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John Strawn

Writer, Critic, Editor, Advisor

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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, […]

Filed Under: Courses and Travel, Golf, Golf Course Architecture, Lifestyle, Personalities, Travel, Uncategorized

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 […]

Filed Under: Emag, Golf, Golf Course Architecture, Lifestyle, Personalities, Uncategorized

Golf and Boxing: Unlikely Cousins in the Arena, Seen Through the Vision of Novelist Katherine Dunn.

May 16, 2011 by John Strawn

Last week, the novelist Katherine Dunn died of lung cancer. I am proud to say that Katherine was a dear friend, which is hardly a unique claim. Everyone who knew Katherine treasured her friendship. Although an internationally acclaimed writer, Katherine put on no airs–she was funny and kind and generous before Geek Love made her […]

Filed Under: Golf, Off course, Personalities, Reviews, Uncategorized

Ireland’s Contribution to Chambers Bay: The Role of Turfgrass Consultancy

June 17, 2015 by John Strawn

When the golf course architectural firm Robert Trent Jones II was commissioned to design a new golf course on the vast sandy canvas of an abandoned rock quarry along the shore of Washington state’s Puget Sound, it was handed a unique design brief.   First, the course should be capable of testing the world’s greatest players […]

Filed Under: Courses and Travel, Golf, Golf Course Architecture, Personalities, Travel, Uncategorized

Frederick Law Olmsted and American Golf

November 28, 2014 by John Strawn

Bill Hawkins of Portland, Oregon has combined a distinguished career as a practicing architect with a parallel life as a writer and champion of historical preservation.  The 19th century cast iron buildings which have survived near the Willamette River in downtown Portland owe their existence in part to Hawkins’ advocacy.   His most recent book, “The Legacy of the […]

Filed Under: Courses and Travel, Golf, Golf Course Architecture, Personalities, Reviews, Travel, Uncategorized

Review of “Faldo/Norman” by Andy Farrell.

April 13, 2014 by John Strawn

Andy Farrell, Faldo/Norman.  The 1996 Masters: A duel that defined an era.  Elliott & Thompson, March, 2014 in the UK, May 1, 2014 in the USA, distributed by Trafalgar Square. $24.95.     As the final round of the 2014 Masters is about to get underway, recalling dramatic finishes past raises hope for similar drama […]

Filed Under: Golf, Golf Course Architecture, Personalities, Reviews, Uncategorized

A Look Back at the USGA’s First One Hundred Years

December 26, 2013 by John Strawn

              One Hundred Years of the USGA. An Essay Written for Golf, The Greatest Game, published by HarperCollins in 1994. To commemorate its centennial, the USGA sponsored the publication of a coffee table book organized and designed by Brennon Jones and Amy Janello of Jones & Janello.  Golf, the Greatest Game […]

Filed Under: Golf, Golf Course Architecture, Off course, Personalities, Uncategorized

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 […]

Filed Under: Courses and Travel, Golf, Golf Course Architecture, Lifestyle, Personalities, Travel, Travel Notes, Uncategorized

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 […]

Filed Under: Courses and Travel, Golf, Golf Course Architecture, Lifestyle, Personalities, Travel, Travel Notes, Uncategorized

What Makes Oak Hill Great? An Architectural Assessment

August 6, 2013 by John Strawn

Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York has hosted the Ryder Cup, three US Opens, and now three PGA Championships.  It’s always ranked among America’s best courses, in one recent list rising as high as number 17.  What accounts for Oak Hill’s distinguished reputation? What defines Oak Hill’s greatness? In 1921, Oak Hill acquired […]

Filed Under: Courses and Travel, Golf, Golf Course Architecture, Golf on the Web, Travel, Uncategorized

A Review of Ghost Light, By Joseph O’Connor

August 6, 2013 by John Strawn

This review first appeared in The Oregonian on March 19, 2011. GHOST LIGHT Joseph O’Connor Farrar, Straus and Giroux. $24.00, 256 pages Loosely based on the lives of the Irish actress Maire O’Neill (né Molly Allgood) and her lover, the playwright John Millington Synge, Joseph O’Connor’s Ghost Light convincingly inhabits the vanished world of Edwardian […]

Filed Under: Reviews, Uncategorized

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