Inside the Issue

On the cover: An explosion of hope. TGJ steadfastly believes in golf’s ability to carry us to a higher place and that beauty can be found on the course, even in failure. No.9 features an oil painter who became a superintendent, a frustrated player turned world-famous photographer and a foul-mouthed preacher who first envisioned Sweetens Cove. It highlights the game’s remarkable way it faces tragedies like the shattering loss of a college teammate and the climate crisis’s effect on a Scottish gem. Ultimately, it stirs us with words and images from Tom Coyne’s round with poet laureate Billy Collins, Jim Dodson’s gorgeous paean to the solo round and the great John Updike’s golfing words to live by. Further inspiration continues below.

Yardage Book: KING

The only thing bigger than this Sweetens Cove green is the legend behind it.

Words by D.J. Piehowski
Photos by Kohjiro Kinno

“King was impish and thoughtful, erudite and profane, competitive and compassionate. He was just a very complex, very fun man. And I miss him terribly.”

from “Yardage Book: KING”

Tip of the Cap

Famed photographer Rodney Smith’s whimsical take on golf.

Words by Travis Hill
Photos by Rodney Smith

“Ironically, these years where nothing could go ‘straight and narrow’ helped me focus so that now, with a master golfer’s attention, I can drive my camera right down the center of the fairway.”

from “Tip of the Cap”

Golf in its purest form. Delivered direct to your door.

JOIN

PHOTO BY LEXEY SWALL

A Kite in a Hurricane

Griffin Clark: National champion, match-play lion, tragic hero.

Words by Casey Bannon
Photos by Lexey Swall

“If our team was a body, it needed a heart. And he had enough for everybody.”

from “A Kite in a Hurricane”

The Bard’s Butter Cut

A meeting and a match with Billy Collins, America’s rock-star poet.

Words by Tom Coyne
Photos by Jensen Larson

“I read all the Collins poetry I could find, because he had not only saved English 101 for me, but he had also saved me as a golfing professor.”

from “The Bard’s Butter Cut”

PHOTO: NICK WALL / AIRSWING MEDIA

Group Show

A stunning image portfolio featuring Jordan Spieth, Cape Kidnappers, Mac O’Grady and more.

Words by Steven Hyden

Sea, land and sky meet at Cape Kidnappers in New Zealand.

from “Group Show”

The Golfer’s Journal is the perfect gift for every golfer.

GIVE A GIFT

Blade Runners

Piecing together the nomadic lives of four prominent golf-course shapers.

Words by Michael Croley
Photos by Lexey Swall

“A peek into their work reveals that, despite the heavy machinery, it’s more art than science.”

from “Blade Runners”

Landfall

Facing up to the reality of the climate crisis at Montrose Golf Links.

Words by Dr. Robin George Andrews
Photos by Tom Shaw

“A few holes can be shifted around, but what happens when there is nowhere else to retreat to?”

from “Landfall”

Peculiar Bliss

Navigating family, marriage and golf with John Updike.

Words by Matt Chominski
Photos by Tristan Spinski

“Some husbands chase younger and less-consequential women; I had allowed myself to be seduced by the older, wilier and less-forgiving mistress that is golf.”

from “Peculiar Bliss”