An update on real GHIN, as the USGA pushed out the GHIN Rewind this week and mine contained some surprises. We’ll dig deeper this week on the podcast, but I’ll get it started here. 

 I will likely end the year at a 2.1, the exact same spot I started. The 61 rounds is light.

I played at least eight rounds of alt shot that I couldn’t post (many at home) and then played another six rounds on courses that aren’t rated or postable. 

Of the scores I posted, I love seeing the variety: 43 different courses across 61 rounds. Seeing new courses is why I play golf. My “hardest round” also turned out to be the absolute best round I played all year - a 1-over par 72 at Western Gailes on a windy, grey day. It wasn’t the lowest score of the year but it was absolutely the best golf I played, and the 76 rating and 146 slope make sense. On the flip side, the “easiest” course I played according to the ratings is the Lagoon Course at my home club, Ponte Vedra Inn and Club. This could not be further from the truth. It’s a sub-6000 yard par 70 that’s rated as a 68.4 and 126 slope. This year the superintendent grew the rough up, the greens are fast, there’s water everywhere and there are six par-3s, six par-4s and six par-5s, and it’s HARD. Members and guests tend to scoff at it because of the yardage, but if I wanted to sandbag I would play there on a weekly basis and my index would shoot up. 

We’re recording our beginning of 2025 “Goals” podcast in the coming days, and I’ve already decided one of those goals is going to be 100 rounds posted.

My friend Garrett Morrison from Fried Egg Golf is down in Melbourne, Australia this week on a whirlwind tour of the Sandbelt and I am positively jealous. I cannot wait to return down under, and get to Hobart and Perth and Kangaroo Island and back to Adelaide on the next trip and then dig a level deeper in Victoria to see Yarra Yarra, Commonwealth, Woodlands, the various courses at The National, and Healesville. Balancing that and a proper New Zealand trip is going to be a tricky thing over the next 18 months.

Speaking of Australia, the Australian Open (golf, not tennis) is a disgrace in its current iteration. Pitiful purse, paltry corporate support, sparse crowds in Melbourne, a neutered golf course setup, and a contrived co-ed format that’s great in theory and a mess in practice and short-changes both genders. National opens need to be celebrated and the winners rewarded with exemptions into the majors, but that’s also a two-way street and they need to be serious competitions befitting their title. Based on conversations with nearly everyone I know in Australia, I’m close to placing a fatwa on the entire Golf Australia organization. Get it together!

I am grateful to the dozens of people who reached out and offered up dozens of the “old” version of the Cypress Point Club plastic ballmarkers and then sent them through. I mean, look at this thing!

This is how I feel after Cal Club into Sea Island into Tree Farm into a father/son trip to Boston into Thanksgiving into Ohoopee into Randy’s wedding and then back to Ohoopee and then down to West Palm for TGL Media Day (seeing “The Spear” and “The Temple” in person is going to be majestic) this week, and I think I need to detox/chill out at home for a few weeks and get my feet under me:

recent podcast conversation between Andy Johnson and Bob Crosby

. My friend/oft-collaborator Wolfie has told me repeatedly that Bob Crosby might be the smartest, most enlightened dude in golf, and this episode certainly supports that.

Speaking of Wolfie, we recorded a “Best Golf Countries” Office Hours episode that will be coming out later this week. It’s my favorite OH ep we’ve done yet - be on the lookout for it. And in the meantime, catch up on our recent episode on 

On the newsletter front, Kyle Porter’s conversation with 

Rufus Peabody last week in his Normal Sport newsletter

 was fantastic. Rufus is someone who the more I learn about him, the more fascinated I become.

I took my older son Freddie up to Boston before Thanksgiving for a Celtics game and to show him where he was born. It was great to go up and also a reminder of how much I don’t miss the weather and gray and cold. We hit Pammy’s, Modern, the Celtics facility thanks to some gracious hospitality from a friend, got to see Anthony Edwards in person, saw a Celtics win, and Freddie was a trooper as we walked a lot. Fun weekend!

Randy’s wedding weekend in Austin was a blast, too. It was a very stereotypically “Austin” long weekend, with dinner at a buzzy coastal Mexican spot called Este, brunches at Sour Duck and June’s All Day, lunch at Perla’s, and a late-night meal at Dai Due. All were fantastic. Caught a Wilco show at ATX Live. Caught up with some Austin friends I don't get to see enough. And stayed at the South Congress Hotel and drank way too much at the hotel bar with the NLU crew, Randy’s family, and college friends I hadn’t seen in over a decade. I’m still recovering. Also got to meet DJ and Justine’s new addition, Charlie, and then share some drinks with David Ruff, from Washed Media, though I have not dabbled with his Guinness + espresso combo yet, I remain intrigued.

My 24 hours in a Waffle House punishment will happen in the next two weeks. Some of my buddies told me this weekend that a fantasy league they’re in makes the loser of their league here in Jax take a Greyhound bus to Cleveland and back, so I consider myself lucky with the WaHo stakes.

I cannot emphasize enough how much I love this video. I watch it almost daily and it makes me laugh every single time.

I’ve got three pet peeves to harp on this week:

Bars and restaurants are not cleaning out their draught lines. This is an epidemic, and quite frankly, it needs to be regulated because it’s fucking gross and a health hazard. So many establishments rely on draught beer for their highest margins, yet they don’t want to do the work to properly service these systems and clean out all the shit that builds up in there, especially if they have a wide variety of beers. Do better! In the meantime, I’ll be extremely choosy about where I imbibe pints.

I’ve made my feelings clear on CLEAR (it’s a disgrace with OR without TSA Precheck), but I’ve got a couple of bones to pick with the Atlanta airport. Normally, on the (maddening) new “Analogic” machines the TSA is commonly using, there are three or four stations to put your bags, then you push it into the second level, then the machine automatically takes it to the bins to third level in a regimented way. In Atlanta, at least on the international side (where I tend to park), passengers are forced to push their bins all the way to the third level, which results in the people on the end of the line pushing their stuff onto the conveyor while the other 2-3 spots closer to the machine are forced to wait. I must’ve waited while 5 different people from that last spot go their stuff in before me. I witnessed several Diamond Medallions (who should know better and be more considerate) do this and was appalled. The world’s busiest airport needs to do better and fix this. Also, the parking garages at ATL don’t have a system where it recognizes your license plate and automatically knows how much you should pay. Instead, you have to put your ticket into the machine. That’s just not acceptable these days. I’m thankful for the ease of parking at JAX and the systems they have in place.

While IAH has some of my favorite airport restaurants and I generally like flying through there, the online ordering at the various “OTG” restaurants is a disgrace. I can’t talk to a human being. At the “Little Purse Dumpling Den,” we ordered dumplings, a bowl of ramen, edamame, a glass of sauvignon blanc, a Sapporo, and a bottle of San Pellegrino and it came to over a hundred bucks and took forever. Similar issues at EWR in Terminal C. OTG is a borderline-criminal organization that should lose its license to operate in these airports.

NFL/CFB Quick Hits as the #BallKnowers are on hiatus until January due to scheduling constraints and holiday break:

The Falcons continue to piss me off. The offense is so bland and uninspired, even in last night’s flaccid victory over a moribund Raiders team. I realize that Cousins can’t really move, but the scheme isn’t putting him in a position to succeed and I’m not sure it would be any different with Penix. It was interesting to watch them on a split screen with the Bears/Vikings game on at the same time. Kevin O’Connell’s on another level right now with some of their concepts and it’s really fun to watch. (Look for their QB coach Josh McCown to get some HC looks in the months ahead, too.) Same deal with Flores on the other side of the ball. It’s also really fun to watch how bad the Bears are. Awful penalties, horrible protection, and Caleb just isn’t accurate. He deserves credit for not losing his mind in the midst of this disastrous rookie season, but his footwork, rhythm, reads and ability to play on-schedule just don’t seem to be good, at all. And that’s a continuation of what we saw at USC, the only difference is the game is just faster in the NFL and he can’t get away with it. Not impressed.

On that note, I miss Coach Flus so much. His post-game pressers, pre-halftime quick interviews, and general demeanor made me so happy. The timeout fiasco at the end of the Thanksgiving game was the highlight of the NFL season. Rarely are we gifted such staggering, no-holds-barred ineptitude and hilarity, and when we get it we need to cherish it. Reminds me of Urban’s tenure with the Jags. Still can’t believe he stayed behind in Ohio and didn’t fly back with the team after the Thursday night game against the Bengals and THEN got nabbed for <redacted> at Urban’s Pour House the next night! And now he’s gainfully employed on the worst pre-game show in sports!

I can’t figure the Ravens and Texans out.

There have been a lot of Eagles fans in the DMs crowing about the current winning streak. I remain steadfast in my belief that Sirianni and Hurts are frauds, and I’d encourage everyone to wait until after the playoffs to reach out. Howie’s built a heck of a roster and he’s on another level when it comes to evaluation on DBs. It’s a very good defense, I’m a big AJ Brown fan, and they’ve got some predators up front. Time will tell.

Just wasn’t Los Niners’ season. Injury apocalypse. Not quite sure what they should do moving forward - it’s an old roster and Purdy’s about to get very expensive.

The Jaguars not firing Pederson and (especially) Baalke by now is extremely concerning.

The Bills are very good and I’m not sure how you defend them. The Packers are really good and I was very wrong about Lafleur. That performance on Sunday night in Seattle was awesome. Meanwhile, the Rams offense has been a joy to watch this season. They’ve been involved in three of the best games I’ve watched all season.

Super impressed with what Dave Canales has done over the last 6 weeks or so. Sitting Bryce Young to press pause on things and restore his confidence was a great move, and he’s working wonders. Jalen Coker is really good at WR. That team is playing hard.

It feels like we’re a year too early to judge #Baugh down in San Diego. That’s a bad skill position room made worse by injuries, and when McConkey is out there’s just not a lot they can do, no matter how good they are upfront. But if Herbert was the generational QB talent that all the dipshits like Ruiz say he is, he should be more of a weapon.

At some point, the Saints have to rip the bandaid off and just bite the bullet on the salary cap/dead money front. What a bad place to be as a franchise - absolutely rudderless, yet unwilling to embark on bottoming out. Same deal with the Titans. What a bad, vanilla-ass team.

On the college front, the progression of Billy Napier this season has been interesting, and a lesson in patience. Florida fans were trying to run him out of there after the first third of the season and then that team played hard, won some big games, played some good teams hard, has something special at QB in DJ Lagway, and the recruiting is good. He came in and wanted to recruit high schoolers and develop and build the program the right way and it’s paying off. Patience!

The Georgia Tech/Georgia game was the best thing I’ve watched all year. Neil and I were in Atlanta that night with our whole family and we all stayed up watching through all the overtime (which is gimmicky and I long for the old college OT.) I’m pretty agnostic as it relates to both programs, but I found myself captivated by GT - it was like watching the college version of my high school team, running option concepts and just generally being crafty. And then I watched Brent Key’s postgame presser and it’s clear he’s building something there and it’s about more than just football. I’d send my sons to play for that guy. Consider me a fan from here on out.

Last thing on the football front, if you don’t subscribe to Holly Anderson and Spencer Hall’s 

 you should! And here’s why - this, on the Ohio State loss is them at their best:

GHIN & Tonic, Vol. 27 (TC)

We are lucky at No Laying Up — you could even say blessed — in that we get to interact with so many people in golf over the course of a year.

We travel to weird and fun places, we meet people obsessed with their craft at the highest and lowest stations in the game, and we share stories and break bread, then talk about bogeys that could have been birdies. It remains the best job we could have accidentally chosen, and we are thankful that you come along for the ride and ultimately make it possible.

Whenever the holidays pop up on the calendar, it feels like a natural time to reflect on why we enjoy this sport so much, and why it speaks to us in a way that almost nothing else does.

Professional golf can be alluring, yet maddening. From time to time, the scale tips in the wrong direction. Everyone could see some of that disillusionment reflected in the eyes of fans this year. But “professional golf” and “golf” are not the same thing. That’s an important distinction to keep in mind, and one that was a clear theme as we gathered together (

when we cast a wide net that covers at least some of what we love about this imperfect game.

For starters, we are thankful for the gift of 

 for the excuse to cross state lines, borders, mountains, or oceans, and see courses that — until this year — have only existed in our heads, or as a collection of pixels on our screens. Collectively, we got to see a dozen bucket list courses this year, both old and new. Many places, we’re already plotting a return.

Maybe it’s weird to be thankful for the 

 at Sheep Ranch on a sunny day is old hat to you. It’s possible you’ve seen the coffin bunker on the 

 at Royal Melbourne beneath your feet. But a few of us got to experience those things for the first time this year, and when a place you’ve long dreamed about exceeds your already-absurd expectations, it’s a reminder that some cathedrals in this game really are worth making a pilgrimage to experience.

We are particularly thankful this year for the country of 

— for the people there, their infectious humor, and their respect and love for the game, even when it often goes unrequited by the rest of the world. The courses, pound for pound, are unparalleled. We’re already eager to return.


Speaking of returning, we’ve fallen deeply in love the last few years with the 

, that magic piece of rock in the middle of the Firth of Clyde and all the little mysteries and flourishes she offers. We’re going to make a regular pilgrimage here for the foreseeable future. A round at 

 will always fill up our cup, and help us reconnect to what really matters, and a few nights at 

 are often a recipe for the best sleep of your life. Get there if you can, just don’t tell too many people, okay?

We are thankful, especially at a time when artificial intelligence continues to bleed into every aspect of life, for 

 whose sons are picking up the torch and running with it. We are grateful too for 

, dreamers who are imprinting their own stamp on the game and leaving it better than they found it by creating places worth seeking out.

We’d also be remiss if we didn’t mention we are thankful for 

, who we appreciate more with each passing year. One of us even got the chance to play 

 this year. We’re still thinking about that eagle chip that almost dripped in on the second hole and the story we’ll tell our kids one day.

A couple of us have moved to new cities in recent years, and we’ve reluctantly left behind the courses and playing partners we’d grown to love. But in our new places, as we’ve begun to put down roots, we’ve been extremely thankful for the way golf offers 

, the way it allows you to find your tribe and integrate into a community.


in Las Vegas, or the randos we get paired up with at 

 in Milwaukee, or the delightful weirdos we cross paths with at 

 in Brooklyn. There is something intimate and revealing about sharing a round of golf with a stranger. Occasionally those chance encounters will lead to lasting friendships. That you can forge a life-long friendship on a course in Australia the same way you can forge one at your local muni is a nice reminder that the world is only as small as you choose to make it.

And while we’re thinking of it, a hearty shout out to local golf associations, particularly the ones where events are well run, have excellent pace of play and are hosted at interesting courses. The 

 deserves a specific call out here, but chances are there is something similar in your area you should embrace. It will take you places you would never play otherwise.


 who create the surfaces we play upon and turn a simple grass field into something so much more. The same goes for the 

 the men and women who are often underpaid and unappreciated. They are around the game way more often than they ever get the chance to play it, and the majority of them take way more pride in their work than their paycheck will ever reflect.

Living in a place where you can't play golf in the winter has made a few of us reflect on how grateful we are for 

 and those rounds when it feels almost like you’re getting away with something like you’re cheating the calendar. The Florida boys will never understand the rush of teeing off with a fellow lunatic when the temperature is hovering just south of 50 degrees. The later in the season you play, the more fun it gets, even on days when you can see your breath as the last putt drops.

This might come as a surprise, but we are thankful for the fire hose of content this year churned out by 

, and how committed he is to entertaining the audience, whether he’s trying to win a major championship or making a hole-in-one by hitting wedges over the top of his house. No matter what you think of Bryson, he is good for the sport. He makes our jobs more fun. When he put down his U.S. Open trophy and climbed back into the bunker at Pinehurst with 

, then instructed Wagner on how to recreate his remarkable up-and-down, it was the best television segment of the year. At a time when a lot of people within the sport are as riveting as a dial tone, Bryson has tapped into something riveting. And if you don’t like him, he makes for a formidable villain. We are excited to see whatever is next.


, two superstars who have forced everyone to chase their level of excellence. It’s essential to have superstars in your sport. Neither has the flair and thirst for the camera that Bryson does, but that’s not a bad thing. A quiet commitment to excellence is alluring in its own way, and the fact that they’re more interested in chasing history than they are likes or subscribers should be the skeleton of the professional game. Professional golf — despite its best efforts — is not a YouTube channel. It’s a place where the most skilled golfers in the world vie for trophies and records. No two golfers grasp that better than Scheffler and Korda, but we’d feel foolish if we didn’t mention we’re thankful for 

, who reminded us this year that you can control your own destiny if you just keep chipping away at the rock in front of you.

We are thankful, especially when we think about grit and drive, for people who don’t give up. People like our friend 

whose spirit and energy in the face of MND

 is a testament to the same qualities that made him a standout golfer before the disease took those skills from him. And for our friend 

, whose relentless positivity and force of will in the fight with cancer — and bout after bout of chemo — has given us a much-neededhard-pressed perspective in our own lives. Trego, with his 

, was the MVP of our Nest Invitational Tournament at 

 this year. We are hard pressed to think of a better evening than the one we spent sipping whiskey with him under the stars at one of America’s best munis.

 of something can make you even more grateful for its eventual return, and that was golf for a couple of us this year. When you can’t play the game, either because of injuries or work obligations or parental responsibilities, it forces you to appreciate it in new and different ways. It makes your love evolve and helps you understand the depths of it. Some days, we’re content just visualizing the shots we hope to one day hit. Our swings are never disappointing when we lay in bed at night, imagining the holes we yearn to play when life offers up the chance to return.


 the ones who encourage our infatuation with this strange and beautiful game. First and foremost, for our 

, because they never fail to celebrate our wins and encourage us to push for more. But we are also thankful for the chance to share this game with our 

 Some of us are already there, basking in the glow of the 

 disappointment. Some of us are still in the stage where we’re just changing diapers and trying to hold it together until nap time.

Time marches on, either way, for all of us.


If we’re lucky, if we pass down the stuff we love without pushing too hard, someday they might be stubborn enough and curious enough to insist on making their own lists.

Kevin Van Valkenburg is the Editorial Director of No Laying Up.

No Laying Up is Chris Solomon, Todd Schuster, Phil Landes, Neil Schuster, D.J. Piehowski, Ben Hotaling, Casey Landman, Cody McBride, Kevin Van Valkenburg and Jordan Perez.


Let us know what you're thankful for in the 

NLU 2024: What We’re Thankful For

Short one this week on the backend of some travel (more on that later) and deep into 2025 planning. 

We’re getting into the meat of golf season here in Florida and my handicap index is settling into the 2.3-2.6 range, which feels both comfortable and accurate. We discussed it a bit on this past Sunday’s pod - there’s some very good golf in there that’s trying to come out. Patience! Strangely, that hankering to play some left-handed golf is coming back for the first time in a couple of years and I may have to indulge it over the next couple of months and re-heat my alternative “Tron Carter” lefty GHIN account. Stay tuned!

Recent travels took me out to San Francisco and I had the chance to play Brambles, the latest Coore & Crenshaw layout up north of wine country. Patience, rusticity, and minimalism are all on full display. The 3rd hole felt straight out of Scotland. And then it really ramps up from 4 through 9, and there's some cool stuff on the back nine that I probably glazed over because I was jetlagged. Great burger. James Duncan poured his heart and soul into the place, lined up the right partners to fund it and bring it to life, and that all shines through. I had a great conversation with the superintendent, Tyler Marcotte, and then the head pro, Tom Holmes, felt like a kindred spirit - Australian who came over to the US for college and then caught on up at Wykagil and moved out to California to help bring this place to life.  Everyone up there about the right stuff. And sheep roaming all over the place. As the native grows in and frames the holes, it’ll be one of the better walks in U.S. golf. I also met 

 while there...not sure there's a more fascinating job in golf than what he does with tying in nature to golf course design and experiences. This guy had been a mythical creature in my head for years: "Wait, there's a guy who just wanders around out here reflecting and learning the rhythms of the property and observes the trees and the light and then crafts little tie-ins?" That realization and thoughtfulness made me think of a walk around a golf course in a far different light nearly five years ago and my experiences have been far richer because of it. A wonderful surprise to meet the man himself and realize he isn't just an urban legend!

It was fun to dig into the Golf Magazine Top 100 rankings on Sunday’s pod, and really I think we’re just scratching the surface. Golf Digest’s list should be coming out in the weeks ahead and will provide great fodder and context. Will have plenty more to come on this front.

Cody flew into Jax on Sunday and we went up to Sea Island for the RSM Pro-Am and enjoyed a day out on Seaside with no wind. I’ve played there a couple dozen times over the last two decades and have never had a windless day out there. That, combined with middle pins and smooth tour greens added up to a lot of birdies. We played with Greyson Sigg and you can count me among his new fans. He’s 29 years old and his game and statistical profile remind me of a souped-up version of Zac Blair. He gives away distance off the tee and knows how to scramble and get the ball in the hole. His attitude and demeanor couldn’t be more unaffected and he works with the same coach at Augusta Country Club who taught him while he was growing up. Delightful afternoon!

I spent the last couple of nights up north of Aiken at The Tree Farm. It’s been really fun to see it come together and be able to stay on-site. Couldn’t be more proud of Zac and Alex Warr and the others who have brought it to life. Speaking of Zac, big week on tap at RSM for him - he heads into the final event of the season at 123rd in FedEx Cup standings and is paired up in the first two rounds with Joel Dahmen (124th) and Wesley Bryan (125th). Good bubble this year!

Page Break

out to Northern California, I carved out a night to eat at 

- this was the highlight of the entire trip. I believe the chef is an Eagle Scout, so the tasting menu was guided by a cool little booklet. The service generally speaking was both colorful and anticipatory.  Flighted wines were a delight, particularly a unique Chenin Blanc that was so much more green and fresh than I’ve ever had. Being taken upstairs to a lounge/den area for the dessert portion of the night was a cool flourish. In all, it lived up to the hype (and I didn't take many pics because I just wanted to experience it and not be distracted!)

On the homefront, Halloween was great, Freddie lost his flag football championship by a single point and was devastated, and we went to the Florida-Georgia game for the first time!

I feel like I need to address the Pacman Jones arrest. We were doing so well since the airport incident a couple of years ago and this was such an unfortunate regression. I’ll continue to assess the situation, until then we’ll have no further comment.

, which is always the highlight of the quarter from a wine perspective. The more I drink and add to my palate, the more I enjoy drinking Tom’s wines. All of the qualities I laid out above in regard to Brambles also apply to Darling - intention and restraint in spades. The Syrahs are perfect food wines, the Pinots are coastal and moody, and the fall Gamay release was a fun surprise.

I’m wholly confused by Los Falcons - the Saints loss and the blowout loss at Denver have me spinning.

Will have more to say regarding Kyle and Los Niners in the near future. In the meantime, by all means, please keep flooding my inbox and DMs with hateful stuff.

Speaking of haters, Eagles fans are getting chippier and chippier! This is the same team that almost lost to the Jags at home a few weeks ago. I remain bullish on their defense, but Hurts is *exactly* who we thought he was.

 with tales of my magical afternoon/evening at Root Down in the Denver Airport on this week’s TrapDraw. Between the snow, the food, the people-watching, the great service and traveling between two places with temps in the 70s, it truly felt like a suspended reality. I find myself yearning for a dose of winter every few weeks to make me thankful for the seasons and for the good weather at home. And to see the oft-maligned DEN folks handle 19 inches of heavy, wet snow in a capable, orderly way was cool to watch. To be able to marvel at the de-icing stations, plowing schemes, and general operational excellence was a highlight of my year in travel.

 DEN: It's the best, and it's not particularly close right now. The green onion risotto, the duck wings, the cocktails, the service, the way they never waste seats - invigorating every time!

PDX: Doesn't look like much but it BANGS. Everything is scratch-made, it's street-pricing, and the service is on-point. 

MRY (Really shouldn’t count. It’s an actual restaurant AT the airport.)

ATL (Has plummeted in my rankings in the last few years but still good in relative terms)

, DEN: I can't alwys make it out to terminal C, and this place remains a shining light in B (along with the pho place that's tucked away upstairs.) There's also a good dog place in Milwaukee. Dressed up hot dogs need to be more prevalent in airports - they're portable, quick, customizable and easy to pull off. 

 SAN: The more I go here the more I crave the fresh rolls, particularly because I'm usually either taking a redeye home or embarking on a wasted day of travel, so fueling up with something light and fresh is awesome and well-executed Thai is always a win. 

Also a big Pappadeux guy at IAH.  On the chain front, I also have a major soft spot for the lobster roll at  Legal Seafood and/or Legal Test Kitchen at BOS. Stephanie'ss is also good at BOS. I don’t want to eat burgers while traveling! Chef Geoff’s, Grindhouse, etc. Bun Tee is good at SFO - have tried virtually the entire menu this year. I haven't flown into Austin in a bit so need to reassess but there's always good options there. Obryckis is good in Baltimore, but I hesitate to eat too much crab when I'm flying for fear of smelling. ORD needs a better hot dog stand and more of them - the Chicago Cubs bar just isn't cutting it. I try to spend as little time at DFW, MIA, CLT, PHL as possible, so these are mostly blind spots for me (though the food has always been great in the Centurion in PHL, and people rave about Bigalora at DFW and then I need to reacquaint myself with the offerings at DTW, namely Anita's Kitchen in the North Terminal. Also, I flew through ATL last night and the new AMEX lounge there was staggeringly nice, especially the roof deck. 

Thank you for indulging me during rankings season - I felt it important to rank something after being so fired up about the Golf Mag Top 100. This list is not meant to be exhaustive and I welcome your suggestions and/or disagreements via email at 

 These rankings will be a living document and are something that you really can't cover every base with.  

GHIN & Tonic, Vol. 26 (TC)

Thank you for your support in 2024. It has been another successful year, and we are heading into 2025 with a growing community of avid golfers. Here are some of our 2024 Nest Member highlights:



Visit your member profile to update your address and get another 

 raised for charities via No Laying Up and Roost events

Nest Member-supported content, including 

 and a new Strapped season filmed earlier this month (for release in February of 2025). 

 With over 8,000+ responses, you can expect a TikTok dance from D.J., Randy, and me before the end of the year!

Below, you'll find sections outlining the current benefits of your membership and some things we are excited about — and want to get better at — heading into 2025. 

If you want your 2024 Nest Member Gift, please update your

A FREE, STACKABLE code and fun surprise is waiting for you in the discount section...

 before it expires at the end of 2024. Help your friend or loved one #GetInvolved: 

 offer in the discount section), we can discuss the fun stuff.

All Nest Members who signed up or renewed at any point in 2024, will receive their member gift in late January of 2025.

We won't tell you what the member gift is, but if you are looking for some entertaining content, the 

A big priority in 2024 was working with NLU partners on Nest exclusive discounts, sweepstakes, and giveaways. We had 6 total this year, and I'd like to double that number in 2025. Here are a few holiday promos you should consider this month: 

 for those that check and update their address!

Offer good with a future order while supplies last

The Refuge is a lot of things: free-flowing, overwhelming, and distracting, but in the end, rewarding and real are the two words that always come to mind for me. As a Nest Member, you get full access to the Refuge (warts and all), so here are a few threads that may be worth your time:

 (great place to find golfers in your area)

On top of the Nest discount in the pro shop, we have a 

 available in the pro shop. Our limited edition 

 is our newest Nest Member apparel, but my favorite Nest only item in 2025 is a toss up between 

. We will continue releasing limited inventory to Nest Members one or two days early. The best place to find updates on new apparel drops: 

If you are having trouble accessing the Nest Collection:

 in the pro shop with your Nest-associated email address (DO NOT select the "Forgot Password" option). 

This week we enter year six of our Nest Membership. Overall, we are very happy with the membership growth (15% year over year in 2024), and the low churn rate (under 1% over the last 12 months). Our goal is to overdeliver on what's promised and keep adding to that list of member promises in a sustainable way. We don't do much marketing for the Nest. I love that people find it organically and end up sticking around! That said, it is not lost on me that over 70% of Census respondents said they joined the Nest "to support NLU as an independent media company." That is both deeply gratifying and somewhat frustrating because I want people to see tangible value in core deliverables! What I can guarantee in 2025 is that we will not raise the price of the Nest membership, and we will work hard to continue adding value to the offering. Below are some areas where I think we need to improve: 

A Nest "brand refresh" in early 2025 as well as upgrades to our technical stack to make using your Nest Member perks easier across different parts of our business.

Improvements to our Nest exclusive merchandise in the Pro Shop. We want to refresh the Nest collection and release items thoughtfully and consistently in 2025. We will also continue releasing limited inventory and new arrivals in the Pro Shop to Nest Members first throughout the year.

More organization, support, and promotion of Roost events throughout the year.

Writing: Written work is worth paying for, and we have plans to move most of NLU's written content behind the paywall (with non-Nest Members receiving 5-10 free articles before they need to become a member). This isn't really an addition to the Nest membership, but I think it symbolizes our desire to continue investing in written work and tying that back to Nest Member support.

More partner discounts throughout the year to add tangible, monetary value to your membership. We got better in this area in 2024 but still have room to improve.

More Nest podcast with 3-4 team members diving into discussion topics

We don't have any significant changes planned for the Refuge, but we will be devoting some resources to organizing threads and making the platform a little easier to navigate.

We'll be recording a review of the 2024 Census on the November Nest podcast this Friday. I will also send out the Census results and summarized thoughts via email next month. Thank you for your support, and we look forward to seeing you in the Nest in 2025! 

Thank you for supporting No Laying Up. Our stated mission is 

"to entertain and inform a community of avid golfers around the world."

 The center of that community is the Nest, and we truly appreciate the support.

The State of the Nest 2024

Greetings. I’m a father now. More on that later.

I’m very happy to be back. Let’s dive in.

As I write this, I’m in the midst of a seven-match losing streak against my friend A.J. It’s brutal. His course, my course, neutral sites. It doesn’t matter.

I’m including this for a few reasons: First, because he’s worked hard, improved his game and played some very nice golf and he deserves his due. But also because it’s helped me realize something important that I’ve become very thankful for.

A.J. and I became friends a few years ago when I moved to Milwaukee and we were thrilled to learn that both of us were 6-handicaps. This, of course, meant that we could play matches straight up, without strokes. “Real golf,” as Randy, Neil and PacMan Jones would say.

Our first two matches were both dead ties, with each of us sinking big putts at the final hole to even up the day. Even our third match was tied when we got to the 18th hole. I finally got him, 1 up, which I only include because it was the first and last time I beat him since we started keeping a spreadsheet of match results.

Part of what makes golf great is that the handicap system allows people of all skill levels to (theoretically) play an evenly matched, competitive game against each other. That system works great. But as someone who is typically on the receiving end of strokes from the people I play with, I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t something just a bit hollow about “winning” a match when the other guy clearly and objectively played better golf. (Hopefully, Soly isn’t reading this, because our matches are exempt from this feeling.)

What’s most fun about finding an equal sparring partner like this is that even as your handicaps drift apart, as they often naturally do, both of you know that you’ll always see each other as the players from those first matches. And the thought of giving or receiving pops will repulse both sides forever.

When Tron first moved to Florida, we played dozens of matches straight up and had back-and-forth slugfests. His game has since taken a leap that I can’t keep up with. He’s clearly a better player than me, but every time he’s forced to give me two a side, we both feel a little grimy because we know how much more fun it is to be on a level playing field. If you have a golf friend like this, I hope you appreciate how great of an asset those even matches are.

My practice has plummeted this fall and A.J. has gotten consistently better. Realistically, our handicaps are no longer the same and the fine people at the USGA would be pulling their hair out watching us continue to play straight up. But each time I get beat, the itch to get back out and play again gets even stronger. And when the streak finally ends, it’s going to feel so much better than any 5-for-4 ever has.

My wife Justine and I welcomed our first kid back in September, a little boy named Charlie. He rules (or at least he seems to – he doesn’t say very much). We are over the moon and enjoying every minute of it.

Since Charlie was born, I’ve gotten countless messages from people who are about to become parents themselves. Here are a few stray notes and thoughts from the past two months for them to take or leave (and for experienced parents to hopefully get a laugh at):

• The most important takeaway of the earliest days was simply to stay ahead. You can’t get behind in the count because you have no chance to hit a 2-strike cutter. You have to anticipate, plan your next move and maximize your time, which is something I’ve never been very good at. If you have five minutes to do the dishes, those are the five minutes to do them. If you’re getting ready to give him a bottle, think of everything you might need within arm's length over the next 30 minutes. The last thing you want to do is realize you left his pacifier downstairs when the shit hits the fan (or your arm).

• The weather over the first month was a joke in Milwaukee. Mid-60s, leaves changing, cool breezes off the lake. As a result, Justine and I both quickly realized that long walks served the multiple purposes of:

a) Getting out of the house and feeling like a human being

c) Giving the other person a quiet house for an hour or so

I would almost always opt for the baby carrier over the stroller on these, which I love. Sometimes we would just walk to the coffee shop, sit outside on benches and watch people go by. The best.

• Of course all the cliches are true and spectacular: The awe you will have every day for your partner, the fact that there are varieties of patience you didn’t even know existed, etc.

But if I’m being honest, a lot of the first few weeks can feel more like feeding a sourdough starter than what you’ve always pictured as “parenting.” It’s pretty procedural and impersonal, particularly without all the built-in physiological connections that a mother has with the newborn.

But, man. When you get a few weeks in and he starts squeaking and smirking and making funny faces…

• It’s maddening how often you have no idea what to do and end up hearing “it depends” or “do what’s right for you!” All you want when your brain turns to sleep-deprived mush is for someone to tell you exactly what to do. That’s not going to happen. I suppose it’s probably for good reason.

• I only read a few books before Charlie arrived: “Bringing up Bebe,” which came highly recommended by Tron and a few others. And “Moms on Call,” which is much more of a how-to reference manual than a parenting philosophy. Both were great in their own way, but reading them before the baby came probably did very little for me. I’m re-reading parts of them now that I’m 2 months in and, unsurprisingly, it feels like I can finally translate the language they’re written in.

 consideration to the consequences of Googling things because it’s impossible to unread what you’ll see. I’ve never been a huge Reddit guy, but honestly, a lot of the parenting and newborn threads are incredibly helpful, calm and rational, and do a great job of putting any worries into comforting perspective and plain English. That’s become my go-to instead of wading through the “technically it could be the worst disease you’ve ever heard of” answers on most medical websites.

• Charlie was in the NICU for five days after he was born. Thankfully, it was for some very mild breathing concerns that kept our nerves to a minimum. Every day, we would get up, go to the hospital, and spend all day hanging out in his room and peppering his nurses with every question we could think of about how to take care of a newborn. I never would have chosen for him to have to spend time in there, but in reality, having those training wheel days where the pros could show us how and why they did the things they did made me so much more confident when it was time to actually go home.

Without fail, every single person we met in the NICU – from the doctors and nurses to the assistants and cleaning staff – was a compassionate, thoughtful pro that put us at ease with well-timed insights, empathy and humor. I can’t fathom what it would take to do that job every single day, let alone for the decades that many had been there doing it. I’m sincerely grateful and thankful those types of people exist and will remember that group forever.

When he was dealing with some jaundice a few days in and needed to sit under those blue bilirubin lights, I made a quip to the nurse about how she should draw eyes on the masks to add some personality. I laughed so hard when we came in the next day.

• I’m naturally a night person, so I gravitated toward the graveyard shift, handling overnight feedings. Luckily the playoff baseball was electric (apart from one inning of a certain Game 3). Outside of that, I watched a few Apple+ shows: All of “Slow Horses,” which I can’t recommend enough. I also got all the way through “Shrinking,” which is kind of like “if they let the people on Scrubs say the F-word.” I like it. It’s a fun late-night delirious watch and Harrison Ford is a treat.

Now that baseball is over, we’re rounding into full-on Oscars prep and it’s movie season. Watch this space for more updates.

 I pretty vividly remember the low point of those first few weeks.

 It was between 3 and 4 a.m. and Charlie and I were downstairs. He hadn’t been a huge crier so far, but he was in a full meltdown. I was trying every trick I had ever read – shushing, burping, changing, football cradling, swaying, rocking, bouncing, walking, swaddling and unswaddling. He had zero interest in any of it.

I knew he didn’t need a new diaper, but I gave him a full outfit change anyway, just to see if anything would click and make him stop. Pacifier? F*** off. Bouncy chair? Go to hell.Now things were moving quickly and the first uneasy waves of panic started to waft in. Surely the cries would wake up Justine during the few hours of precious sleep I was supposed to be giving her. And worse than that, I thought, maybe every night would just be like this. Forever. Me reduced to a pleading puddle, begging for answers from a little 8-pound time bomb who was so frustrated that he couldn’t give them to me. I used to do fun stuff, and now it’s just going to be this.

Suddenly the crying stopped and the room finally fell silent again. I rewound the previous seconds, trying to figure out what secret combination of moves had cracked the code. We were near the window in our dark living room, but the streetlights were throwing enough light for me to see that he had locked eyes with me, something he had only done a few times since we brought him home. The panic was gone and in its place was one of our first moments of what felt like actual bonding or connection. I slowly brought him a little closer to my face to allow us both to get a better look.

Then he vomited all over me and his brand-new set of pajamas. I paused, looked upward to the ceiling and took a deep breath. I looked back down at him and we both tried to figure out what to do next. I took another beat. Then he let out what has to be pound-for-pound the loudest fart in the history of Wisconsin. I was awestruck. After that, he took a deep breath and let out a big, satisfied exhale, turned his head slightly and fell asleep. I laughed for a half hour.

Thanks for reading. You can reach D.J. at 

GHIN & Tonic, Vol. 25 (D.J.)

The Nest Invitational Tournament (NIT) is No Laying Up’s year-end championship and the culmination of our 2024 event series presented by YETI. This year, 96 participants spanning 4 countries traveled to Dobson Ranch Golf Course in Mesa, Arizona in hopes of becoming the 5th NIT champion. For more information on how to qualify for the 2025 NIT and No Laying Up’s upcoming 2025 events schedule, 

sign up for the No Laying Up email newsletter.

MESA, AZ — For 54 holes, Ben Reinhart (@reinben) was struggling to hit a draw.

It hadn’t truly mattered. At least not yet. He’d been playing great golf through the first three rounds of the No Laying Up Nest Invitational Tournament at Dobson Ranch, and now he was in the thick of the finals, in contention.

He wasn’t leading, but anything and everything felt possible.

Still, it was a bit like showing up at a party without your most reliable friend.

A draw, in recent months, had become one of his best weapons — a big, booming, beautiful, right-to-left ball that seemed to scoff at the wind and dance on jetstream before it tumbled back to earth. That draw had helped him earn a berth into this tournament, his first appearance in the NIT, when he rode it to victory at The Olympic Prolific at Gearhart Golf Course. But ever since he showed up in Arizona, it had deserted him. Maybe it was a blessing, he decided. After all, you could miss right everywhere at Dobson. He was going to lean into it.

But when Reinhart stood on the 13th tee at Dobson Ranch, a Par 5 with a sharp dogleg to the left, he decided he would try — one last time — to turn a ball over. He picked out a line with his caddie, Calvin Cotton, and set up over the ball. He pulled the club back, coiling his body like a predator ready to strike, and fired his left hip. He hammered his drive with a vicious lash, then watched as it rocketed toward the dogleg.

Writing

GHIN & Tonic, Vol. 27 (TC)

NLU 2024: What We’re Thankful For

GHIN & Tonic, Vol. 26 (TC)

The State of the Nest 2024

GHIN & Tonic, Vol. 25 (D.J.)

2024 Nest Invitational Tournament: Reinben Reigns Supreme

GHIN & Tonic, Vol. 24 (TC)

GHIN & Tonic, Vol. 23 (Neil)

GHIN & Tonic, Vol. 22 (KVV)

Connor Belcastro: The Q-School Diary

GHIN & Tonic, Vol. 21 (TC)

GHIN & Tonic, Vol. 20 (Casey)

High Socks, Dad Backs, Determination: Who is the NLU Golfer of the Year?

GHIN & Tonic, Vol. 19 (KVV)

The True Gift of the Solheim Cup

GHIN & Tonic, Vol. 18 (TC)

A Farewell To My Favorite Athlete

GHIN & Tonic, Vol. 17 (Randy)