After watching the Golf Digest’s aerial hole by hole breakdown of Royal Portrush, I believe that around-the-green play will be crucial this week. The greens on property are small, elevated, and heavily contoured. With these greens being small, we should expect the greens in regulation percentage to be low. If that is the case, players will be chipping more on these tricky greens. Links golf challenges players to get creative with shots around-the-green.

On the Rabbit Hole, you can specifically filter on around-the-green play on UK and Ireland courses. Over the last Here are the top 12 players in the field who have gained the most strokes in this category:

My pick to win the Open Championship in December was Jon Rahm, and I see no reason to deviate now given the fact that this is the best that Rahm has played since going to LIV. Rahm has now finished top-15 in all three majors this year, and he had a very legitimate chance to win the PGA Championship.

While he hasn’t won on the LIV Tour, he almost just did at LIV Andalucia, finishing one stroke back of Talor Gooch, and he has been the most consistent player on that Tour this season despite not experiencing the highs of Joaquin Niemann. Rahm’s driver remains a legitimate weapon. He has not lost strokes off the tee in over a year, and his approach play has been highly consistent as well. I’ve always thought of Rahm as one of, if not the most, well-rounded players in golf given his soft hands and putting upside. Rahm has had a good putting season, and an even better around the green season, gaining in 11 out of 13 starts this year.

When you consider Scottie’s continued struggles putting across the pond, Rahm may be the most well-rounded player in this field. Finally, he finished 11th at Portrush in 2019 and has a runner-up and a third at my two favorite Open venues: St. George’s and Liverpool. Let’s take this one home, Rahmbo.

Going into the 2025 golf season, I was quite bullish on Tyrrell Hatton due to his overall consistent golf game with no glaring weaknesses and his recent major championship finishes.

Hatton is coming off an impressive T4 finish at the US Open at Oakmont, where he averaged 2.06 strokes per round ball striking. I believe that Hatton is one of the best total drivers of the golf ball in the field and is trending really well with his irons. He isn’t known for his short game, but Hatton ranks 15th in the field in around-the-green play on UK/Ireland golf courses. If Hatton can figure out his putter, I truly believe that he has a legitimate shot to win his first major championship of his career.

If you have already used Hatton or you are looking to make up some ground, I would go with the likes of Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Fitzpatrick, or Xander Schauffele (if you have him available). If you want to get weird, go burn Brooks Koepka and hope to catch lighting in a bottle. I mean… Koepka’s caddie Ricky Elliot is from Northern Ireland and finished T4.

Good luck and let’s end the OAD year off strong!

Closing Stretch

Andy Lack

Course Review: Lake Placid Club Links Course

• Location: Lake Placid, NY 

• Designer: Seymour Dunn (1909)

The Lake Placid Links Course is a very special one to me. In fact, this was really where I learned how to play golf, and the course I have probably played the most rounds at in my life. With that being, it’s probably the most frustrating golf course you will see a rating of, and that has nothing to do with its tremendously understated architecture. Lake Placid Links Golf Course is truly amongst the worst conditioned course you will see me rate. The golf course is incredibly neglected from a conditioning standpoint, and I do unfortunately understand why.

The clientele that Lake Placid Club attends to does not really care about the conditioning of the golf course. I played at Lake Placid Club last weekend with four of my buddies last weekend. They don’t have a starter (or really any rules for that matter), and so we easily made our way on as a five-some. Every single group we encountered were aggressively pounding Molsons, which I have absolutely nothing against. It’s just not the type of clientele that is going to bat an eye whether the greens are running at a seven or ten.

I have many conversations with the course owner about what the golf course could be with a small restoration effort and an increased budget for groundskeeping, and he won’t budge. In fact, the golf course doesn’t have a groundskeeper. He does itself! The owner is a tremendous human, business man, and golf lover. I love him dearly and he is a close family friend. He’s been in my life since I was a child, and is largely responsible for my love of golf. He’s also sitting on one of the best properties in upstate New York for golf, and a course with tremendous architectural bones in a gorgeous setting for golf. If ISN takes off, my first donation to this golf course would be improving its conditioning, even if the owner doesn’t want my money! 

The golf course itself has some tremendous holes and a truly Scottish feel. The course was designed to play firm and fast, yet the greens run at a five, and the turf surrounding them is so soft that the full potential of the architecture cannot remotely be realized. Players cannot utilize the ground game with success at Lake Placid Club. Both the second and 14th holes are semi-Redan style par threes with large greens that tilt slightly from front to back.

If the golf course played anything close to firm and fast, these would be insanely fun, strategic golf holes. Instead, they require aerial shots between 150 and 210 yards depending on the pin position. The seventh and 11th hole are the best on the golf course. The seventh is a medium length par four with an extremely inviting fairway, and the green complex is the star of the show. Raised, shaped like an hour glass, and tilting heavily from back to front, with a dramatic false front— this is truly one of the coolest and most memorable greens I’ve ever played. The 11th hole is a drop shot par three with the best setting for a green on the course. The green falls off steeply to the right and a bunker guards the left. The walk across the bridge from tee to green dramatizes the setting and provides the course with a real sense of player. I’m a sucker for a great  bridge on a golf course. The GOAT of golf bridges is between 14th and 15th holes at Friars Head. Bel Air has a damn good bridge too. 

Ultimately, Lake Placid Links is absolutely worth a visit if you are ever in the area. I netted out at a five here. The land/arcitechture and setting is seven worthy, but the conditioning is a two. The shots hit are more fun that many private courses I play. The property is grand and expansive. The framing is the Adirondack High Peaks, which aren’t quite Colorado or Wyoming— but upstate New York is stunning, and certainly underserved in its golf. I’m giving the course tough love because its that special to me and its potential is that high, but I would be lying if I didn’t acknowledge that conditioning (particularly the extremely slow and bumpy greens) didn’t significantly detract from the overall experience.

The golf course tells you exactly who it is the second you walk into the club house, which used to feature a beautiful deck for lunch pre-COVID. It no longer serves food, and you’ll be lucky to catch the cart girl once in a four hour round. There are some golf course that have zero architectural quality and are maintained as if they are Augusta National. The Lake Placid Club is the inverse of this, which has always left me wanting me more. It’s the friend with boundless talent that never applies himself. But I can’t want it more than the golf course does, and the operation is more profitable when run at bare bones. One can dream!

My Rating: 5 

The Grant Horvat Saga

Grant Horvat, known for making videos in the YouTube golf space, made headlines in the golf twitter community universe yesterday. Grant put out a written and verbal statement on his social media platforms announcing that he is declining his sponsor's exemption invite from the Barracuda Championship, the alternate field event this week on the PGA Tour.

Grant received his sponsor’s exemption invitation months ago. In many of his videos, Grant contemplated the decision, which would have been his first solo professional golf event. In his match series where he starts 5-under against a professional, Grant asked Scottie Scheffler his thoughts on if he should play. Scottie would go on to persuade Grant to play, saying that he was deserving of the spot due to his influence in growing the game of golf via YouTube. 

From his statement, Grant cited that the reason he decided to withdraw from the Barracuda Championship due to the PGA Tour’s unwillingness to let him film and post his round to his personal YouTube platform. 

I am a Grant Horvat fan, and I consume the majority of his YouTube videos, especially his major cut series with Wesley and George Bryan. However, I think it’s a little outlandish that his main reason was that he couldn’t film inside the ropes. 

I believe he is playing dumb that he didn’t know that he couldn’t film his round to be posted on his YouTube channel. Everyone knows that the PGA Tour has strict rules with filming and content, similar to most sports leagues like the NFL and NBA. They have been behind the 8-ball for years and continue to be, even with their investment in the Creator Classic event.

I completely understand the PGA Tour pushing back and not allowing Grant to bend the rules. This is still a professional golf tournament where players are trying to accumulate FedEx points for the playoffs and potentially keep their card for next year. This is a job for everyone trying to make a living. 

I am not attacking Grant’s character, he comes off as a great human being and has done a lot of great work to grow the game of golf as a whole to new heights. I just believe he handled this whole situation poorly, and came across to many as being slightly ignorant. 

Welcome to golf twitter, Grant Horvat!

BONUS: Welcome to golf twitter, Wesley Bryan!

Open Championship Tiered Golf Picks

Every major championship week, my inbox is filled with messages from friends about who to take in their office tiered pool. Instead of answering all of those texts individually, I will give my picks and pivots in each tier in our newsletter:

(for reference, I am using the tiers on Easy Office Pool)

Tier 1: Jon Rahm

Andy did a great job convincing you above on why Jon Rahm has a great chance to win his 3rd major championship. Jon Rahm is my pick to win this golf tournament too. I would have to assume that Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIIroy will be the most popular picks in the elite tier. Hopefully he’s holding the Claret Jug come Sunday afternoon.

Pivot: Xander Schauffele

Tier 2: Matt Fitzpatrick

Fitzy is legitimately playing some of best golf of his career right now. He is coming off back to back top 10 finishes at the Rocket Classic and Scottish Open. His ball striking has been very consistent, which he struggled with mightily to start the season. He is accurate off-the-tee, ranking 12th in the field in distance to the edge of fairway. Fitzy’s gritty golf game is perfect for Royal Portrush.

Pivot: Jordan Spieth

Tier 3: Jason Day

Jason Day has some of the best history at Open Championships, despite winning one, as he ranks 12th in strokes gained at this tournament. He is one of the best middle iron players in the field, where a healthy dose of 2nd shots will come from. We highlighted that around-the-green play will be vital at Portrush. Day ranks 13th in overall around-the-green play and ranks 10th in strokes gained putting on UK/Ireland greens. I believe the aura farmer will play well through the weekend.

Pivot: Patrick Reed

Tier 4: Aaron Rai

Two gloved Aaron Rai fits the prototype of being accurate off-the-tee, great middle iron player, and has an above average short game in his arsenal. He has had a great 2025 majors year with a T27 at the Masters, T19 at the PGA, and a T33 at the US Open. I love the course fit at Royal Portrush.

Pivot: Si Woo Kim

Tier 5: Tom Kim

Tom Kim has a very impressive record across the pond with four top 20 finishes at the Scottish Open and a runner-up finish at the 2023 Open Championship. He is coming off averaging 1.83 strokes per round tee-to-green at the Scottish Open. He has a well balanced short game and has performed well on UK and Ireland greens in his career.

Pivot: Nick Taylor

Tier 6: Davis Thompson

DT let us down at the PGA Championship, but I am ready to go back to him at the Open Championship. DT has gained at least four strokes ball-striking in his last four tournaments. Since playing from the fairway will a premium at Royal Portrush, DT ranks 12th in the field in strokes gained off-the-tee on difficult to hit golf courses. With a sneaky short game, he could be the deciding factor in your pool.

Pivot: Jordan Smith