Our staff gets around. This year alone our crew had boots on the ground in Augusta and Australia, Portrush and Pebble Beach, and dozens of places in between. We captured our travels in words and video, texts and tweets, and, yes, with those little cameras in our pockets. In what has become an annual year-end tradition here at GOLF.com (you can check out some previous iterations here, here and here), here our some of our favorite phone snaps from the golf year that was.
This is my favorite snap, Day 1 of the Scottish Open in July. Joel Dahmen played 18 holes at Renaissance before the tournament, then ran around 18 holes with his then-caddie Geno Bonnalie at North Berwick. This pic was snapped just off the 12th green at NB, after a local junior — with a helluva swing — made bogey, losing to Dahmen’s par. The stakes: 10 pushups. — SEAN ZAK
I got to walk the final few holes of one of my favorite courses (Chambers Bay) with one of the world’s greatest caddies (Michael Greller) on the 10-year anniversary of one of the most dramatic majors (2015 U.S. Open) in recent history. Still pinching myself. (Video here!) — DYLAN DETHIER
The 2025 Ryder Cup got a bad rap for the salty behavior of some U.S. supporters. But for every one foul-mouthed fan there were, of course, hundreds, if not thousands, of revelers at Bethpage who exuded the right spirit. While walking the Sunday singles matches, I came across two such spectators. Their homage was prescient — a couple of hours later, Shane Lowry holed the winning putt. — ALAN BASTABLE
I wanted to assure her that it’ll get easier. But I don’t like lying to my kids. — ALAN BASTABLE
The golf world is a big place, but every so often it reminds you that it isn’t. Like one evening earlier this year, when my whole golf world melted together for one glorious (and unforgettable) instant.
It was Tuesday evening of Open Championship week in the parking lot outside of the Harbour Bar in Portrush, Northern Ireland. A gorgeous sunset was rolling in, electrifying the golf course and the cliffside beyond in a phosphorescent green. The first round of Guinness had just arrived when my colleagues-turned-friends Claire and Dylan sidled up next to me for a photo.
We were posed there only for an instant, but it was long enough for a fourth person — a stranger — to join the shot. I didn’t get a good look at the guy before he disappeared into a waiting taxi, but thankfully Claire did. I’ll never forget the words she said as the stranger disappeared into the car — words that would soon be immortalized in the accompanying photograph.
“Oh, hey, Jon Rahm!” — JAMES COLGAN
Tyrrell Hatton might be known for his temper tantrums but nothing cheers him up like his pink smiley-face water bottle. — JAKE MORROW
This fall I finally played one of the premier golf destinations near my new Catskills home: King-Collins’ 9-hole design at Inness in Accord, N.Y. Beyond the near-perfect weather I was treated to, and the inventive, nearly-empty layout that greeted me, the company made it more memorable. My non-golfing wife, Aline, who works at Inness, joined me after work to walk the course. So, too, did our dog Barley. This is a practice more than welcome at the laid-back course, which also has no dress-code requirements.
Experiencing standout course features for the first time together, including the gargantuan shared 3rd and 6th green captured in this photo, made the experience that much more special. (Note: This is the only green Barley walked across during the round, I promise.) — KEVIN CUNNINGHAM
Two days after Rory McIlroy slipped on the green jacket at Augusta, I met the Augusta GreenJacket! Yes, Augusta has a minor league baseball team. (It’s the single-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves.) Yes, they’re wonderfully named the Augusta GreenJackets. But on my previous trips to the Masters, I haven’t been able to see them — until this year, when they played a Tuesday morning game and I hung around to watch. The game was great. The facility — SRP Park in North Augusta, S.C. — was great. And I met a new friend. — NICK PIASTOWSKI
Golf can humble you in all sorts of ways. One of them is watching Max Togisala, who was 18 and getting ready to play college golf when he was paralyzed in skiing accident. Togisala has done more than start swinging a club again. He has become one of the top adaptive golfers in the world, routinely breaking par from a seated position and piling up titles along the way. I got to follow him at the 2025 U.S. Adaptive Open in Maryland. His ball striking was remarkable. But just as memorable was his radiant personality and the graciousness and joy he showed on and off the course. Lessons in perspective are all around us. This was one I won’t forget. — JOSH SENS
I was spoiled in 2025 and got to play some incredible golf courses like Pacific Dunes, Punta Mita Pacifico Course, and Pine Canyon Country Club, to name a few. All of that came second to a $14 municipal golf course, where the rough matched the fairway in length. It was my youngest son’s first time on a golf course — and now he’s as hooked as I am. — JOSH GOEDEKER
Rees Jones, looking sporty in his pleated shorts here, is one of my favorite people, in golf or out. Rees is also the designer of one of my favorite holes in golf, the 15th hole of the Bellport (Long Island) golf course. We’ve been talking about going to Bellport together for 20 or 30 years. On the day before the start of the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, we finally got there. — MICHAEL BAMBERGER
On a trip to Seattle late this fall, I was lucky enough to score a tee time at Chambers Bay. My dad had told me that pictures of the final four holes down on the Puget Sound, when nearby BNSF Railroad trains are passing, is peak “Americana.” Sure enough, I got one passing as I played the iconic par-3 15th. Got unbelievably lucky with the weather on this November day in the PNW! — JACK HIRSH
My kids had a great time watching Stewart Cink and Steven Alker battle down the stretch at this year’s Charles Schwab Cup Championship at Phoenix Country Club, and it was so much fun for me to watch them enjoy it. Did I mention it was a picture-perfect, 70-degree November afternoon? Simply the best! The tournament viewing experience on the senior tour is truly top-notch, too, with manageable crowds and remarkable access to some of the world’s best players. Needless to say, the kids can’t wait to go again. — JESSICA MARKSBURY
There’s no thrill quite like organizing your first golf trip, especially when it all works out as planned. This Northern Michigan itinerary makes for a perfect five-day trip, splitting time at big name resorts like Forest Dunes while enjoying charming rounds at local gems like Belvedere. Jumping into Lake Michigan, backyard barbecues and small-town ice cream stops help fill in some more unforgettable moments. We snapped this disposable-camera shot right before our first tee shots at Arcadia Bluffs, where slow play, a late tee time and the long summer sun combined to gift us an unprecedented 10 p.m. final putt. (P.S. Props if you can identify the other GOLF.com staffer in this shot.) — CONNOR FEDERICO
