Feed The Ball

Landmand Golf Club in northeast Nebraska, just across the Missouri River from Sioux City, is one of the largest and most expansive golf courses ever built, with the largest total square footage of greens of any course in the U.S. That it was designed by Rob Collins and Tad King, creators or the equally audacious though much smaller Sweetens Cove outside Chattanooga, should come as no surprise–both courses (Landmand is their first 18-hole course) are courageous pieces of architecture that push the boundaries of the genre. Collins comes back to the Feed the Ball podcast to talk about Landmand and his design outlook with Derek Duncan and golf course builder Jim Urbina. Topics include the new King-Collins short course at Palmetto Bluff, seeing the Landmand property for the first time, whether he doubted if he and King could pull of such a major build, if Landmand is a “maximalist” course, routing a course on 550 acres but only coming up with 16 holes, the reasoning behind the size and extremity of the greens, the thought behind the Sitwell green and figuring out the blank slate that was Red Feather in Lubbock. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Photos: Cover photo–Landmand’s 12th hole; Above–Ground level view of Landmand’s 17 green. The post Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 24, ft. Rob Collins appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Wilshire George Waters began his design career after spending a summer living and doing course maintenance in Dornoch, then getting an internship with Tom Doak’s Renaissance Golf Design. He worked construction projects for a variety of designers, including Doak, then wrote the seminal book on sand based courses, Sand and Golf: How Terrain Shapes the Game. Today he is the manager of education for the USGA Green Section. Waters joins the podcast to talk about Dornoch and links golf, the importance of presenting strategy across a range of skill levels, the beauty of inconsistent hazards, the Doak and Nicklaus approaches at Sebonack, jazzy bunkers and transitioning from builder to educator. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Listen to Derek discuss the legendary book, “The World Atlas of Golf” on the Good-Good Golf Podcast. The post Episode 67: George Waters appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Barton Hills Country Club (Title page photo from Jon Cavalier. Above photo from tylerraedesign.com courtesy of Andy Johnson) Tyler Rae is gaining a reputation as one of the most talented up and coming golf course renovation and restoration specialists in the business. He’s worked with noted designer Ron Prichard for most of the last decade and now has embarked on his own, with an impressive client list that includes clubs like Northmoor and Skokie Country Clubs in Chicago, Atlantic Golf Club on Long Island, and Wampanoag in Connecticut. Tyler joins Derek to discuss getting to the point where the designs of Mike Strantz need to be restored, the camaraderie of early architects, the staggering number of Donald Ross courses, William Flynn’s crew at Shinnecock and deciding how loyal to a particular time period he should restore a historic club. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Listen to Derek discuss the legendary book, “The World Atlas of Golf” on the Good-Good Golf Podcast. The post Episode 66: Tyler Rae appeared first on Feed The Ball.

The Mark Bostick Course at the University of Florida Designer Scot Sherman began his career working for the Dye family before joining Bobby Weed as an associate. He’s now the lead designer for Love Golf Design, the firm of brothers Mark Love and Davis Love III. In addition to overseeing new projects for them, he’s currently helping prep the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island for the 2021 PGA Championship. Topics in this discussion include bizarre and frightening encounters on job sites, the influence of Pete and Alice Dye, how historic architects (Raynor, Ross) seep into his work, walking the fine line between preserving and eradicating historic Tillinghast architecture at Belmont in Richmond, and the intrigue of small courses. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball The post Episode 65: Scot Sherman appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Dave Axland and Rod Whitman, two of modern golf’s most skilled and admired construction men, met in the 1980s through Bill Coore. Axland has been an associate and project manager for numerous Coore-Crenshaw courses since the mid-1990s including Sand Hills, Talking Stick, Friars Head, Old Sandwich, Chechessee Creek plus numerous others, and has designed Wild Horse and three more courses alongside Dan Proctor. The Canadian Whitman, a protégé of Pete Dye as well as Coore, is the architect behind Cabot Links in Nova Scotia, considered one of the world’s best seaside courses. The two architects joined the podcast from on location at Cabot to talk about their work on the resort’s new 10-hole short course, how Rod first put Dave to work at Wolf Creek when he showed up with Proctor, the early days of the design-build movement, the art and freedom of building short courses, the art of collaborating in the field, the secrets of Friars Head, the push and pull between drawing from precedent and designing authentically, and their picks for the most strategic holes they’ve designed. Derek joined Tom Dunne, publisher of McKellar Magazine, to talk about his story in Volume 2 about Dave Axland–listen here and here. Derek also recently joined Ricky Lee Potts on The Wednesday Match Play Podcast, Episode 131 Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Feed the Ball on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Outro: The Sundogs, “Up to the Sky” The post Episode 50: Dave Axland and Rod Whitman appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Rees Jones has spent nearly 35 years preparing, modifying and remodeling golf courses for major championship events. In addition to the 100 original courses and dozens of renovations he’s orchestrated, he’s infused his vision into such venerable American tournament courses as Pinehurst No. 2, Oakland Hills, Medinah No. 3 and The Country Club for the staging of nearly 25 U.S. Opens and PGA Championships. He’s also overhauled a number of his father Robert Trent Jones’ most noteworthy major championship courses including the Atlanta Athletic Club, Hazeltine and Bellerive. Jones joins the podcast to discuss Bethpage Black (site of this year’s PGA Championship) as a tournament course and how the setups for the PGA and an upcoming Ryder Cup will differ, how equipment and swing technology have altered his approach to renovations, his opinion about the use of a tournament golf ball, the necessity of rough for the professional game, why Tiger Woods has had so much success on his re-designs, how Robert Trent Jones’ aesthetic evolved and the importance of trees on golf courses. Photo: Bethpage Black (reesjonesinc.com) Derek joined Tom Dunne, publisher of McKellar Magazine, to talk about his story in Volume 2 about Dave Axland–listen here and here. Derek also recently joined Ricky Lee Potts on The Wednesday Match Play Podcast, Episode 131 Finally, read about some of Derek’s favorite public golf courses at UKGolfGuy.com Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Feed the Ball on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Outro Music: “Keep Together,” Wasted Potential Brass Band The par-3 17th at Danzante Bay The post Episode 49: Rees Jones appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Kye Goalby, one of the most accomplished design and shaping specialists in the construction business, is at the top of the call list of just about every A-list golf architect when exceptional feature work is needed. For the last 20 years he’s worked on some of the world’s most unique projects alongside Gil Hanse, Brian Silva, Tim Liddy, Dan Hixson and Tom Doak, with whom he’s helped build over a dozen courses (including Ballyneal, Old Macdonald, Tara Iti and Rock Creek Cattle Co.). He also operates his own full-service design and renovation business, working with clients and clubs across the country. Kye takes a moment from his hectic schedule to talk about syringes of bull juice and other tales from the road, dealing with The Shark at Abiko Golf Club, getting inside the concepts and methodology of historic bunker building, the urge (or non-urge) of golf architecture to break free from the past, true minimalism, his father Bob Goalby’s influence in creating the modern Champions Tour, tales from the Masters, his thoughts on the evolution of Augusta National and what his most memorable Doak project has been. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Listen to Derek discuss the legendary book, “The World Atlas of Golf” on the Good-Good Golf Podcast. Desmond Muirhead’s Oak Village course in Japan. Photo above: West Bend Country Club (westbendcc.com) Main page photo: Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club, Hole 3 Outro Music: The Clean, “Anything Can Happen” The post Episode 48: Kye Goalby appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Ron Whitten has been one of the most prominent and influential voices in golf course architecture since the mid-1980’s when he became Golf Digest’s architecture editor. He created the current criteria for the magazine’s popular (or, depending, notorious) Top 100 U.S & World Courses lists, has written various books including the essential compendium, “The Architects of Golf,” and has co-designed golf courses, including Erin Hills, site of the 2017 U.S. Open. Ron visits with Derek Duncan to talk about the influence he’s had on our age of design, Charlie Rose, early prophesies shared between him and Bill Coore, the inherent drawbacks of the magazine rating system, left- vs. right-brained architects, searching for the next creative burst in design, convincing Dick Youngscap to build in the Sand Hills, the lost art of cross bunkers, the dire absence of workable entry-level courses, the possibility of another update to “The Architects of Golf” and on what course his ashes will be spread. (photo: Erin Hills) Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball Feed the Ball on iTunes, Stitcher Radio and Google Play Listen here to Derek Duncan discuss Tom Coyne’s “A Course Called Ireland” with hosts Rod Morri and Adrian Logue of the iSeekGolf Podcast. The post Episode 27: Ron Whitten appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Architect David Kahn of Jackson Kahn Design comes back to the podcast to update us on his twin daughters afflicted with juvenile Batten disease and the 2026 Take a Swing Fore Batten auction. He also sits in the spotlight to answer questions about the challenges and advantages of building estate courses for private owners (that no other golfers get to see), how he views the contemporary trend of idolizing architecture tropes of the past, how Mike Strantz has influenced his outlook on design, developing the courage to build anything he and Tim Jackson can envision and putting the art of golf course design at the center of his ambitions. Photos: Cover page, Monterey Peninsula Dunes Course (Jon Cavalier). Above, Scottsdale National’s Other Course. Music: “24 Frames” by Jason Isbell. Watch Derek Duncan break down the 7th hole at Pebble Beach. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball The post 24 Questions with David Kahn appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Golf course designer Dave Zinkand joins Derek Duncan on the Feed the Ball podcast to talk about his work at Bandon Trails and Bandon Preserve with Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, what “sympathetic restoration” looks like to him, what Harry Colt and Tom Simpson taught him about using the ground surrounding hazards, establishing name recognition with new clients and the power of having time on your side. Photos: Cover page, Desert Forest (courtesy of the club). Above, Bandon Preserve. Music: “24 Frames” by Jason Isbell. Watch Derek Duncan break down the 7th hole at Pebble Beach. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball The post 24 Questions with Dave Zinkand appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Jim Urbina returns to the podcast, this time back in the guest chair, for a free-flowing discussion about the proliferation of bunkers in contemporary design, the sameness of courses now, whether designers and developers are pushing a vision or emulating others, and how much William Watson he feels he needs to bring back to his remodel of the Ocean Course at Olympic Club in San Francisco. Photos: Cover page, Pasatiempo. Above, Loblolly G.C., Hobe Sounds, Fla. Music: “Photograph,” REM with Natalie Merchant. Watch Derek Duncan break down the 7th hole at Pebble Beach. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball The post Episode 100: Jim Urbina 2 appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Golf designer Jay Blasi comes on the Feed the Ball podcast to talk about the challenges and importance of good public golf, comparing building new holes on top of existing holes versus working new land, the expectations versus outcome of Chambers Bay, the challenge of having to deal with cart paths, the challenge of making it in a tough industry where you’re two calls away from being out of business and much, much more. Photos: Cover page, Lakeside Country Club (Laurie Perez). Above, Poppy Ridge (Poppy Ridge). Music: “24 Frames,” Jason Isbell. Watch Derek Duncan break down the 16th hole at Cypress Point. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball The post 24 Questions with Jay Blasi appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Ran Morrissett is the founder of GolfClubAtlas.com, the most influential golf architecture website of the past 25 years, which means, of all time. He’s a prolific writer and photographer, a consultant in course designs like The Roost at Cabut Citrus Farms in Florida, the former administrator for Golf Magazine’s top 100 U.S. and World courses, and one of the most eloquent advocates for pure, uncomplicated golf, which means walking courses in quiet environments with an absence of accoutrement or attitude. Ran joins Derek Duncan to discuss golf in quiet places, the possibilities of bunkerless golf courses, the process of building The Roost with three different designers, the challenge of new designers routing courses, the highs and occasional lows of the Golf Club Atlas community and whether we shouldn’t be ranking courses based on experience versus architecture. Photos: Cover page, The Roost at Cabot Citrus Farms (Carolina Pines Golf). Above, Barnbougle Dunes (Penelope Sattler). Music: “The Unguarded Moment,” The Church. Watch Derek Duncan break down the 16th hole at Cypress Point. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball The post Episode 99: Ran Morrissett appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Jeff Stein began his career shaping courses for Gil Hanse, Tom Doak, Jim Urbina and other designers. Now he has his own business consulting with clubs and a partnership with Brian Ross designing new courses. They recently opened Great Dunes on Jekyll Island in Georgia and are exploring other opportunities. Jeff talks with Derek Duncan about the unpredictability of the equipment available when building courses, combining the Walter Travis architecture at Great Dunes with parts of a Dick Wilson design, the happiest experience he’s had building golf, his unique job at Ohoopee Match Club and the intricacies of Devereaux Emmet. Photos: Cover page, The Seawane Club (Larry Lambrecht). Above, Ohoopee Match Club. Music: “24 Frames,” Jason Isbell. Watch Derek Duncan break down the 16th hole at Cypress Point. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball The post 24 Questions with Jeff Stein appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Golf architect Todd Eckenrode has built and re-built golf courses up and down California and knows the work of historic architects like Alister MacKenzie, George Thomas, William Watson and Max Behr as well as anyone. He joins the Feed the Ball podcast to discuss working at and learning to play at Pasatiempo, when to try to “restore” original architecture and when to make alterations, how his outlook on design has changed through time, if public courses can close the conditioning gap on private courses and how the early courses of California evolved into what they’ve become today. Photos: Cover page, Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club (Channing Benjamin). Above, Diablo Country Club. Music: “Los Angeles,” Phosphorescent. Watch Derek Duncan break down the 16th hole at Cypress Point. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball The post Episode 98: Todd Eckenrode appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Golf course designer and builder Jaeger Kovich, who has shaped projects for Gil Hanse and Tom Doak and now is establishing himself as one of the busiest remodel specialists in the business, joins Golf Digest’s Derek Duncan to answer 24 questions about his views on architecture. Photos: Cover page, The Cradle (Pinehurst Resort). Above, Laurel Links (propergolf.com). Music: “24 Frames,” Jason Isbell. Watch Derek Duncan break down the 16th hole at Cypress Point. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball The post 24 Questions with Jaeger Kovich appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Architect Tyler Rae is part of the next wave of major golf course designers. He joins Derek Duncan in the hot seat to answer 24 questions about golf, his career and his outlook on design. Photos: Cover page, Old Sawmill (Tyler Rae). Above, Lookout Mountain, 11th hole. Watch Derek Duncan break down the 16th hole at Cypress Point. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball The post 24 Questions with Tyler Rae appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Martin Ebert is one of the founding partners, along with Tom Mackenzie, of Mackenzie & Ebert, arguably the top golf design firm in Europe. Ebert has been the lead consulting architect, with Mackenzie, for most of the Open Championship courses as well as dozens of clubs in the U.K., Ireland and Europe. They also have several new courses currently under construction around the world. Ebert joins Derek Duncan to discuss the company’s rise to the upper stratosphere of golf design, his impressions of golf in the U.S., how the cost of building and renovating courses in the U.K. compares to the U.S., the way Mackenzie and Ebert use advanced technology to produce plans, his insistence that green surfaces be constructed down to the most minute details of those plans and the trend of architects build too much contour into their greens. Photos: Cover page, Royal Portrush (mackenzieandebert.com). Above, The Island (mackenzieandebert.com). Outro song: Brendan Benson, “Metairie.” Watch Derek Duncan break down the 16th hole at Cypress Point. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball The post Episode 97: Martin Ebert appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Jerry Pate burst into the golf world when he won the 1976 U.S. Open at Atlanta Athletic Club in just his second year on tour. From 1976 through 1982 when he won the first Players Championship held at the new Pete Dye-designed TPC Sawgrass he was one of the best players in the world, contending in other majors and earning a spot on the 1981 Ryder Cup team. Injuries forced him off the Tour and into other ventures including golf course design, pairing up with luminaries like Bob Cupp and Tom Fazio. He recently completed a major renovation of the Pete Dye masterpiece Teeth of the Dog at Casa de Campo in the D.R. Pate joins the Feed the Ball podcast to talk about the work he’s done at Teeth of the Dog and his longtime connection to the resort, what Dye told him about architecture in 1974, the challenges of building Teeth, the penal aspects of the original TPC course, his short but illustrious television career and his real thoughts about National Golf Links of America. Photos: Cover page, Teeth of the Dog (Enrique Berardi). Above, Kiva Dunes (Kiva Dunes). Outro song: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, “Alabama Pines.” Watch Derek Duncan break down the original Redan hole at North Berwick. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball The post Episode 96: Jerry Pate appeared first on Feed The Ball.

Trey Kemp has been one of the most active and influential figures in public and municipal golf design in Texas for over 15 years. He spent much of that time working with John Colligan and now has his own firm, continuing to improve public courses while also pursuing new course commissions. He joins the Feed the Ball podcast to discuss the challenges and opportunities working in the public sphere, what courses have guided his design aesthetic, the value of Tom Fazio, if the Raynor resurgence is played out, the secret sauce to making public golf profitable and what it takes to break into the architectural elite. Photos: Main page, Rockwood Golf Course (credit: fortworthgolf.org); Above, Texas Rangers Golf Club (courtesy of the club). Outro song: Wilco, “How to Fight Loneliness.” Watch Derek Duncan break down the original Redan hole at North Berwick. Subscribe to Feed the Ball on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Twitter: @feedtheball Instagram: @feedtheball The post Episode 95: Trey Kemp appeared first on Feed The Ball.