Relishing Donald Ross restorations
+ Masters, Masters, Masters; an Ocean Course beauty; some light weekend reading and podcast listening.
THE STARTER
🏌️ In the run-up to the Masters, a lot of people thought the tournament would be centered around Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy. What are the chances that’s the case on Sunday?
🏌️ Scheffler shot 68 in the first round of the Masters, without much apparent stress. Does anyone in today’s game make championship golf look any easier than Scheffler does?
🏌️ Is anyone betting on 44-year-old Justin Rose after his 65, for a three-shot lead, in the first round?
🏌️ Certainly, Bryson DeChambeau can make enough birdies to win the Masters. But can he chip well enough to win?
🏌️ DeChambeau and Tyrrell Hatton led the LIV contingent, which had seven of its 12 players at even par or better after the first round. Can any of them contend on Sunday?
🏌️ Who was more disappointed after the first round: McIlroy or Jon Rahm?
🏌️ Which player should we be more concerned about long-term: Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth or Patrick Cantlay?
🏌️ Fred Couples, at age 65, made an eagle 2 at the 7th hole in the first round of the Masters, using a 6-hybrid for his second shot. Wonder how many 6-hybrids will be sold during the next week?
🏌️ Jose Luis Ballester “took relief” behind the 14th tee into the creek that borders the 13th green. He didn’t think anyone saw him but he got a round of applause from the patrons. Will that be his best shot of the week?
:: Mike Purkey
FEATURE
The Land As It Lies: Mid Pines
Built in 1921 by Donald Ross, the Southern Pines, North Carolina, classic was restored in 2013 by Kyle Franz and was named Golf Magazine’s Best U.S. Resort Renovation and Restoration of the Year. It's matured nicely.
:: Up River Film Company | Watch
Is the 2025 Masters Rory McIlroy’s to lose
Needing only a win at Augusta National to complete the career grand slam, there is plenty of talk that McIlroy's the favorite because he's on top of his game and other top contenders are not.
:: Gary Van Sickle | Read
Jim Nantz: A voice unlike any other
The 2025 Masters will be the CBS Sports announcer’s 40th. He's been a conduit to several generations’ memories of the major, and that’s worth celebrating — even if he would prefer we not.
:: Gary Van Sickle | Read
2025 Masters: What's in store?
The First Call readers offer up their favorites to win, dark horses to contend and potential storylines.
:: TFC Inbox | Read
BOOKMARKED
Good reads — and listens — that are sometimes about golf, but not always.
📖 At Augusta, pain lurks. Players are trying anything to beat it
How do you get over losing the Masters? Hypnosis, exposure therapy and ‘whatever helps’.
:: Gabby Herzig | The Athletic | 04.09.25 | Read
📖 Bluesky’s quest to build nontoxic social media
X and Facebook are governed by the policies of mercurial billionaires. Bluesky’s C.E.O., Jay Graber, says that she wants to give power back to the user.
:: Kyle Chayka | The New Yorker | 04.07.25 | Read
📖 Rick Pitino on turning St. John’s Into a tourney contender and why coaches should wear suits
The college hoops legend has remade the Johnnies in his image: resilient and relentless.
:: Jayson Buford | GQ | 03.11.25 | Read
THE LIBRARY
Recent drops to The First Call’s video and podcast section.
▶️ Golf Business Live: Special Edition | Syracuse, N.Y.
Reaction from final arguments in the Cazenovia Golf Club hearing. This case, involving a golfer suing the course for an errant golf ball injury, captured course owners attention.
:: Golf Business Live | 04.08.25 | Watch
🎧 In retirement, Robert Rock reflects: Part 1
The former European Tour player joins 'Cookie Jar Golf' to talk about his early beginnings, his two-win career and the swing.
:: Cookie Jar Golf | 04.07.25 | Listen
🎧 Meet Rafael Campos: The 36-year-old Masters rookie
Winning the 2024 Bermuda Championship also brought a coveted invitation to the 2025 major. Campos joins host Ann Liguori and tells how his playing career — and life — has been transformed.
:: Golf Innerview with Ann Liguori | 04.07.25 | Listen
ARCHIVES: 🎧 Podcasts | ▶️ Videos
BUSINESS
THE FIRST CALL
Week in Review: The industry’s names, news and notables making headlines. | Read
This week’s editions: Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday
Industry press releases | Industry press release videos | TFC / PR Newswire feed
Golf Industry Job / Internship Board
LIFESTYLE
THE STYLE LINKS
Max Homa’s son, Cam = priceless.
All the kids were adorable at the Masters Par 3 Contest on Wednesday, but Cam was a standout handful — in the best way.
:: Janice Ferguson | IG: @janiceferguson_thestylelinks
19TH HOLE
“Course of Life” podcast co-host Alex Lauzon closes each episode with the guest sharing a favorite 19th hole food and beverage experience.
Elizabeth Diane Veith, golf content creator, on the concessions at the Masters:“It's the best because of how affordable they keep it. You can't go wrong with a pimento cheese sandwich, and the Georgia peach ice cream sandwich is a must."
A PICTURE TELLS …
“The front nine builds, working its way through the lower half of the property, and then from the turn we take the higher ground, the turf and feel reminiscent of Pennard at times; always a good thing. Much is made of the blind shots here, but they are, to me, utterly charming. There is space to play into, and it is a very welcoming driving course, though you sometimes don’t know where it will land.”
:: Words: Richard Pennell / Pitchmarks | Photography: Simon Pope
Image: Hole No. 2, Perranporth Golf Club, Perranporth, England.
HOME FRONT
KIAWAH ISLAND | Kiawah Island, South Carolina
Listing: 14 Ocean Course Drive.
Stats: 9,057 square feet | 6 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, 3 half baths.
Price: $16,000,000.
About: The home was designed by acclaimed island architect Christopher Rose and constructed by David Moffly — with interiors by designer Tammy Connor. Attention was paid to each unique detail for an owner who was an architectural connoisseur. Beautifully sited on the 13th hole of Pete Dye’s renowned Ocean Course — home of the 1991 Ryder Cup and the 2012, 2021 and the 2031 PGA Championships — it boasts breathtaking views of the course, the whitecaps edging the vast Atlantic, the tranquil marsh and the sky-reflecting waters of Ibis Pond. A Kiawah Island Club golf membership is available with the purchase of this property. The interiors feature French oak floors throughout, extensive paneling of reclaimed and fine quality cypress and chestnut wood, custom wooden ceilings, numerous fireplaces and soothing hues of coast and marshland. Outside, a gorgeous pool and spa overlook the views, and timeless and impeccable details include a barrel-vaulted entry porch and windowed wooden carriage garage doors. The terrace on the first floor of this manse is bluestone, with a columned porch that wraps around the endless views. A covered outdoor kitchen with Piedmont black limestone backsplash, built-in grill with custom hood and single-basin sink is conveniently within reach of two outdoor dining areas — one with a striking stone floor-to-ceiling fireplace and access to the pool bath.
Home Front Archive | Read
ARCHITECTURE
DESIGN NOTES
Kris Spence restores Donald Ross’ Dunedin ‘masterpiece’
Golf course architect Kris Spence, who is something of a Donald Ross historian, helped in restoring Dunedin Golf Club, the historic Ross-designed course owned by the city of Dunedin (just north of Tampa.
The course was built in 1926 and opened for play in 1927, under Dunedin Isles Golf Club. At the time, Ross referred to it as "his masterpiece" and attributed it to the land's ideal combination of rolling hills, waterways and other natural hazards. In 1939, the city of Dunedin took ownership of the course and in 2024 took over the management operations.
In 1944, the PGA of America moved its headquarters from Chicago and renamed the course PGA National Golf Club — leasing it from the city. Eventually, the PGA moved out, but the site hosted 18 consecutive Senior PGA Championships — as well as the original PGA Merchandise Show in 1954.
Over the years, several renovations took the course further from what Ross had created. This included the green complexes shrinking 35% to 50%, taking away from the strategy Ross intended. In 2014, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Now, thanks to this latest and meticulous $6 million restoration of the green complexes, bunkers, fairways and tees, the course plays as Ross intended — right down to the actual greens Ross originally created.
"At Dunedin, the most pleasant surprise was that I could see the old green extending out beneath those renovations and was able to measure them and compare them to his original plans and notes, and I quickly realized that the original greens had never been destroyed," Spence said. "They were just buried under this material, so the opportunity to remove the material, excavate and expose the original greens, and restore them was possible. It’s fairly rare that they hadn’t bulldozed them away. There’s no question that by the number of bunkers and the contouring we found in the greens, Ross was clearly given a mandate or a directive to build a top-shelf championship layout on that property."
Spence said the greens’ original contours and elevation changes are back for today’s golfers to experience firsthand.
"They're as good as any out there with great variety," he said. "There are some subtle greens on some of the longer holes, and some with a lot more movement, tilt, and complexity to them on some of the shorter holes. It’s what we’re used to seeing out of Ross when he was really on point. In hindsight, it was a blessing that they just buried the old greens. It was sort of an archeological dig to go down and find the surface of the old greens and peel off the newer material like we’re peeling the rind off an orange — to reveal that original green. Once we did, we could see the original greens that had been buried for 75 years.
"Players are going to experience the greens and bunkers how he envisioned it. There’s some difficulty and depth to it all, and the bunkers are very challenging. That’s the unique thing about Ross: He brought the style of golf to this country, which he grew up experiencing in Scotland. There are a lot of different shots golfers won’t experience on other courses. The little bump and runs on the ground and the low approaches into the greens you experience in Scotland, you can now experience at Dunedin."
The early reviews from golfers have been very enthusiastic. According to Blair Kline, the course’s general manager of golf operations, a lot of the positive response is due to Dunedin’s authenticity.
"If Ross crawled out of his grave today and saw how far the ball goes and how fast the greens are compared to his era, I do not believe he would design the same course today that he designed in 1926," Kline said. "Now we have the course that we believe he would design. The routing is still the same; some bunkers changed locations to account for driving distance, and the greens are incredible. We recaptured all the pin placements, too."
Design Notes Archive | Read