130. Rudo Reaches Two Major Milestones...and Makes Important Announcement
Major Milestones: Over the past two weeks or so, I have taken three trips:
1. a day trip to Portsmouth, NH open June 4 to play Golf Club of New England and Portsmouth Country Club;
2. a three day trip (departing June 9 and returning June 12) to Ireland and England to play Mount Juliet (Ireland), Sunningdale GC-Old (England), Huntercombe GC (England), Worplesdon GC (England), and St George's Hill GC-Green and Red 9's (England); all four of the English courses are located within 30 miles of London's Heathrow Airport;
3. a three day trip (departing June 16 and returning June 19) to Michigan to play two courses in northern Michigan (Arcadia Bluffs-South and Treetops Resort-Smith Signature on June 17) and five courses (to be announced at a later date) tentatively scheduled for June 18 and 19.
By playing Huntercombe GC and Treetops Resort-Smith Signature, I have now completed the World Top 100 EVER as well as the USA Top 100 EVER.
Readers of this Blog should recall that this is my third ascent of the top of the World Top 100. The first occurred at Cabot Cliffs, in Nova Scotia, Canada, on July 8, 2016. At the time the list was composed of 295 (still existing) courses. Over the following 22 months, the list had grown to 322 still existing courses, of which I had not played two. During a trip to Australia, China, and Japan I played these two thereby "re-ascenting" the World Top 100 EVER on April 8, 2018 by playing Yokohama Country Club-West. Huntercombe GC on June 11, 2019 represents my third ascent...and by now the list totaled 343 still existing courses (plus 5 that no longer exist). Of these 343, I have played 140 multiple times and 203 a single time.
This afternoon, I played Treetops Resort's Smith Signature course. As readers of may blog may recall, I had previously made two trips to Treetops (12 holes in July 2013 and the other 6 holes in June 2018...Post #111) to play what turned out to be the "wrong" Treetops course. I learned later last summer that I had played the wrong course so I needed to get back to play Smith Signature. That completes the USA Top 100 EVER (for the first time for me). This list now consists of 369 still existing courses and 4 that no longer exist. I have played 118 of the still existing multiple times and 251 once. Of the four NLE's, I played two once, but never played the other two.
To my knowledge, no one else has ever complete either of these lists, although a fellow member of the Global Golf Centurions Club is now within 12 courses of finishing the World Top 100 EVER, and hopes to complete it by the end of 2019.
Four of us have completed the Golf Magazine World 100 Ever (a subset of the World Top 100 EVER consisting of 201 courses); in order of time of completion the four are Tom Clasby, Paul Rudovsky, Bob McCoy, and Hong Seh Lim.
For your information, I have created a set of spreadsheets to show the courses on both of these EVER lists. However, I do not think I can post spreadsheets on this blog. The email announcing this post includes these spreadsheets. If you did not receive this email, please contact me by and I will send the spreadsheet to you.
Important Announcement: Having achieved the milestones cited above I am hereby announcing that I shall no longer "chase" World or USA Top 100 lists. This can be a never ending cycle, and there comes a time to step off the treadmill. This is that time for moi.
Please note...the above does not mean that I will stop visiting new (or previous played) courses. And it does not mean that I will not work to finish some still remaining bucket lists. What it does mean is that when top100golfcourses.com, golfclubatlas.com, or another other list generator comes up with a new list, I will not automatically work to finish that list. If there are courses that interest me, I will go play them...if they do not interest me (in my sole judgement) I will not.
It has been great fun...but it is time for someone else to take over.
Oh...and I do plan to continue publishing my blog.
Monday, June 17, 2019
Monday, June 3, 2019
129. Eastward Ho! and Two Day Visit to Austin/San Antonio
129. Eastward Ho! and Two Day Visit to Austin/San Antonio
Eastward Ho!, May 18, 2019: Fellow GM Panelist and good friend Fergal O'Leary asked me to join his wife Karen and him for a round on Cape Cod at Eastward Ho! I have played EH! about 5-6 times, there last time being in 2014, and was very much looking forward to returning. Go to Post #1005 for my WH! write up from that visit, as my fingers are too tired to repeat my eloquent phrases.
EH! is still a Gem but no longer "hidden". In World Top 100 ranking Planet Golf has consistently placed it in hi 60's-low 70's, Ran Morrissett's "147 Custodians" of the Game last year placed it at #65, and his MacWood Spoof placed it at #92. Its USA listing generally has been about #50-70, except #26 on the "147 Custodians". I would think something like #35-40 US and #75-85 World would be about right. Given all the rain that had fallen in MA in prior weeks, it was far from as firm/fast as normal, but there still was good roll out. And the weather was simply perfect...bright sunshine with a decent wind to make things interesting.
Every time I get here I marvel at how the land just heaves and lurches almost randomly...and how well it was utilized by Englishman Herbert Fowler and how well it was restored about 15 years ago by Keith Foster. In the last few years, Mother Nature made some architectural improvements in the form of storms clearing out trees. This opened up fairway #12 and 13 on the right side to spectacular vistas of Little Pleasant Bay to the north and west.
Every time I get here I marvel at how the land just heaves and lurches almost randomly...and how well it was utilized by Englishman Herbert Fowler and how well it was restored about 15 years ago by Keith Foster. In the last few years, Mother Nature made some architectural improvements in the form of storms clearing out trees. This opened up fairway #12 and 13 on the right side to spectacular vistas of Little Pleasant Bay to the north and west.
I played some pretty good golf and was 4 over through 16 holes, then finished double bogey (lost ball), bogey for a 37 - 41 = 78. Despite the bad finish I really felt good about how I hit it. It was great to catch up with Karen and Fergal.
Austin Golf Club, May 25, 2019: Saturday/Sunday of Memorial Day weekend Pat was heading to Toronto for a wedding of a high school friend of her older son, Hunter. This of course gave me an opportunity to run off and squeeze as much golf as possible into 48 hours. The plan was to fly to Austin, TX Friday night and then start off at 8am at Austin Golf Club Saturday morning.
I played AGC with two members and was asked to not post any pictures or detailed course descriptions to social medial, or submit any rating to any Top 100 listing...and I shall respect that request.
This is a GOLF club...no swimming pool, tennis courts, or even card tables. It was designed by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore and is Ben's "little child". He is here a lot and is constantly "tweaking" the course. It is so much fun to play and very subtly difficult. Greens are relatively small, seeded with bent grass (in southern Texas!!, but this place would be brutal with super firm Bermuda greens), and filled with hidden slopes (reminding me a little of the greens at Shady Oaks in Fort Worth), false fronts, little knobs at the back corners (and some front ones as well). Short siding yourself here is not wise unless you dislike getting up and down. The course is in simply perfect condition...no other description would apply.
Just like the course, the clubhouse, staff and service are about perfect and deeply understated. Very very special place and an honor to be there. If you get invited...grab it. But you must play with a member.
AGC was #93 on the "147 Protectors" World 100 list last year, as well as #39 for USA courses from that list. Its highest rating before then was #147 on my Merged GolfWeek list in 2013. Such low historical ratings do not do much for my confidence in Top 100 lists (but I will continue to pursue them of course). Speaking off that, by playing Austin GC, I am left with one course to conquer the World Golf Top 100 EVER list for the third time...and one course to conquer the USA Golf Top 100 EVER list for the first time!
After the round we had a quick lunch and I headed southwest over to Austin Country Club. This was to be a golf filled day!
Austin Country Club, May 25, 2019: Austin Country Club was founded in 1899 with a nine hole course. In 1949 the club moved to its East Austin location and then in 1984 to its current site, with a new 18 holes course designed by Pete Dye.
Harvey Penick started his career in golf as a caddy at ACC's original location and served the club for 82 years at all three sites. During his tenure he guided the careers of Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite, Betsy Rawls, Mickey Wright, Kathy Whitworth, and Sandra Palmer among others.
The course has never been included on a USA or World Top 100 but has hosted the World Golf Match Play Championship for the last four years. Many of you are familiar with the layout from TV coverage. The property has two distinctly different segments, known as "lowlands" (holes 3-7) alongside the Colorado River) and "highlands" (holes 1, 2, and 8-18) reflecting Texas Hill Country. It plays 7062 yards (par 71). Note: the hole numbers here reflect the normal layout of the course; for the Match Play Championship, the nines are reversed so the "lowlands" encompass holes 12-16.
I arrived at ACC at 1:00pm and was scheduled to play with Ed L., a Golf Digest Panelist who is a member. We teed off on #3 and played holes 3-11, then holes 1-2. Play was very slow (the club allows fivesomes on weekend afternoons) and I had to leave after these 11 holes in order to make my third round. We did see most of the remaining seven holes driving back to the clubhouse.
The PGA Tour requires the club to heavily overseed in order to ensure green fairways for the Match Play Championship. As with most things in life, there is no "free lunch" from overseeding and it leaves the fairways in questionable condition during the late spring transition period and very wet and slow during the fall overseed grow in period. This requirement is a source of controversy within the club (it also generates a hefty profit for the club, keeps dues lower, and helps the club maintain a full membership and a wait list). Not that it matters, but I know how I would vote! I also thought some of the forced carries off the tee (particularly on #11) were questionable.
Pete Dye is a highly controversial architect. He has always pushed against "boundaries"...in many directions and has created many brilliant courses in locations many other architects would avoid. A good number of today's best architects got their start "shaping" land on bulldozers working for Pete (including Bill Coore and Tom Doak). He never shied away from risks...and was willing to try almost anything. Generally that leads to both brilliant achievements and questionable results. My guess is that a survey of golfers who have played ACC will generate a good number of both responses. This had to be a difficult piece of land to work with, and he built a course that generates excitement for the PGA Tour, its players and fans. Others may say it is not "consistent" enough...its pieces do not "fit" together and some of its holes are far too penal. Like many things, there is no right answer.
Barton Creek Country Club, Canyons Course, May 25, 2019: The Canyons course at Barton Creek was completed in 1999 with Tom Fazio its designer. In 1986 he completed the Foothills course at Barton Creek (which I played in November 2016--see post #64). There are two other courses at Barton Creek, one designed by Arnold Palmer (finished 1986) and the other by Coore-Crenshaw (finished 1991). The Canyons has never made a USA Top 100 but did make the GW Modern Top 100 from 2002-2005 (highest rating was #71 in 2003).
I played it with another GD panelist, Tom V., with whom I played the Foothills three years ago. Like me he is no longer a young kid, but is filled with wonderful old golf stories and we traded a whole bunch of special one about the likes of Hogan and Trevino. No question I was a pretty tired. Played in carts all three round but especially at ACC and here the overall terrain meant there are some steep hills to and from the carts.
I liked the course a lot. The course fits nicely into some difficult terrain...better than Fazio did with Foothills IMO. It was not in great shape for good reason...Omni is planning a major renovation to commence later this year.
We finished the round just before sunset and had a quick dinner in the clubhouse. When we finished it was dark out. I had left my phone in my car during the round and the battery was down to 5% at the end of dinner but I knew I could charge it during the drive back to my hotel...or at least I thought so. After saying thanks again and goodbye to Tom, I got in the car and started driving...but the phone would not charge..and I had NO idea how to get back to the hotel...only that I needed to head east and a little south. I have no idea what caused the problem but the phone would not take a charge. I drove around for an hour before getting near where I knew the hotel was...and was much relieved when it started charging fine in the hotel room...at around 10:30pm!
Oak Hills CC, May 26, 2019: Had to get up early for a 70 minute drive south to San Antonio for this one. Was well worth it. Oak Hills hosted the first Tour Championship in 1987 (won by Tom Watson) and by playing it, I had completed all of the Tour Championship host sites (a total of 8 different sites). It also has hosted 23 Texas Opens, the 2001 US Junior Championship, and 9 Senior Tour SBC/AT&T Championships. In total, 12 major champions have won events at Oak Hills. Designed by A. W. Tillinghast, it opened in 1922 as Alamo Country Club and after closing for WW II, reopened as Oak Hills CC. It has just completed a restoration/renovation by Tripp Davis, whose restoration work I have admired at Brook Hollow (TX--Post #62) (another Tillie), Meadow Brook (NY--Post #86), Sunnehanna (PA--Post #115), Whippoorwill (NY--Post #46), and Wichita (KS--Post #85).
Davis has done another superb job here. The club is aptly named as the course is dominated by grand oak trees and a major hill upon which the clubhouse sits and from which the course rolls off. The oak trees are huge and really have a major impact on the course's six dogleg holes...where it is critical to either be long off the tee or play away from the corner of the dogleg to allow access to the green complex on your approach shot...therby lengthening the hole considerably. The new bunkers are beautiful and, as one would expect at a Tillie, quite deep. Some of the greens (sodded with Champions Bermuda) are having trouble coming in, but I would expect this issue to be resolved shortly. One interesting aspect of the design is that both nines end with a par 3.
Overall I liked the course a lot...it is simple, fair, tough and classic...everything laid out in front of you, simply waiting for you to make a mistake. I had a good 41 - 40 = 81 (par is 71...6886 yards) and was pleased with my game. I again played with another GD panelist, Richard L., who did his undergraduate work at Carnegie-Mellon a few years after I was there for business school, and was nice enough to play with me at 7:15am (I awoke around 4:15am and was at Oak Hill by 6:15am...and proceeded to get a good 45 minute nap in my car!).
By 10:30 I was on an 80 minute drive north heading toward Spanish Oaks CC.
Spanish Oaks CC, May 26, 2019: I arrived just before noon and quickly found Paul R. (no, not me) a GolfWeek rater who is almost a nuts as I am. He had moved to Austin from Chicago last year and we had planned this meeting since last fall. We played with his daughter, Emma, who is in high school and plays on her high school team.
Spanish Oaks was designed by Bobby Weed and opened in 2002. It was owned at one point by Discovery Land, and probably in the 2009-2011, the development went into receivership. It now seems to be bustling and thriving. Certainly the real estate activity level is high with magnificent homes under construction on the hills overlooking the holes in the valleys of the property. Sergio Garcia is building a home on the property and several other PGA Tour players already live there. Weed has renovated the course twice (and extended its length to make it more accommodating for the Tour members). It now plays to 7155 yards (par 71). Spanish Oaks has never made a USA Top 100 but in 2009 was #87 on GW's Modern Top 100 (and #187 on my merged list).
Because it (like the back nine at ACC and Canyons at Barton Creek) are built in Hill Country, they feel and play very differently than most courses in Texas...which tend to be very flat. They also can end up with long forced carries over gorges (e.g. #11 at ACC). But this is a well designed and very good course. I was tired but managed a 42 - 42 = 84, and was looking forward to a shower before my 6:55 flight home. I thanked Paul and suggested to Emma that she needs to concentrate more on her putting.
The drive to the airport was easy and my flight was about 40 minutes early. Monday morning (Memorial Day) I slept until just after 10am and then was off to Brookline to play in a "Chapman" (a form of alternate shot play created by the parents of a friend in Pinehurst) couples event...poor Pat had to deal with some the my tee shots as I put some in awful places. But it was a fun event and as always, great to be back home with her!!
Bucket List Status:
Top 100's etc:
--World Top 100 Ever (11 sources)--348 courses, played 342, 5 no longer exist ("NLE"), and just one to go (Huntercombe, near Oxford in England) to get back on top of this mountain;
--USA Top 100 Ever (6 sources)--371 courses, played 368, 2 NLE, and just one to go (Treetops, MI--Smith Signature where I played the wrong course!!) to climb this mountain for the first time;
--USA Top 200 Ever (3 sources):
--Golf Week 100 Classic & 100 Modern Ever--412 courses, played 393, 1 NLE, and 17 to play (including Treetops);
--Golf Digest 1966/67 "200 Toughest"--249 courses, played 150, 5 NLE, and 94 to play;
--Golf Digest 2013-19 200 Greatest (not on any other list)---25 courses. 13 played; 12 to go;
Hosts of Important Events and Other:
--Men's Majors: 129 courses, 122 played, 6 NLE, 1 to go (Ridgemoor-IL 1942 Hale America Nat'l Open)
--50 States: played in 50...DONE
--Senior Majors: 74 courses, 71 played, 3 to go
--Women's Majors: 88 courses, 78 played, 4 NLE, 6 to go
--5 Cups (Walker, Curtis, Ryder, Presidents, Solheim): 106 courses, 105 played, 1 to go (Denver CC)
--Am Majors (US Am, Mid Am, Senior Am, Amateur Champ); 178 courses, 170 played 3 NLE, 5 to go
--Player's Championship: 5 courses, 5 played...DONE
--Tour Championship: 8 courses, 8 played...DONE
--Other Fed Exp Playoff (& predecessors): 14 courses, 14 played...DONE
--WGC: 18 courses, 14 played, 4 to go
In Bold are Bucket Lists I have targeted...total to go: 43
Major accomplishments of this trip:
1. Playing Austin Golf Club brought me down to one to go for both the World Top 100 (11 sources) and USA Top 100 (6 sources)...getting close!
2. Playing Oak Hills CC finished off the Tour Championship host sites, as well as all courses that have held a Fed Exp Playoff event.
Onward and Upward!!
Harvey Penick started his career in golf as a caddy at ACC's original location and served the club for 82 years at all three sites. During his tenure he guided the careers of Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite, Betsy Rawls, Mickey Wright, Kathy Whitworth, and Sandra Palmer among others.
The course has never been included on a USA or World Top 100 but has hosted the World Golf Match Play Championship for the last four years. Many of you are familiar with the layout from TV coverage. The property has two distinctly different segments, known as "lowlands" (holes 3-7) alongside the Colorado River) and "highlands" (holes 1, 2, and 8-18) reflecting Texas Hill Country. It plays 7062 yards (par 71). Note: the hole numbers here reflect the normal layout of the course; for the Match Play Championship, the nines are reversed so the "lowlands" encompass holes 12-16.
I arrived at ACC at 1:00pm and was scheduled to play with Ed L., a Golf Digest Panelist who is a member. We teed off on #3 and played holes 3-11, then holes 1-2. Play was very slow (the club allows fivesomes on weekend afternoons) and I had to leave after these 11 holes in order to make my third round. We did see most of the remaining seven holes driving back to the clubhouse.
The PGA Tour requires the club to heavily overseed in order to ensure green fairways for the Match Play Championship. As with most things in life, there is no "free lunch" from overseeding and it leaves the fairways in questionable condition during the late spring transition period and very wet and slow during the fall overseed grow in period. This requirement is a source of controversy within the club (it also generates a hefty profit for the club, keeps dues lower, and helps the club maintain a full membership and a wait list). Not that it matters, but I know how I would vote! I also thought some of the forced carries off the tee (particularly on #11) were questionable.
Pete Dye is a highly controversial architect. He has always pushed against "boundaries"...in many directions and has created many brilliant courses in locations many other architects would avoid. A good number of today's best architects got their start "shaping" land on bulldozers working for Pete (including Bill Coore and Tom Doak). He never shied away from risks...and was willing to try almost anything. Generally that leads to both brilliant achievements and questionable results. My guess is that a survey of golfers who have played ACC will generate a good number of both responses. This had to be a difficult piece of land to work with, and he built a course that generates excitement for the PGA Tour, its players and fans. Others may say it is not "consistent" enough...its pieces do not "fit" together and some of its holes are far too penal. Like many things, there is no right answer.
Barton Creek Country Club, Canyons Course, May 25, 2019: The Canyons course at Barton Creek was completed in 1999 with Tom Fazio its designer. In 1986 he completed the Foothills course at Barton Creek (which I played in November 2016--see post #64). There are two other courses at Barton Creek, one designed by Arnold Palmer (finished 1986) and the other by Coore-Crenshaw (finished 1991). The Canyons has never made a USA Top 100 but did make the GW Modern Top 100 from 2002-2005 (highest rating was #71 in 2003).
I played it with another GD panelist, Tom V., with whom I played the Foothills three years ago. Like me he is no longer a young kid, but is filled with wonderful old golf stories and we traded a whole bunch of special one about the likes of Hogan and Trevino. No question I was a pretty tired. Played in carts all three round but especially at ACC and here the overall terrain meant there are some steep hills to and from the carts.
I liked the course a lot. The course fits nicely into some difficult terrain...better than Fazio did with Foothills IMO. It was not in great shape for good reason...Omni is planning a major renovation to commence later this year.
We finished the round just before sunset and had a quick dinner in the clubhouse. When we finished it was dark out. I had left my phone in my car during the round and the battery was down to 5% at the end of dinner but I knew I could charge it during the drive back to my hotel...or at least I thought so. After saying thanks again and goodbye to Tom, I got in the car and started driving...but the phone would not charge..and I had NO idea how to get back to the hotel...only that I needed to head east and a little south. I have no idea what caused the problem but the phone would not take a charge. I drove around for an hour before getting near where I knew the hotel was...and was much relieved when it started charging fine in the hotel room...at around 10:30pm!
Oak Hills CC, May 26, 2019: Had to get up early for a 70 minute drive south to San Antonio for this one. Was well worth it. Oak Hills hosted the first Tour Championship in 1987 (won by Tom Watson) and by playing it, I had completed all of the Tour Championship host sites (a total of 8 different sites). It also has hosted 23 Texas Opens, the 2001 US Junior Championship, and 9 Senior Tour SBC/AT&T Championships. In total, 12 major champions have won events at Oak Hills. Designed by A. W. Tillinghast, it opened in 1922 as Alamo Country Club and after closing for WW II, reopened as Oak Hills CC. It has just completed a restoration/renovation by Tripp Davis, whose restoration work I have admired at Brook Hollow (TX--Post #62) (another Tillie), Meadow Brook (NY--Post #86), Sunnehanna (PA--Post #115), Whippoorwill (NY--Post #46), and Wichita (KS--Post #85).
Davis has done another superb job here. The club is aptly named as the course is dominated by grand oak trees and a major hill upon which the clubhouse sits and from which the course rolls off. The oak trees are huge and really have a major impact on the course's six dogleg holes...where it is critical to either be long off the tee or play away from the corner of the dogleg to allow access to the green complex on your approach shot...therby lengthening the hole considerably. The new bunkers are beautiful and, as one would expect at a Tillie, quite deep. Some of the greens (sodded with Champions Bermuda) are having trouble coming in, but I would expect this issue to be resolved shortly. One interesting aspect of the design is that both nines end with a par 3.
Overall I liked the course a lot...it is simple, fair, tough and classic...everything laid out in front of you, simply waiting for you to make a mistake. I had a good 41 - 40 = 81 (par is 71...6886 yards) and was pleased with my game. I again played with another GD panelist, Richard L., who did his undergraduate work at Carnegie-Mellon a few years after I was there for business school, and was nice enough to play with me at 7:15am (I awoke around 4:15am and was at Oak Hill by 6:15am...and proceeded to get a good 45 minute nap in my car!).
By 10:30 I was on an 80 minute drive north heading toward Spanish Oaks CC.
Spanish Oaks CC, May 26, 2019: I arrived just before noon and quickly found Paul R. (no, not me) a GolfWeek rater who is almost a nuts as I am. He had moved to Austin from Chicago last year and we had planned this meeting since last fall. We played with his daughter, Emma, who is in high school and plays on her high school team.
Spanish Oaks was designed by Bobby Weed and opened in 2002. It was owned at one point by Discovery Land, and probably in the 2009-2011, the development went into receivership. It now seems to be bustling and thriving. Certainly the real estate activity level is high with magnificent homes under construction on the hills overlooking the holes in the valleys of the property. Sergio Garcia is building a home on the property and several other PGA Tour players already live there. Weed has renovated the course twice (and extended its length to make it more accommodating for the Tour members). It now plays to 7155 yards (par 71). Spanish Oaks has never made a USA Top 100 but in 2009 was #87 on GW's Modern Top 100 (and #187 on my merged list).
Because it (like the back nine at ACC and Canyons at Barton Creek) are built in Hill Country, they feel and play very differently than most courses in Texas...which tend to be very flat. They also can end up with long forced carries over gorges (e.g. #11 at ACC). But this is a well designed and very good course. I was tired but managed a 42 - 42 = 84, and was looking forward to a shower before my 6:55 flight home. I thanked Paul and suggested to Emma that she needs to concentrate more on her putting.
The drive to the airport was easy and my flight was about 40 minutes early. Monday morning (Memorial Day) I slept until just after 10am and then was off to Brookline to play in a "Chapman" (a form of alternate shot play created by the parents of a friend in Pinehurst) couples event...poor Pat had to deal with some the my tee shots as I put some in awful places. But it was a fun event and as always, great to be back home with her!!
Bucket List Status:
Top 100's etc:
--World Top 100 Ever (11 sources)--348 courses, played 342, 5 no longer exist ("NLE"), and just one to go (Huntercombe, near Oxford in England) to get back on top of this mountain;
--USA Top 100 Ever (6 sources)--371 courses, played 368, 2 NLE, and just one to go (Treetops, MI--Smith Signature where I played the wrong course!!) to climb this mountain for the first time;
--USA Top 200 Ever (3 sources):
--Golf Week 100 Classic & 100 Modern Ever--412 courses, played 393, 1 NLE, and 17 to play (including Treetops);
--Golf Digest 1966/67 "200 Toughest"--249 courses, played 150, 5 NLE, and 94 to play;
--Golf Digest 2013-19 200 Greatest (not on any other list)---25 courses. 13 played; 12 to go;
Hosts of Important Events and Other:
--Men's Majors: 129 courses, 122 played, 6 NLE, 1 to go (Ridgemoor-IL 1942 Hale America Nat'l Open)
--50 States: played in 50...DONE
--Senior Majors: 74 courses, 71 played, 3 to go
--Women's Majors: 88 courses, 78 played, 4 NLE, 6 to go
--5 Cups (Walker, Curtis, Ryder, Presidents, Solheim): 106 courses, 105 played, 1 to go (Denver CC)
--Am Majors (US Am, Mid Am, Senior Am, Amateur Champ); 178 courses, 170 played 3 NLE, 5 to go
--Player's Championship: 5 courses, 5 played...DONE
--Tour Championship: 8 courses, 8 played...DONE
--Other Fed Exp Playoff (& predecessors): 14 courses, 14 played...DONE
--WGC: 18 courses, 14 played, 4 to go
In Bold are Bucket Lists I have targeted...total to go: 43
Major accomplishments of this trip:
1. Playing Austin Golf Club brought me down to one to go for both the World Top 100 (11 sources) and USA Top 100 (6 sources)...getting close!
2. Playing Oak Hills CC finished off the Tour Championship host sites, as well as all courses that have held a Fed Exp Playoff event.
Onward and Upward!!
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