There’s a common misconception that the golf season ends in August. Next up: the California Swing, five months out. Or, for the real casuals, the Masters, eight months away.
But that’s far from reality. Your uncle Mark probably knows about the Memorial and U.S. Open and Pebble Beach and that crazy 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale, but it’s the true diehard, sicko golf fans who get excited for all the wonderful September golf ahead and things like Lahinch (last week’s Walker Cup venue), an Irish Open (names like Rahm, McIlroy and Koepka are playing) and Wentworth (host of the BMW Championship, the DP World Tour’s flagship event).
September is an intoxicating mix of team events and tournaments contested on old layouts that us lucky Americans get to watch in the mornings. That’s the best kind of golf, the golf you can watch when you wake up, when fall is approaching and it’s starting to get chilly in the States but not quite as cold as what it looks like on TV at Doughmore Beach, a few steps from where they’re playing the Irish Open at Trump International Golf Links & Hotel. (The coffee, with the smallest splash of cream, always tastes better too.)
But let’s get to the menu for this month.
You already watched the Walker Cup last week. And if you didn’t, boy did you miss out. Great Britain & Ireland stormed back to win for the first time in six years in what was an incredibly thrilling Sunday. They played at Lahinch, one of the best courses in the world and widely considered the best golf course in Ireland. It’s just steps from the nearest town pub. Lahinch is public, although the greens fee is over $500 these days, but if you are flying all the way to Ireland to play golf, you can splurge just this once. If not, the Cliffs of Moher are a 13-minute drive down R478.
This week, we have the Solheim Cup in the Netherlands, where hundreds (thousands?) of golf fans will ride their bikes to the course. We’re hoping for Round 2 of Nelly Korda vs. Charley Hull in Sunday singles. (Hull won 6 and 4 back in 2024, but the Americans won the Solheim Cup, 15.5-12.5.) The Irish Open is on this week, too, and like we mentioned above, the field is good. McIlroy defends his title. And do you remember what happened last year? It. Was. Awesome.
In two weeks, the PGA Tour begins its Fall Series with the Biltmore Championship Asheville, which is just fine, but not the point of this article. We’re interested in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, which boasts a fantastic field: McIlroy, Rahm, Reed, Fitzpatrick (both of them), Fleetwood, Hatton.
And the next week? The Presidents Cup outside of Chicago. The International squad is due. It’s the third team event in four weeks, and we love that.
Finally, let’s look ahead to the end of September and early October, with the Dunhill Links, which is played on three courses so good — the Old Course at St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns — we’d offer up our beloved family dog if it meant we could arrange a buddies’ trip getaway on that trio.
So that’s the September golf slate, at least the highlights. College football has started and the NFL will soon, and MLB playoffs are around the corner (here in Minnesota, we don’t think much about the baseball postseason this time of year; don’t get me started on that). But don’t you think for a second all the good golf is in our rearview until next year. You just have to know where to look for it.
You can reach the author at joshua.berhow@golf.com.
