If a 300 acre parcel of shorefront land bordered on one side by Shinnecock Hills and on the other by the National Golf Links of America wasn't destined one day to become a golf course, it's hard to imagine what is.

Richard Latham, author of the definitive guide to Woodhall Spa's Hotchkin course, has done it again.

Golf course management professionals have long benefited from advances in research supported by funding from the Environmental Institute for Golf, the philanthropic organisation of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA).

Of all the monstrously difficult golf courses to which the US Open pays a regular visit, only one has the reputation of slowing down its greens when America's national championship comes to town.

Pete Dye's Mountain course at La Quinta in California has just been extensively renovated by the resort, with the assistance of the architect and his son Perry.