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Ladies and germs,

It's time for the final Virtual Hangout of the year! This month, I've got what we refer to as the "Architecture Team" on tap to review the courses they saw in 2025 and the holes that made an impact on them this year. Andy, Garrett, Cameron, and Matt will hop in studio on Monday, December 15 at 1:00 p.m. ET and their discussion will be posted in FEGC afterwards.

In addition to their talk, we want to answer a few questions from you all. Please feel free to drop a question in here and we'll have them answer a few during the hangout.

Details

Date: Monday, December 15

Time: 1:00 p.m. ET

LINK TO JOIN AND WATCH LIVE

Hey friends,

Hoping for some advice / guidance here. I have a work trip in Late-January, and will likely be in the Boston area the weekend of January 24. I currently live in Florida and was thinking of hauling my clubs and hitting a course on the Cape or Nantucket. A friend of mine in the past said some amazing things about Miacomet - I know it would involve a ferry situation early Saturday AM. Curious as to whether anyone in the forum here has other suggestions for some places to check out. There appears to be some nice stuff on the Cape (that doesn't involve jumping on a ferry). Would love a golf POV of the area though.

A few things:

1. Yes, I know it will probably be cold as hell
2. I recently played in some 18 degree wind chill weather and I have been to Bandon in November/December countless times. I'm pretty resilient, and I'm not worried about the cold
3. FWIW, I understand the weather is a little milder on the coast
4. I don't want to say there is no price outside of my range, but I'm looking for good value - decent architecture, ocean views would very much be welcome, and obviously I'm not a stickler for elite conditions in January; willing to pay up for a decent setup and an overall enjoyable walk
5. If not Miacomet, are there other courses on the Cape to check out or consider?
6. I have a couple of "ins" to some clubs around town, but I'm looking for something a little more rugged / adventurous

Anyway, appreciate any feedback, and if any Ball Frog / Boston peeps want to chime in or possibly play with me then that'd be fun too. I'm a super chill brah who plays reasonably fast golf.

After Garrett's last Designing Golf Podcast, I put it to my mind that I wanted to read Concerning Golf. However, to out myself as a not-good-at-sitting-down-and-reading person, I'm typically a fan of audiobooks or Alexa reading me an ebook (while I do chores). Only occasionally do I try to get through a book quickly in a weekend.

The book was published in 1903. It's been in the public domain forever. Has there never been an ebook edition made? There is a rough copy on Google Books is a PDF with no OCR, but there is no not even a Project Gutenburg entry. If anyone has an EPUB, let me know. I'm hoping someone in the golf publishing industry can quickly put out a kindle edition!

Hi all

Perhaps a long shot but would be good to hear from any FEGCers in NZ. I'm based in Auckland but always happy to travel for golf. Will be in Aus for much of May 2026 and looking to play some golf in Tassy and Melbourne if that broadens the net.

Thanks

Conor

I wanted to pop in and thank all of the FEGC members for their support over the years, many of you are among our earliest and biggest fans. We wouldn't have been able to do any of this without you and I am eternally grateful for you support.

I hadn't really thought much about the 10 years until yesterday afternoon when I sat down to write the newsletter and have been surprised at how many memories and emotions have flooded in. It has been a dream to build this company and community to the point we have today and I CANNOT wait for some of the projects we have been working on to come to light.

I'd love to hear your favorite memories and content from the past 10 years and things you would like us to explore the next 10 years if you have time or thoughts.

What's been your favorite piece, pod, event, bit, etc with Fried Egg?

Tom Doak checked in from Punta Brava Golf Club in Baja California, where he is making his final construction visit. "The goal is to grass it before Christmas!" he wrote. "I took tons of photos yesterday — the place is spectacular — but photos can't really do justice to the scale of the mountain and the rocks offshore.... So, no more photos here. Honestly, I don't think you are ready for them."

Incidentally, longtime Renaissance Golf Design associate Brian Schneider appears to be at Punta Brava, too.

Clayton, DeVries & Pont have been hired to consult at Appleby Golf Club, an 1883 moorland course designed by Willie Fernie in Cumbria, England.

Architect Thad Layton posted a very cool time-lapse reel of himself painting the fifth hole at English heathland gem West Sussex Golf Club. This is a talent/skill that baffles me. It's like magic.

Speaking of Layton, he recently wrapped up a bunker restoration at Lakewood Country Club outside of Boulder, Colorado.

Pinehurst Resort posted some photos of Coore & Crenshaw's in-progress design at Pinehurst No. 11, next door to Tom Doak's No. 10 course. The property — which contains remnants of an old sand mine as well as a few abandoned hole corridors from the Pit Golf Links — looks gnarly, knobbly, and unpredictable.

Will this be the most unconventional-looking course Coore & Crenshaw have designed since... I don't know, Talking Stick? We'll see.

One constant, however, is C&C's architectural philosophy. "We don't plan to move a lot of material," Ben Crenshaw said in an interview posted by the resort. "We very much like to let the holes and the land speak for themselves, and do little things."

First discussion topic and first post all baked into one! If Harris English is correct and the "new" PGA Tour will have open weeks/gap weeks, why not make Monday Qualifiers matter? Pre-1983 or so, there were only 60 exempt players and the rest had to either finish top-15 the week prior or Monday qualify. It wasn't for one or two spots, it was for many. If the new Tour will have off weeks before and after some, many or all of the PGA Tour events, why not make the week start on Monday with a robust Monday Qualifying event from which 20 or 30 or 40 players qualify? That could be a great kick-off to the week, especially if there isn't a tournament the week before. Thoughts?

I've booked a foursome for this Saturday at the par 3 course at Olympic if anyone is interested in joining. I think the guest fee is $45 and if you're a member just shoot me a note and I can update the tee time and add you.

If we get more than four people interested and have another member we can book multiple times.

The weather looks nice and mid-afternoon has been the most pleasant to be outside over the past week or so.

Lemme know. Cheers!

Anyone in the Hudson Valley? Snow on the ground and remembering summer rounds fondly. Any gems you played this year?

This was a pleasant addition to my Wednesday routine last summer but seemed like a short lived experiment. Are there planes (or even an opportunity) to do it again?

Doing a wishlist secret santa with my family this year so I needed to put in some gifts I would wish for. Got me thinking what gift ideas do you have or want as a golf nut / architecture nerd?

Hey Guys! Born and raised in the LA area, however I split time between here and Nashville TN now. Love to find a game when I'm back in town!

Anyone want to play Rustic on Monday 12/8 at 11:50am?

Thoroughly enjoyed the SGS nostalgia trip of early life beverage choices. Keystone, Natty, Smirnoff - these are the universal experiences that will bring our society together.