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After heavy rainstorms slammed into the West Coast in late December, Soule Park Golf Course suffered significant flood damage. Multiple holes along the large barranca that runs through the Ojai, California, municipal course will need to be repaired or partially rebuilt.

This is the second time in three years that the course has taken a hit from rising waters. In the winter of 2022-23, portions of holes 12 and 14 were washed away. During the recent storm, the punchbowl green on the par-5 fifth hole took a particularly hard hit. Below are overhead photos of the green taken in 2022, 2024, and 2026, respectively.

Yeah. Yikes.

Soule Park has been vulnerable to floods throughout its 60-year history. In 2005, an especially intense storm left the course in a dire state. Fortunately, as I detailed in this 2019 piece, an ambitious leaseholder stepped in to rehabilitate the property and spearhead a renovation by Gil Hanse. In recent years, the course has seen a major uptick in play and media coverage.

Soule Park is near and dear to several of us at Fried Egg Golf. I grew up in nearby Goleta, California, and my dad and I played the course frequently in the late 1990s. Today, my colleague Cameron Hurdus lives about 30 minutes away.

Cameron visited Soule Park a few days ago and sent along these notes to me:

• "The plan is basically to try and recapture as much of No. 5 green site as possible and put 'something' back, but no one has been hired on the design side yet.... I think what they end up building will depend on how much land is recaptured."
• "There are a lot of areas that need to be addressed — just stabilizing spots and also potentially creating dams or buffers that might reroute water downstream slightly."
• "The river is getting very close to the pond on No. 1/No. 10, [and a breakthrough there] would be the worst-case scenario."
• "No. 12 will need some sort of stabilizing measure to keep it from eroding more."

This is all tough to hear. But I'm glad that the current leaseholder, Keith Brown, has remained committed to keeping the course open and preserving Hanse's excellent design work. All best to Keith and the team at Soule Park in their recovery efforts.

I'm brainstorming ideas for Golf Architecture 101 episodes and segments for the 2026 run of Designing Golf.

What basic questions do you have about golf course design? Or, if you're more advanced in your golf architecture knowledge, what 101-type topics would you like to see covered?

Let me know below.

Hi all,

Heading to the Land Down Under for the 2027 Australian Open next January. Will probably only be able to golf 1-2 times but was trying to lay the groundwork early in hopes of getting out somewhere world class with my FiL.

Does anyone have any insights or experience getting out on some of the better courses in Melbourne? Thank you!

Trying to cobble something together for a long weekend mid-fall 2026 and add to my quest to play a round in every state.

The Nevada/Arizona/Utah corridor looks like an efficient way to punch three of those off the list. I have some ideas off of Google maps and basic research, but if anyone has preferences or great experiences with courses in that area, I'm happy to investigate and possibly add them to my agenda. Most likely scenario is fly into Vegas on Thursday night and out on Sunday evening, so at least one round each day. Thanks in advance.

Grabbed a 10:20 am tee time on EP next Saturday for anyone in the DMV looking to take advantage of the warm weather. Two spots available right now

I’m not familiar with the flight and lodging costs for Newark non-stop to Delhi, but if we can all start hitting the books, maybe Pizza Hut kicks In some matching donations.

here is the excerpt,

“Someday, someday we should do a PJ trip-a-thon where we put, we have like one of those school fundraising things.

Send PJ to the call guard.

I still think, I think the best PJ trip should be, there's a direct flight from New York to India.

Deal.

And the best trip is PJ, sending PJ solo to India.

I thought you were going to say, opening up the Brick and Mortar Spirit Halloween Black Friday pop up in Tulsa. I thought that's where you were going with that. When we were talking about Brick and Mortar the other day, I almost brought that back up, but didn't out of fear that it might actually happen someday.

I don't think there are enough sour patch kids in the world to get PJ through that direct flight from New York to Delhi. That would be a tough, that would be a long journey for you.

I mean, we'd get so much content out of it. If you know you're not supposed to do video on a plane, I would disrupt that immediately.

I think the thing too is we could have the fundraise bar of a threshold that PJ gets[…]”

From The Shotgun Start: The 2025 Year in Review, Part 9: The End...?, Dec 22, 2025

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-shotgun-start/id1435273901?i=1000742378377&r=10326

This material may be protected by copyright.

Hello All,

Traveling to the masters this year for my 50th birthday and have started looking at hotels with in an hour or so. Would even look into staying with a group that know of a house that is not outrages in price for the week.

So far, Aiken, SC does not have that bad of rates. Neither does Barnwell, a little farther out. Would like to stay within an hour if I can.

What has everyone done the last few years that they liked? Any of the towns have something fun to see?

Thanks

Mark

It's 7 p.m. on New Year's Eve, and since I'm a middle-aged dad, I am not partying. My older kid is over at a friend's house, my younger is watching Muppet Treasure Island with my wife, and I'm thinking about the books, movies, TV shows, music, podcasts, videos, etc., that I enjoyed this past year. Here's what's coming to mind:

Tune In (book)

This account of The Beatles' early years is so thorough and authoritative that I have a hard time imagining what else could be written about the subject.

Listers (documentary)

An engrossing documentary about competitive bird-watching. Hat tip to my colleague Matt Rouches for the recommendation.

Taskmaster (TV series)

This hilarious British game show can be binged on YouTube. I recommend series 5 or series 7 for beginners.

Radio DDR by Sharp Pins (album)

Reminds me of indie pop/rock that I loved in the 90s and early 00s without feeling derivative.

Megadoc (documentary)

Another terrific documentary about the making of a Francis Ford Coppola film. (If you haven't seen the first — Hearts of Darkness — check it out.)

Blue Moon (movie)

Beautifully written, beautifully acted. Good old-fashioned filmmaking.

Pablo Torre Finds Out (podcast)

This was a big year for Pablo. His and his team's work has put the fear of God into a lot of very powerful people.

The Iron Snail (YouTube channel)

Menswear-focused videos so well made and charmingly hosted that I've almost become convinced to buy better clothing for myself. Almost.

The Pitt (TV series)

Similar to ER, but without the filler subplots and weird melodrama. It's refreshing to see such a believable portrayal of professional virtue and competence. Qualities we could use more of in today's world.

The Rest Is History (podcast)

A consistently excellent, startlingly prolific history pod. Don't be intimidated by the size of the back catalog: just scroll through it and find a topic you already know a little about. You'll quickly know more.

KPop Demon Hunters (movie)

Like every other parent in the world, I've heard the songs too many times at this point. But this movie and its music are at least 75% better than they had to be.

Waxahatchee's Tiny Desk Concert (YouTube video)

Twenty-two minutes of sustained loveliness.

What non-golf "content" did you consume and enjoy in 2025? Let's hear about it.

In a New Year's Eve email, the National Links Trust announced that the Trump administration is killing the nonprofit group's contract with the National Park Service to operate and improve the three municipal golf courses in Washington, D.C. The administration has deemed the NLT in default of its lease — a finding that does not appear to have much basis in reality.

For the past several weeks, rumors and reports have circulated about the President's desire to seize control of the courses and transform East Potomac Golf Links into a professional-level tournament venue. Now the administration has made its first concrete, public move.

A few of my many questions about what will happen next:

• Will 80-year-old Tom Fazio, Trump's reported pick to lead the PGA Tour-grade makeover of the golf courses at East Potomac, actually take the job?
• What will the impact of this project be on the accessibility and affordability of golf at East Potomac?
• Which company will be hired to manage the three courses after the NLT exits? (Trump Golf? Surely not!)
• What are the administration's plans for D.C.'s two other municipal facilities, Langston Golf Course and Rock Creek Park Golf Course?
• Will the in-progress renovation of Rock Creek Park, now on hold because of the NLT's ouster, get back underway at some point?

The National Links Trust is (was?) a bright light in the game. This is all terribly sad and stupid.

I need some golf related book suggestions for the Kindle reader I received for Christmas! Surely the eggheads and sickos can provide some winners.

Just got this a few days ago. It's been a while since I bought a bucket and I love the material of this. If you're looking for a new one, I'd go with this.

A few thoughts I have from the season opener:

• cam young teed off to killing in the name. Didn’t have him tagged as a rage fan.
• had no idea cantlay and Lucas gloved were hurt but huge pickup of gotterup.
• Happy to see they were able to secure a ref sponsor and Derrick Stafford is back
• Billy is the greatest tgl player ever
• Gotterup hit it 320 off the deck with a mini driver to touch em all
• Fitzy complains a lot
• wasnt expecting the piza funnel hole

please keep any responses serious for this very serious competition.

Here is my Eclectic 18 for 2025, all courses I played for the first time:

Eclectic 18 - 2025

Sheep Ranch 1 - 520 yards par 5

Royal Dornoch 2 - 180 yards par 3

Old Macdonald 3 - 345 yards par 4

Pacific Dunes 4 - 450 yards par 4

Bandon Trails 5 - 130 yards par 3

Pacific Dunes 6 - 295 yards par 4

Streamsong Blue 7 - 190 yards par 3

Bandon Dunes 8 - 350 yards par 4

Pacific Dunes 9 - upper green - 380 yards par 4

Pacific Dunes 10 - 160 yards par 3

St Andrews New 11 - 330 yards par 4

Bandon Dunes 12 - 155 yards par 3

North Berwick 13 - 340 yards par 4

Royal Dornoch 14 - 445 yards par 4

Yeamans Hall Club 15 - 450 yards par 4

Old Macdonald 16 - 435 yards par 4

Bandon Trails 17 - 180 yards par 3

Streamsong Blue 18 - 450 yards par 4

Curious if there’s a FEGC contingent of superintendents or turf professionals willing to share some perspective.

I’m 34, married, no kids, and no interest in fighting. About a year ago, I left a flying career with the Air Force to pursue my passion for golf. I’m currently on the agronomy team at a private club in the Denver metro area and fortunate to be learning under a great superintendent who’s been generous with mentorship and GCSAA exposure. I’m also starting Penn State’s turfgrass management program this January.

While that guidance has been invaluable, I’d love to hear from people with different paths especially those who care deeply about golf course design and architecture. It often feels like the industry rewards the “hard chargers” chasing PGA events or ultra-private, blank-check clubs. I respect that path; I’m just not convinced it’s mine.

I’m drawn to the idea of working on a Golden Age course, or one with architectural significance. I want to work extremely hard for good people and a good course, but I also value a healthy culture over constant high-pressure environments. With internships on the horizon and a later start into the industry, I’m trying to be intentional rather than impulsive.

Am I naive, or is there a realistic lane in turf for someone wired this way?

Visiting CO for the holidays, and I snagged the last tee time at Commonground today.

If anyone else is going to be out there, drop me a note at ahhatcher@gmail.com and I’ll try to find you.