Top 10 Reviewer has posted between 10 and 19 reviews
Top 20 Reviewer has posted between 20 and 49 reviews
Top 50 Reviewer has posted between 50 and 99 reviews
Top 100 Reviewer has posted 100 or more reviews
M. James Ward
The 30+ year golf journalist is a member of the Golf Writer's Association of America (GWAA) and a past member of the Metropolitan Golf Writer's Association (MGWA). Has played over 2,000 courses globally and has covered the various major golf championships since 1980 for several different outlets. For 17 years served as national course rating panelist for Golf Digest and served for roughly three years in a similar capacity with Golfweek. Lives in the greater New York City metro area. Plays to a 3 handicap and has played in USGA Championships. Favorite motto: "You can print money but you can't print time. Once time is gone it's gone." Make the most of every opportunity to play whenever possible.
Frankly, the main reason one plays here is because your kids are engaged at the facility and you need a diversion to do something. That's the extent of the design.There a...
Florida golf as a whole has never been a locale to excite my golf desires. The topography, with very few exceptions, is extremely limited and the desire to max out housin...
Quality land, in my mind, makes up no less than 60% of the equation when assessing the merits of a given layout. When such land is available the architect clearly has an...
There's really only one word to describe the qualities of The Hickory -- bravo! Plenty of facilities have seen fit in recent years to add some sort of short course versio...
A very wise decision was made to add golf to the legendary club and doing so via a short course rather than a second regulation one. The mixture of holes is quite fun to...
Tom Fazio has clearly made his mark in designing courses throughout America and in certain locations globally. The key dimension with a Fazio design rests on whether the...
So much of Hawaii golf is based on the self-created hype from the constant bombardment of marketing messages from the big time resorts. Few actually deliver. And, candidl...
Be forewarned -- anyone heading to Mauna Kea had best be able to golf their ball because this is clearly not your run-of-the-mill Hawaii resort. When Rees Jones updated t...
One would think that getting a course designed and built along the wild and beautiful North Shore of Oahu would be a grand spot for a golf course. The location certainly...
One of the benefits architects had in the early part of the 20th century was being able to select land on behalf of deep pocket benefactors and not have to concern themse...
So many times when people are rating courses, they are really rating other elements that have very little to do with the core ingredient that needs their primary attentio...
One of the most demanding aspects in being a golf course architect is fitting all 18 holes into a very small amount of acreage. Often times, there will be clear instances...
Over the years the name La Costa became synonymous with professional golf. on the PGA Tour. The Tournament of Champions was a long time staple event here in Carlsbad -- 3...
Sometimes the best decisions come when realizing an existing course is no longer feasible and then moving ahead with a massive overhaul. That was the risk taken with Rams...
Big Horn provides for 36-holes of golf and in my initial review of the 1991 layout called Mountains by Arthur Hills I assessed the course at four golf balls. The follow-u...
There are no sure fire signs of when great architecture is likely to be present but one aspect often bears fruit in this regard. How good is the land for the golf? In my...
Arnold Palmer's place in golf history is clearly secured -- as a player. However, in the role of architect his firm sadly cranked out countless examples of formulaic golf...
Kudos to club leadership at Sunningdale when realizing failure to invest in their property would likely mean a bleak future. Over the years the original Seth Raynor layou...
Donald Ross provided the handiwork for a number of stellar designs but The Sagamore is not one of them. The course is set a short distance from the grandeur of the hotel...
Sometimes being in the right neighborhood can pay off handsomely and that is the case for CC of NC / Dogwood. The layout for many years benefited from being in the Pinehu...
