In this episode of the Links Golf Club Podcast, we tackle a big question: How do golf courses earn their reputation?

To help us explore it, we’re joined by Derek Duncan, Architecture Editor at Golf Digest and host of Feed the Ball. Derek is one of the sharpest voices in golf architecture today. He helps shape Golf Digest’s Top 100 rankings, has walked some of the most iconic land in golf, and interviews the game’s most influential architects.

Together, we dig into how reputation is built, managed, and sometimes even manufactured. We talk about why certain courses rise in the rankings, what it takes for a new course to break through, and which clubs are doing things right (or trying a little too hard). Whether you care about design, history, or just want to understand why people obsess over certain clubs, this one will give you a whole new lens on the game.

This is Episode 4 of Building LinksDAO, our series about the hidden ingredients behind great golf clubs.

🧢 Learn more:
• Feed the Ball → https://feedtheball.com
• Derek’s Golf Digest Work → https://www.golfdigest.com/contributor/derek-duncan
• Spey Bay Golf Club → https://www.links.golf/speybay
• LinksDAO Membership → https://links.golf
• Reversing Spey Bay YouTube Video → https://youtu.be/ojJwQmooY14

🐦 Follow Derek:
• Twitter/X → https://x.com/feedtheball
• Instagram →https://www.instagram.com/feedtheball

⏱️ Episode Guide:
00:00 Cold Open & Intro
04:42 Derek’s Journey & Perspective on Golf
15:00 How Course Rankings Actually Work
28:30 What Builds (and Breaks) a Reputation
43:25 Success Stories & Lessons from Great Clubs
57:02 The Back Nine (Rapid Fire Round)
1:05:40 Closing Thoughts & Takeaways