The Beauty of Match Play

The sun barely peeked over the horizon as my partner and I stepped onto the first tee of the Invitational this past weekend. Our breaths puffed in the cool, foggy, morning air.

Match play in golf stands apart, a raw clash that ties you to your opponent in a way stroke play never does. Instead of the usual lonely slog of tallying every shot, match play crafts a shared story, each hole a page of grit and rivalry. After a hot 18-hole qualifier, where we posted a four under better ball, we earned our spot in the Championship flight. Confidence flowed like the coffee we drank before dawn.

By the tenth hole that Friday morning, we were rolling, up four holes with a bounce in our walk. The fairways felt like ours, every drive splitting the middle, every putt scaring or dropping in the cup. Then, in a burst of overconfidence, we stopped for canned Gatorades from the cart girl. It wasn’t the drink that sank us. It was me, digging out my phone to snap a photo for you all. What was I thinking? A quick picture to flex my perfectly chilled canned beverage? Dumb. My focus slipped, and my partner’s wavered too. We left the door ajar, and our opponents kicked it wide open.

The collapse hit hard. Holes 12, 13, and 14 vanished like dust in the wind. Our crisp shots turned wild, our putts teasing the edge with brutal accuracy. By the 18th, we were hanging on to a 1 up lead, but luck had other plans. Both our tee shots veered out of bounds, slicing into the trees like a pair of wounded ducks. We dragged ourselves to the first tee for the playoff, the weight of lost momentum pressing down. (Anyone who says momentum doesn’t matter in competition has never felt a match slip through their hands). On that tee, our clubs seemed heavier, the fairway tighter. One pulled four footer later, and we shuffled to the clubhouse, heads low, stung by a brutal, crushing loss.

In the car home, silence settled thick. Defeat stuck to us like the sweat on our clothes. Hardly talking, my partner and I swore a quiet vow: no more choking in the losers bracket. Up or down, we’d battle. No complaints, no quitting, just heart. No whining on the yacht.

Saturday brought fresh resolve. We hit the course with crisp, tempo’d swings and clear heads, taking down our opponents 5&4, a win that felt like shedding a nightmare. Sunday was my moment. Seven birdies on my own ball, each one a step toward redemption. We crushed, winning 6&4, and the scoreboard reflected our refusal to break.

Leaving the final green, the pain of Friday’s collapse eased, replaced by a quiet confidence that we more than belonged; we just let our guard down. The Invitational wasn’t just a tournament. It was a story of crashing and climbing back, carved out one swing at a time.

Arthur Hills (1922–2017) is a name that deserves more recognition in the world of golf course architecture. A talented golfer, Hills captained the Michigan State golf team and won the 1950 Ann Arbor City Championship. His true legacy, however, lies in his six-decade career designing over 200 new golf courses and renovating 125 others, including iconic venues like Congressional, Oakmont, Oakland Hills, and Inverness. His work has hosted 28 major tournaments, including USGA, PGA, LPGA, NCAA, and PGA of America events, cementing his influence on the sport.

Hills’ design philosophy drew inspiration from legendary courses like Pinehurst No. 2, Shinnecock Hills, and Cypress Point. He prioritized minimal earth movement, strategic shot angles, and aesthetic beauty through textures, colors, and natural elements like plateaued greens and water features. His courses, such as the Arthur Hills Course at Palmetto Dunes (opened 1986), are celebrated for their balance of challenge and fairness, earning accolades like South Carolina’s “Best You Can Play” and “Course of the Year.”

Despite serving as president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, being voted “Architect of the Year” in 1991, 1998, and 2002 by Boardroom Magazine, and induction into the Ohio Golf Hall of Fame in 1993, Hills remains under-appreciated compared to contemporaries like Pete Dye or Tom Fazio. His ability to craft strategic, visually stunning courses that respect the land’s natural contours marks him as a master. For golfers seeking hidden gems, Hills’ courses, like Palmetto Dunes offer a testament to his enduring genius.

Following up on our match play essay, I have a small bone to pick with etiquette during better-ball matches. If you have played your way out of the hole, just pick up your ball and walk with your partner. Don’t slow the group down if you pumped 2 balls OB. Your putt for 8 on the gettable par 5 doesn’t mean a thing.

Not an ad but I recently made an account on Course Vaults to finally codify my golf footprint. It was a pretty fun mental exercise tracking and remembering the courses I played throughout my life. I’d say I’m probably half way there? Honestly no idea. Started with the heavy hitters and moving my way around.

Would recommend you check it out. We win, and help others win around here.

You can check my profile out here: https://coursevaults.com/golfer/btg

I read and respond to any and every email I receive from readers. I’m incredibly appreciative of all of you, and love hearing your anecdotes. A young reader from Spain reached out to me a few weeks back to introduce me to some awesome Spanish clubs and logos. According to our reader, “The exclusive and elite clubs were granted “club rights” by the Spanish monarchy, giving them the right to include "Real" or "Royal" in their names and the crown in their logos.” Super cool. If you have any cool and under the radar logos from overseas (don’t send me Tree Farm or Sleepy) hit me up [email protected].

Now, let’s take a breath here before looking at these logos. Which US courses would be considered Royal? For my money:

Anyway, on to the awesome logos of a few Royal Spanish Clubs. Frankly, these are awesome; something about the crown just does it for me.

Questions, Comments, Suggestions? Hit me up [email protected]

Talk soon,

BTG

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