Post #160--Another Brief Update:

So when I published Post #159, I was a couple of days into a 12 day trip...and had played 4 courses on that trip (starting in Colorado).  Please allow me to go back to the start of this journey when I departed Boston very early on Friday August 12 for Denver, CO.  Arriving in Denver I stood at 1470 courses played.

My plan was to play (from August 12 through August 24) a total of 21 rounds on 20 courses (of which 19 would be first time playing for me).  The "replay" course was one of my Top 10 in the World...Sand Hills GC in Nebraska and I was planning to play two rounds there.  The trip would include courses in the following eight states (listed in order of play): Colorado (7 courses), Wyoming (1 course), Montana (3), Nebraska (1), Idaho (2), Washington (1), Nevada (1), and California (4).  I was visiting a good number of courses in remote areas that would be difficult to fly to...so this trip would log lots of car mileage.  In fact the mileage on my four car rental totaled 3,558 miles.  That is further than going from the northeast corner of Maine to the southwest corner of California...and about 140 miles short of a drive from Key West, FL to the northwest corner of Washington!!  So while I would have wanted to play some courses a second time, I needed to take whatever opportunity I had to get some rest. 

Highlights of the trip by state were as follows:

Colorado...played Greeley CC, Kissing Camels CC, US Air Force Academy Eisenhower-Blue, Common Ground, Lakewood CC, Frost Creek, and Sonnenalp Club.  In terms of architecture and design no question that Tom Doak's Common Ground (located within Denver) was the highlight...simply another brilliant piece of architecture on what clearly started as a fairly ordinary piece of ground.  Setting sun meant I could only get in 16 of 18 holes (skipped holes 14 and 15) but love it.  And this is a muni, folks...certainly unlike any muni I played in NY in the 1955-1966 years!!  Just further proof of Doak's genius.  

Frost Creek is an excellent course by Tom Weiskopf (who passing this past week was very sad to note) located just west of Vail.  Course was in close to perfect condition and is fun, fair, and challenging.  Worth a look see!  My sense is that Weiskopf was an outstanding golfer, broadcaster, and architect.  Based on input from good friends of ours who have gotten to know him well in recent years, he was also an outstanding person.  In my opinion, he uttered the greatest single line in the history of golf broadcasting (and maybe the history of sports broadcasting) on April 13, 1986 as Jack Nicklaus stood on Augusta National's 16th tee during the 4th and final round.  Sitting about 800 yards away from Tom, Jim Nance asked Tom what he thought was going through Jack's mind at that moment.  Tom's immediate reply was perfect..."If I knew the way he thought I would have won this tournament..."

Kissing Camels was interesting as they hosted the US Women's Senior Amateur in 1982 when the club had 18 holes.  Since then it had added a third nine and reconfigured one of the two original nines.  After a couple of phone conversations with the Director of Golf and views of old scorecards and maps, the original routing became clear and I got to play those 18 holes.  See the photo below with the stone from which the Colorado Springs club  derives its name:

Look just to the left of the center of the photo along the top of the red rock in the foreground.  Just to the left of the highest point on the red rock, there is a point where it looks like two camels kissing (note the "hole" in the rock just below the camels' chins.  Anyhow...moving along.

Lakewood CC in Denver is very good.  It was built on a very good piece of land and makes excellent use of two creeks than run across the course.

Most disappointing were the Air Force Academy's Eisenhower-Blue and Sonnenalp near Vail. 

Wyoming...Only course played was Old Baldy Club in Saratoga, WY.  Simply loved the place!!  Great course, no.  But this is a club that knows what it wants and does that perfectly.  Not a club with a lot of young turks as members...mostly retired executives from what I saw.  But course is fun to play, does not beat you up, greens are as perfect as can be, and the views and service are equally perfect.  I had the immediate sense that this is exactly what its members want...and I have always thought the best clubs have a "unity of purpose" among their members.  And this baby has that in spades.  Yes the fairways are not cut really tight...but that is not what the members want...they are there to have fun.  

Montana...played three courses in MT and re-learned what a huge state this is.  Have now played a total of 7 courses in MT.  This trip included Stock Farm Club (about 40 miles south of Missoula), Meadow Lark CC (in Great Falls) and Yellowstone CC (in Billings)...played in that order as I was driving east towards Nebraska.   Stock Farm was clearly the highlight among these three.  This is one of Tom Fazio's better courses...built in a stunning setting and making excellent use of the land.  Greens here are superb and in perfect condition.  I sensed a very relaxed atmosphere around the clubhouse.  

Nebraska...after the second 10 hour drive on this trip I arrived back at Sand Hills Golf Club for my 5th visit.  I first played it with Pat in 2010 followed by visits in 2014, 2016, 2021, and 2022...for a total of 11 rounds.  So I thought I knew the course but continued to learn its subtle but brilliant architectural features.  After these last two rounds I decided to move Sand Hills out of a big tie for 5th place and into 3rd place in my favorite courses on this planet...fixed (at least for now) as:

1.  Cypress Point

2.  Royal Dornoch

3. Sand Hills

4. Shinnecock Hills

5. Oakmont

6-10(tie). Muirfield/National Golf Links/Royal County Down/Royal Melbourne-West/The Old Course

Idaho...after driving to Denver, caught a flight to Boise, ID and on 8/20, played BanBury Golf Course and The River Club (was Plantation Club).  Both mildly disappointing and good to have in the rear view mirror.  Then flew to Seattle.

Washington...Very quick stop over in order to play The Home Course in DuPont, WA (south of Tacoma). a superb muni which is scheduled to host the 2023 US Women's Amateur Four-Ball.  Teed off at 6:10am on 8/21 and was on a plane to Reno, NV by 11:40am that morning!  Loved the course which was designed by Mike Admundson and opened in 2007.  Big bold bunkers are true hazards.  A very worthy muni, and worth playing it if you are near Seattle.

Nevada...drove south from Reno to the north end of Lake Tahoe in order to play Incline Village's Championship Course, a Robert Trent Jones Sr. creation from 1964 that more recently was touched up by Kyle Phillips.  When I told people I was going to play it, the usual response was "Why?" (it was on the initial Golf Digest 200 Toughest lists in 1966 and 1967).  So I was not surprised at what I saw...not a bad course but nothing special here.  Good to have it done.

California...last two days were spent in central California and on the Monterey Peninsula.  Played Peach Tree CC, Del Rio CC-Oak/Bluff, Sunnyside CC, and Del Monte Golf Course.  By far the best of these four was Del Rio (in Modesto, CA)...a very very good track designed by William Bell and opened in 1946.  Worth a visit.  The last course on the schedule was Del Monte Golf Course...the oldest course west of the Mississippi and it looks its age.  Cannot understand why The Pebble Beach Company does not spend some money to bring it back to its glory days.  

So that was my trip.  Brought me to 1489 courses to date (and 26,232 different golf holes).  Major progress made especially with USGA Championship hosts, playing 10 of courses that hosted events throughout 2022 and two that are scheduled to host events in 2023 (Eisenhower-Blue in CO and The Home Course in WA) now only six left to play through 2022 and one scheduled for 2023:

California CC

Westmoreland CC (IL)

Meridian Hills CC (IN)

Town & Country Club (MN)

SentryWorld Golf Course (WI)

Grand Reserve GC (PR)

Daniel Island Club-Ralston Creek (SC)...2023 US Junior 

And I am scheduled to play Town & Country on August 30!

On the Golf Digest 1966/67 200 Toughest lists, I have just 13 left to play (note...the old Cherokee CC in Madison, WI is undergoing a major re-do and becoming a TPC property but will not reopen until August 2023).  And have 8 left to play to have completed one year (2020) of the GolfWeek 200 Classic and 200 Modern...and am playing two of those eight this week as well.  Plus have to add Salina CC in Kansas...which hosted the 2022 Senior Women's PGA Championship last month...brings me to 29 to play in the USA (plus Puerto Rico) which I hope will be down to 26 after next week.  Importantly the 29 are concentrated in a few areas:

IL (Chicago area)...7 courses

WI...7 courses

MN...3 Courses

CA (Los Angeles area)...5 courses

HI...2 courses

IN (Indianapolis)...1 course

KY (Lexington)...1 course

SC (Charleston)...1 course

Kansas (Salina)...1 course

Puerto Rico (San Juan)...1 course

Overseas...there are of course three courses now on my Top 100 World list that I have not played:

Lanhai International-Yangtze Dunes, Shanghai, China

Santapazienza, São Paulo, Brazil

Woodlands GC, Melbourne, Australia

and the following which could be included on a reputable World 100 shortly:

Lofoten Links, Norway

Peninsula Kingswood-North.

And to complete the World Golf Championship hosts EVER, I must still play:

Mission Hills Dongguan-Olazabal

Club de Golf Chapultepec, Mexico City, Mexico

so that is 7 courses overseas.

BUT note...the real sleeper that is being talked about is in Nepal...Himalayan Golf Course.  I am NOT kidding.  See the following link...it is a piece written by Tom Brown, a good friend from Los Angeles who is also a GOLF magazine panelist and travels more than I do.  Tom is very bright and has a fabulous eye for golf architecture.  This is VERY much worth reading:

https://golf.com/travel/himalayan-golf-course-best-par-5s/

 POST #161...Three + Months and 33 Courses Later

Yup, fell behind again and time to catch up on my travels, play and courses visited.  But before turning to that, I need to spend a few minutes making some points about the recently concluded 2022 US Open at Brookline.

Much has been spoken and written over the past week or two, so I shall try to be brief.  I doubt The Country Club's course has never been as fast and firm and true as it was last week...nor as beautifully presented.  The course was literally transformed under the direction of Golf Course Architect Gil Hanse and Director of Grounds David Johnson.  They worked so well together that it would be hard to say what their relative contributions were.  Suffice it to say that this team presented a course to the world this month  that was simply brilliant.  I had the pleasure of playing it twice (second round halted after 13 holes due to heavy rain) about 2 weeks before Open Week.  The feel of the turf as one walked it or hit shots off it was sheer joy.  The fairways have a deep and strong root structure and the entire course played firm and fast.  While Gil's work was superb (and garnered most of the media's attention), this observer senses that Dave's efforts on the agronomy end may have been even more consequential.  

The organizational efforts required to pull this event were huge...and superbly handled by the USGA and TCC's Open Committee led by Will Fulton.  While I am sure there were the usual share of crises that occurred leading up to and during Open Week, they were invisible to those on the outside.  My infinitesimal contribution was volunteering in "Caddy Services" where 156 caddies were registered and received (and usually returned) the caddy bibs.  The pay wasn't great but it was fun to participate.

Now back to my golf courses played and travels!

When I last posted, I had played some 1421 courses.  Since March 9 I have played an additional 33 courses and made excellent progress on my various bucket lists.  Some medical issues (happily without long term implications) during the second half of March required that I cancel two brief planned tips...to Puerto Rico and Mexico City (Grand Reserve in PR was host to the USGA's Women's Four-Ball Championship in April, and Club de Golf Chapultepec hosted a World Golf Championship event three time before COVID led to its cancellation.  Am hoping/planning to get back to these tracks later this year.

Greensboro Country Club-Farm Club April 12, 2022:  Tyler Gosselin, who served as an Assistant Pro at Brookline for a number of years before securing the head pro position at Scarsdale Golf Club (NY), became Director of Golf at Greensboro Country Club late last year.  I had never played Greensboro but knew not had a strong reputation and knew at least one member, Hayes H., who joined me for the round.  

Greensboro CC was founded in 1909 and its first course is located within the City of Greemboro, was designed by Donald Ross and opened in 1911.  We played "The Farm" course which was originally designed by Ellis Maples and was part of Carlson Farm CC.  In 1969 Greensboro CC merged with Carlson Farm and then in 2008 Donald Steel was engaged to resigned the Farm course.  The course was in near perfect condition even after a winter of play off dormant fairways.  Normally dormant fairways are pretty well between up this time of years (just before growing season starts).  Also found it interesting to find a club whose Ross designed course is their "2nd" golf course!

While Greensboro has never hosted an important event or been included on a Top X00 list, I had wanted to play it and catch up with Tyler.  He is doing very well and I also saw him at the Open earlier this month...and he reported that he and his wife Jess are expected their second child and all continues to go great for them here.  Happy to hear that and have them close by!

Southern California Trip 4/28-5/2

At this point California contained the largest block of courses that I had left on my key bucket lists.  There were a total of 21 courses in California that I needed to play.  It was time to start chipping away at this group of California courses.  The night go Thursday 4/28 I flew from Charlotte NC to Los Angeles and then drove to Annandale  (near Pasadena, CA).  I has a tee time at 7:30 set up by Ted M., and old friend who I had hired into Citibank in 1972.  Having not seen Ted since 1977, in 2011 Ted Pat and I (and Ted's host) were paired for 18 holes at Florida's Seminole Golf Club...and we have stayed in fairly close touch since.  In fact, Ted is trying to complete his first GOLF Magazine World Top 100 and as of late June 2022 stands at 91 with 9 relatively easy courses to access left to play!  Ted was out of town but arranged for my tee time and was scheduled to return in the morning.

Annandale Golf Club, April 29, 2022:  Annandale Golf Club was founded in 1906 and the golf course was initially laid out by Willie Watson.  The club's caddy master, Billy Bell redesigned the course due to road construction that eliminated some the original holes.  More recently, in 2008 Brian Silva was engaged in 2008 to change some holes impacted by further road expansion and I would assume imminent domain proceedings.  One thing that shocked me about Annandale (but I later learned that this was true and many other California courses) was the nature of the hills in California.  Remember, this is earthquake country...and the slopes on these hills are much sharper than they seem to the eye.  I was constantly short on uphill shots and long on downhill ones.  I really liked the course and thought this was a wonderful "play every day" track...but at 6208 yards from the tips not a great championship course.  The bunkering is very tough and very good, and the greens are lots of fun and difficult to read and putt.  I should also note that Annandale is a very very fine club.

My favorite hole was the par 4 10th, and I found essentially no weak uninteresting holes.  I shot a 42 - 44 = 86.  I was here because Annandale had hosted the 1967 US Women's Amateur.  

Ted arrived at the club as I completed my round and we had a wonderful lunch follows by a clubhouse tour.  But with a 83 mile drive to my next course (heading south and east) I had to get moving.

Soboba Springs Golf Course, April 29, 2022:  This course is owned by the Soboba Springs Casino,  opened in 1967, and was originally designed by Desmond Moorhead (who co-designed with Jack Nicklaus Muirfield Village Golf Club in Ohio and designed Mission Hills CC in the California desert (long time home of Dinah Shore Tournament).  Cary Bickler renovated the course in 2006 and 2018.  It sits in a valley floor in the desert north of San Diego.  Shortly after opening it was included in Golf Digest's 1967 200 Toughest list and then never appeared in any other "Top X00" list.

Frankly it was neither interesting or memorable and I was pleased to have it in my rear view mirror.  I shot a 42 - 41 = 83.

Rams Hill Golf Club, April 30, 2022:  After this round I had to drive another 85 miles southeast to Rams Hill Golf Club...and at times this was a harrowing drive...coming down from a very high "ledge" to the desert floor, with a sheer drop on the right side of the car.  I arrived before sunset and stayed at a nearby hotel.  Had a semi decent meal and hit the sack...was along day with 36 holes and almost 4 hours of driving.

Rams Hills started  as a 27 hole facility in 1983 designed by Ted Robinson.  The facility has gone through multiple owners and was then totally redesigned by Tom Fazio in 2007.  After a shut down from 2010-2014 (I would presume a result of the 2008/9 financial crisis) it reopened under the same Rams Hill name and received glowing reviews.  But the course I saw in April of this year was very very different.  I would guess that 40% of the fairway areas were "nothing but dirt" with no sign of turf.  The greens are generally in decent shape and are among the best Fazio greens I have played, but the fairways are simply horrendous

I shot an 43 - 42 = 85.  Somehow this course has been in the GolfWeek Top 200 Modern Course lists since 2017.  Sure didn't look like that to moi.  Save your $$ and driving time!

Singing Hills Golf Resort--Oak Glen Course, April 30, 2022:  After the round it was back in the car and headed mostly south to Singing Hills, a 54 hole resort (one of the three courses is a par 3 course) that is part of the Sycuan Casino.  In 1973 and 1989 this course hosted the US Junior Amateur (won by Jack Renner and David Duval respectively).  This is a good golf course but in somewhat questionable conditions (perhaps the result of ongoing renovations).  I hit the ball well and shot a 40 - 41 = 81and came very close to a hole in one on the par 3 9th hole.  The course in a small way had a feel that was very similar to La Costa with most of the holes sitting in a valley.  But the most interesting aspect of this round was the group in front of me...a Korean father with 2 of his 3 daughters (ages 10 and 13....their older sister is 16 years old).  The 10 year old has a swing that is exactly like Charlie Woods' golf swing (Tiger's son) and the 13 year old was blowing it by me!  Be watching for them (think their last name is Wu).

After the round I drove into San Diego for dinner with Bob Blumberg, an old fraternity brother from MIT (Bob was two years ahead of me).  Was good to catch up...

After dinner I had to drive to Anaheim for my last two rounds on Sunday.  That drive was some 90 miles and took almost 2 hours.  First tee time Sunday was at 8:15 followed by another at 1:30, then a drive to LAX airport and a red eye flight to Charlotte NC arriving early Monday May 2

Hacienda Golf Club, May 1, 2022:  Sitting near a very high hill top about 10 miles north of Anaheim, getting to Hacienda can feel harrowing.  The roads leading to the club reminded me of those leading to The Meadow Club located north of San Francisco in Marin County.  

This is a superb but generally unheralded golf course.  The club was founded in 1920 and retained Willie Watson to build a golf course at its current site.  Watson is one of golf's Golden Age's finest architects also credited with the likes of Olympic Club (Lake), TPC Harding Park, Brentwood CC, Hillcrest CC, Annandale GC, and San Diego CC in California; White Bear Yacht Club, Interlachen CC, and Minikahda Club in Minnesota, and Belvedere GC in northern Michigan.  Hacienda initially had 9 holes and about 4 years later expanded the course to 18.  Assisting Watson with this project were George Thomas (LACC and Riviera), E. B. Tufts and Charles Mayo.  As an interesting side note, the club's website says the construction crew used to build the course was run by Charles Shaw, who apparently was also involved with the construction of National Golf Links of America (NY), San Francisco, GC, and someplace known as The Country Club in Brookline, MA.

My friend from Los aAngeles Tom B. played Hacienda in the 1990's for a local event and some kid named Tiger Woods arrantly fired a 62; Tom says everyone else was sure that Woods had played a different course!  This is one demanding track that requires a ton of local knowledge.  Like many of LA's better courses, it sits within a canyon/barranca and the slopes affected the land are extremely difficult to discern.  My balding head received a lot of scraping during this round.  But while very difficult, it is a fair track and I think one of California's hidden gems.  I was here because Hacienda had hosted the 1967 Girl's Junior,...but this is a very special golf course and the club seems to be filled with members who appreciate the game.

In 2007 the late John Harbottle III was retained to renovate the course, adding length, updating bunkers and greens, and exposing/restoring a meandering creek that was natural to the land.  The bedeviling slopes are still dominant and my lack of a posted score for this morning's golf is for good reason!  Best holes include #4, 5, and 15 in my opinion.  In sum and substance...this course is well worth a visit!

Yorba Linda CC, May 1, 2022:  Located some 15 miles ESE of Hacienda, Yorba Linda CC opened in 1957 with a course designed by Harry Rainville.  Richard M. Nixon was born and raised in the neighborhood right near the course and was made an Honorary Member of the Club.  And in 1966 and 1967 it was included in Golf Digest's "200 Toughest" lists, for its moments of fame. It is a good if not special golf course.

Somehow after not being able to play the game at all in the morning, I was able to find it this afternoon and had a 38 - 40 = 78.  The club had. shotgun event planned for the afternoon and we started on #8.  The day ended on the slightly uphill par 3 7th where I sunk a 40' putt for a birdie 2 to end the trip!

My flight back left LAX for Charlotte at 6:05 Monday morning.  Successful trip...spent a little over 3 days in California and knocked off 6 courses, bringing my total played to 1,428 courses.  Was a more than a bit tired at the end of this trip but felt good to make a dent in the California collection of courses to play.

Maryland and Delaware Trip s Early May 2022 

Regular readers of this rag known that each Spring we travel north from Pinehurst to Milton, MA and each Fall do the reverse to be in Pinehurst for about 7 months.  Pat hates long drives and I love to use these trips to play some courses in the along the way.  

I have been trying to play the North Course at Wilmington CC and Bidermann Golf Club for a few years as well as the Blue Course at Congressional CC since its recent renovation was completed about 12 months ago.  Finally when I contacted the clubs this year, all were available...perhaps not on the dates I desired, but as they say "beggars cannot be choosers" (which should be the motto for all golf course raters).

I had hoped to play all three on a drive north around 5/11-13 but that would not work.  Wilmington was very doable the week before, as was Bidermann, and Congressional was available on 5/11.  So the only solution that seems to work was to do a short trip the week of 5/1 to Wilmington and return to Pinehurst, and then head north the following week, stopping in Bethesda, MD to play Congressional.

Wilmington Country Club-North, May 5, 2022:  Late the afternoon of Wednesday 5/4, I drove north to Wilmington...some 460 miles or 7 hours.  Stayed at a hotel some 5-6 miles from Wilmington CC and was at the club around 7:15 the next morning for my 7:30 tee time.  Wilmington CC has two courses, North and South.  I has played the South Course in 2013 and it is generally regarded as the club's tougher and better course.

The club was founded in 1901 and then in 1960 moved to its present location and the South Course (designed by RT Jones Sr.) opened first.  One year later the North course designed by Dick Wilson opened.  

The original Wilmington CC hosted the 1913 US Women's amateur but no longer exists.  The South Course hosted the 1971 US Amateur, 2003 US Mid-Amateur, 1965 and 1978 Junior Amateur, and will host the 2022 Western Open.  The North hosted the US Girl's Junior in 1978 and in 2003 was co-host of the US Mid-Amateur.  A very impressive listing of national championships.

I liked the North Course and its routing a an excellent piece of land for golf...with one exception (which I shall explain in a minute.  My round was "a tale of two cities" with an ugly 48 on the front and a very good 39 on the back despite bogies on the par 5's (#10 and #18).  The one hole I really did not like was #18...it has a pond that crosses the fairway in front of the green.  Before the pond the fairway end and rough starts about 145-150 yards from the center of the green and the pond ends some 55-60 short of the center of the green.  To my mind, a great golf role plays tough for the better player and easy for the average golfer...this hole does the exact opposite.  No good player would even think about that water (unless they hit a terrible drive) but the average played is going to have a tough time carrying the water and will likely be left with a long 3rd shot into the green.

Keith Foster renovate the South Course in 2008.  ANDREW GREEN?????

Bidermann Golf Club, May 5, 2022: Bidermann sits contiguous to Wilmington CC but by car is about 4 miles away.  I have played a good number of "reclusive" wasps clubs around the US, but to date this might be the most reclusive.  Bidermann started as a nine hole course designed in 1920 by Devereaux Emmetthat was the private golf course for some of the du Pont's.  In the mid 1960's after Emily du Post made an adjoining tract available, Dick Wilson, designed the new 18 hole layout. Finally in 1977 Bidermann merged with Vicmead Hunt Club  (while maintaining its own clubhouse).

On this beautiful Thursday I recall seeing three other golfers on the property...and the "Clubhouse" mentioned above is as simple and basic as any I have entered.  This is not exactly a Discovery Land Project, and I loved it for that very reason.  The golf course is excellent with a wonderful collection of bunkers providing superb definition for the fairways.  And the site itself has just the right amount of elevation changes for a superb golf course.  The only question that struck me, which I chose not to ask, is why Seth Raynor (who seems to have garnered a substantial market share of small very private wasps clubs, was not hired to design this one.

I was able to play it simply because a young Professional Golfer I know (from his time at Brookline) was recently hired as the teaching pro at Bidermann.

After the round I got back in my car and drove another 460 miles south to Pinehurst, arriving home around 11:30pm.  Long 31 hours which included 36 holes of golf and about 945 miles of driving.  While I fully accept the "beggars cannot be choosers" statement, I also know to "strike when the iron is hot" if one wants to meet one's audacious (some might more correctly say "silly" goals).

                        

                            

Post #159--BRIEF UPDATE

 POST #159--BRIEF UPDATE

Some of you have contacted me asking if all is OK since there has been no post since mid March.  All is OK…just too busy planning trips and taking them to write about them.

This post is meant to give you an update on what I have been doing since Post #158 was published (#158 covered courses played through March 9, 2022...157 days ago, and was published on March 15, 2022).  Trust me I have been busy, but here are the specifics:

Courses played in lifetime:  3/9/22 stood at 1421...as of 8/13/22 stands at 1474...played 54 new courses in these 157 days.  Yes I know that 1421 + 54 is equal to 1475; I had played the front nine of a course last year and in May 2022 played the back nine.  It counted as a course played with just 9 holes (my rule for lifetime list is 50% of  the course...but for bucket lists I need to play all holes).   So for lifetime total this was not a "new" course for me as it made that list in 2021.

Courses played over these 157 days:  In addition to the above mentioned 54 courses played for the first time, I played 14 courses I had played previously...so 68 different courses (located in 16 states and three foreign countries...France, Northern Ireland, and Ireland) in the 157 days.

Golf holes played in lifetime:  Stood at 25,027 as of 3/9 and today stands at 25,962 (equals 1442.33 "18 hole equivalent" courses...the difference of 31.67 courses is due mainly to playing 9 hole courses etc. etc.)

Note:  I just started a major trip to visit 8 states in some 13 days, mostly in the Rockies and on the West Coast (so these are BIG states geographically).  Two days into the trip I have played 4 new courses and am hoping to play another 16 course (all but one of which would be new).  So here is where I stand on my major bucket lists as of today...and projected out if all works well on the trip:

• USGA Current Championships and "Cups":  Through the 2022 USGA Championship schedule, there are 440 different courses that have been primary hosts of one or more of these events.  Excluding courses that "no longer exist", I stood at 27.5 missing as of 3/9/22...today I stand at 13 missing...and if the rest of the trip happens without a hitch...that will stand at 5 left to go on 8/24/2022.  I need to point out that the USGA is naming some new (and unplayed by me) courses to their schedule...so the 2023 schedule could have added 4 more...but I have played 2 of those 4 and hope to play another on this trip.  Many of my bucket lists are "moving targets", but to be fair, sometimes I get a gift...such as learning about the closing of one bucket list course in WY.
• Golf Digest's 1966/67 200 USA Toughest" Courses:  Many of you have learned about these first two pioneering lists which started the current Top 100 phenomena.  Frankly, these two pioneering lists look primitive today...just as the Model T and the Commodore desktop computer look primitive in today's world.  There were 248 courses that appeared on one or both of these lists and I was missing 32 of the still existing courses as of 3/9; today I am down to 17 and if all goes per plan on the rest of this current trip I will be at 13.  As Reagan used to say..."Progress is our most important product."
• I was missing 5 courses that had been EVER listed on a well regarding World Top 100 list as of 3/9...now that number is back down to 3 (located in Australia, Brazil, and China).  No new unplayed courses have popped up on my World 100 EVER table since March 9.  I continue to have played every course that has EVER been on a reputable USA Top 100 list.
• Also of note, on July 3 I played Evian GC in France which meant that I had played every Men's and Women's Major and Senior Major host.  A mere 15 days later the US Women's Senior POGA was held at Salina CC in Kansas...so I was quickly thrown off that perch!  Additionally I ventured overseas for the first time in almost three years.

To date this has been a highly productive calendar year...as I have played 107 different course (of which 89 have been "first timers" for me).

I have played some great courses and some not so great courses in these 157 day...and many in between those two classifications.  With apologies to some of my other hosts, the following were in my mind the highlights of these 157 days since 3/9/22 (and remember..."beauty is in the eye of the beholder" in this game and there is NO absolute truth...these are one person's opinions) (listed in chronological order based on date played):

Congressional CC-Blue (MD)*

The Country Club (aka "Brookline")-Open (MA)*

Bald Peak Colony Club (NH)

Rancho Santa Fe GC (CA)

Les Bordes GC-New/Hanse (France)

Royal Portrush GC-Dunluce (new holes 7&8) (Northern Ireland)

Rosapenna Hotel & Golf Resort-St Patrick's (Ireland)

Enniscrone GC (Ireland)

Ballybunion GC-Old (Ireland)*

The Island GC (Ireland)*

County Louth GC (Ireland)*

Portmarnock GC (Championship) (Ireland)*

Merion GC-East (PA)*

Quaker Ridge GC (NY)*

Wannamoisett GC (RI)*

*  Played previously.

Future Posts:  As is obvious, I am seriously backlogged.  Am thinking about shortening my write up of the lesser important courses (in my opinion) and milestones.  I can hear the cheers as you read this...😁😁