On the Green, Issue 1
Hello and welcome to On the Green, a new monthly newsletter dedicated to golf and presented by Woodstock Country Club and the Woodstock Inn & Resort. Before getting into the details of what to expect from this newsletter, I’d like to briefly introduce myself. My name is Ross Evans. I’m a native Vermonter and passionate golfer. Though I’ve lived in Vermont most of my life, travel and golf have been lifelong buoys that have brought me around the country and around the world. I’ve been lucky to play golf in more than a dozen states and in six different countries. No matter where I play though, nothing beats golf in the Green Mountain State. Which brings me to why we’re here: what is On the Green and why does it exist?
I often think (especially around this time of year) that golf in Vermont is earned and never a given. With just seven months of “golfable” weather (if we’re lucky), being a golfer in Vermont is as much about patience as it is about will and desire. But what makes golf in Vermont so fleeting is also what makes golf in Vermont so special. Golf in Vermont provides incredible views from fairways carved into mountainsides; greens set beside lush farmland; immaculate routings against a palette of red and orange foliage; a diversity of challenges for golfers of all abilities. With far more public golf than private and relatively small population base in the state, tee times in Vermont are easy to come by and rounds are quick to play.
Globally golf is booming, traditions are being reshaped to be more inclusive, dress codes are loosening, and everyone from DJ Khaled to Condoleezza Rice are taking up the sport. And this is where On the Green comes in. Each month this newsletter will deliver a variety of stories from around the golf world in Vermont and beyond. On the Green exists at the intersection of golf, sport, fashion, travel, and culture. We hope you enjoy it.
Fore please,
Ross Evans
OTG Creative Director
“A” is for April, Azaleas, and Augusta
While April in the golf world has plenty to offer, we’re all excited for one thing in particular: our annual look at Augusta National Golf Club. Though the professional golf season is already at the midway point, major season is just getting started, and the first major of the season is of course The Masters at Augusta National. No course in the world is shrouded in more mystery yet so deft at showing itself off than Augusta. In honor of Masters week, enjoy a few related stories of interest from around the world of golf.
Photo Credit: Augusta National
Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship
We all know this is Masters week, but for those looking for a sneak peek at Augusta National, there’s the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship which concluded on Saturday. The ANWA (as it’s known) is part of August National’s multi-pronged effort to grow the game of golf and is one of the most widely viewed women’s amateur golf events. The first two rounds of the three-day event take place at Champions Retreat in Evans, Georgia, with the final round at Augusta National. The inaugural event was held in 2019 with top-ranked amateur Jennifer Kupcho taking home the trophy. After a break in 2020 due to COVID, 2021 saw the return of the ANWA and the crowning of Augusta’s first Japanese champion in Tsubasa Kajitani. Yes, that’s right. Despite Hideki Matsuyama’s historic victory at The Masters at Augusta in 2021, he was not Augusta’s first Japanese champion. The 17-year-old phenom Tsubasa Kajitani took home the ANWA title in dramatic fashion just a week before Matsuyama’s Masters victory.
The 2022 Championship saw another exciting finish with 16-year-old high school student Anna Davis capturing the title. With the win, Davis becomes the youngest ANWA winner in the tournament’s brief history.
If you missed the ANWA coverage this year, be sure to tune in next year for an early look at Augusta National and to see the top female amateur golfers compete. Bookmark this page to stay up to date on next year’s ANWA.
Photo credit: Getty Images
The Green Mountains & The Green Jacket
Aside from a firm connection to the color green, you may think that The Masters and the state of Vermont have little in common. And frankly, you’d be correct. But what threads do exist between Vermont and The Masters? Let’s start with some modern-day history and Keegan Bradley. Now residing in the professional golf mecca of Jupiter, Florida, Keegan was born in Woodstock, Vermont, where he learned to ski and play golf. Though Keegan has yet to capture the green jacket, he’s played in the Masters a total of six times (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019) with his best finish coming in 2015 when he tied for 22nd. Despite just missing out on the Masters this year due to his Official World Golf Ranking, expect to see him at Augusta again very soon.
A slightly more obscure connection between Vermont and The Masters can be found in Joe Kirkwood. Born in Sydney, Australia in 1897, Joe learned to play golf at an early age while working on a sheep ranch in Australia’s Outback. After winning the Australian Open and New Zealand Open in 1920 Joe set out for the professional ranks and joined the tour in the United States, winning multiple times and competing in the 1936 Masters Tournament where he finished tied for 30th place. After leaving the tour, Joe became the first head golf pro at Stowe Country Club in Stowe, Vermont. Joe died in 1970 in Stowe but his legacy lives on in the Kirkwood Memorial Golf Tournament. The event is held annually at Stowe Country Club and is considered one of the premiere amateur golf events in New England.
Joe Kirkwood, archival photo
Alister MacKenzie’s Masterpiece
The lead up to The Masters wouldn’t be complete without discussing golf course architecture. Every year we get a few glimpses into the changes at Augusta, mostly thanks to the sleuths at Eureka Earth. For purists, past changes to Augusta’s architecture have strayed too far from Alister MacKenzie and Bobby Jones’ original intent and drifted into the (dare we say) gimmicky category. The most significant changes to Augusta occurred between 2001 and 2006 with the so-called “Tiger-proofing” of Augusta. Some of these changes would later be criticized and called hasty as they resulted in an all-to penal routing. Alister MacKenzie’s original design intent behind Augusta was not to penalize bad shots as much as it was to reward good shots, keeping bad shots in play.
The design changes at Augusta in the early 2000’s ran counter to that strategy, leaving the majority of golfers who teed it up at The Masters all but out of contention. One hole that was particularly troublesome was Number 11. The changes over the years to this difficult par 4, primarily lengthening of the hole and narrowing of the fairway thanks to tree planting, essentially turned it into a par 5. However, since last year’s tournament, Augusta has pushed forward with a revamp of Dogwood, as number 11 is known, which will see a return to the principles of the original design. While the hole has been lengthened by 15 yards, the fairway has been recontoured and seen a massive tree removal effort, which opens it up once again for multiple lines off the tee and various approaches to the green.
For more on the architecture at Augusta National, we recommend checking out The Fried Egg blog by Andy Johnson. Here’s a fantastic Golf Course Architecture Roundtable Discussion about Augusta National from 2017. And here’s a deep dive into the 2022 changes at Augusta.
Photo Credit: Alister MacKenzie’s original watercolor of Augusta National via the Alister MacKenzie Institute
