Post #157...January 2022 

We had a wonderful trip to Boston for 10 days in late December to celebrate the Holidays...with the possible exception of the weather!  Got off the plane on 12/19 and the blast of "wind assisted" cold air was far more than refreshing!  Seeing all eight grandkids, attending Xmas Boston POPS, etc. etc. made for a great trip, as it always does!  That said, getting back to a warmer North Carolina on 12/29 was welcomed!

After a few days playing my last golf of 2021 and finally getting fully caught up with this blog, it became time to get back out there a play some.  First course on my plans was one that was recently brought to my attention...Camden Country Club in Camden, SC.  I had never played Camden before, so made the drive (about 2:05 mostly through rural South Carolina) on January 5.

Camden is located about 35 miles NE of Columbia SC and 100 miles SW of Pinehurst.  It was once a major industrial town with a very large textiles plant built, owned, and operated by DuPont (opened around 1950) and once employed over 2000 people.  The facility was purchased by Koch Industries in 2004, but clearly the town's economy has seen healthier days. 

Prior to WW II the town was known as a resort with outstanding equestrian facilities (a large practice track still sits just to the right of Camden's 11th hole).  According to the Club's website, the Club was "chartered" in 1899 and "founded" in 1903.  Its present site was occupied by Kirkwood Links until Walter Travis was hired to build a new 18 hole course in 1923.  In 1939, the Club convinced Donald Ross to interrupt his retirement and oversee a renovation which included converting Camden's sand greens to grass.  Finally, in 2011 Kris Spence oversaw a restoration project.

This is really a fun track.  Smallish greens with tough tough slopes and interior mounding.  Hole # 5 is one of the best short par 4's I have ever played...and holes 6-7-8 are almost as good as #5. At 6687 yards (par 70) from the tips, the course is too short by today's standards and too long for my game 😢.  Entire "feeling" of the course is very much like what one finds in Pinehurst...with thousands of pine trees dominating...but reasonably wide corridors available on most holes.  Further tree trimming and widening would certainly add more angles and options but given the state of Camden's economy, I don't see that coming.

Course was in excellent condition and the club is in the middle of a continuing restoration...right now installing a new sprinkler system.  While it has never held a USGA event or been included in a Top XXX listing, this one a worth a visit.  I had a 43 - 41 = 84.

The next morning (1/6/2022) I decided I needed to get over and see the renovated Southern Pines Golf Club.  Had played Southern Pines once before in November 2013 and only saw a tired property (more on this in a minute).  The first time I heard about Southern Pines Golf Club was in late 1997 or early 1998 when it was known around here as The Elks Club.  My ex and I were visiting the Pinehurst area scouting out retirement home options.  We were being shown "Horse Country" just east of Southern Pines, NC by our broker (an older "Southern Gentleman").  I had told the broker that I was a golfer and that Jessie was a "horsy" and he mention The Elks Club and pointed out the low costs and the quick/easy admission, pointing out that all one needed to join was to be White and Christian.  I could feel Jessie tightening in horror as I contemplated asking "what does 50% get me?".  But in one of my rare moments of discretion, did not make the ask.  I should report that those days are long gone around these (and most) parts.

In 2020, The Elks Club sold the course to the company that owns Mid Pines and Pine Needles (both in Southern Pines) and run by Kelly Miller, a fellow GOLF Magazine Panelist.  They now have three courses...all of which were designed by Donald Ross (SP in 1906, Mid Pines in 1921, and Pine Needles in 1928).  Southern Pines was renovated by Karl Franz and reopened September 9, 2021.  

I was excited to see what has generally been heralded as a superb to do.  However, this past Saturday night/Sunday morning (January 1 and 2) this area was hit by the same storm that caused havoc on I-95 in Northern VA.  No snow here, but strong winds (gusts to 52mph according to the National Weather Service) and heavy rains for a brief period (about 1.5" overnight).  I was playing the course some 4-5 days after the storm came through but the affects of the storm were very very evident.  For sure it was not playing firm/fast and a good number of the waste bunkers were still washed out.  No question none of this damaged is long term...I would expect the course to be like new within a week.

I teed off at 11:30 with a young (approx 35 year old) and from Raleigh who is a very good player.  After a par-birdie start, my game returned to normal, but this course kept getting better and better.  It is build on a truly outstanding piece of land with lots of interesting natural movement and, with the removal of lots and lots of trees during the renovation, some absolutely stunning vistas of the course.  And the greens are pure Ross.  Overall, I can think of very few courses without views of mountains and/or large bodies of water that compare to the overall "feel" of this place as a wonderful, fun golf course.  And trust me, with this design and these Ross greens, it can bit and bite hard if one is not careful.  Ask a guy named Rudo about how the 11th hole can bite hard.  Best hole on the tract at 315 yards from the tips. I played from 242 yards and hit an 8 iron into the green...not realizing the entire green slopes to the back (where there is a steep fall off and very deep bunker).  On second thought, don't ask.  I ended up with  a reasonable 41 - 41 = 82...could not get used to the slow green speeds (most likely result of grounds crew busy repairing storm damage).  Had birdies on two par 5's: #2 and #15.

Given the conditions, I am planning to play it again in a few weeks...to see it in back in its normal condition...and very much look forward to it.  I may have found a new "favorite" course in the North Carolina Sandhills but have to see it firm and fast to be sure!

The morning of Wednesday January 12 I headed south to play three courses in South Carolina on Wednesday and Thursday.  Stop #1 was to return to Yeamans Hall Club located just west of Charleston, SC.  This was my 5th visit to the Club and my 8th round.  Deep descriptions may be found on Post #104 from my last visit in December 2017...the three prior visits occurred in 2009, 2012, and 2014 and all were in the "pre-Blog era".  Given the info on Post #104, I shall be brief...but this place is still one of the great places in this wonderful game.  Fun and charming (probably an unusual word to describe a golf club but it fits perfectly here), Seth Raynor made sure all who followed him here would have to think there way around the course, or pay the price.  The course was in wonderful condition...which was great to see as in 2017 it was good but not quite up to snuff.  Hit the ball fairly well and had a 42 - 40 = 82.

Certainly hope I get the chance to revisit this place at least one more time!  By the way, was pleased to see Yeamans return to the GOLF Magazine World 100 last month at #89.

Next stop was Beaufort SC, where I was having dinner with Richard B. (whose bride was babysitting grandkids in Jacksonville, FL).  Have known Richard and Dolly for about a dozen years from when they lived about 25 miles south of Pinehurst.  They continue to belong to CCNC but headed to SC two years ago in search of slightly warmer weather so we get together far less frequently, which is unfortunate.  We did see them this past August during our visit to Yellowstone Club in MT (Post #153).  Always special to catch up with Richard, and was wonderful to stay in their beautiful new home.

Early Thursday morning I arrived at Berkeley Hall Club in Bluffton, SC (right next to Hilton Head Island) to play its North course.  Some 6 years ago, CCNC's then Head Pro, Adam Kushner, moved to take the position of Director of Golf at Berkeley Hall.  Pat and I would often see Adam during our annual visits to Chechessee Creek...and we have watched him grow and succeed here, getting promoted to General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of the Club.  Always great to see a first first class person doing well, and that is true big time in this case. 

Berkeley Hall opened in 2000 and boasts two Tom Fazio courses (North and South).  I was playing North because it hosted last year's US Women's Mid Amateur.  I played with Randy S., who is a long time member of Berkeley Hall and is a good friend of another GOLF panelist I know, Robert R.  (who was the "former" greenskeeper at Atlantic GC before his recent retirement).  Adam was able to join us for the back nine.  

This was one of those rounds where Randy and I on the front and then the three of us on the back nine were constantly trading stories and discovering how many common friends we had...that I almost totally lost focus regarding the golf course itself.  It was in excellent condition and flowed well.  On the negative side, it had more water hazards than I generally like to see and several involved long carries over the water...which can make it difficult or impossible for a shorter player to finish a hole.  But no question that this is a first class club and the course is a very good test of golf with a very good set of greens.  Never did mark a score on my scorecard...so nothing to report there. 

I finished the round at 12:45 and I had to hustle east some 6 miles to just short of HHI for the last round of this day and a half trip...at Moss Creek's South Course.  Like Berkeley Hall. Moss Creek boasts two Fazio tracks...but it can also boast two Fazio's.  The South Course was built first and was designed by George Fazio, with the help of his nephew Tom Fazio.  Then a couple of years later the North Course was designed and built under the guidance of Tom Fazio.  In 1979 the South Course hosted the US Junior Amateur Championship.  George Fazio had a successful career on the PGA Tour and among his better known designs are Jupiter Hills' (FL) two courses (Hills and Villages) (also where he was a founder along with Bob Hope and William Ford), Butler National-IL, Champions Golf Clubs' Jack Rabbit Course (TX),  The National Golf Club of Canada near Toronto, and Wollaston GC in Milton, MA!  I arrived around 1:10 and was able to get off right way by starting on #2 (played hole #1 after finishing the front nine).  Two groups were kind enough to wave me thru and then I had clear sailing the rest of the way...finishing all 18 2:05.  

Overall, this is a good course but cannot complete with the great tracks being built (and renovated or restored) these days.  This brought me to 1390 courses lifetime, and left me with 39.5 courses to finish my USGA Championship bucket list (out of 428 courses...net of "no longer exists").

Four Days in Louisiana/Mississippi/Alabama:

This trip was originally scheduled for five days with a very arduous and complicated first day designed to allow me to play Indian Hills CC in Tuscaloosa, AL, which I was unable to play as scheduled in December.  Then winter storm Izzy (who the hell thought of this idea of naming storms other than Hurricanes?) reared its ugly head and arduous became literally impossible (weather forecast for my round at Indian Hills was a high of 42 degrees, rain, and 15-20mph winds) but the rest of the trip seemed survivable so off I went a little less than one day late.  

Given the roads in NC were likely to be very dangerous during the wee small hours of Monday January 17, Pat suggested that I leave late Sunday afternoon and stay overnight near RDU airport before catching a flight to Atlanta (where I would connect to a flight to Monroe, LA) at 7:00am on Monday.  That was a superb suggestion and eased the front end of the trip considerably.  Also I somehow was able to rent a car with a drop off location that was different from pick up location...with a reasonable up charge (in this case, pick up would be Monroe, LA and drop off was New Orleans).  That saved me a couple of hundred miles of driving at the start of the trip.  The RDU-->ATL-->Monroe flights went off without a hitch and after a 30 mile drive westward I pulled into Squire Creek Country Club around 12:30pm.  

Squire Creek is a Tom Fazio design that opened in 2003 with an 18 hole golf course and a good number of large homesites spread across over 1000 acres.  In 2015, it hosted the US Women's Mid Amateur Championship.  The course was in excellent condition and happily did not overseed with ryegrass (which usually makes courses soft and slow).  Biggest greens (by far I think) that I have ever seen on a Fazio course.  Holes on front somewhat repetitive but back nine is really good.  Had a 43 - 44 = 87.

After the round I was headed east towards Jackson, MS and Country Club of Jackson, which I was scheduled to play the morning of January 18.  Had never been to Jackson before and my only memory of it was Bernie Ebbers and World Com.  Ebbers was the founder and Chairman of this high flying telecom (long distance) company (headquartered in Jackson, MS) in the 1990's until fictitious accounting transactions (used to artificially pump up reported earnings) were discovered in 2002.  He died in jail in 2020.

Was scheduled to play at 8:00 and arrived around 7:45...but frost delay pushed my start back to around 9:15.  Had the opportunity to chat with HP Jason Prendergast, a very good guy who was raised in northern Vermont (somehow I was more than a little surprised to find a HP from VT at a club in MS...but turns out this is a fine club with a superb HP).  Course was designed by Dick Wilson in 1963 and later renovated first by Joe Lee and then in 2006 by John Fought.  It was included in Golf Digest's 1966 and 1967 USA 200 Toughest lists.

Each fall since 2014 Jackson has hosted the Sanderson Farm Classic on the PGA Tour.  The event started as the Magnolia Classic in 1968 and had six different names during these 44 years.  From 1968 through 1993 it was held at Hattiesburg CC (which I would play later this day and tomorrow morning), then moved to Annandale GC (post #62) in Madison, MS from 1994-2013 before coming here.  The course is stretched to 7400-7500 yards for the event.  Club has 27 holes and I played the Dogwood and Azalea 9's, which are also used for the Tour event. 

I liked the course but thought it would be better if it did not host a PGA TOUR event.  Its fairways are fairly narrow due to the event,  limiting options and angles that would require a player to really focus, evaluate, and make a risk/reward decision.  Obviously hosting a PGA TOUR event brings important funding to the club, and is a major tool for recruiting new members.  I played well on the front and poorly on the back...shooting a 41 - 44 = 85.

Next stop was in Laurel, MS about 100 miles to the southeast where I was scheduled to play Laurel Country Club, another course that was on the 1966 and 1967 200 Toughest lists.  Laurel CC was founded in 1917 and the club quickly hired Mr. Seymour Dunn from New York's Lake Placid Club to build its golf course and serve as the club's head professional.  The front nine was completed first, followed by the back nine across the road, creating Mississippi's first 18 hole course by 1920.

I was the guest of Chris W., who I was introduced to by our mutual friend, John C. of Melbourne, Australia.  Chris' ties to the club go back a long way, as his grandfather was a founding member and deeply involved in the construction of the course.  Playing the course is like stepping back 100 years, as many of its original design features are present today.  This became obvious from the first hole, a long par 4 with a green sitting on top of a rise from a creek...and just past a large front bunker that demands an approach shot that carries to the green.  My favorite hole was the short (164 yard) par 3 16th hole.  Net, net this place is a living museum and Chris W. is a wonderful museum tour guide!

I played quickly but not particularly well (but far better on the back nine).   We had to hop around a bit to get in all 18 quickly but it all worked and around 4:10 I was off to Hattiesburg (30 mile 0:33 drive).  I pulled into Hattiesburg Country Club and parked my car at 4:43...with sunset coming in 35 minutes.  I figured if I could play a few holes this evening, then I would have less to play early the next day.  HP Blake Miller was more than helpful.  Within about 2 minutes the cart was loaded and I was on the 10th tee, hoping to be able to squeeze in 5 holes.  Actually played well and very quickly and after finishing hole #17, it was getting fairly dark but light enough to just see the ball.  Hole #18 played 355 yards from my forward tees, turned a little left and was slightly downhill.  Hit a perfect drive and faced about 170 yards over a ponding fronting the deep but narrow green from a downhill stance.  No way I could hit a 3 wood over the water so just hit a short pitch to just short of the pond, followed by a perfect 6 iron.  I could not see it land but also saw there was no "splash" from the pond.  Took the cart up to the green site and there was my ball pin high and 8' left.  Might have been the best "shot in the dark" since Tiger's at Firestone in 2000 (then again, might not have been!).  Anyhow, truth be known, missed the putt.  Had played the back nine in 48 minutes and 45 holes this day!

After the round talked w Blake for about 30 minutes about golf courses, golf architecture and GolfClubAtlas.com. Made arrangements to play the front nine first thing the next morning.

At 7:45am I was off on #1 and played the front nine a little slower...55 minutes.  Had a 42 there as well for a total of 84 for all 18.  All in all a good course but the greens had be renovated recently and were now of very strange shapes...with extensions out of them that looked like appendages.  In any case, as I was leaving the club I remembered something important regarding the game of golf had happened in Hattiesburg, but I could not recall it.  Then I realized that Hattiesburg was where Tiger went for his sex addition therapy after the fire hydrant crash!!

With no time for such therapy, it was off to southern Alabama...near Mobile and the Gulf Coast...to The Lakewood Club.  Lakewood has 36 holes (Dogwood and Azalea courses) and had hosted three US Senior Women's Championships (in 1974, 1986, and 2021).  In order to play the holes used for these three Championships, I needed to play all 18 of Dogwood and holes 1-5 and 15-18 of Azalea.

I arrived near the clubhouse to find a large crowd of golfers waiting to tee off on Azalea and thought I would be lucky to play 18 this afternoon.  But my host (another friend of John C., Trey F.) had everything set up.  DoG Niall Fraser pointed me to the 1st tee of Dogwood which was empty and awaited my presence.  I played holes 1-10 with Jack, a member who lives in Nashville and we moved along well.  At the tee on #11 we were behind two foursomes who were on #11 and #12, and could see holes #13-15 which looke empty, so I decided to go to #13 (Jack decided to stay and wait out the foursomes).  I played 13-18 quickly and then went back to play 12 and 11.  Ended with a 42 - 42 = 84.  

The Club started with 18 holes that opened in 1947 and designed by Perry Maxwell, one of the great architects of all time.  The other 18 holes were in 1967 and 1983 by Joe Lee and Ron Garl respectively.  Today's Dogwood consists of a Maxwell front nine and Lee back nine, while today's Azalea's holes 1-5 and 15-18 are by Maxwell and holes 6-14 are Garl's.  IMO the Maxwell holes are by far the best and the Garl holes (6-14 on Azalea) are the weakest.  Played better on Azalea and ended with a 40 - 40 = 80.  Overall this is a very good club with two good tracks.  They were both in excellent condition, in part because they were not overseeded, so they played firm and fast.  Finished all 36 by about 5pm, making this my second consecutive day of 45 holes.  And I was tired!  Trey had invited me to stay at their wonderful new house next to the club and his bride Dixie prepared a delicious dinner.  I was most appreciative.  Both had been raised in MS and they loved spending their retirement years in this area which seemed to be very active and well planned.

Thus far the weather had been very good on the trip...a little cool but good.  The weekend coming up was looking to be quite another story.  I was scheduled to play 36 on Saturday (at Isle Dauphine in AL and Hickory Hill in MS) on Friday 1/18 and then Lakewood Golf Course in New Orleans Saturday 1/19 before flying back to North Carolina.  Friday looked to be rainy and cool, and Saturday was forecast with rain, cold temps and high winds.  It was clear that golf was not going to be possible on Saturday so I switched my flights home to earlier in the day, but I figured I would give Friday's two rounds a try as the forecast for Friday was improving.

Got up early Friday morning, had a quick breakfast, and hit the road, going to Hickory Hill in MS first.  This course was originally built in 1965 (designed by Earl Stone) and was known as Mississippi National Golf Club.  At some point, it experienced financial difficulties, changed ownership and became Hickory Hill Country Club & Resort.  It also was closed for several years.  Last year a new group purchased the property and is actually trying to bring it back to life.   A Brit named Kevin McCarty (good guy who was a former shaper for Greg Norman) is leading the efforts to bring the facility back to life...and in the meantime people like me come by to see what is going on.  Kevin had played golf for the University of Cambridge so we talked about the "Sacred Nine" at Royal Worlington (posts #50 and #118).  Never thought I would be discussing Royal Worlington in rural Mississippi!!

No question that $$ is being spent on the clubhouse and time will tell how things go on the course.  I played all 18 holes and will simply say this place has a long long way to go, but I would guess more damaged properties have been brought back to life.  It was on the Golf Digest's 1967 200 Toughest list, but that was some 55 years ago.  Frankly, at this point if it has any good bones, they certainly were not visible to my eye.  In one way I was fortunate...the rain stopped as I played #1 and held off all round.  Yes it was cool and windy, but not too bad.

After thanking Kevin and wishing him good luck with this venture, it was off to the 8th course on my itinerary (actually started with 10 but as noted earlier had to drop the first, Indian Hills in AL and the last, Lakewood Golf Club in LA due to bad weather).  This was Isle Dauphine.  Go find it on Google Maps.  It sticks out into the Gulf of Mexico about 20 miles south of Mobile, AL on an island (accessible via a bridge) that appears to be about 20 yards wide on any map.  The golf course sits exposed to the Gulf, was designed by Charles Maddox, and opened in 1962.  Maddox built about 20-25 courses, mostly in the Midwest, and Isle Dauphine appears to be his only effort in the South.

I had been told by several sources (including the club's "website") that nine of the holes had been wiped out by a recent hurricane and only 9 holes were open, so I arrived expecting to play a quick nine.  As I arrived, two carts were returning which were occupied by two golfers (one from Rhode Island) and the manager ("JR") of Isle Dauphine.  I asked JR how much I needed to pay him to play the 9 open holes and use a cart and he informed me that all 18 holes were "open" but that he had to leave and could not allow me to take a cart in his absence...and my best efforts and "big doggy eyes" (you know, the look you give when you want your opponent to concede your 3 foot putt) did not change his mind.  I asked if I could walk it and JR said fine.  So I grabbed my 7-iron and three golf balls, as well as all the hats and gloves in my car and started my trek.  But first, JR provided me with a scorecard (which had a small course layout map on its back) and a post card with an overhead shot of the course from better days...here is the postcard below:

               (across the middle of the card from L to R are holes #9, #1, #10, and #18); Gulf on far right

I then took off on my trek.  I figured that if I (1) walked at least part of every hole, and (2) hit at least one shot with a 7 iron (even if it was a 5 yard chip) on each hole, I could count this as 18 holes played.  The question was...could I get around the full 18 before the weather turned real ugly.  When I was on the furthest part of the course (6th green and 7th tee) I realized that if I fell and hurt myself, I would be in fairly deep trouble.

Well, I got it done.  Hit at least one shot per hole, but not long shots.  By hole #18 I was getting pretty damn cold.  The course needs a ton of work, but probably much less than Hickory Hill.  It lies on what seems to be a deep bed of sand and can probably be brought back to life fairly easily...until the next hurricane hits!  To get a sense of the course condition on this day, see the following photo with the 3rd green in the foreground and the 4th green (#4 is a par 3) in the background (left of and behind the larger bunker in the background):

 

Was glad I did it and saw the course, but even happier that I survived it and was back in my rental car.  

Then I drove the last leg of this trip back to the airport in New Orleans...flew from New Orleans to Atlanta to Raleigh-Durham and arrived home around 1am Saturday morning January 22.  Slept late that day!  Had put 1191 miles on my rental car in less than 4 days. 

After a few days rest and with the weather warming up (somewhat), it looked like a short (3 day) trip might be possible January 26-28.  Ran Morrissett had published his 147+2 Custodians list which meant I now had one course to play to recomplete my USA Top 100 EVER list.  That course was The Rawls Course at Texas Tech, located in Lubbock, Texas and built almost 20 years ago by Tom Doak.  I figured I could use January 26-28 to clean up 3 isolated "left behind" courses.  As first planned, trip was to include:

Hills of Lakeway CC--Hills, Austin, Texas 

Rawl's Course, Lubbock Texas

Lakewood Golf Club, New Orleans, LA 

However, the HP at Rawls advised that they were expecting 3" of snow of Wednesday which they thought would still be on the course Thursday.  So I adjusted the schedule to play:  

9/26--Hills of Lakeway CC--Hills, Austin, Texas

9/27--Indian Hills CC, Tuscaloosa, AL

9/28--Lakewood Golf Club, New Orleans, LA 

I was able to catch a non stop to Austin the morning of Wednesday 1/26 and immediately headed up to The Hills (about a 25 mile drive).  This is a Jack Nicklaus  Signature Course that opened in 1981.  In 1989 it hosted the US Women's Mid Amateur Championship.  

The course was restored by Nicklaus over the past two years and on my previous trip I could not gain access because it had just reopened.  It is a very good Nicklaus course that was in excellent condition.  I thought 4 of the holes were exceptional (par 3 #7--its Signature Hole with an angled green protected by a wide waterfall, par 5 #11, par 3 #14, and par 4 #16).  However, I found the course to have the strangest routing I have ever seen on a course.  The 6th hole returns to the clubhouse and the walk to the 7th tee is about 250-300 yards.  Then after holes 7-14 you have returned to the clubhouse and wind your way past a couple of greens to the 15th tee...looping through 15-18 and returning to the clubhouse.  It felt like the course was divided into thirds instead of two nines.  On the positive side regarding the routing, at every point on the course I felt like I knew where the clubhouse was located.  In any case I had a 42 -43 = 85. 

Following the round I drove up to Horseshoe Bay to join old friends from the New York area, Jim & Trudy L. at their home for dinner.  Jim and I were raised about 4 miles from each other and met through golf in the 1970's or 1980's (he was at The Stanwich Club while I was at Quaker Ridge) and in the late 1980's we knew each other from the men's clothing industry.  Jim could really overpower a golf course even as recently as 2-3 years ago, but he is now recovering from knee replacement surgery.  Was very special to catch up at their beautiful home in Hill Country.  I headed back to a hotel near the airport after a wonderful dinner...as my flight the next morning departed at 5:45am!

Thursday morning 1/27 I was at the Austin airport around 4:30am and my flights going Austin-ATL-Birmingham went well as did the drive of about 60 miles from Birmingham to Tuscaloosa.  I arrived at Indian Hills CC just before 11:30am and was off the first tee by 11:45.  The weather was good (if a little cool) and the course was fairly empty.  Liked course a lot as there is an interesting creek that meanders through the property.  Only negative I saw was holes 3-6 which are 4 straight holes in same direction or 180 degree opposite direction.  Indian Hills was on the Golf Digest 200 Toughest list in 1966.  It was designed by Harold Williams and Tom Nicol and opened in 1960, then later renovated by John LaFoy in 1997.  I had a 42 - 42 = 84.

After finishing round it was back to Birmingham and flight to Atlanta and then New Orleans.  Arrived at hotel just past midnight...a very long day that had started at 3:30 am!  The real bad news was the forecast for Friday morning...temperature about 42F, rain, and 15-18mpg winds...but I really wanted to get Lakewood Golf Club in my rear view mirror.

Friday morning I was at the course by 8:15am...and the only player there at that time.  Had my breakfast there...guy in Proshop asked if my cereal was Fibre One...he has it every day as well.  Hit the first tee around 8:45 and decided to stay in the cart, take driver off every tee and hit lots of 4-hybrids the rest of the way.  No practice swings, just get each hole done ASAP.   Had six layers of clothes on top and wore a pair of golf "wet weather" gloves and a ski cap...and somehow survived and played all 18.  Was so so good to get back inside and warm up.  This course had also been on the 200 Toughest lists in both 1966 and 1967.  It was originally designed by Robert Bruce Harris and opened in 1962.  It was renovated completely by Ron Garl several years ago.  From 1963 through 1988, it hosted the New Orleans Open.

My flight home went well and I arrive at the house just after 11pm.

****************

January 2022 Summary:  In total, played 16 courses in January 2022...14 of which were for the first time and two were repeats.  I ended January with 35.5 USGA Championship host courses left to play and 35 left from the 1966/67 USA 200 Toughest lists.  In total and including these 30.5 and 34, for all of my primary bucket lists I have a total of about 90 USA courses left to play, plus some 7 overseas (some located in countries that I currently cannot travel to due to COVID restrictions).  Sure would like the finish these in 2022!

Indian Hills was my 1400th course so as of January 31 I stood at 1401 courses played.  

 156.  Final Post of 2021

I was able to get in the two additional courses yesterday.  More on those details in a few minutes, but I also realized that if I am going to reform and stay current with my Posts, then I needed to get this Post #156 published ASAP, so here goes.

Pat and I were up in MA from 12/19 through the morning of 12/29.  Was a very good trip...saw both Hunter and Ann as well as Clark and Alex...as well as the eight g-kids (everyone together for Christmas Boston POPS).  Then on Wednesday we flew back to Raleigh-Durham and had the 1:15 drive to home from RDU.  Arrived home about 3:10.  I quickly unpacked, changed clothes and repacked for a 30+ hour trip to northern Florida.

To fill in some gaps, one on my key bucket lists is to play every course that has ever hosted one of the USGA's 15 current Championships and two "Cups" (Walker and Curtis).  There are 440 courses that fit that bill and as of 12/29/2021 twelve of those (1) no longer exist, and (2) I have played them (I believe there are three that no longer exist which I was able to play.  Of the net of 428, as of 12/29/21 I had played 384.5), leaving me with 43.5 to go.  I would like to complete this bucket list before the US Open starts in June 2022.

About 3 weeks ago a friend sent me an email and accompanying article saying that one of the 43.5, Timuquana CC, would be closing for an 8 month restoration commencing January 2, 2022.  With about 3 weeks left in the year, and a family trip to Boston occupying 10 of those days, things did not look very good.  

But I was able to cobble together a plan that worked.  I got back in my car at 4pm on 12/29/21 and headed south...stopping about 40 miles north of Amelia Island, FL. The drive went quickly and smoothly until I reached the southern most 50 miles or so of I-95 in South Carolina...and then traffic slammed to a crawl for most of the next 60 miles.  I reached my hotel at 10pm...about an hour later then I expected, but I made it!  

Thursday morning I was awake by 5:30am and by 6:25 was on my way to Amelia Island Resort's Oak Marsh Course.  I arrive at Oak March by 7:30am and was in the first group off, along with another single golfer.  I very much wanted to play the course as quickly as possible and he was seeking a more relaxed round, so after 10 holes I asked him if he would mind if I jumped ahead and he replied, "that is good, I understand." I ended up playing the front nine with him in 1:20 and the back nine in 0:55.  Course opened for play in 1973 and was designed by Pete Dye.  In 1988 it hosted the USGA's 2nd US Women's Mid Amateur Championship.

This is not one of Dye's better courses.  But in a way the par 3 16th reminded me of Harbour Town's #17, and Oak March's #18 reminded me of Harbour Town's #18.  The course condition was well below average when compared with the other courses I played this year.  All in all, I was glad to have it done, and my game was awful (44 - 43 = 87).  

After the round, had a drive of about 60 minutes to Timuquana County Club in Jacksonville.  Not surprisingly, the area is very flat and this is an old, traditional club...founded in 1923.  The club sits on the St. John's River (which runs through Jacksonville) and next to the Jacksonville Naval Air Station.  Note that the course is not adjacent to the River so it does not directly affect play, but you can "feel" its presence. Timuquana has hosted the 2002 US Senior Amateur (and playing it now completes playing all the US Senior Ams for me) and the 2019 US Women's Four Ball Championship.  It also has been a regular on the GolfWeek Top 200 Classic Course list thereby making my Merged Golfweek Top 400 list.

Clubhouse looked like a smaller version of Oakland Hills' clubhouse.  Course was designed by Donald Ross...and me thinks this is one of the ones where he spends a fair amount of time.  Has wonderful subtleties to it.  Given that it will be heavily torn up starting Monday or so (Bruce Hepner's firm leading the restoration), the fairways were dormant Bermuda...and in absolutely perfect condition...and the greens just as good.  Could play this course every day and never be bored.

The course was fairly busy but I was able to get off the first tee around 11:30am.  There were twosomes, threesome and foursomes on about every hole and play was moving in about a 3:45 pace.  On the 5th tee a twosome of members reach the tee as I was about to hit and I asked if they wanted to join me.  Good guys and long term members (one swam for the club's swimming team when he was 5 years old...probably some 60 or 70 years ago).  We finished the round at 3:45pm and I ended up with a 46 - 41 = 87.  Awful front and good back...actually started played better when they joined me on 5th hole...didn't want to embarrass myself I guess.

On 18 they took a pic of some handsome guy with the 18th green and clubhouse in the background.  You cannot see it, but the St John's River sits behind the clubhouse.

Went to the pro shop and thanked the staff and told them how much I liked the course.  Then hit the road...had 406 mile drive ahead of me, that should have taken 6:03.  Well, left the club at 3:55 pm and pulled into our driveway at 11:00pm exactly...even you liberal arts majors can do the math (and there were no time zone changes).  I-95 was bumper to bumper from about 10 miles short of the GA/SC line to the state line (I-95 is 3 lanes each way in GA and two lanes in SC)...and then stayed heavy until I passed I-26  (which one takes to Charleston, SC).  Drank lots and lots of Diet Pepsi and never felt tired...but felt like a dishrag when I got in the house.  Wifey fast asleep...smart girl!!  Unpacked and cleaned up some stuff and was asleep around midnight.  Trip was 840 miles and 36 holes in the space in 32 hours.  Good way to end the year..  Hope you will excuse me for not typing this Post last night😆.

OK...we can put 2021 in the record books.  End it with 1387 course lifetime after playing 127 new courses in 2021 (and that was with playing ZERO new courses until March 29).  

Will do my year end summary in early 2022...and need to start planning my 2022 trips...have some bucket lists to FINISH!!  

Happy New Year

 

 155.  Boston Summer Part 4...October 29 to December 17, 2021

Five Day Trip to Texas...Trip #22...Oct 29-Nov 3

Well it was almost a full week after the monster trip and my car still was not ready (but all the parts were received at the body shop, so progress was being made).  It was clear that the car would not be ready for at least 10 days so I was off on another trip, this time to try to clean up what I still had to play in Texas.  

But first in the morning of Friday October 29, I had a fun game at Brookline with two other members and a guest.  Hit the ball really well and pocketed a few bucks in the process...then headed to Logan Airport for a flight to DFW.  Flight was delayed about an hour and ended up at Ft Worth hotel around 11:45pm.

Saturday morning 10/30 I was a up at 6:00am and had two rounds scheduled at two Ft Worth tracks that had hosted USGA Championships.  First game was at Mira Vista CC which had hosted the 2004 US Girls Junior Championship.  The HP had set me up to play with three members including the Chair of the club's Board of Governors, Joe M.  Course and club opened in 1987 and were originally built as part of a real estate development.  Designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish and renovated by D. A. Weibring in 2014.  Course is built over a variety of terrains...front nine is very flat except for holes 1, 6, and 9, and back nine is very hilly with the exception of hole 16.  I played poorly on the front and very well on the back shooting a 45 - 38 = 83.   Best holes IMO are Par 5 #6 and #11, and par 4 #13 and #18.

Turned out that Joe M. had grown up in Queens, about 3 miles from where I was raised.  We were in the same years in high school, but at schools that were strong rivals (he went to Van Buren HS), especially in basketball.  Talked about a couple of key games from those long ago days.

After the round, thanked the HP and headed over to Ridgelea CC's North Course, also in Ft Worth, and the host of the 1969 Women's Senior Amateur.  Ridgelea has 36 holes today (North and South courses) with North was built first (in 1928), designed by John Bredumus.  Ridgelea became a private club in 1954 and was purchased by its members in 1974.  North was renovated by Ralph Plummer in 1954 and Jay Morrish in 1987.  I shot a 43 - 40 = 83

The South Course was designed by Ralph Plummer, opened in 1968 .  South is open only to male golfers and is longer and considered tougher than North.

I would call North a good but not special golf course and if I had to pick between Mira Vista and Ridgelea-North, I would pick Mira Vista.  But of course, Shady Oaks CC and Colonial CC are by miles the best two courses in Ft Worth...and between those two I'd pick Shady Oaks.

The next day Sunday 10/31 would be spent at one club, trying to play two of its courses.  Brookhaven Country Club has 54 holes.  The Masters Course is their toughest and hosted the US Junior Championship in 1972.  The Championship Course hosted the US Girl's Junior Championship in 1969.  The third course is The Presidents Course, which is much shorter than the other two, has never hosted a USGA event and was not included in my plans.

Playing any private club without being the guest of a member on a Sunday (especially since COVID struck) is very very tough.  Here I was trying to play two different courses and I did not know any members.  But it turned out that my long time golf coach, Tim Cusick (who lives and works in Dallas) had another student who belonged to Brookhaven.  

I met my host Hardy T. and his wife Mary Jane on the practice tee and shortly thereafter we teed off on the Championship Course at 11:10am.  We played it in a little over 4 hours.  It is fairly tight off the tee and a good course ...I shot a 42 - 41 = 83.  Hardy seems to be about my age (but would not reveal his age...smart man).  We talked about golf course architecture, golf swings, teachers Tim Cusick and Hank Haney etc. etc.  After we finished Championship, the starter at Masters let us off immediately (it was going to be tight to finish before sunset at 6:38 and darkness probably around 7pm).  Masters was more open and wider and therefore IMO more fun and interesting than Championship...and at the same time a little harder.  Both were in good condition and played firm/fast.  I played about like I had played at Championship for 13 holes shooting a 42 on the front and then 4 straight bogies to start the back...then played even par the rest of the way in...including holing it from front bunker on 18 for a birdie...as it was getting dark out.   

All in all a real fun day...amazing that we got in 36 on a Sunday afternoon in less than 8 hours...bounced around the last nine of Masters to find open holes but it worked and got in all 18.

Monday I played Golf Club of Dallas on the south side of downtown (wrong side these days)...used to be Oak Cliffs CC and was one of the premier clubs in town...designed by Perry Maxwell...but fell apart as the neighborhood deteriorated over time.  Was included on the Golf Digest USA 200 Toughest in both 1966 and 1967.  Now a daily fee course, in pretty bad condition...but glad I played it...great bones very obvious especially on back 9.  Had a 44 - 39 = 83...see what great bones can do for my game?

Did not have a place to play Monday afternoon so drove 110 miles east to Frankston, TX to play Pine Dunes Resort & Golf Club.  I had read a very positive review of it and figured why not take a shot (even though my game the next morning was in Austin...to the south of Dallas).  Well, my hunch proved to be pretty damn good.  Don't tell Pat this but fell in love with the course!  It is built on a patch of sand and the land is covered with tall pine trees.  Wonderful feeling about the place and reminded me of Pinehurst.  Opened around 2002 and designed by Jay Morrish...just the right amount of land movement, wonderful conditioning (firm and fast), challenging yet great fun, and player must think their way around the course.  Outstanding set of par 3's.  Had a 40 - 41 = 81 and wished I had time to do it again!  Absolute Hidden Gem!!

After the round it was back in the car...price had to be paid in the form of a 195 mile (3:30) drive to Austin.  

Early the next morning I had breakfast with Bruce C., a fellow member of Global Golf Centurions Club who lives in Austin.  We had never met before but three years ago I was playing Austin Golf Club (Post #129) and one of the Assistant Pros mentioned that a member there had just completed playing a GOLF magazine World Top 100 list.  We contacted Bruce and he was welcomed into the club about a month later.

After breakfast, drove over to Austin Country Club to finish a round I had started over 29 months before.  In late May 2019, I had played Austin GC early, then went to Austin CC hoping to play 18, and then make it to Barton Creek-Fazio Canyons for a 54 hole day.  But it did not work...play was very slow at Austin CC  and we quit after 11 holes.  I went on to Baron Creek...knowing I needed to come back some day to play the last 7 holes at Austin CC.  Finally got my chance playing with Luke S whom I had hosted at Brookline in June of their year, and two friends of his...both MD's...Phil and Andy.  We played all 18 and I had a much more positive feel for the course and it helped my appreciate the deep deep genius of Pete Dye...who build courses where other could have never imagined creating anything good...much less great!

Course was in perfect condition, and most of all I loved the par 5 7th hole which was totally created by Dye!  Had a 42 - 40 = 82 and was pleased to get this one (which has hosted the WCG Match Play Championship for the last 5 years) fully behind me.

Said goodbye and thanks to staff in proshop and my hosts and then hit the road for Houston (165 miles or 2:45).  Was staying overnight at the home of Linda & Saul P.   I used to negotiate pennies per pound for millions of pounds of polyethylene with Saul when he was with Exxon Chemical and I was with Atlantis Plastics.  Over 20 years later we have remained very good friends.  

The next morning I had to get up to The Woodlands Country Club--Tournament Course, just north of IAH airport for my final round of the trip...and then my flight back to Boston.  Rain was forecast to start around noon and I wanted to finish before it started.  Went off back 9 and play 10-18 in about 1:05.

Had to wait 45 minutes to tee off on #1...but this was still faster than if I had teed off on #1 early in the day.  Ended with a 41 - 41 = 82.  Did not like course at all...to me it was flat and uninteresting.  I was here because it had hosted the US Women's Senior Amateur in 1989.  The course opened in 1978 and was designed by Bruce Devlin and Robert von Hagge.  In its early days it hosted the Houston Open from 1975 to 2002.

Headed to the airport with lots of time for my flight and arrived home at 1pm.  Left one course behind in TX...Hills at Lakeway near Austin had just completed a renovation and had restricted guest play for a few weeks to give the members a chance to play they course...totally understandable.  Will catch it on trip to the west coast by stopping off in Houston for a day.

This was a good trip...eight courses in five days...played 7 of the 8 I wanted to play and also a new Hidden Gem.  Total driving mileage was 736 miles.  No complaints here.

Two Day Trip to St Louis...Trip #23...Nov 9-10

With my car closer to being done but clearly not expected to be finished in the next few days, I squeezed in a two day trip.  St. Louis, MO appeared to be the best candidate as I had two courses in that geographic area to play for the first time, plus St Louis CC, which I had played once back in 1979, and heard had a super restoration since then.  

My flight left BOS very early on Tuesday 11/9 and I was at St Louis CC well before my 10:30 tee time.  This is the old $$ club in St Louis and like many old $$ clubs, the course was designed by C. B. MacDonald and constructed by his partner Seth Raynor in 1914.  In 2000, the course was restored superbly by Brian Silva.  

And there was one other change that I was sure had happened at SLCC...grass characteristics.  Back in 1979 golf courses in places with climates like St Louis (very hot and humid in the summer, and prone to cold and even ice storms in the winter) simply had no good choices in terms of grass types.  Bent grass greens and fairways would wilt in the summer heat and require frequent watering to keep from dying, and Bermuda grass greens and/or fairways would die in the cold of the winters.  The creation of todays' new hybrid grass alternatives literally saved the game in places like St Louis, Washington/Baltimore, Atlanta, and even Philadelphia.

I simply loved St Louis CC.  First and foremost, it is built on a wonderful piece of land.  Close to a tough walk (I did walk this 18) as the hills here are frequent and meaningful and really make the course.  The greens all have strong slopes (in every which direction) that can often be hard to detect given the even sharper slopes of the areas surrounding the greens.  While the course is relatively short given today's equipment (from the tips 6651 yards par 71), it has more than enough heft for all but the touring pro's and premier amateurs.  And this track had as good a set of template holes as perhaps any course with the exception of NGLA.  One finds the following here:  Biarritz, Eden, Road Hole, Punchbowl, Short; Cape, Hilltop, Redan, and Alps.  I thought the best renditions here were Short, Eden, Cape, and Punchbowl.

About the only thing outshining the course is the club, which is simple, clean, not even close "to the top"...just simply perfectly "there" in every respect.  This place belongs for sure in any USA Top 100, and is very very close to belonging in a World Top 100.  Sorry Bellerive, but me thinks "it is not a fair fight."

After thanking HP Grant Masson I was back to my hotel for a needed nap (remember my comment about the hills?).  Had to wake early Wednesday and had 36 hole to play.  Good dinner and then to bed early.

Wednesday morning I was scheduled to play Boone Valley Golf Club (named after the Boone Valley area which actually is named after Daniel Boone) at 8:15am.  Drive from my hotel was some 33 miles and took about 45 minutes; I arrived at Boone Valley at just before 8:00.  The golf course looked exceptionally good from the entrance drive and relatively modest (meant as a compliment) clubhouse.  The overall setting is wonderfully secluded.

The club opened in 1992 and the course was designed by P. B. Dye.  It hosted the US Junior Amateur in 2007 and 10 years later the US Girl's Junior Amateur.  Without exception, the staff is as welcoming and helpful as can be.

I had a perfect day to play it in terms of conditioning and weather...it had not rained in St Louis for a few days ago.  Overall this is a very very good course and an even better club, but I believe there are two things that keep the course from being great.  First and foremost, the fairways and greens were way too wet, soft and slow, especially given the recent weather.  Secondly, I think the design makes too much use of water as a hazard...I counted 9 of 18 holes where it must be considered in planning a shot.  IMO water can be a wonderful hazard, but as it does not allow for heroic recoveries, too much of it can be, well, too much of it.

For the record, I had a 44 - 41 = 85.

Next stop was Fox Run Golf Club, which lies SW of St Louis and SE of Boone Valley.  The drive was a about 37 miles and took just under an hour.

The course sits within housing development but the houses do not line the fairways.  It was designed by Gary & Ron Kern and opened in 1992.  I was here because it hosted the US Women's Mid Amateur in 2001.  From its regular tees the course is reasonable (6050-6492 yards) but can be stretched to a mind boggling 8454 yards (par 71 if you can believe it).  I choose to play from the Red tees at 5578 yards.

The most interesting thing about this round was running into Ellen Port, who is a long time member.  Ellen is from St Louis and in the 1990's also was a regular at the Hank Haney Golf Ranch...and marginally more successful than moi...having won to date seven USGA Championships (4 Women's Mid-Ams and 3 Women's Senior Ams).  Her Championships total is exceeded only by some golfers names Jones, Nicklaus, Carner, and Woods.  And also consider that earlier in 2021 she won the St Louis Metro Senior Amateur Championship in a playoff...there is not typo in this sentence...the word "Women's" is not missing!!

Her swing looked great and is very much "ON PLANE".  Was great to catch up...but other than that not much to say about the course.  Some good holes but too many ordinary ones and certainly did not "stir the soul" at least of this golfer.  Had a 42 - 41 = 83.

Was able to shower at the club, followed by a drive of some 36 miles (0:40).  Flight home was on time and was home by 11:15pm.

Mission accomplished.  In the area cornered by Delaware, Maine, North Dakota, and Kansas, there are 26 states...of which there are nine states (listed below) with courses I need to play to complete my bucket lists (the other 17 states are "done"):

Delaware-1; Kentucky-1; Ohio-1; Michigan-0.5 (9 holes); Indiana-8; Illinois-10 ; Wisconsin-7; Minnesota-3; Iowa-3

***************************************

Well, miracles never cease, on the morning of Monday November 15 I picked up my car and brought it home.  The next morning I was on my way south to North Carolina, making it to Fredericksberg, VA on Tuesday and then arriving home in Pinehurst Wednesday around 2pm.  Never stopped to play as the courses I wanted to play were not open.  Was soooo good to be back and with Pat.  Didn't set foot on a golf course for two weeks (went to practice range twice), rested the old body, and caught up with delayed doctor appointments (thankfully no surprises).  Then before Thanksgiving started thinking about playing some courses in the South.

Warm weather at this point was keeping most courses fairly busy, but was able to piece together a two day 4 course trip to the middle and northern part of Alabama...and laid out an itinerary for November 29-December 1 that just might work.  At first I had hoped to knock off two courses in Charlotte and 2 in or around Atlanta, but that proved impossible as 3 of the 4 were too busy to accommodate me.  The trip I ended up taking would knock off four semi isolated courses, which would prove to be very helpful going forward.

Two Day Trip To Alabama...Trip #24...Nov 29-Dec 1

Late afternoon on Monday November 29 I drove from Pinehurst to the Charlotte, NC airport and caught an 8:21pm flight to Birmingham, AL.  Although the drive to Charlotte was about 2:10 versus 1:10 to Raleigh-Durham, this meant avoiding two flights, waits between flights, etc etc.  Picked up my car and drove some 55 miles SE (1:10) to the town of Sylacauga.  I arrived at my hotel very tired...only to learn that I had made my reservation for the NEXT night...and they were full this night!  I had been working with two different itineraries, and my reservation was designed to satisfy the wrong one 😫.  I was able to say at a Motel 6 some 4-5 miles away...and pleased it was just for a short one night stay (I'll leave it at that!).  

Arrived at FarmLinks at Purcell Farms around 8:15 with a tee time of 8:30...but faced a frost delay first announced as being until 9:30 (which would have killed any chance of 36 holes this day).  A few minutes later they announced the course would open at 8:45.  This place is in an awesome setting.  Wonderful vista's, gorgeous "textures", and a good amount of land movement decorated almost every view.  Designed by Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry, and opened in 2003, the course has outstanding fairway bunkering with superb use of "center-line" bunkers.  In that regard it reminded my of Shelter Harbor CC in RI (Posts #5 and #142) which also was designed by Hurdzan-Fry.  Overall a superb course, but would offer the following issues: (1) too much land used to site the course resulting in some long distances from green to following tee, and (2) three of the four par 3's are very downhill.

I played very well and hit the ball solidly.  Despite the very good bunkering cited above, I avoided them all!  Had a solid 40 - 39 = 79.

After the round, it was time to drive north to Chattanooga, TN (3:00 or 170 miles), a city that has become a golfing hotspot over time with some outstanding courses and clubs, including Lookout Mountain Club (Seth Raynor, 1925, Post #103), The Honors Course (Pete Dye, 1983, played first in 2011, pre Blog), and Sweetens Cove (Rob Collins, 2017, Post #103).  But this day was for the original grand daddy of Chattanooga, The Chattanooga Golf & CC, founded in 1896.  Its first golf course was replaced with a course designed by Donald Ross in the 1920's, and Bill Begin oversaw a substantial renovation around 2000.  Ross' genius is very evident around these greens and the wonderful use of the shoreline alongside the Chattanooga River.  For the last few months, holes #5 and #6 have been closed as the City of Chattanooga repairs and replaces a major water disposal line that runs under these holes.  The club was expecting to have both holes opened by the end of 2021.  The 16 greens I played had an awesome collection of false fronts, closely cropped run off areas, and difficult to read slopes.  With a maximum yardage of 6694 yards for the full 18, this will never be a great championship track...but is a beautiful, challenging and fun golf course.  For the last three years it has been included in GolfWeek's USA Top 200 Classic courses and therefore in my Merged GolfWeek USA Top 400.

After an interesting talk with HP Bruce Etter, it was time to head west back into northern Alabama as my next day called for 18 holes at Turtle Point Yacht & Country Club which lies some 3:30 (175 miles) west of Chattanooga and about 55 miles west of Huntsville, AL (where I stayed overnight).  I was scheduled off of the first tee at Turtle Point at 8:00am on Wednesday 12/1 and arrived around 7:45.  The southern edge of the golf course sits on the Tennessee River and Wilson Lake and rises as one heads further north reaching a plateau about 400-500 yards from the coast.  The holes are lined by tall pine trees and the entire course has the "feel" of a course built in the 1950's or 1960's.  In fact, Turtle Point was designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr. and opened in 1961.  In 1967 it was included on Golf Digest's 200 Toughest Golf Courses list but has not appeared on any other "Top XXX" listing since then.  I had a 43 - 42 = 85, said thanks to HP Lee Holcolmbe, and headed south towards Indian Hills CC in Tuscaloosa, AL...a drive of 130 miles (2:40) and I scheduled to go off the first tee at around 1:00pm, then drive about 60 miles (1:00) to Birmingham's airport and catch a 7:21pm flight to Charlotte.

As I started the drive to Indian Hills I checked my emails (the cell phone service at Turtle Point was not strong enough to do so in the morning) and saw an email from Indian's Hills' HP  that arrived around 9:00am saying that due to the beautiful warm weather, their membership was flooding the course and they could not accommodate me this day.  I totally understood but since a drive directly to the airport would have taken me near Indian Hills I figured no harm in stopping by.  I arrived around 12:45 and introduced myself to HP Andrew Peyton but from the look of the parking lot it was clear there was no way.  Told Andrew I would try again in the first part of 2022 and headed to the Birmingham airport.  

Frankly surprised this has not happened more often.  Pleased I knocked off three of these four tracks, and think I can pick up Indian Hills when I travel to Mississippi in Q1 2022

Four One Day Trips...Combined to be Trip #25...December 6-17, 2021

On Friday December 3, 2021 the USGA announced the creation of its 15th national championship, the US Adaptive Open Championship limited to golfers with disabilities, with the inaugural event to be played July 18-60, 2022 at Pinehurst #6 here in Pinehurst, NC.  I would guess that my reaction to this announcement was somewhat unique..."well here is another course I have to play...but no real travel required as #6 is a drive of about 5 miles from our home".  And #6 was the only course in the Pinehurst Resort that I had not played, so this gave me an excuse to complete that task!  I was on the phone that Friday afternoon and by Sunday I was booked for a tee time at 8:10am on Monday December 6.

I was at the tee right on time on 12/6 and played with two visitors (father and son) from California and Maryland who were making their first visit to our wonderful town.  We played in about 3:40 and I came away singularly unexcited about #6 (and given the quality of my game that morning, my guess is that #6 felt the same way about moi...had an ugly 45 -49 = 94).  Pinehurst #6 opened in 1975 or 1976 and was designed by George Fazio and his nephew Tom.  It was the first Pinehurst Resort course to not start and end in the vicinity of the glorious Pinehurst clubhouse.  The course is too penal, too tight, and frankly is not interesting or fun enough to capture my attention.  Glad it is in the rear view mirror.

The following Saturday 12/11 I played my favorite course in NC...Old Town Club (Posts #65, 104, 140, and 150)...with Josh Sens, a fellow GOLF Magazine Panelist and also writer for GOLF.  You may recall that I played George Wright Municipal in Boston with Josh this past June (Post #152).  We were joined by Charles Frost, OTC's Director of Golf, whom I have gotten to know over the past few years and highly respect.  Dunlop White III, Chair of OTC's Golf and Greens Committees, was able to watch us play the first three holes and the last three and join us for lunch, and I always enjoy chatting about this wonderfully silly game with Dunlop...learn something every time!  Hit the little white ball real well but this is a tough tough (but importantly a fun fun) golf course...and had a 44 - 42 = 86 that had me reasonably pleased (except for my approach shot on #8 where I misjudged the wind and an awful short pitch on #16...resulting in doubles on both holes).  Oh well, at least it gives me a good reason to grind my teeth!

On the afternoon of Tuesday 12/14 I drove south to Savannah, GA in order to play Ford Planation (whoops...renamed Ford Field & River Club to satisfy today's woke world...Henry The Deuce must be turning in his grave).  I had hoped to play a second course on this trip but dinner plans for the evening of Wednesday 12/15 made that impossible, so just did Ford.  

This course was built by Pete Dye in 1986 and underwent a major restoration in 2014 under Pete's watch (supposedly this is the last course where he worked on site before was hit by Alzheimer's Disease and passed away in early 2020).  With the exception of hole #15 the course is very flat...but I loved it...the angles and options are simply a joy to read and understand.  And as I learned, #15 is much more uphill than it appears...gather I am not the first to learn that lesson (or should I say failed that test...since we will not know if I learned that lesson until I play it again).  

The course was in wonderful condition with plenty of run out.  I was here because since 2019 it has been included in GolfWeek's USA Top 200 Classic courses and therefore in my Merged GolfWeek USA Top 400.  I had a 43 - 39 = 82 and would love to return.  Go play it yourself...wonderful example of how Dye forced you to NOT hit in the obvious direction off the tee...which left you no decent second shot...you need to play the angles of the greens and how they sit on the land.

After thanking the staff, got back in the car for a 285 mile drive back to Pinehurst (almost 4:30)...so I drove about 570 miles for one course...but was worth it!

Finally on Friday 12/17 I left home around 5:30am to meet an MIT Roommate and great friend Rick Lentz for breakfast in Charlotte before heading to Myers Park CC to play this host of the 1955 Women's Amateur.  I had been trying to play this track for almost two years, but COVID and the huge increase in play because of COVID had made it very difficult.  Finally I contacted CCNC's former HP, Andrew Glover (now Director of Golf at Blowing Rock CC), who knew a member of Myers Park (Bill W.) and we set up play for this day.  Happily Andrew was able to join Bill, Bill's wife Melinda, and me for our foursome that day.

Myers Park was founded in 1921 and its course was originally designed by A. W. Tillinghast.  In 1945 Donald Ross renovated the course and its current footprint is clearly that of Ross (since 1945 minor restoration work has been performed by Rees Jones and Bobby Weed).  The club is in the midst of a huge ($27 million) renovation of its clubhouse buildings.

The course now stretches to 7031 yards (par 71) which is plenty of length except for the PGA Tour.  The greens are back to their original large size and are very good and very tough...lots of slope on most of them.  Overall this is a very good track...probably a USA 400 IMO(and if that sounds so so to you, remember there were 16,156 golf courses in the USA, a a top 400 course is in the top 2.5%...pretty damn good.

*******************************************************

It is now very late on Christmas Day December 25, 2021.  We are in Boston and are scheduled to fly back to North Carolina the morning of Wednesday December 29.   As of now I have played this year 125 different courses for the first time.  Assuming our flight goes well and does not get cancelled this coming Wednesday, I should get in another two courses on 12/30...bringing me to 127 new courses for the year (prior best year for me was 2017 when I played a total of 115 new courses, so this already a record setting year for me).

But the biggest news is that I am now fully "caught up" with my blog...and hope to keep it that way.  In any case I am planning a year end summary to be published in the next 3-4 weeks.

Wishing you the Best of Holidays and a Happy New Year!!

 154.  Boston Summer Part 3...September 1-->

After returning from Utah and Montana, I actually stayed put for about two weeks.  Had some guests coming to play Brookline and lots of catching up to do...not to mention planning my next trip(s).  I still had 10 courses left to play in WA and two in OR...so that was my main focus.  After several days of calling and emailing the outline off a good trip was in place and I was busy filling in slots on the itinerary.

Return to OR/WA--Trip #19, September 11-Sept 17:  I left Boston on an early flight west to Seattle on Saturday September 11...arriving there before 10:30am west coast time.  Secured my car rental and was off on a drive of about 3:30 (180 miles) to the northwest corner of OR...about 100 miles or 2 hours NW of Portland. You may be wondering why I chose to fly into Seattle...availability of a nonstop flight...which got me to my destination, Astoria Golf & Country Club, earlier that if I had flown into Portland.  I had been trying to play Astoria for a couple of years and between COVID and its busy calendar, it proved very tough...but this day would prove that it was well worth the wait and effort.  The club was founded in 1923 and purchased its current land from a cranberry company.  The land features dunes that run north-south, parallel to the nearby coastline (while you cannot see the coast from the course, you for sure can "feel" it).  A plan was presented to have most holes run over the dunes...from east-west and west-east but the founders dismissed that proposal and the Club's President and course superintendent collaborated on a design running mainly between the dunes.  Three holes (#2, #4, and #17...all par 3's) run in the East-West or W-E direction.  It works...and in fact works superbly well!  

I teed off around 2:45pm.  The course played very firm and fast which made it so so much fun...had a strong 39 on the front but then faded to a 43 on the back to shoot 82 from 5500 yards.  Ended up with 3 birdies but 6's on the par 5's.  My favorite holes were #3 and #15...the former a 373 yard par 4 (from the tips) with high dunes impinging from both sides.  When you stand on the tee the hole looks frighteningly narrow, until you realize most wayward tee shots will bound off the dunes into the narrow band of fairway. The club's website has a couple of good pics of #3 (go to www.astoriagolf.com/about-the-club/club-history).  Not well known other than on the west coast..this was a Hidden Gem for moi.  Not to be missed if you head to the Northwest!

Now the tough part of the day and entire trip was about to begin.  I had to drive to Spokane WA from Astoria...as I was playing in Spokane at 8:30am Sunday.  I drove some 300 miles (about 5:15) to Kenniwick WA that evening, stayed in Kennewick and then had to get up early to drive another 2:30 (150 miles) to Spokane early the next morning...and who accused me of being nuts??  The drive Saturday evening got interesting as I went through Portland and had to get off the Interstate after a wrong turn.  I found myself driving past what appeared to be miles of "junk" piled about 10-15 feet high along the side of then street as I was in the midst of one of Portland's homeless encampments; I quickly found a way back onto the correct Interstate and moved on.  Arrived at my hotel at 11:55pm, managed to get about 4 1/2 hours of sleep...and then hit the road about 5:00am heading to Spokane.

The stop in Spokane was to play Kalispel Golf & Country Club (formerly Spokane CC) which had hosted the very first US Women's Open in 1946 (won by Patty Berg) and the US Junior Amateur Championship in 1969.  The club was founded as Spokane CC in 1898, eventually moved to its current location in 1910 and was renovated by Robert Muir Graves in 1988.  As a result of a gender discrimination lawsuit, the club declared bankruptcy and was then purchased by the Kalispel Tribe of Indians in 2015.  IMO the course is too soft and wet (overwatered IMO) and overtreed but that is my sense about many courses in the Northwest.  Was good to get this first US Women's Open into the "played" column, and now have one more to play...Muskogee CC in OK. 

After completing that round I had to move on...and drive another 155 miles (3:00) to central WA to play the Lakes and Desert nines at Desert Canyon.  I just barely made my tee time at 3:30, and by hopping around the course was able to finish the round by 6pm.  Desert Canyon opened in the early 1990's and was designed and built by its owner, Jack Frei.  It sits above the Columbia River which, along with the Cascade Mountains provides a spectacular backdrop as the course meanders up and down the high desert hills and slopes.  In 1997, the first year that GolfWeek published Top 100 Classic and Top 100 Modern (both for USA) lists, Desert Canyon was #65 on the Modern list and therefore #130 on my Merged Golfweek list.  It has not made any other Top XXX list.  My sense it that while it is spectacular and wild, it is way too much, too over the top in terms of design.  Fun to play one time...but not worth return visit.

After the round I had to drive further west...another 85 miles (1:30 or so) to the rustic resort town of Cle Elm.  All in all, a total of some 390 miles driving on Sunday (7 hours) plus 36 holes of golf, and 870 miles (about 15 1/2 hours of driving) Sat-Sun (and 54 holes of golf).  Rest of trip should be easy in comparison.

Had good dinner and excellent night's sleep and the good news was that I was only about 10-15 minutes from my first round on Monday, at Suncadia Tumble Creek.  Tumble Creek, designed by Tom Doak, opened in 2005.  In 2020 and 2021 Tumble Creek ranked #344 and 332 respectively on Golf Week's Merged Top 400 USA lists.  It is in a spectacular setting without being over the top.  The hills are very manageable, the greens are very difficult to read but much "calmer" than most of Doak's work.  There is tons of width...real choices regarding how to play each hole and this is a very fun course to play.  Me thinks it would be in  my personal USA Top 200, but sitting 80-90 miles east of Seattle, it is not clear how well known it is.  My favorite hole was #4, a 607 yard (from tips) par 5 that plays downhill off the tee, doglegs left, and then is uphill to the green.  The back half of the green slopes towards the back so be careful.  The smart play to me seemed to be to hit your second shot to the portion of the fairway that sits to the right of the green...leaving a fairly simple 3rd into the green.  In many ways this hole reminded me of the famous par 5 #4 at Bethpage Black.  I played very well with the exception of holes 8, 9, and 12, and had a 42 - 43 = 85.  All in all a really good course.

Had lunch at Tumble Creek then drove into Seattle to Broadmoor Golf Club just east of the City.  This is one of two old money "WASP" courses in Seattle...the other being Seattle Golf Club (which I had played in 2015 on my way to South Korea).  Broadmoor GC stretches to just 6466 yards from the tips and is 100% land locked by surrounding homes, making lengthening this course essentially impossible.  But it sits on a marvelous piece of land, and flat lies are a very rare commodity on these fairways.  Additionally the fairway slopes require the player to be able to hit draws and fades and even some straight balls...or face the possibility to running into trees that line every fairway.  The course was in perfect condition as was about every course played on this trip (Seattle gets almost no rain during summer months).  I had a 41 - 45 = 86, definitely tiring on the back nine.  

Broadmoor has hosted 4 USGA championships (2 Women's Am's, a Senior Women's Am and a Girl's Jr. Am).  Sitting close to downtown Seattle, I doubt the members give much of a thought to the land locked situation...this is a first class place in every way, and highly convenient for members who work downtown.  That ain't easy to find in most major cities.

After the round, I drove about 20 miles east to Sammamish in order to stay overnight near my first round on Tuesday 9/14.

I was to play Aldarra Golf Club at 8:20 Tuesday morning.  Aldarra was completed 20 years ago and was Tom Fazio's first design in the Northwest.  It is built on a 560 acre property that formerly was the Boeing family's farm replete with spectacular views in almost every direction.  Also very tough...course rating and slope from tips are 74.9/151.  In contrast to Broadmoor and Seattle Golf Clubs, this is the "new money' course in Seattle (and there is a lot of that stuff in these parts). See below for a view of the downhill par 3 13th hole...not too shabby (btw...had good par here).  

Played well on front and tired again...41 - 45 = 86.  Seattle area was in the midst of a fairly intense drought and they greens here definitely showed signs of stress.  Enjoyed the course...but have to say I liked Tumble Creek more...although Aldarra is MUCH closer to Seattle.

Back in the car for a 100 mile (1:45) drive all the way to northwest Washington...needed to catch ferry for my next course, San Juan Golf & Tennis Club  (no...not in Puerto Rico...near Friday Harbor on San Juan Island...look it up on GPS).  Ferry took a little over an hour (great nap opportunity) and the course was a 5 minute drive from the dock.  This is a 9-holer that was on Golf Digest's 1967 USA 200 Toughest list, the second Top XXX list ever published.  It was cold and drizzling when I teed off and that lasted a max of about 10-15 minutes...not a soul on the course...which is not exactly the most enticing track I have ever seen (think the appropriate phrase is "cow pasture").  But 9 holes would go quickly and I had a score of 39.  Drove back to the ferry after saying thanks to the two people at the course...and had two naps...one waiting for the ferry and then another on the ferry.  Then drove another 67 miles (1:20) to my hotel.  Interesting day...probably the only person to ever set foot on Broadmoor, Aldarra, and San Juan within 24 hours...and might bet that record might never be tied!

Was past the half way mark...this trip was planned for 11.5 courses and I had played 6.5.  Wednesday would start playing Mill Creek Country Club north of Seattle where my tee time was 7:45am...first off!!  Mill Creek hosted the 1984 US Girl's Jr., hence my need to play it.  Designed by Ted Robinson, it opened in 1975.  Robinson also designed Sahallee Country Club in Seattle which hosted the 1998 PGA Championship and which I played in 2013 (before these Posts commenced) and simply hated!  Must be frank at this point and admit that Mill Creek made the late Mr. Robinson's courses 0-2 IMO.  The land here is very hilly and the course is full of abrupt doglegs and turns, offers almost no playing options, and  every fairway is lined with homes.  I had a 44 - 41 = 85 and that took some very lucky shots.  Another course that is good to have in the rear view mirror.

By 10:15 I was back in my car and headed south to Portland, OR.  I had two courses to play there but due to previously scheduled events at both, I could not arrange to play them consecutively, so I was about to become an expert at Interstate I-5 between Portland and Seattle.  The drive was 217 miles and took about 3:45 as I was going from north of Seattle to south of Portland.  I was heading to Willamette Valley CC whose head pro, John Grothe had been extremely helpful to me as I planned both this trip and my July 2021 OR/WA trip.  The week of that prior trip, Willamette was hosting an annual invitational, and could not accommodate me.  Was pleased to get here and see what looked like a first class course and club.  Designed by Shirley Stone it was founded in 1962 (9 holes), the second nine was built the following year, and the club struggled in many ways for about 5-7 years before being on firm footing.  Today it is thriving and well respected.  

The course is challenging, great fun, played very fast (although a little to green for my taste) but a little on the flat side; I responded with some very good golf after a shaky start.  I was 5 over after six holes and just 2 over the rest of the way in for a 41 - 38 = 79.  Amazing how my game reacts to my sense of the course!

After the round I had a chance to talk with HP John Grothe, thank him for his assistance, tell him how much I enjoyed the course and club, and pass best regards to him from friend in Boston, Fergal O'Leary, who had played here previously.  

But now, it was time to get back in the car and head up to Washington for two more tracks up there.  Fortunately it was only about 165 miles (2:15) to where I was staying that night.  

Thursday morning Sept 16 I was off to Gold Mountain Golf Club, a municipal facility with 36 holes in Bremerton (southwest of Seattle).  Gold Mountain opened with 18 holes (Cascades Course) in 1971 and the second 18 (Olympic Course) opened in 1996.  I was playing its Olympic Course which had hosted two USGA Championships (2011 US Junior Amateur won by Jordan Speith, and 2006 US Amateur Public Links...note that the US Publinks Championship was discontinued after 2014).  I quickly learned that Gold Mountain was far from your typical "muni."  I played it with two local men in their late 60's or early 70's (former dock worker and high school golf/basketball coach) and a woman who was probably in her mid 50's.  All three were very good players and had very strong "senses" of the game.  The course itself was in superb condition and is extremely well designed.  Flat lies are not to be found here and the green setting are very deceptive and require a fair amount of local knowledge and imagination.  I loved the course, the setting, and most of all the strong love of the game that permeated the entire facility.  This place is a poster boy for great munis. 

The Olympic Course was designed by John Harbottle III who work was mainly in CA, OR, WA, and ID.  His best known other designs include Big Canyon (CA) (Post 127), Banbury GC (ID), Brentwood CC (CA), Broadmoor GC (WA) (see this Post above), El Caballero (CA), Eugene CC (OR) (played prior to this blog's inception), Fircrest GC (Post 152), both courses at LACC (CA), etc etc etc (the list goes on and on)...many of which were restorations.  All in all...a really enjoyable morning.  Only thing wrong was I neglected to keep score as we were playing very quickly and I was having so much fun talking about the course and this great game with my playing companions.

Get there!!   Really worth it.

After finishing up at Gold Mountain, I had a short drive south to Tacoma Country Club.  The Club was founded in 1894 and moved to its present location in 1906.  Apparently there are no records indicating who its original architect was, but John Steidel is credited with a major renovation of the course in 1983.  Tacoma has an incredible record of USGA Women's events...having hosted the Grand Slam of four US Women's Amateur Championships (shown below in chronological order):

1961 US Women's Amateur

1984 US Women's Senior Amateur

1994 US Women's Mid-Amateur

2007 US Girl's Junior Amateur

I found it to be a very good course even if very flat.  I had a 39 -39 = 78 for my best score of the trip...was swinging the club well.  And then made the north-south run on I-5 for the last time, this time it was a mere 142 miles (2:15).  I was scheduled to play Columbia Edgewater Country Club which sits next to the Columbia River and Oregon's airport.  I had trouble securing a tee time there but eventually contacted a member who is a Golf Digest Panelist and all was set for first thing on Friday 9/17...then the day before he found out that COVID had struck his family and he of course could not play.  However the Head Pro contacted me and advised that given the circumstances, I could play early on Friday as an unaccompanied single.  

Went off on hole #10 and finished my round in about 2:30...had a 40 (back nine) - 39 (front) = 80 to close out the trip.  Course was very flat and a little tight, but in perfect condition.   Played 11.5 rounds on 12 courses (remember...San Jan was a 9 holer).  Returned car 6 days after renting it and put a total of 1764 miles on it (average of 294 miles/day...but perhaps more tiring was having to stay in different hotel every night).  The good news was that between my July trip and this September trip, I played all the courses I needed to play in WA and OR (and even added the two courses at Silvies Ranch).  I have now played 26 courses in OR (including 6 at Bandon) and 18 in WA.  

My flights home were through Seattle airport (saving me another journey on I-5) and I reached home just past midnight.  Great to be back w Pat!!

Return to MI--Trip #20, September 28-29:  I was able to schedule a trip of less than two days back to Michigan to play the five courses I was not able to play in July.  The plan was theoretically doable, but subject to problems...but I knew 4 courses would be easy, so why not plan for five and try to clean up the full state.  The real key was that Delta had a very early morning flight from Boston to Detroit (departing at 5:30am and arriving Detroit at 7:39am) as well as a very late flight back (departing at 10:50pm and arriving BOS at 12:41am)...and the late sunset in Michigan would also prove very helpful.  I arrived Detroit on time on the morning of Tuesday 9/28.  After collecting my golf bag and rental car, it was north to Flint Michigan to play Flint Golf Club a drive of some 80 miles (1:15 going against the rush hour traffic).  

As I left the Interstate to take local roads to Flint GC, I was shocked at the condition of this once thriving city.  Flint has gone through a series of emergencies over the past 20 years, culminating with the 2015 discovery that its water supply had been contaminated with lead poisoning for about a year.  While the situation has been remediated, the impact on the people of Flint is likely to be long lasting.

I was scheduled to play at 9:45am and the course was fairly empty when I arrived. almost as if the club had essentially lost its soul.  It was founded in 1910 and in 1918 hired Willie Park, Jr. to built a new course.  Park had already designed London's Old Course at Sunningdale Golf Club, Chicago's North Course at Olympia Fields Country Club...and had won two Open Championships (1887 and 1889) as well.  Flint also hosted the 1968 US Girl's Junior Championship...at a time when I lived about an hour away.  But today the course is a mere shell of its former self due to declining club membership and lack of funds.  While there are glimpses of its wonderful bones, and its greens are still massive and interesting, it was sad to see this...but not quite as sad as the state of the neighborhood where it sits.

I played quickly, and had a 42 - 42 = 84, and headed west to Grand Rapids, a 115 mile drive (1:55) in order to play Egypt Valley CC, which had hosted the 2010 US Junior Amateur Championship.  The club also hosted a Senior Tour event from 1994-2004.  Egypt Valley has 2 courses...Valley and Ridge...both designed by Arthur Hills.  The club goes back to 1921 as the Masonic CC and in 1931 became Green Ridge CC.  The Club moved to the current location and had Hills design 36 holes in 1989.   At that time the club was renamed Egypt Valley CC, as that neighborhood in Ada, MI had become known as Egypt Valley in the 1950's.  When the 2010 US Junior was held there, it was played on a "composite" course consisting of the back nines of Ridge and Valley.   This made it difficult for me to play the "Junior Championship" course (known at the club as the "Classic Course") without interrupting other groups of players.  But it worked well this Tuesday afternoon in late September as all 36 holes were relatively empty.   

The Classic Course consisting of some very hilly holes (mainly on the back 9 of Ridge) as well as some relatively flat holes (mainly on the back 9 of Valley).  I started on Ridge and had a 44 - 41 = 85.  I thought the course was very good but not great, and was in perfect condition.  

After the round, it was back in the car to drive to Ann Arbor, where I was staying that night to be near my first round Wednesday.  But I would like to comment on Grand Rapids compared with Flint...the two central Michigan mid sized cities I had visited this day.  The differences were remarkable.  Grand Rapids appeared to be thriving, it was very clean with modern buildings throughout and older as well as new houses that were obviously well maintained.  The contrast with Flint was stark to say the least and while I have no direct knowledge of the underlying causes in both cities...it would make a fascinating "case study" as both had been thriving some 50 years ago.

I was met for breakfast Wednesday September 29 by Jay Hults, of Detroit and Plum Hollow CC (see Post #88).  Jay had set me up at Egypt Valley with a member. and having not seen each other for a few years, this was a great time to catch up.  After breakfast we both drove over to Barton Hills CC and Jay walked the first 9 holes with me while I played them.  I had heard a fair amount about Barton Hills but had never seen it.  The Club was founded in 1917 and its Donald Ross designed course was completed five years later.  It hosted the US Women's Am in 1998 and the US Women's Mid Amateur in 2008.  In 2012 a major restoration was completed by Ron Prichard and more recently Tyler Rae has been regrassing the greens and approaches.

I thought the course was for certain deserving of a Top 200 in USA.  The greens are outstanding as is the routing, and the back nine is really really special (especially if you can manage to keep your ball on the 15th green).  

After the round I had a very interesting discussion with HP Pat Markley, and then headed some 40 miles east to Pine Lake Country Club, located in Orchard Lake, MI.  Pine Lake was founded as The Automobile Club of Detroit in 1902.  Fifteen years later  seven holes were built and by 1919 a full nine was in place and the club was renamed Pine Lake CC in 1921.  Willie Park, Jr. added another nine holes shortly thereafter.  

When I teed off on #1 I had clear sailing for at least 4 holes ahead, but I hit a "wall" of groups by the time I reached hole #6...and play was very slow from that point on.  When I completed the front nine (had a 39), there were three other groups on the 10th tee and a member suggested I go over to hole #13 which appeared to be empty.  Things looked clear at that point and I became hopeful that finishing here might be possible, but the starter had seen me drive my cart to #13 and politely (but firmly) informed me that the club has a rule against "hopping around" and asked me to leave.  I apologized, advised that I was unaware of that rule and departed quietly.  Sooo, I need to play the back 9 here, hopefully in 2022, and accompanied by a member.  Reality is that if I had waited and played Pine Lake's back nine, I could not have arrived at Lochmoor some 36 miles away in Grosse Pointe and played more than 2-3 holes before darkness set in.

I headed straight over to Lochmoor CC and was able to tee off right away and finished its 18 holes right around sunset at 7:19pm.  Lochmoor was founded in 1917 and its membership included some of the great pioneers of the US automobile industry.  Its course was designed by Walter Travis and later was renovated by Larry Packard with help from Charles Allison.  Like Pine Lake, Lochmoor is very very flat.  It hosted the 1962 US Junior Amateur as well as the 1925 Western Amateur.

I was very tired at this point and had over three hours until my flight departed, so I took a good shower and then drove to Detroit Metro airport and arrived home around 1:15am.  Total miles driven in two days (including drives from home to BOS airport and back) was 478 miles.  Ended up playing 4.5 of 5 courses and will have to return to play Pine Lake's back nine.  But given that Detroit is a "hub" for Delta Arlines, I should be able to tie it into a necessary 2022 trip to California. 

Pat and I had planned to head down to Pinehurst around October 7th but I had a small problem.  My car needed some repairs and had been in the shop for about two weeks at this point....as some of the parts required were on back order.  If I took a rental car down to Pinehurst, I would need to drive th car back to MA and then drive my car south...three trips between Pinehurst and Boston was too much even for me...and one way rentals were close to impossible to secure, so Pat headed south and I waited in MA and checked on the parts orders 2-3 times/week.

Pat left Boston early on October 8 and I had started planning a trip to the midwest starting Sunday October 10.  I had decided to start the trip in Kansas City, where I had 5 courses on my "to do list"...and as it started to become clear that my car would not be ready for at least two weeks, I expanded my itinerary first to Tulsa, OK, then the Branson area in southern Missouri, then and finally to Arkansas and Tennessee.

Journey to Kansas/Missouri/Oklahoma/Arkansas/Tennessee 24 New Courses--Trip #21...Oct 9-22:  The evening of Saturday Oct 9 I flew into Kansas City, collected my baggage and rental car and headed south to Overland Park KS (just 27 miles) to my hotel for the next 4 nights.  Almost had a huge problem on the escalator in car rental building at KC airport...lost control of luggage (should have taken elevator) but caught myself and avoided tumbling down the escalator.. (and two young men behind me stopped the luggage from tumbling down)...scary but aside from one slight ache, no harm done.

Early on Sunday morning I had a 32 mile drive north to Leavenworth KS to my first golf course of this journey...Leavenworth Golf Club, which sits some 6 miles south of Leavenworth's US Penitentiary.  Fortunately I was only here to go to the Golf Club.

This place was certainly better than Kissena Park Muni (where I played most of my golf from age 10-18), but not hugely better.  However, credit where credit is due, this track hosted the 1964 US Girl's Junior Championship, marshaled by the guys and gals in blue blazers for sure!  Founded as a very private club in 1920, it is now open to the public, but memberships are available.  I never had a sole in front or behind me, and played in 2 hours...happy to check it off and move on....real good news is was that prior night's tumble did not affect my golf swing!  Then drove about 35 miles south to Brookridge Golf & Fitness, close to my hotel.  

Arrived early at Brookridge and was able to go right off...which was good thing as otherwise probably would have been caught in rain on the back nine.  Course was OK but has too many ordinary golf holes, but really liked hole #8.  

It rained all night and the next morning the forecast for Jefferson, MO was intermittent rain all day.  This was a 300 mile round trip but I wanted to get this course checked off and done...and fortunately is was the only course I has scheduled on Monday (was also fortunate to have a course to play on Monday 10/11).  Off I went and it was still raining as I pulled into the club's parking lot.  Jefferson is the capital of MO and I think this is the top club in town.  It had hosted the 1972 US Girl's Junior.  

Given the amount of rain, the club said no carts...perfectly understandable.  On went my rain suit and off I went, with the two guys in the pro shop shaking their heads in disbelief.  Real problem was the wind which was a steady 15mph with guts at 20+...not fun.  I just said to myself..."think you are in Scotland."  Course was very very good...almost a Hidden Gem.  Routing is similar to Muirfield's...except there it is the back nine that runs clockwise around the front nine.  The winds forced me to slow my swing down and after a slow start (6 over thought 7) I ended up 42 - 40 =82 on this par 72.  Was very pleased...and very wet...although for the most part the rain had stopped after I had played 12 holes, and I was allowed to use a cart (cart paths only) on the back nine.  Think they were feeling sorry for this 76 year old.  Know I was feeling sorry for him.

After a long drive back to KC, I had a good shower and nap...and then a good dinner and excellent night's sleep.

Tuesday morning I was playing Kansas City CC in the morning.  This is a wonderful old Tillinghast track on a 95 year old course (club founded in 1895 and moved to present location in 1926) and has historically been KC's old money club.  Tom Watson has been a member for decades.  A former Assistant Pro at Brookline, Andy Fisher has been head pro here for about 10 years and is loving it.  On a confidential basis  he advised that the club was going to retain Tyler Rae, one of the best young architects around, to do a major restoration the club.  I can write about it here as it was announced about 2-3 weeks later.  That should be great fun and a wonderful experience for Andy.

I went off the first hole around 9:15 and finished 18 before noon, really enjoying the course and club.  And fired a strong 39 - 41 = 80 with a terribly stupid double bogey 7 on the par 5 17th...thanks to a poorly planned approach shot!  Course played firm and fast and is one you could play every day.  

Somewhat surprisingly, KCCC has never hosted a USGA Championship, but way back in 1901 it hosted the very first Trans Mississippi Amateur and since World War II has done so another seven times.

After short drive I played Blue Hills CC across the state line in MO.  Blue Hills was included in the original 1966 and 1967 Golf Digest listed of USA 200 Toughest Courses.  It is long (7364 yards from the tips), difficult with heavy rough, and over treed.  The course also weighed heavily on dogleg left par 4/5's (8 compared  with only 2 turning right.  Additionally many of the holes were uphill off the tee making for numerous blind tee shots.  Frankly, all in all I found it to be fairly unimaginative.  I had a 40 - 43 = 83.

The weather forecast for the next day (10/13) was not looking great, so having played KCCC and Blue Hills fairly quickly, I decided to try to play Indian Hills CC late on the afternoon of 10/12.  Indian Hills CC was founded in 1926 and in 2001 hosted the US Girl's Junior.  It is another Tillinghast design but seemed to have very few Tillinghast features remaining.  For example, there are no cross bunker on par 5's or the long par 4's.  I did think the greens were well designed, in excellent condition, and difficult to read.   I was able to finish the round well before sunset so played 54 this day, which would make Wednesday much easier.  Has a 41 - 42 = 83.  I was very tired at this point.

Sleeping in the next morning helped big time.  Had one more track left in the KC area...Milburn CC which was established in 1917 and was designed by William Langford who lived to be 90 years old despite having to fight polio as a child.  His portfolio was extensive and his best courses included Lawsonia-Links (WI) (played prior to Blog starting), Happy Hollow (NE) (Post 152), Wakonda (IA) (Post 84), and Skokie CC (IL)(Post 52).

In some ways Milburn felt like the mirror image of Blue hills, with 9 fairways turning or doglegging right versus 4 turning left and one straight hole.The course was very wet due to the overnight rain.  Play moved along until hole #13 and was slow for the final 6 holes.  I shot a mediocre 43 - 44 = 87.

Milburn CC has gone through two big disasters with its clubhouse burning three times in 1932, 1947, and 2010.  In 1960 it hosted the US Junior Amateur.

Having played all of my to-do's in the KC area, it was time to drive south to oil country and Tulsa, OK...a drive of about 240 miles and just short of 4 hours.  I was surprised that the fastest route include a stretch of about 80 miles on mostly 2 lane roads...one gets so used to being able to drive on Interstates.  I arrived at my hotel in Tulsa around 9pm fairly tired but looking forward to the next three days here.

At this point I had played 7 of the 24 courses scheduled for this journey and taking inventory of my bucket lists, was down to 55.5 USGA Championship venues remaining and 48 course left from the Golf Digest original 1966/67 lists of "200 Toughest".  Calculations like that would lift my spirits when I was tired...good progress was happening.  Finally, I had completed my to-do for the great state of Kansas!

Back in September Pat and I hosted a wonderful couple from Southern Hills CC at Brookline who had arranged play by having their HP Cary Cozby contact Brookline's HP Brendan Walsh.  During our day together at Brookline they offered to reciprocate and I advised that they would hear from moi.  So I was set up to play Southern Hills at 8:30am on Thursday 10/14.  The night before I set my alarm for 6:00am and woke to turn off the alarm .  I then made the awful mistake of lying back down "for a minute" and the next thing I knew my phone was ringing, it was 8:10, and my host Bob K. was asking "where are you"?  

You've never seen a 76 year old move so fast.  I arrived at the club at 8:35!  Good news is that we were able to tee off around 8:50 (Bob is a LONG TIME member and a wonderful, deeply respected gentleman).  The weather could have been better...rain overnight and very nasty that morning...but the course looked and played fabulously.   I simply loved the restoration that Gil Hanse had led.  

Originally designed by Perry Maxwell, the course was one of very few build during the Great Depression (opened 1936).  Most of the golf course construction during that decade was funded by the US Government as part of a huge public works program.  As an Economics major during my college days, I find it very interesting that about the only two great golf courses designed and built in the US during the 1930's were Southern Hills CC here in Tulsa and Old Town Club in Winston-Salem, NC.  Aside from the fact that both were the work of Perry Maxwell, their construction shows the industries that continued to succeed (albeit at a lower pace) during the Depression...oil and gas in Tulsa, and tobacco (R. J. Reynolds) in Winston-Salem (the latter saying something about consumer preferences in hard times as well as the impact of addiction).

I had played Southern Hills the first time in 1979 and then a few times in the late 1990's and never appreciated what I was missing.  The thick stands of trees between most fairways made the course narrow and somewhat cramped, removing many "options" for playing holes, made it impossible to grow proper rough due to the shade and the trees blocking the flow of fresh air, and eliminated the great vistas that were possible on this incredible wonderful piece of land that bumps, flows and heaves in every direction...to the delight of eyes that can see it!  

We played with one of Bob's very good friends, Ed, who had been a very good tennis player in his earlier years and could really play the game of golf (as can Bob).  Ed is now 83 years old, with a very slight frame and was blowing his ball by mine by dozens of yards.  For caddies (because of the rain no carts were permitted this day) we had two young pros, one of whom plays on the Korn Ferry Tour.  It was a super enjoyable day of golf, and I hit the ball well.  We played from about 5750 yards...long for me especially with the slower than normal conditions and I had a 44 - 43 = 87.  This is a great great track, built on superb land and with outstanding greens and green surrounds...and the overall club is at least as great as the course itself.  Runs like a charm.  And remember from Post #153...this is one of only 6 courses to earn a spot on every USA Top 100 on my spreadsheet..and deservedly so along with Inverness, LACC-North, Pebble Beach, Riviera, and Pinehurst #2.  I would expect nothing short of an outstanding PGA Championship this coming May.

Its Championship history is worth reciting...9 USGA Championships (including 3 US Opens) and 4 PGA Championships (next year will be its 5th PGA Championship).  I had heard outstanding reports about this restoration from other panelists and golfers whose opinions I deeply respect, and they proved to be all true.  Was very special to have the opportunity to revisit this shrine.

After an excellent lunch, it was time to move on to Tulsa CC, located north of downtown Tulsa.  Both of our caddies at  SHCC (Zander and Cory) joined me for this 18.  The HP at Tulsa, Scott Karpe was a very fine young pro and he lent me a copy of the Club's Centennial anniversary book to read.  Southern Hills was formed when some TCC members decided in the 1930's they wanted a club that was less crowded. TCC was founded in 1908 and its current course was designed by A. W. Tillinghast and opened in 1920.  Restorations were made by Jay Morrish in the late 1980's and Rees Jones ten years ago.  Unfortunately for Tulsa CC, its neighborhood has been on the decline in more recent decades and this seems to have taken its toll on the club's fortunes, especially compared to Southern Hills.  It still is a very very good course and shows many of Tillie's brilliant calling cards..  I had a 43 - 42 = 85.  TCC has hosted three different USGA Championships (1960 US Women's Amateur, 2008 US Senior Women's Am, and 2015 US Girl's Junior Am).  Additionally as the home course for Tulsa University's golf team it has always enjoyed a lot of play by the really fine young amateurs, college players, and pros in the golf rich city.

That evening we (Zander, Cory and I) were off to a superb steak dinner with Bob and his wife Kathy.  Great way to end a superb day...that started with my oversleeping!

Managed to get a bit more sleep that night and Friday morning it was Oaks CC, about five miles west of SHCC for Zander, Kathy and me.  Oaks is also a Tillinghast 1920 design and was restored by Bill Bergin in 2014-15.  Part of the property sits up a a high bluff offering wonderful views of downtown and  surrounding areas.  The club hosted the US Girl's Junior Championship in 1960.

After playing Oaks I drove about 50 miles to Muskogee, OK which lies southeast of Tulsa and is home to Muskogee CC, site of the the 1970 US Women's Open and won by Donna Caponi.  Interestingly, the day prior to this when I was at Southern Hills I was introduced to the gentleman who was Caponi's caddy that week...and told him I was going to play it and he had a chuckle over my plan to play all the USGA host venues.  I played here w Zander and felt the front nine was OK and the back nine was very good.  It was also clear that the economy of Muskogee has declined over the past 50+ years and that impacted the overall condition of the course which was OK but certainly below that of the average of the courses I have played over the past 5-10 years.  The club was founded in 1903 but the golf course was not opened until 1908...at this same location.  In 1924 Perry Maxwell renovated the course and converted the sand greens to bermuda grass.   They were changed to bent grass in 1936.  As with Oaks, I was pretty much golfed out at this point and did not keep score...but can tell you my game left much to be desired at both courses that day.

After the round Enjoyed a good conversation with Muskogee's very young pro, Bridger Ryan, who is a very good guy.  Then I said good bye to Zander and was off to southern MO to the town of Branson, the home of Big Cedar Lodge.  The drive was some 170 miles and took a full 3:45.   I arrived at my hotel in Branson at 10:15pm...and then had to do my laundry!   Got to bed at 12:30pm and had zero problem getting to sleep.   

First course played there was the morning of October 16 at Coore & Crenshaw's Ozarks National, which opened 2019 and is maintained to play very firm and fast and succeeds quite well.  The fairways are extremely wide...but you better be on the proper side of the fairway (based on pine location and hole shape/slope) if you want any decent shot at the pin.  The greens here are very large, generally have relatively steep slopes, and have multiple sections...you need to be in the proper section and not leave yourself a downhill putt.  While the width of the holes can lull the player into thinking the course is easy, if you make a mental error by not carefully planning each shot, the punishment is swift, substantial and frankly deserved (as I learned on holes 9 and 11)  😢.  

I started off hot as can be.  Sunk an 8' putt for par 5 on #1, then three putted par 3 #2 for a bogey, birdied par 4 3rd hole w outstanding approach and canning a 4' putt, then birdied the par 4 4th by sinking a 50' putt, and parred  holes 5-7...so I stood one under through 7 holes.  Guys I was playing with (including one who played for Vanderbilt and has reached the semi-finals of the North-South Amateur in Pinehurst, were wondering who this guy was.  I got too cute with tee shot on the short par 3 8th and found myself in a bunker some 8 feet below the level of the green, but almost got it upon and down (bogey)...and then I failed to check my alignment for my drive on #9 and blew in into awful stuff right.  Gave myself an 8 here...probably would have been a 10, so had a 39 on the front with a triple bogey on #9!!.  On back had a 43 with a double bogey 7 on the par 5 11th hole...again was aligned right off the tee and while I was in the fairway still paid the price!  So it was an 82...and what it could have been.  As I have said before, I do not think the word "if" came into the English language until the game of golf started being played (absolutely true in the USA).

Loved the golf course...yes there are better Coore Crenshaw tracks IMO (Sandhills, Friar's Head, Shanqin Bay as originally built, Old Sandwich, and a few others...but this is pretty tough company).  The par 3 12th hole reminded me of Tom Doak's #6 at Cape Kidnappers and the par 3 17th reminded me of Brookline's short downhill #12.  

Golf carts were allowed but had to remain on paths, and after 18 holes I had walked just over 9,000 steps, WITH A CART!

After a quick lunch, played Jack Nicklaus' 9 hole par 3 Top of the Rock...very scenic but not in the same class as the best par 3 courses such as Pinehurst's Cradle.  Had a decent 30, then headed back to room for a much needed nap, decent dinner and some good sleep later than night.

On Sunday October 17, I was able to sleep late and played Tom Fazio's Buffalo Ridge Springs at 11:40am.  It was completed in 1999 as Branson Creek Golf Course, then changed its name to Branson Creek before adopting its current name.  I was playing it about 27 hours after playing Ozarks National...and the daylight portion gof those 27 hours was full of sunshine and fairly windy...yet Buffalo Ridge Springs was much slower and softer than Ozarks National.  It also is tighter and offers fewer options and risk/reward choices.    Finally it has a good number of long walks from green to next tee.  As with Ozarks National, the views are spectacular.

I shot a 43 - 40 = 83.  Note that this course has not made any USA Top XXX list and has not hosted any event of consequence.  It is very good but not one I would have travelled to without having to play Ozarks National.

Monday morning I played Tiger Woods' designed Payne's Valley, dedicated to the late Payne Stewart.  This is the third Tiger Wood's design that I have played and overall I liked it a lot, except (and you may find this hard to believe) that I thought it's fairways might be too wide!   It is great fun and its greens are massive and wild with relatively steep slopes and lots of interior contours...you really need to be careful what side of the pin you aim for...and then of course hit it where you are aiming.  Four putt greens here are not unusual.  Its views are almost as spectacular and varied as Ozarks.  I had a 43 - 40 = 83.  In summary better than Buffalo Ridge Springs but not as good as Ozarks National.  Opened in 2020 and finishes with a par 3 19th hole featuring an island green constructed in a limestone outcrop and a large waterfall behind the green.  Great fun and I had an"X".

Finally, I played Gary Player's 13 hole par 3 Mountain Top course.  I was 4 over par with 1 birdie (on #9), 7 pars, and 5 bogey 4's.  It was fun (like Jack's par 3 course here) but not as good as some of the new par threes build around the USA and world in recent years.

It was time to move on...to the State of Arkansas.  The afternoon of Monday 10/18 I drove about 90 miles (1:45) from Branson to Fayettville, AR which is an highly energetic city.  The University of Arkansas is here and relatively nearby are Bentonville, home of Walmart Corporation, and Springdale, home of Tyson Foods.  Blessings Golf Club's course was originally designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr. and opened in 2004; recently Kyle Phillips completed a major renovation of the course.  The entire venture has been led and funded by JohnTyson who is chairman of Tyson Foods.

I had heard a fair amount about Blessings over the years and then about 2-3 years ago I hosted fellow Global Golf Centurians Club member John Sabino at Brookline, along with his friend Dr. Stephan R., MD who is an Oncologist at University of Arkansas and a member of Blessings.  Stephan has been trying to get me to Blessings since then but I always knew I wanted to play in as part of a trip to play some other courses in AR as well.  Happily, Stephan was able to join me this morning at Blessings.

I arrived around 7am and was given a quick tour of the outstanding clubhouse and practice facilities by Head Pro Justin Sellin.  Stephan arrived shortly thereafter and we soon were teeing off on #1.  I had been told that Blessings might be the most difficult golf course in the USA...and if it is not, it certainly in among the most difficult five in the world (other four IMO in alpha order probably Carnoustie-Scotland, Maridoe-TX, Oakmont-PA, and Shinnecock Hills-NY, but I should also note that I strongly believe that designing a very very difficult golf course is fairly easy...building one that is also fun to play takes superb architectural skill).

While this track plays to 7950 yards from the tips, it for sure can be stretched another 500+ yards if necessary.

I actually liked holes 2-5, especially #5 which is a brutal but very interesting par 5.  But the next 8-9 holes were in the hills with long, tough walks from green to next tee.  The last 4-5 holes are on top of a plataeau, the terrain used for #2-5.

After the round, it was a thanks and good-bye to Dr. R. and a thanks to Justin, then a drive south of some 65 miles (just over an hour) to Ft Smith to play Hardscrabble Country Club.

I arrived at Hardscrabble on time but had a hell of a time finding the pro shop which is a good 200 yards from the clubhouse.  After that, I was fine and had no problem hitting fairways.  Hardscrabble was built in1926 by Perry Maxwell and was apparently one of his more interesting designs.  The course was rebuilt in the late 1960's and some five holes were eliminated...including several of the more interesting ones.  Then some 25 years ago Jay Morrish and Carter Morrish renovated the course.  In 1979, the club hosted the 1979 US Senior Women's Amateur, which is why I was here (although in 1998 I made  several trips to Ft Smith to visit one of Atlantis Plastics' injection molding plants...but never played the course in those days).  For about a dozen years it was a regular stop on the Nationwide Tour. 

Playing from about 5500 yards I fired a nondescript round of 42 - 43 = 85.  Classify this baby as a good but definitely not a candidate at this time for any Top XXX list...but it was on the original Golf Digest "200 Toughest" lists in 1966 and 1967.

After thanking HP Jon Burton, the tough part of the day was ahead of me.  I had a drive of some 190 miles south to Texarkana, AR...but most of the drive was on a two lane roads through the foothills of western AR.  As I ventured along this route, I was reminded about the movie "Deliverance"...yes I know that took place in Georgia and not Arkansas but to this guy raised in Jamaica, Queens, NY, there was not much of a difference.  Good news is that I negotiated this drive successfully without having to engage in any new experiences...and arrived in Texarkana some 3:45 after leaving Fort Smith.

I actually had been to Texarkana once before to attend the opening ceremonies for a new golf course on the Texas side of the city.  The year was 2002 and the course had been designed by Hank Haney.  While I (happily) did not invest in this project, as an investor in the Hank Haney Golf Ranch near Dallas, I was invited to this opening (probably hoping I might invest after this visit).  But that was another golf course.  Texarkana CC goes back to 1914 with a nine hole track.  In 1922 William Langford and Theodore Moreau arrived and build an 18 hole course for the club and this course is for the most part unchanged for these almost 100 years.  While not as well known as the likes of folks names Ross, Tillinghast, Macdonald, MacKenzie, Raynor, etc., the firm of Langford and Moreau was as creative as any...and probably should be considered the authors of today's most respected design rules.  They generally used the earth as they found it...but when they saw a need to "liven up the place" were not afraid to give it a shot, and the results were brilliant.  A visit to Lawsonia Links (WI), the outstanding 9 holes at Culver Academies, or the wonderful Skokie CC (IL) will confirm what I am claiming here...and provided proof that if you want to get to be known in as a golf architect, you are better off doing your stuff on one of the USA's two major coastlines and not the midwest.

In any case, a number of things struck me about Texarkana.  First, it sits in a neighborhood that clearly has seen far better days economically and this certainly has affected the club's fortunes.  However, the club sits like an oasis in this neighborhood and its long driveway entrance lined with tall pine trees is very impressive.  Finally, on a number of holes the brilliance of Langford and Moreau's work shows through...great bones still can be seen even when the skin covering these bones is in serious need of some plastic surgery.  Best examples here of this was hole #4, a 437 yard par 4 that turns right to left around large grass bunkers in the left rough and hole #14, 441 yards, doglegging L-->R and then uphill to the green.  My game deserted me this morning and I struggled through a 45 - 44 = 89.  As with Hardscrabble I was here because Texarkana was also on both the 1966 and 1967 Golf Digest "200 Toughest" lists.

After the round I had to get to Little Rock to play Pleasant Valley Country Club, which hosted the 1979 US Girl's Junior on its Blue and Yellow nines (Pleasant Valley has 27 holes).  Pleasant Valley opened in 1968 and was designed by Joe Finger.  The 1979 Girl's Junior was scheduled to be played at CC of Little Rock, but CC of LR's greens had major issues and the event was switched to Pleasant Valley.  As an aside, CC of LR has never had another USGA Championship.  I had a good front nine and simply awful back (41 - 48 = 89) after starting the back nine with four 6's in a row.  Was ready to move on... and had two days left on this journey.

Had to drive 165 miles (about 2:35) to Memphis to play two courses there on Thursday October 21.  The first was TPC Southwind which was home to the Danny Thomas Classic from 1989 to 2021.

Southwind was designed by Ron Prichard and opened in 1988.  It hosted the Danny Thomas St Jude as well as the Fed Exp St Jude from 1989 through 2021...the last three years of which it was also hosting a World Golf Championship event at the same time.  Starting in 2022, it drops its WCG association and becomes part of the Federal Express Tour Championship Playoff series.

By playing it, I have now played every course to host:

     A. the Tour Championship or Players Championship (there have been eight courses and five courses respectively);

     B. any of the "preliminary" playoff events that lead into the Tour Championship (e. g. Barclay's, BMW, etc., etc.)

     C. any of the WCG events since their inception...except that here I am missing Chapultepec in Mexico City and Mission Hills-Olazabal in Shenzhen, China.  Am hoping to play both of those in 2022 but nothing in the way of firm plans exists now.

Regarding the architecture at TPC Southwind, I shall refer you back to one of my mother's (and almost all mothers' everywhere) favorite expressions: "...if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything."

I had a good discussion after my round with the new HP Larry Antinozzi, who was raised in lower Westchester County NY, regarding golf courses in Westchester.  For the record, I had a miserable 46 on the front 9, an "X" on #10, and a birdie 2 on the somewhat famous par 3 #11...at that point I stopped keeping score.

After the round I headed northeast to Spring Creek Ranch, which is really "out in da sticks."  Spring Creek is a Nicklaus design that opened around 2000 and from the tips plays to 7426 yards.  It is big and long and tough, and a good golf course, but you had better carry a handicap of about 6 or less if you want to enjoy it...or be ready to park your ego and go play the appropriate tees for your game (shortest being 5361 yards, just a tad long for moi).

I arrived at Spring Creek at around 12:30, well ahead of my designated tee time.  Upon introducing myself to HP Matt Brock, he said he had no record of me on his tee sheet.  I then explained what I was trying to do (Spring Creek Ranch has been on the Golf Digest USA Top 200...always around #165-170...starting in 2015) and my golf background; he finally allowed me to play by myself almost immediately.  I was on the first tee in about 60 seconds.

The course is good, but as explained in earlier blogs, I am not a huge fan of Jack's architectural efforts from this part of his career.  And if you think I was tired this morning...  In any case, I got it in, thanked the HP profusely and got out of Dodge for a 165 mile drive back to Little Rock.  A power nap along the way helped and I arrived at my hotel in Little Rock around 5:45pm., and immediately had a real nap!

At 8:00am on the morning on Friday 10/22, I was the first player off on Chenal CC's Founders Course, designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr. (opened 1990).  And I felt like a new person.   This would be a long day but it marked the conclusion of a long and grueling trip.

From 1997-2000 the Founders Course was included on GolfWeek's USA Top 100 Modern Courses and as such on my "GolfWeek Merged Top 200".  In fact, it was the last course I needed to play to have completed the GolfWeek USA Top 100 Modern and USA Top 100 Classic lists EVER, so I was celebrating another milestone this morning...so another Bucket list completed...finishing the 100Modern/100Classic EVER list.  Since GolfWeek started publishing the USA Top 100 Modern and Top 100 Classic in 1997, they have published a total of 25 annual sets...and a total of 154 different Classic Courses and 270 different Modern Courses have appeared one or more times...so a total of 424 different Courses.  Of those there are two courses (both Modern) that no longer exist which I did not play before they closed.  So there are 154 Classic and 268 Modern Courses, or 422 in total that still exist...and I have played all of those 422.  To the best of my knowledge, no one else has completed this bucket list.

That said, Founders is a good but certainly not great course.  It is a typical course from the 1960's through 1980's era...penal and not strategic.  But glad I played it and another bucket list is DONE!  Had a 43 - 40 = 83 for the round.

Then drove 50 miles to Hot Springs, AR in order to play Hot Springs CC's Arlington Course.  There was an event about to start on the Park Course that day so the clubhouse area was overrun with golfers...making it look like it would be impossible for me to play.  But the HP (Barry Howard, a wonderful gentleman who has been here for about 30 years),  took me out to hole #11 and I had a free run from 11-18,  then playing 1-10 took a while.  But got it done on a very good track, designed by Bill Diddel in 1927 and in one of Coore-Crenshaw's earliest restorations...dating back to the mid-1990's.  Had a 44 - 42 = 86. 

Got my car packed up and headed to Dallas-Ft Worth airport...my last drive of the trip...310 miles (4:40). Stayed in a hotel near DFW and was up early to catch a 7:03 flight that brought me to Boston at 11:50am on Saturday 10/23.  

This was a monster trip...in 13 days, I played 24 courses totaling 419 golf holes, or 32.23 holes per day.  I also drove 2377 miles in my rental car, or almost 185 miles/day.   

And it brought me to the following positions:

Lifetime as of 10/23: 1,370 different courses, or 23,975 golf holes (equal to 1,331.94 18 hole equivalent courses).

2021 as of 10/23: 128 different courses played, of which 109 were first time played for moi, and the other 19 were courses I had played before this year.   

It is Monday December 20, 2021 as I write these words.  Since October 23, I have played 18 additional courses...but that information is for another Post or two.  Think this was is long enough as it is.  

Happy Holidays to all.