Preserved Links

We often debate speed, how fast is too fast? The US Open sets the bar every year. Hit the wrong spot of the green at Pinehurst Number 2 and end up in the waste area 40+ yards away with the hardest shot in golf. Bring on the carnage!

The grinch doesn't stand a chance against the gnome wall this year 🎁

Clearly states in the rules you can not wear gear from a course you haven’t played. IMO kids are an exception. Research clearly proves kids who wear logos young grow a desire to play the places on their shirts ultimately leading to an advanced level of appreciation for great golf. So kids are free game.

@preservedlinks TAKE IT AWAY FROM HIM. HE DIDN’T EVEN PLAY THERE

My nephew doesn’t play golf, so to him it’s just a sweater. Kid doesn’t even know what he’s opening. #oakmont

@SHistorians The introduction phase, giving him the logos and hoping strangers help progress the education by engaging in meaningful conversations.

@preservedlinks Start them young

Nestled in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Old Town Club stands as a timeless gem of Golden Age golf architecture. In 1938, Charles and Mary Reynolds Babcock (heirs to the R.J. Reynolds tobacco fortune) donated land from their historic Reynolda estate to create a private club. Influenced by Augusta National co-founder Clifford Roberts, they hired renowned architect Perry Maxwell to design the course. Opened in 1939—just before World War II halted major construction—Maxwell crafted a masterful layout on rolling terrain, featuring bold contours, a rare double green (holes 8 & 17), and strategic brilliance that ranks it among America’s top courses today. A 2013 restoration by Coore & Crenshaw revived its original charm, cementing its legacy as one of Maxwell’s finest works. ⛳️

The debate continues on the best snack shack in golf, today we present to you the jerky shack at Bluejack National 🥩

North Jersey Country Club in Wayne, New Jersey, is one of the state’s oldest golf institutions, founded in March 1895 as the Paterson Golf Club before renaming in 1896. Its first president, Garret A. Hobart, later became U.S. Vice President under William McKinley. Originally in Paterson (later East Paterson), the club relocated in the early 1920s due to encroaching development, purchasing 327 acres of Greenbrook Farm in Wayne. Construction began in 1921, with renowned architect Walter J. Travis designing the challenging 18-hole course, known for dramatic elevation changes and demanding greens. Today, this private club on 300+ forested acres offers a classic Tudor clubhouse, top-ranked golf (Top 200 Classic by Golfweek), tennis, and family amenities, blending over 130 years of tradition with modern restoration.

Founded in 1898 by a group of New York City summer visitors near the Hollywood Hotel in Long Branch, Hollywood Golf Club is one of America’s oldest private clubs. It started with a modest 9-hole course, relocated twice, and settled at its current site in Deal around 1912. The iconic 18-hole layout was dramatically redesigned in 1917 by legendary amateur champion and architect Walter J. Travis, featuring bold bunkering (including the famous “Heinz 57” hole with 57 bunkers) and intricate greens that made it a Golden Age masterpiece. The club hosted major events like the 1921 U.S. Women’s Amateur and numerous state and metropolitan championships. In 2014, Tom Doak’s Renaissance Golf Design restored it to Travis’s original vision, cementing its status as a top-ranked New Jersey gem near the Atlantic shore.

Founded in 1908 and opened in 1911 in Southampton, New York, the National Golf Links of America stands as a landmark in golf history. Designed by Charles Blair Macdonald—often hailed as the father of American golf architecture—with assistance from Seth Raynor, the course drew inspiration from Macdonald’s studies of classic British links. It features iconic “template” holes modeled after legends like the Redan (North Berwick), Alps (Prestwick), and Eden (St. Andrews). This private masterpiece on Peconic Bay hosted the inaugural Walker Cup in 1922 (and again in 2013) and helped launch the Golden Age of golf design in the U.S.

Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York-founded in 1891 as America's oldest incorporated golf club and one of the five USGA founding members. Original 12-hole layout (1891) aided by 150 Shinnecock Nation members; expanded to 18 in 1895. Hosted the second U.S. Open in 1896 (where John Shippen became the first African-American pro to compete in a major). Redesigned by William Flynn in 1931 into the iconic links masterpiece we know today—rolling dunes, fescue, and relentless wind. Shinnecock Has hosted five U.S. Opens (1896, 1986, 1995, 2004, 2018) with more scheduled for 2026 and beyond. A true cathedral of American golf.

Essex County Club in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts-founded in 1893 as one of America's oldest private golf clubs, featuring New England's first 9-hole course. Became the 6th USGA member and welcomed women from the start. Donald Ross, living on-site as pro (1909-1917), transformed it into his early masterpiece-an 18-hole gem with rugged terrain, dramatic elevation, and the nation's oldest original green (the 3rd, from 1893).

@andrewjcarr29 @ccofscranton @Aaron_Gio Why graft other Travis style bunkering? If you are going to restore why not just restore the authenticity found in the photo above? If you aren't going back to that photo does it really make a difference what you do? Why not Ross bunkers? Why not RTJ bunkers?

@preservedlinks @ccofscranton @Aaron_Gio I hope we do, but my prediction is we will graft other Travis style bunkering to the course, which is exactly what Ian Andrew proposed to do before we hired Marzolf.

The Country Club of Scranton, affectionately known as the “CC,” was chartered in 1896 in the Greenridge section of Scranton, Pennsylvania, as an elegant retreat for the city’s coal and railroad barons. Seeking room to grow and breathtaking views, the club moved north to Clarks Summit in the early 20th century. In 1927, legendary architect Walter J. Travis designed the original 18-hole “Old Course,” famed for its fiendishly contoured greens that remain a stern test today. In 1988, Dr. Michael Hurdzan added the scenic “Falls” nine, expanding the layout to 27 championship holes. A thoughtful 2012 renovation by Tom Marzolf elevated the club into national Top 100 conversations. For nearly 130 years, the Country Club of Scranton has blended anthracite-era prestige with world-class golf, hosting Pennsylvania Opens, countless state amateurs, and generations of NEPA weddings and summer parties under the Abingtons’ rolling hills.

@andrewjcarr29 @ccofscranton @Aaron_Gio What are the odds the club restores the course back to that photo?

@preservedlinks @ccofscranton Thank you for highlighting the place as I absolutely love it. And yes, they are different, but did you see the pictures of how different Mr. Travis' bunkers were from practically anything I've seen anywhere else? The way in which they are constructed makes @Aaron_Gio life hard.

Can't speak for the entire Preserved Links Membership, but I played @ccofscranton 2x this year and it was one of the few courses I played more than once out of 150 rounds. The bunkers may not be origional but they are so different from what I keep seeing over and over and over and over. I live for a little variety these days and CC of Scranton delivers.

@preservedlinks This is incorrect: "A thoughtful 2012 renovation by Tom Marzolf elevated the club into national Top 100 conversations" It was Ian Andrew's tree clearing that did this. Nothing about Mr. Marzolf's saucer bunkers are "thoughtful." For reference let's review what Mr. Travis did.

After the 7 mile walk up and down the mountain at Pikewood National we had the great pleasure of dinner with owner / founder / designer Bob Gwynne. Mr Gwynne is the only living designer to design a top 100 course without designing any other course. Incredible accomplishment considering you are splitting hairs between courses regarded so highly amongst the likes of George Crump (Pine Valley) and Henry Fownes (Oakmont).

Going all the way back to 1928, Suneagles has never seen calves like this. 🔥

When PL friends from NY find each other @theglengolfclub 🍻

Opened in 1911 on the windswept Peconic Bay dunes of Southampton, New York, the National Golf Links of America was the visionary creation of Charles Blair Macdonald, America’s first great golf architect and the man often called the “Father of American Golf.” Inspired by a lifetime of studying Britain’s classic links, Macdonald set out to build the ideal American course by blending the finest holes he had ever played abroad. With help from his protégé Seth Raynor and local legend Devereux Emmet, he crafted timeless templates: • The 3rd “Alps” (modeled on Prestwick) • The 4th “Road Hole” (St Andrews) • The 7th “Eden” (St Andrews) • The 13th “Redan” (North Berwick) • The 14th “Cape” (his own invention, now copied worldwide) Today they all remain the same ⛳️