Next week, Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England, will host the Open Championship for the 11th time. The pros will probably love it (because they almost always do), but will we like it? In this episode, Garrett discusses all things Royal Birkdale with his Fried Egg Golf colleague Joseph LaMagna, who recently visited the course. Garrett and Joseph talk about Royal Birkdale’s history, land, routing, greens, and architectural philosophy before delving into the changes the club made in preparation for this year’s Open.

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One of the biggest stories in the golf course industry over the past 30 years has been the rise of the public destination golf. The 2020s in particular have seen a remarkable surge in remote developments featuring neoclassical golf architecture. So where are we now in the evolution of this type of resort? How has public destination golf influenced golf architecture? After reviewing several ongoing projects and discussing some recent trends, Garrett brings on architect Mike Koprowski to discuss his work at Candyroot Lodge, a new resort in the Carolina Sandhills. Garrett and Mike dig into the nitty-gritty of the design of Candyroot’s first course and how he’s challenging certain conventions of the public destination style.

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William Flynn, the designer of Shinnecock Hills, was one of the greatest golf architects of the Golden Age. In this episode of Designing Golf, we explore his distinctively naturalistic, restrained design style. First, Garrett lists what he believes are the five essential Flynn courses. Then Garrett brings on Jim Nagle, an architect who has helped restore many Flynn designs, to delve deeper into Flynn's career, philosophy, and legacy.

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