Essays

Every summer, the world’s best golfers arrive in Britain and, for one week, have to unlearn most of what makes them successful the other 51 weeks of the year. Links golf is not just a different setting for the same game. It is, in some deep sense, a different game entirely — one that rewards a specific kind of mental adaptability that American parkland courses do not require. Here’s what actually changes.

Tiger Woods made it iconic. Henrik Stenson built a career around it. The stinger — the punched, low-flying long iron that bores through wind and lands soft — was once the defining shot of a complete professional. In 2026 you rarely see it on tour. Here’s what we’ve lost.

On the weather, the roars, and what the Sunday pin tells us about 2026.

The cart path is the greatest lie ever told to golfers. You don’t play better. You don’t play faster. You just play differently — and the difference is costing you more than you think. A case for walking 18 holes and what happens when you start.

When the world’s best player publicly abandons blade irons for cavity backs, it’s not vanity. It’s data. Rory McIlroy’s equipment switch is the most significant signal in golf equipment in years — and the industry is still working out what it means.