, to build 27 holes. You […]

Carne: A Muscular Links Masterpiece in Ireland’s County Mayo

August 9, 2013 by John Strawn

The very existence of the Carne Golf Links in County Mayo, Ireland, came as a surprise to John Garrity when he first heard about it in 2002.  The American course designer, Jim Engh, told Garrity that Carne came in as a close second to Ballybunion as his “favorite golf course in the whole world.”   Garrity […]

Ancestral Links by John Garrity: An Appreciation

February 23, 2013 by John Strawn

Ancestral Links, by John Garrity.  Published in 2009 by New American Library. An occasional series available at http://theaposition.com/johnstrawn/: The Best Golf Books The best golf writing maneuvers along a treacherous ridgeline separating the chasm of sentimentality from the gorge of self-indulgence.  There’s something about golf that gets the sap rising.  In Ancestral Links, John Garrity […]

The PGA Show 2013–What’s New and Interesting This Year.

January 24, 2013 by John Strawn

The PGA Show is anchored by the big golf brands, which always make impressive showings.  Nike and Callaway and Taylor Made preen, their stands like fancy retail stores during pre-Christmas sales, full of eager shoppers looking at the latest fashions in clubs, shoes, shirts, putters, bags, sweaters and so on. But lurking about on the […]

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