I have played the courses below, however, have not yet written a post. Many of the early courses I played without my digital camera and will return someday to do a proper writeup.
9. Pinehurst #2 - A true golf mecca.
40. Portmarnock - Pure links golf. Read my Kiwi friends impressions of the course: here.
42. Oak Hill (East) - Played it a long time ago without a camera. I do remember it has a lovely clubhouse. Check out what my friend The Itinerant Golfer has to say about Oak Hill.
57. TPC at Sawgrass - One photogenic hole does not a golf course make. Tricked up. Too hard, front nine is boring. Bermuda grass impossible to hit out of. If you must, pay the pricy greens fee and take a shot a 17 just to say you did.
79. Kiawah Island (Ocean) - A great location, a great resort and a great golf course.
83. World Woods (Pine Barrens) - A nice Fazio course in Florida. Not sure why it was ever ranked in the top 100.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
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9 comments:
I grew up in NC and Pinehurst #2 is a gorgeous course. A couple of tight greens if I remember correctly.
I was hoping to find pics and thoughts on TPC Sawgrass... just played there this spring. Love the idea of the blog though!
Looking forward to your write up on no. 2. I just recently played the course and am interested on your perspective regarding the ongoing renovations to the course. I"m sure you are aware of the "turning back the clock" orchestrated by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. Just wanted to see whether you agree with the restoration of natural waste areas and the idea of returning the course to the time when Ross himself lived on the property in the 30s and 40s.
I hope the weather is decent when you visit Shoreacres in November. Played there on Veteran's Day 2008 and it snowed! But played there last year Thanksgiving weekend and the weather was great. Best of luck.
As a connoisseur of traditional courses, I find Dye's courses to be an artificial progression of design detrimental to the game. As a fairly decent player, I must caveat this comment by saying I've never played well at one of his courses so anything I say might be construed as sour grapes. However, I don't think the game was ever designed to be unenjoyable. I made a post a few days ago in reference to AW Tillinghast and how his courses were being described as "boring" and "straightforward." The fact of the matter was he was building courses with limited resources at a time when moving earth was done by horses; not by tractors and the like. Tilly's greatness was to make the ordinary become extraordinary. (As a sidebar, I hope the redesign of Baltusrol Upper makes its way onto the Top 100 and therefore into your blog. The first six holes that take effect from Baltusrol Mountain are truly breathtaking and demonstrate Tilly's ability to use original land to make outstanding golf holes. Hole 10 is probably one of the greatest par 3's ever and 18 is about the best finishing hole along with Oakmont's 18th in major championship history. The Upper hosted the 1936 US Open) Dye's MO is to scare the seven shades of you know what out of the golfer by placing hazards at every turn. There's no imagination for when a golfer gets out of position - just "lets penalize them stroke and distance!" The first eight holes of TPC Sawgrass are as bland as it gets (although hole three is a great short par 4). 10 is another beauty and 12 (get my drift the shorter holes are better!) but there on in everything is tricked up and too penal. 17 has it's merits as a tourist attraction and should be part of Disneyland rather than a regular stop on the PGA Tour. Again, put this down to sour grapes and the inability to drive it straight but the classic designers didn't exclude you from the hole immediately after a poor drive. Rather, they made you think your way out of trouble as opposed to driving your head further into it! I haven't played Whistling Straits so I'll defer comment but after the fiasco that transpired this year I'm unclear as to why the PGA has such a strong pulse for it.
btw, tpc sagrass' 3rd hole is a par 3. First 8 holes boring, you must be kidding me. The place is a classic and just because you cant hit it 50 yards off libe an make par, doesnt make it "tricked up" After the round there I was tired from grinding out what I thought was an amazing course and an amazing day. I have played 35 of the courses on the list and after August National, TPC Sawgrass was my favorite
I couldn't disagree with you more about Sawgrass. It really takes multiple times playing there to appreciate it. The first time you are so jazzed to play 16, 17, 18 that you don't realize how beautiful that course is. Agree with the post above.. front nine is boring??!? Yeah right.. hole 2 might be the best par 5 on the course (although 16 is a lot of fun) and 3 is a beautiful par 3.
Great story: I was playing in the late afternoon and tee'd off on 9 (runs parallel to 17 and 18). We were walking and all of a sudden came up on Vijay and Jimmy Furyk on the green tee box of 9. They were hitting over the natural amphitheater from 200 yards out onto the 17th green. They had a walkie-talkie with a ranger on the other side telling them if they were long, left, right, or short.. so cool. Only place you can go and see 10+ PGA pro's on the driving range.
Go back to TPC and play better. I understand it's a hard course and there is a lot of water but you shouldn't be bitter at the golf course because you played poorly. The first time I played Bethpage Black I spent half the time in bunkers or fescue and shot a 88 (I'm a 4 handicap).. I still loved the course!
I enjoyed your post on Cabot Links in Nova Scotia. You mentioned you will be returning to Cape Breton in the near future to play the full 18 when it opens. While you're there you must play Highlands Links (#64 on your list) again. A complete course 'restoration,' not renovation, by Ian Andrew in 2011 has returned the integrity of the original Stanley Thompson masterpiece. The sightlines and playing conditions have improved due to tree removal, the bunkers have been reshaped, and new irrigation systems should make the trip well worth it. Pictures of the process can be found on Ian's blog - www.ianandrewgolfdesignblog.blogspot.com
Do not discount World Woods Pine Barrens before you play it. Make sure you pick the right time as with Florida golf the summer makes all of the courses sub-par. Like playing golf up north in the winter the courses are grown in late. Febuary is a great time to schedule. Beautiful track that will make you think you were transported to another part of the country.
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