Sam Cooper

Golf Architect | Writer | Podcaster
📖 Author of Links from the Road
✍️ McDonnell & Cooper Golf Architects
🎙️ Golf Badgers & LFTR Pod
👉

[Sam Cooper @sd_cooper]

225/225 - every links in Scotland, England and Wales = ✅

Thanks for all your support.

[Formby Golf Club @FormbyGolfClub]

After a long winter of work, our improved 7th opened this morning and was played by members, the Club Captain, and architects @sd_cooper and @joemmcdonne11, whose vision has transformed the hole.

We're looking forward to seeing more members, and visitors, enjoy it this summer.

[Martin Dempster @DempsterMartin]

NEW

Highly-rated Scottish course to stage first professional tournament in 2026

@ScotsmanSport
@SouthernessGolf
@tartanprotour
@ScottishGolf

https://t.co/DBC0yVPXk2

[British & International Golf Greenkeepers Assn. @BIGGALtd]

BIGGA Northern Region Sectional Education Days

BIGGA is bringing three unmissable Education Days to the Northern Region, each packed with expert speakers, practical workshops, and real-world insights to support modern turf management and golf course leadership.

📍 Yorkshire & Sheffield Education Day
👉 https://t.co/wqLevoyzOt

📍 North West & North Wales Education Day
👉 https://t.co/DXbDB2RlIl

📍 North East & Cleveland Sectional Education Day
👉 https://t.co/1Ru7bKR8Li

🎤 Across the three events, speakers and contributors include:
Henry Bechelet, Dr Andy Owen & Liam Hargreaves (ICL)
Glenn Kirby (STRI)
Sam Cooper (McDonnell & Cooper Golf Course Architects)
Max Drummond Smillie & Darren Clewes (Fargro)
Paul Lowe (Aquatrols)
Andy O’Neill (Redexim)
Matthew Mears (Clearwater)
Wes Henshaw (K.A.R)
Craig Stoba & Trevor Mill-Irving (Husqvarna)
Paul Woodham (The R&A)
Jonathan Gaunt (Gaunt Design)
PLUS a welcome from BIGGA CEO Jim Croxton

💡 Topics vary by event and include:
• Turf stress, resilience & disease pressure
• Frost mowing & future agronomy trials
• Drone applications & holistic turf management
• Golf course architecture & redevelopment
• Irrigation solutions & autonomous mowing
• Data, performance & the golfer experience
• Building positive relationships with club committees

🛠️ Selected events also feature outdoor demonstrations and practical workshops, with delegates working in smaller groups.

Only £20 for BIGGA Members
FREE for Apprentices

📅 Dates, venues & full agendas available via the individual booking links above.

Spaces are limited so book early.

[Sam Cooper @sd_cooper]

@Brucieray40 @NCG_com Hi Bruce - apologies but Vol3 should be making an appearance soon. A pretty hectic year with family and a few other bits put me behind - my fault entirely. You should have had an email with update

[Sam Cooper @sd_cooper]

@paulmyers1963 @FormbyGolfClub @joemmcdonne11 >400 yards to the second one Paul! Just some visual trickery

[Cookie Jar Golf @cookiejargolf]

🎬 The Lost Holes at Formby, out now on YouTube.

The Sefton Coast has suffered some of the most dramatic coastal erosion in Britain over the last half-century – and @FormbyGolfClub has felt it firsthand, losing it's coastal holes in the 1980s.

Together with @sd_cooper and @joemmcdonne11, we went out to uncover where those holes once lay and see how the land has changed since. The difference is staggering...

Watch now: https://t.co/wsI5AF2lpZ

[𝐇𝐞𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐟 𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐛 @HeskethGolfClub]

Some words from @sd_cooper's write-up on our course, featured in the first edition of Links From The Road - a nod to both our history and the quality of our links.

[Cookie Jar Golf @cookiejargolf]

A brilliant Badgers pod this week with @johnmac150, Course Manager at @wallaseygolf who’s helped shape one of the finest-conditioned links courses in the world.

A must-listen for greenkeepers and course managers — though that’s true of all our Badgers pods, to be fair.

🎧 https://t.co/KvCiDr9dAZ

[scott aitchison @scooshyaitch]

⁦@sd_cooper⁩ and ⁦@JamesBledge⁩ helping the hippies understand that golf courses aren’t all bad news maaaaaan https://t.co/FveGxSEdza

[Sam Cooper @sd_cooper]

Glad you enjoyed Matthew 🙌

[Matthew Grainger @Greenkeepr_Matt]

The latest Links From the Road podcast takes a deep dive into the architecture of Silloth on Solway.

A really good listen if you’re into course design, strategy, and what makes links golf so special.
#GolfArchitecture #LinksGolf #SillothOnSolway #GolfPodcast
@sd_cooper

[Fried Egg Golf @fried_egg_golf]

"Matthew Jordan is back near the top of the leaderboard after a six-birdie 68 on Thursday and sits one shot behind the leaders at 3 under. The past two years taught us not to overlook Jordan and signal how a different style of golf clearly elevates his game from a middle-of-the-road player to one of the best in an elite field. Links golf, with its firm turf and blustery conditions, gives Jordan, who grew up playing one of the world’s greatest links courses, an edge. When asked about what the secret to links golf was after his round, the Englishman responded, 'being able to understand how far to hit half shots, different flights, start lines....It's not just kind of stand there and hit it. So being able to adapt and understand exactly how to hit those kinds of shots.'

"Sadly, most golf courses on the DP World Tour are more of the 'stand there and hit it' variety, and the pro game spends very little time on the golf courses that created the game. Outside of the Open, the only other surefire 'links' examinations are the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and the Scottish Open at Renaissance Club. The most influential courses and style of golf represent a tiny fraction of the game at the highest level.

"For a player like Jordan, I would hypothesize that if links golf was played more often, he would be more of a household name. He has played 170 OWGR events in his career, and by this author's count, less than 10 of those came on links courses. Of his nine best finishes in his career, four have come at the Open (T-10, 2023 and 2024) and the Dunhill Links (T-5, 2019; T-10, 2024). More links golf would probably elevate Matthew Jordan from a middling DP World Tour player to one of the world’s best links specialists."

- @AndyTFE for today's newsletter

(Photo Courtesy: Charlie Crowhurst/R&A)

[joemcd_golf @joemmcdonne11]

I'm delighted to share my latest commissioned artwork for the legendary Golf de Chantilly. A club synonymous with classic architecture and rich competitive history, rooted in its renowned Tom Simpson-conceived courses.

[Sam Cooper @sd_cooper]

@RamsayGolf 😂😂 out of season

[Sam Cooper @sd_cooper]

@scooshyaitch @alidurness Glad someone picked up on them pal! @alidurness was top class as expected. A real advocate for highlands golf and the camaraderie you guys have up there 👊

[Sam Cooper @sd_cooper]

Throwback to (near enough) this time 2 years ago. When @RLGCHoylake was gearing up for the 151st Open Championship.

Just before it started raining for 18 months… 🫠

[Sam Cooper @sd_cooper]

@scooshyaitch Congratulations guys! Fabulous news

[Sam Cooper @sd_cooper]

@cbruce_eth @LinksDAO Good luck Chris 👊

[Sam Cooper @sd_cooper]

@JoeBarnes24 @FormbyGolfClub Stunning Joe

[Sam Cooper @sd_cooper]

@BradleySKlein @Robert_Peake @tonyjdear @andrewjcarr29 @themobilegolfer @AndyTFE @feedtheball @SHistorians @Otey71 @AnthonyPioppi @JLuGolfweek @GCAJoeA @BPBlackMetal @tommynacc @GeoffShac @garrett_TFE @TimGavrich @bamabearcat @Top100Rick @thomasdunne @joepassov @bschneider126 @evalu18golf @joemmcdonne11 @pitchmarks @firmandfastgolf @CambridgeGrey That can’t be a criteria Bradley, as some of us might actually qualify!

[Sam Cooper @sd_cooper]

@scooshyaitch @ionakmac Happy birthday Scoosh! Here’s to the next 50 🙌