Post #165...Melbourne, Australia and New Zealand's North Island

First things first…flight from LAX to Melbourne was not 18 hours…more like 15 hours and 20 minutes.  Sorry about the error in closing out post #164.  Importantly the flight went smoothly and the golf in Melbourne went well.  We arrived February 8th and I was able to play all 8 of the courses on our schedule.  We had great weather with highs most days in the mid 70’s (F); I seem to recall experiencing lots of days the 90’s and 100’s on prior visits and those temps were not missed by either of us.  I now stand at a total of 28 courses play in AUS and have a  list of about six others I would love to get to…but I also understand that if I played those 6…there would be another 6 that would represent a new “need to play” list.  Such is the thought process of a confirmed addict!  As they say…one cannot fix a problem without first recognizing the problem!

 

Given some of the weather events near us…we were extremely fortunate.  By some piece of good luck I had scheduled the trip Australia first followed by New Zealand…if I had done the opposite we would have been caught by the monster Cyclone which hit NZ’s North Island hard about 7-10 days ago (and decided to hang around for a while).  

 

Once again, we rented an Airbnb apartment in a high rise in the Southbank area just south of Melbourne’s Central Business District.  It was close to the City’s great art museums and Pat was able to take advantage of that on the days she did not play golf (I would do the same but never can seem to schedule such days!).  

 

For those of you who have not been to Melbourne, IMO it has the finest collection of great golf courses within say 40 miles of the CBD of any major city in the world.  New York beats it when you expand the radius from 40 miles to say 100 miles…but for close in courses Melbourne is the best!

 

You will of course recall that of the 8 courses I played in Melbourne, three were repeats:  Royal Melbourne-West, Kingston Heath, and Victoria.  RM-W is currently #7 on GOLF Magazine’s World Top 100 and KH sits at #22.  Both are brilliant fun designs that feature wide width, lots of options, and the need to think one’s way around the course; and both play very firm and fast.  Victoria is one of the City’s finest clubs and is in nearly perfect condition after a wonderful restoration by Ogilvy, Clayton, Cocking, & Mead (OCCM).  The other five were first timers for moi:

 

            —Peninsula-Kingswood GC was formed by the merger of Peninsula GC and Kingswood GC.   The 36 holes at Peninsula were renovated into a new pair of courses (North and South) under the direction of OCCM and used a new breed of grass for their greens (“Pure Distinction”) which created fabulous greens.  I simply loved the North Course (played 2/10) and liked the South Course (played 2/13).

 

            —Woodlands GC, which has been included on Planet Golf’s World Top 100 since 2020, is a very old course with some design features that are unique for this area (smallish raised greens, tight narrow fairways).  Frankly, I do not comprehend how Darius Oliver could include this course on his World Top 100.

 

            —National Golf Club—Gunnamatta, redone by Tom Doak about 4-5 years ago and now really special.  This course sits near the southeast corner of the Mornington Peninsula about 75-90 minutes south of Melbourne.  This was our last golfing stop in Australia and it proved to be a beauty.  We played with two new friends…Vyn and Prue T.  who are members and were wonderful hosts.  Highlight of the day was playing #11 (a long par 3 designed to be a adaptation of Royal Portrush’s brilliant #16 hole “Calamity Corner").  Here were four folks in their late 70’s and the pars by Prue, Vyn, and moi were “chopped liver” compared to Pat’s birdie (tee shot to about 6-7 feet above the hole followed by a beautiful putt for birdie).  Doak must be working on plans to toughen this one up!

 

            —Frankston Golf Club (aka “The Millionaires Club”).  I loved this club...9 holes built at least 110 years ago and hardly touched in the ensuing decades.  Clubhouse consists of an old wooden structure with a large sitting room (and furniture MUCH older than moi).  Total staff…3 greenskeepers.  Members often bring their own food for lunch…and a local rule says losers of any match must wash the dishes after the post round drinks/meals!  Love it.  It is the “anti-Discovery Land Club” and its member roster consists of many of the most powerful and richest people in Melbourne and Australia.  Course was in near perfect condition and has greens with extreme slopes…which are very difficult to discern from out in the fairway.  These greens are near the leaders of the pack in terms of “greens visited” (Pinehurst #2 is often cited as the true leader of this statistic).

 

During our last couple of days in Melbourne we watched the reports of the Cyclone hitting New Zealand’s North Island with some horror thinking about the people living in that beautiful country and our trip plans.  Somehow, we once again were very fortunate.  The area we were heading towards had avoided most of the very serious damage and recovered quickly.  The area near Cape Kidnappers was not so fortunate.

 

I had originally planned to play Titirangi Golf Club upon our arrival in Auckland, but delays in our flight and in securing a rental car meant the round could not be played on Saturday February 19.  We stayed Saturday night in Auckland and after breakfast on Sunday headed north to Te Arai, a drive of about 1 hour 30 minutes.  Interestingly, there was very little damage to infrastructure that was apparent during that drive. However, based on drives to Auckland and back over the next 3 days, it became clear that the days immediately following the cyclone were spent dealing with life threatening problems and assessing the damage throughout the North Island so that a clear plan for clean-up could get implemented quickly.

 

Te Aria lost its power for three days but had recovered completely (including internet-based communications) by the time we arrived on Sunday….and property damage there did not look serious.  Clean-up was well underway.  After a hectic but outstanding visit to Melbourne, Sunday was a welcome period of rest for us.   

 

Late Monday morning Feb 20, we teed off on the Coore/Crenshaw South Course at Te Arai.  This is a incredibly stunning golf course which stretches alongside the Pacific Ocean for a total of 8 holes: #6–9 on the front, and #15-18 on the back nine.  Except for parts of holes 2 & 3, the entire course sits within 575 yards of the Pacific’s waters. The course has lots of width and options abound on every hole.  The course has superb land movement but Pat and I were both able to walk it (with caddies) on Sunday and Tuesday…while also walking Tara Iti on Monday.  Yes, the legs were pretty sore at the end of these three days but they also are 78 years old.  

 

Interestingly, the greens are pretty wild for C&C.  Filled with a lot of "Maxwell Rolls” (if you do not know what that means, you need to travel to Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas, where Perry Maxwell generally plied his trade, or Old Town Club in Winston-Salem NC).  Aside from the sheer beauty of this track, the architecture is wonderful.  Overall, I would place it at either a high “8” or a solid “9” on the “Doak Scale” (explaining that would take my two typing fingers way too long to finish…so go Google it!).  One comment I would definitely make is that when we played it the second time on Tuesday Feb 22, I concluded that it was better architecturally than I had thought during our first go-round…and that is a sign of a “budding romance” and not just a “one time fling.”  

 

My favorite hole was #2…a par four that stretches to 444 yards from the elevated tips, goes down off the tee then uphill while bending right around an unfriendly fairway bunker on the right.  Green is protected by a mound at the front left corner so a safe tee shot must go left…leaving the conservative driver with a much longer approach and the the need to deal with that mound.  The heroic driver gets a clear path to run a shot into the green assuming he avoids the right fairway bunker.  Options options options (loaded with both risks and rewards)!

 

Tuesday morning we were at Tara Iti Golf Club.  Pat and I were there in early February 2016 when she played 2.5 rounds and I played 3.  Having spent the prior day facing incredible vistas, I decided to focus primarily on the architecture at “TI”, and that architecture is simply brilliant.  Better than my memories from 2016.  TI has 18 distinct holes, that blend and meld together like the well know “hand and glove”.

 

On the Doak scale my current thoughts are solid “9” or low “10”.  What I found very interesting was that the courses are not similar to one another…they simply complement each other.  Doak’s greens at TI tend to be very sloped but without a lot of internal movement…while the greens at TA-South tend to have lots of internal movement (e.g. Maxwell Rolls) and less overall slope.  I might even say that Doak’s TI has greens I might expect from Coore-Crenshaw, and C-C’s TA-South has greens I might expect from Doak!  In any case I HIGHLY recommend a visit to find out for yourself!

 

Wednesday afternoon, after our second round at TA-South, I had the unique opportunity to tour Te Arai-North with Jim Rohrstaff of Legacy Partners.  North will be TA’s second public course when it opens in October 2023 and has been designed by Tom Doak.  It presently is in the “grow in” phase.  While North does not have the incredible views on every hole like South, it is naturally bold…and that is a tough but fabulous combination.  There are a good number of bold designs and a good number of very natural designs in golf…but very very few naturally bold ones.  There is a natural punchbowl green here that will blow you mind…and your score if you are careless…but help your score if you are careful!  Hard to tell at this stage and without playing…but this one could very well end up as the best of the three (despite have “only” seven holes with ocean views).

 

With these three courses all in play nine months from now, this will for sure become of the the game’s truly brilliant centers.

 

As noted earlier, there is a wonderful old Alistair MacKenzie course in Auckland. NZ which I was determined to play during this short visit.  On Tuesday morning I awoke at 4:30 am in order to be off the 8th tee on Titirangi Golf Club at 7:30am and play holes 8-18 before heading back north for my round at Tara Iti.  Then with our flight departing Auckland at 1:40pm on Thursday, I repeated the early drive south and was off the first tee at 7:38am and finished up at the 7th green around 8:50am.  After a quick shower and change I was off to Auckland’s airport to meet Pat who took a shuttle ride down from Te Aria to the Airport.

 

All in all a wonderful trip.  Starting with El Niguel CC in Orange County, CA (see end of Post #164) a total of 216 golf holes played on some 12 golf courses.  This brought me to a total of 14 courses played in New Zealand, and 1532 worldwide.

One final important point…as superb as the golf was throughout the trip…it paled in comparison to the people we were with in both Australia and New Zealand.  In particular, I would cite in alphabetical order our primary “hosts” while “Down Under”:

 

            —John and Kay C.—of Melbourne, and Kingston Heath GC, a fellow member of the GOLF Magazine World Top 100 Panel and close friends of our since we first met in Melbourne in 2012;

            —Gary and Maureen L.—of Royal Melbourne GC; Gary is a member of the GOLF World 100 Panel happens to be one of the world’s finest golf course photographers; our round on February 19 was our first in person meeting;

            —Mark and Ellen L.—good friends from the USA, members of Tara Iti GC, and President of Global Golf Centurions Club.

 

Thank you all…and thank you to all the others we were with on this glorious venture.

 

Next Post coming shortly…an update to my Top 100 Spreadsheet.

Post #164---last two months...big event 12/1/2022...close out of 2022...and we are heading back to AUS/NZ

 Folks—

Guess this s Post #164.  Will be brief again.

Since my last post on 11/25/22, I have played 4 courses for the first time.  One included a highlight worth mentioning.  

On 12/1/22, i left early in the morning for a 3:30 or so drive to Charleston SC…to play the Ralston Creek Course at Daniel Island Club, just north of the center of Charleston.  My long time caddy at Brookline, Jeremy Brofsky is working there and joined me for 18 holes.  Ralston Creek is hosting the 75th US Junior Amateur Championship in 2023 and I needed to play it to extend my USGA Championship Host EVER play list through 2023.  We tee off and moved quickly until getting behind some foursomes at the 9th tee…so we skipped ahead, played 13-18 and then circled back to the par three 9th.  WE both watched my tee shot which was headed right at the flag (hit an 9-iron but hole length from this tee is now classified…you may find the answer in Joe Biden's Corvette).  It looked to me like it was about 6” right of the hole but it then disappeared behind a small mound on the green. Jeremy though it was in but he could not be sure, so we hopped into the cart and drove top to the green.  He got out of the cart first and got the first look and told me to come up...see below:

(do not know how to post video...sorry)

So now, in 67 + years of golfing, I have spent maybe 10-15 days in the Charleston area…and both of my holes in one happened in Charleston’s northern suburbs (#1 happened on Wild Dune’s Harbor Course in 1987).  Feeling somewhat proud, first call was to the wifey…proud owner of three holes in one.  Her response was immediate and appropriate…”keep it going sweetheart, if you make another, maybe you’ll catch me.”

Anyhow, we got all 18 in, and I finished 2022 with 1522 courses lifetime including 137 (2405 holes) for the first time in 2022.  Including replays, I played 161 different courses in 2022.  So far in 2023, I have added 3 courses in NC…the best of which was Carolina Golf Club in Charlotte…and I stand at 1525 lifetime.

Pat and I are in Los Angeles right now, on our way to Melbourne, Australia and the North Island of New Zealand.  We will get back to NC on Feb 23.  Playing 8 courses in Australia.  Three of the 8 I have played before and 5 will be first time for me (one of which is a 9 holer).  In NZ, we are playing Tara Iti (both of us played it in 2016) and the all new Te Aria South (I hope to play South 2x).  I also expect to be able to walk the site of Te Aria North…a Doak design still under construction.  Additionally, I am scheduled to play Alistair MacKenzie’s Titirangi on February 18 after landing in Auckland.  This will be my 5th golfing trip down under and Pat’s 3rd…and there is a reasonable chance it will be the last trip there for both of us.  We love it in both countries.

Two other things:

1.  in my last email I cited 2022 highlights through November 25, but neglected to mention my round at The Floridian on February 23…getting up and down from a bunker on #18 (by pouring in a 12 footer for a 77) and finally shooting my age playing with others and having an attested scorecard!  Driving the green on the par 4 sixth hole and canning the 12’ eagle putt helped! 

2.  Yesterday morning I got up at 4:45 and drove down to Orange County.  In November 2022 I had run out of daylight playing El Niguel Country Club and could not play holes 14-18…thereby keeping me from completing the 1966 and 1967 Golf Digest USA 200 Toughest lists which were listed alphabetically).  I arranged to play just the back 9 starting at 7:30am…was done by 8:50 (had to keep behind the morning maintenance crews) and had a good 41 on the back…with 4 bogies on the holes I has played before (10-13) and then a birdie, two pars and two bogeys on the 5 new hoies for me (14-18).  Finished with a par on #18. This is also meant that I have now played every course included on any USA Top 200 listing EVER.

But now it is time to get to LAX and spend 18 hours on a flight to Melbourne!!

Post #163---originally distributed by email November 25, 2022

 Folks—

Hope all of you had a very special Thanksgiving.

This has been a very busy week, month and year.  On Tuesday, http://Top100golfcourses.com released its 2022 World Top 100.  It contains 12 courses that were not on its 2020 edition…seven of these were on their list for the first time, and five had appeared on their list prior to 2020.  Lofoten Links of Norway is the only one of the 12 that had never pierced any World Top 100 list previously.  I have not played Lofoten but from what I have heard, I was not surprised by its selection.

Last week I was in the Los Angeles area for four days, and played 7 courses, five of which were first timers for me and two were repeats which had recently undergone major renovations.  I am now winding down a very very busy year and the LA trip will be my last major trip in 2022.  More on the LA trip in a few paragraphs (see highlights #22-25 below), but first allow me to outline what I accomplished in 2022 as well as the current status of my various bucket lists.

I now stand at 1,521 courses played in my lifetime.  Five years ago (at the conclusion of 2017) I stood at 1,023 so I have played 498 new courses in those 5 years), and two years ago (at the end of 2020) I stood at 1,261 (played 261 new courses in 2021-2022).  For 2022 alone my total courses played stands at 160, of which 136 were played for the first time.    I have played this year courses in 34 states plus Puerto Rico, France, Ireland, Northern Ireland…and in 2021 I had played 12 of the 16 I missed in 2022…leaving just NM, WV, AK, and HI as unplayed over the past 20 months (April 2021-November 2022).

Highlights of 2022 (in chronological order):

1.  May 5…Bidermann (part of Vicmead Hunt Club, DE).  Designed by Dick Wilson.  Course and facility have a natural beauty and dignity about them that is simply remarkable. 

 

2.  May 11...Congressional CC (Blue, MD).  Originally 18 holes designed by Devereux Emmet and expanded to 18 holes by Trent Jones Sr. in 1957.  A brute of a course whose style became inconsistent with the tastes of panels in 1980’s and 1990’s…and whose ratings started slipping precipiously as its tree coverage expanded.  Brilliant renovation by Andrew Green has caused me to really appreciate the course that I had grown to hate.

3.  May 26…The Country Club (Open Course, MA).  An honor to be able to play it three weeks prior to The 2022 US Open.  “Brookline” has never been in this type of condition and the old lady really was dressed perfectly for the June showing!  Quite an event and this preview round was thrilling.

4.  June 7...Bald Peak Colony Club (NH)…had heard lots of very special reports but this was my first visit.  A brilliant piece of work by Donald Ross overlooking Lake Winnipesaukee.   Superb club that has the same “feel” as Florida’s Mountain Lake…like a “camp” for old wealthy people (meant as a sincere compliment).

5.  June 22…Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club (CA)…this is one cool place!  The original site of the Bing Crosby Pro-Am (before it moved to Pebble) with walls lined with incredible photos to prove it.  And the golf course is top notch…outstanding piece of land and a design by Max Behr.

6.  July 8—Royal Portrush Golf Club (Dunluce Links, Northern Ireland)…had played 2x but realized about a year ago that I had not played the new holes #7&8 that were pulled into the Dunluce from the Valley before the 2019 Open Championship.  Contacted GM who arranged for me to play holes 7&8 early on this day thereby solving my “problem”.

7.  July 10—Rosapenna (St Patrick’s, Ireland)...widely acclaimed new design along Ireland's north coastline by Tom Doak proved to be more than equal to its glowing reviews.  Big and bold with brilliant features, makes superb use of phenomenal sand dunes that previously housed 36 holes.  As predicted by many, a solid World 100 (rankings of #55 and #41 on GOLF and top100golfcourses.com).

8,  Enniscrone GC (Ireland)—soaring dunes that must be seen to be believed!

9.  Ballybunion(OLD) (Ireland)—had been to too many years and I literally had forgotten just how superb this place is.  I have now been well reminded!

10.  July 18—The European Club (Ireland).  Always a joy to return to here where I finished by initial GM World 100 and was granted an Honorary Membership by Pat Ruddy.  One of the few courses I have played that seems to improve with each round played (three to date).

11.  July 20—County Louth Golf Club (Ireland).  Had played in 2016 in worst weather I ever experienced on a golf course…so this was my first chance to actually see the course and I simply loved it.

12.  July 21—Portmarnock Golf Club (Ireland).  Had played three times previously and for reasons I can’t understand, did not appreciate how good this track is on my last two visits.  Felt very differently this time…this is a superb track…tough but fair and even a bit of fun!

13.  August 3—Quaker Ridge GC (NY)…my annual visit to my golfing home from 1975-2000.  Still marvel at the brilliant work of Gil Hanse in clearing out the overgrown trees and restoring the greens to their original greatness.

14.  August 19—Sand Hills GC (NE).  Simply gets better with every visit.  Mr. Youngscap revolutionized the game of golf in 1995 with Sand Hills’ opening.  No Sand Hills and no Bandon, etc. etc.  He proved if you build greatness golfers will travel to it…and the golf world learned!  How he has never been inducted in the Golf Hall of Fame astounds and embarrasses me as a golfer.

15.  August 22—Home Course (WA).  Between Gold Mountain Golf Club (Olympic) (played last year) and Home Course, Seattle must have the best two public courses near one major city in the USA—of not, please tell me a city with two better public tracks!

16.  August 29—Quarry at Giants Ridge (MN).  Wild, woolly and certainly great fun.

17.  August 31—Landmand Club (NE).  Latest effort by Rob Collins & Co.  Incredible scale and in some ways a tame version of Quarry at Giant’s Ridge.  Has not made a Top 100 yet but I think after folks get used to it and it gets refined in minor ways it will be a regular.  Too much fun to not be.

18.  October 8—Shoreacres GC (IL).  Replay…first visit in 2010 let to my being placed on Golf Digest Panel.  Course was overgrown with trees and vegetation back then and so so so much better now.  Could tell the difference about 5 seconds after entering driveway.  So wonderfully firm and fast now.

19.  October 12—Scioto CC (OH).  Another replay (first visit in 1982)  and another superb renovation by Andrew Green…this is the 5th of his that I have seen (where I had played course prior to his work) although in this case I have almost no recollection of the course as it was 40 years ago.  But this one makes it clear to me…he is the current King of the Restorers/Renovators.  Brilliant is too weak a term.

20.  October 12—Pepper Pike (OH).  What an overwhelming day this was.  This place is so wonderful and so much fun.  And for years I thought this and The Country Club (OH) were the same course.  One always has things to learn!

21.  October 22—Arcola CC (NJ).  A superb course that literally gets “lost” in the New York area’s collection of brilliant tracks.  Absolutely under-appreciated.

22.  November 15—Bel-Air CC (CA).  Designed by George Thomas and William Bell…through years of minor modifications by Dick Wilson, George Fazio, and Jones Sr., it had lost its way and certainly its brilliance.  I had played it in 2013 and liked it but it could not be compared to LACC and Riviera.  Enter Tom Doak to usher in one of the great restorations.  Thousands of suffocating trees gone, greens now require you to think and decide how to play a hole, and options abound throughout the course.  A joy.

23.  November 16—Hillcrest CC (CA).  Played once before in 2017…this place was originally designed in 1920 by Willie Watson and now has altered dramatically (for the very much better) by Kyle Phillips. View from the tee of the par 3 4th is simply to die for…and the one word that continuously crossed my mind during the round was “exquisite”.  Could conceivably give QR a run for the best predominantly Jewish golf course in USA.

24.  November 18—Saticoy Club (CA).  Finding a Hidden Gen used to be easy.  I recall seeing Royal Dornoch and North Berwick for the first time in 1981…but these days, tough to keep such a secret.  But through hard work, may have found one this day (at least for non-LA’ers).  Outstanding course designed by Billy Bell Jr (1964) and renovated by John Harbottle III.  Thad Layton then remodeled bunkers, expanded the fairways and removed trees.  I thought the final six holes represented one of the finest stretches of golf anywhere.  About 60 miles NW of downtown LA but worth it.

25.  November 19—Santa Ana CC (CA) Arrived here expecting another over the top Orange County track…and was I ever wrong about that.  Found a place that decided to step up its game and undergo a substantial transformation.  In its final stages with the recent planting of fescue rough lining the wide fairways.  IMO the work performed by Jay Blasi has been superb.  Reminded me of two other extensive changes to old tracks…Old Town in Winston-Salem NC (by Coore/Crenshaw) and California Golf Club of San Francisco (by Kyle Phillips).  At one point, both of these clubs were facing major crises as a result of these renovations…but both fought through and now are thriving better than ever before.  I think and hope that will be the eventual outcome at Santa Ana.

Apologies to dozens of other wonderful courses I played this year that are not mentioned above.  I firmly believe we have the finest selection of courses to play that has ever existed.

Special notice regarding Coral Creek Golf which I had the pleasure of playing on February 10.  Hope and trust it came through Hurricane Ian and proved to be repairable.

One final point regarding 2022…it was a tour filled with Tom Doak’s work:

Rawl’s Course at Texas Tech

Rosapenna-St Patrick’s

Common Ground

Medinah #1

Bel-Air CC

He is a genius!

Bucket List Status:

1.  World Top 100 EVER (from all sources)…am now four courses shy of reconquering this mountain (Lanhai in Shanghai, China; Lofoten in Norway; Santapazienza in Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Woodlands, Melbourne, Australia.  As I announced about a month ago, I have decided the risks of returning to China make such a trip foolish at best.  Hence I will instead try to finish playing the other three.

2.  USA Top 100 EVER (from all sources)…COMPLETED

3.  USA Top 200 EVER (from all sources)…to complete this I have to play (as of today): one course under construction in Wisconsin (scheduled to open August 2023), and holes 14-15 on El Niguel CC in CA

4.  Golf Week USA 200 Modern and 200 Classic from the same year…must play two courses in Hawaii

5.  All of the courses that have hosted current Men’s and Women’s Professional Majors…regular tour and senior tour…COMPLETED

6.  All of the courses that have hosted the five big "Cups” (Walker/Ryder/Presidents/Curtis/Solheim)…COMPLETED…but will need to play Finca Cortesin (Spain) and Bernardus Golf (Netherlands) before they host Solheim in 2023 and 2026 respectively

7.  All of the courses that have hosted PGA Tour Players Championship PGA Tour Championship, Fed Exp Cup Playoffs, and World Golf Championship events EVER…missing Club de Golf Chapultepec in Mexico City and Mission Hills Shenzhen-Olazabal from WCG events.  PLan to play Chapultepec in2023 but again, cannot risk trip to China under present conditions.

8.  Play every course to have hosted one or more of the USGA’s current 15 National Championships and two Cups (Walker and Curtis) EVER…COMPLETED 11/18/2022 in Los Angeles but need to play Daniel Island (SC) to carry throught 2023 season (scheduled to play Daniel Island 12/1/22)

9.  Play every course to EVER host a Metropolitan (NY) Open or Am Championship…total of 10 courses remaining, all in NY and NJ.

Updated v117 of Spreadsheet:

See attached.  

 Post #160--Another Brief Update:

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

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

Highlights of the trip by state were as follows:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1.  Cypress Point

2.  Royal Dornoch

3. Sand Hills

4. Shinnecock Hills

5. Oakmont

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

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

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

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

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

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

California CC

Westmoreland CC (IL)

Meridian Hills CC (IN)

Town & Country Club (MN)

SentryWorld Golf Course (WI)

Grand Reserve GC (PR)

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

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

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

IL (Chicago area)...7 courses

WI...7 courses

MN...3 Courses

CA (Los Angeles area)...5 courses

HI...2 courses

IN (Indianapolis)...1 course

KY (Lexington)...1 course

SC (Charleston)...1 course

Kansas (Salina)...1 course

Puerto Rico (San Juan)...1 course

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

Lanhai International-Yangtze Dunes, Shanghai, China

Santapazienza, São Paulo, Brazil

Woodlands GC, Melbourne, Australia

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

Lofoten Links, Norway

Peninsula Kingswood-North.

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

Mission Hills Dongguan-Olazabal

Club de Golf Chapultepec, Mexico City, Mexico

so that is 7 courses overseas.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now back to my golf courses played and travels!

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

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

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

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

Southern California Trip 4/28-5/2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Maryland and Delaware Trip s Early May 2022 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

                        

                            

Post #159--BRIEF UPDATE

 POST #159--BRIEF UPDATE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Congressional CC-Blue (MD)*

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

Bald Peak Colony Club (NH)

Rancho Santa Fe GC (CA)

Les Bordes GC-New/Hanse (France)

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

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

Enniscrone GC (Ireland)

Ballybunion GC-Old (Ireland)*

The Island GC (Ireland)*

County Louth GC (Ireland)*

Portmarnock GC (Championship) (Ireland)*

Merion GC-East (PA)*

Quaker Ridge GC (NY)*

Wannamoisett GC (RI)*

*  Played previously.

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

Post #158: February 1-March 9, 2022...very busy.

 

During much of 2020 I could not travel easily (due to COVID), and then as restrictions eased in 2021, courses became very crowded (due to the safety associated with being outdoors, and the fact that many were working from home...being close to one's favorite golf course makes the "siren-call" of the game that much louder).  In both 2020 and 2021 I made numerous attempts to play two courses in Charlotte, NC (about 100 miles away from our home) which had hosted USGA Championships, Myers Park CC and Carmel CC.  I finally was a able to play Myers Park on December 17, 2021 (see Post #156) and now I was able to play Carmel CC-South on February 2, 2022 with Neil M., a fellow member of CCNC who also is a member of Carmel.  

Located on in the suburbs south of the city of Charlotte, Carmel its blessed with 36 holes and a wonderful like-new facility.  The club was founded in 1947 and its first course (North), designed by George Cobb (ANGC Par 3 course, Quail Hollow, the original Sea Marsh at Sea Pines Plantation, Timuquana, Linville Ridge, etc.) opened in 1950.  Some 17 years later Ellis Maples was retained to sculpt Carmel's South Course which opened for play in 1969.  Rees Jones was brought in to update tees, bunkers and greens the 1980's and then between 2009 and 2011 led a total renovation of the South which removed hundreds of trees thereby adding width, vistas, angles and optional ways to play most holes...and also stretched the South to over 7500 yards (I played from 5265 yards!).  As most readers of this blog are probably aware, I am not a big fan of Rees Jones' work...but must admit that I liked this course quite a bit.  My game was fairly ugly this day (fired a smooth 90) but I thought the course was very very good.  It does have a bit too much water for my tastes but I was impressed by the width and options available.  It also was in excellent condition and played very firm and fast.  In 2006 Carmel hosted the US Girl's Junior Championship.

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The following week was spent primarily along Florida's Golf Coast and interior.  I left home around 2:30pm on Sunday 2/6 and drove to Jacksonville.  After a night of rest I drove onward to Ocala to play Ocala National, which formerly was known as Golden Hills Golf & Tennis Club.  Shortly after arriving I was met by Terry I., a Golf Digest Panelist from Ocala whom I first met in 2011 playing his home course (Black Diamond).  In terms of number of courses played, Terry puts me to shame...having played over 3100 courses (as of 2/7 I was at 1402).  He is over 80 years old and still can move the ball, and is a joy to be with.  We had a lot of catching up to do and traded the usual golf tales.  We played fairly quickly and both of us played very well on the front (Terry shot a 34 and I had a 38), but both of us gave a bunch back on the second nine (I had a 45).  

The course clearly has seen much better days and hosted the US Women's Mid Amateur in 2009.  My guess is that due to the financial crisis, the club was starting downhill when that event was held .  Today it is in very poor condition and is a daily fee course with not many players.  It originally opened in 1964 and was designed by Rees Jones.

Walking around the clubhouse, I saw the plaque dedicated to the sponsors of the 2009 Women's Mid-Am which featured Bernadette Castro.  She was the Parks Commissioner in New York State who helped arrange for the restoration of the Black course at Bethpage for the US Open won by Tiger Woods in 2002.  Additionally she was the daughter of the founder of Castro Convertible and was seen in Castro ads as the kid opening a Castro sofa/bed.  Pat was a friend of hers while they both grew up in Fort Lauderdale.

By the way, do not confuse Ocala National with Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club.  The latter is a very high end private club designed by Ron Garl with a series or "replica" holes.  They are similar in names and geographically close, but the similarities stop there.

After the round I drove down to Orlando and readied myself for two straight days of 36 holes.

Early on the morning of 2/8 I drove over to Country Club of Orlando.  Joe A., a friend from our Global Golf Centurions Club who lives in Orlando had arranged for me to play CC of Orlando with Chris W., who is a long term member and former club pro (who later returned to amateur status).  Interestingly, Chris had played with Brendan Walsh (Director of Golf at Brookline) at CC Orlando the previous week (during Golf Merchandise show).

The club was founded in 1911 and has been at its present location ever since.  The original 9 holes were designed by Tom Bendelow and the Club believes Donald Ross expanded it to 18 some 7 years later.  However, not surprisingly, records documenting this are not available and some think Bendelow designed the 2nd nine.  At this point it is doubtful anyone will ever know for sure...but what is for sure is that today the course is wonderfully fun, challenges the player without beating him/her up, and is just a joy to see and play.  The course underwent renovations in 1960, 1976, 1990, and 2017.  The 2017 renovation was extensive and under the direction of Ron Forse, who was working to highlight Ross features, even though he was working without the benefit of original Ross drawings or plans.  To be honest, I thought a saw a fair number of Raynor features in some holes, in addition to Ross features, but who knows and to some degree who cares.  My only regret is that I did not have the time to play it twice.  

We were lucky as the forecast rain held off until we finished the round.  Chris introduced me to his bride who was working away at the club's practice range (she has been playing in USGA National Championships for about 4 decades!).  All in all a great morning and I thank those who strongly suggested that I play this semi-hidden gem.

It had not started raining yet so I quickly headed over to Rio Pinar Country Club on the other side of Orlando to try to get as much of my round in as possible in dry conditions.  Rio Pinar was founded in 1957 and hosted the Florida Citrus Open on the PGA Tour from 1966-78.  It was first designed by Mark Mahannah along with Lloyd Clifton.  In 1979 the Florida Citrus Open moved to Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Lodge and had stayed there for the last 43 years...but it started at Rio Pinar.  From 1979-82 Rio Pinar hosted the LPGA's Ladies Citrus Open. 

Regarding the course today, I will just say that it obviously has seen better days.  It rained for about 3-4 holes and drizzled for another 8-9 holes, but not too badly.  I played in about 2:15 and then met Joe A. for  a quick dinner before heading southwest for Fort Myers along I-4 (which reminded me of another parking lot known as the Long Island Expressway). 

Early on the morning of 2/9 I headed over to Fiddlesticks Country Club's Long Mean Course.  I played with the wife of one of Joe A's friends, Dr. Phil F. who practices Radiology near Syracuse, NY and commutes weekend down to FL to join his bride, Kelley.  Joe had said that Kelley played quickly and that was an huge understatement.  We played in about 2:30 and I hope I have a chance to reciprocate in Boston or Pinehurst.  

The course was designed by Ron Garl who I met in 1981 on a one week tour of courses in Scotland and England that have been on the Open Championship Rotation.  Fiddlesticks now has 36 holes but Garl's 18 was their first course and opened in 1982, the year after our Tour.  Long Mean hosted the US Women's Senior Amateur in 2010 and this year will host the US Women's Mid Amateur Championship.

That afternoon I played Cypress Lake Golf Club, which sits about 2 miles west of Fiddlesticks.  It took a number of phone calls to secure a time here but I finally reached Director of Golf Jon Pazdera, who advised I could play the afternoon of 2/9 and that an old friend from CC of North Carolina, Charlie J. was back at Cypress Lake and would be at the course that day.  Charlie is a very good player and his wife Missey is even better (she is also a teaching pro).  I arrived around noon, and learned that I could play at 1:00pm, then headed out to the course to catch up with Charlie who had lived in Pinehurst for a few years before moving back to Florida. 

Cypress Lake is a tough tough track with a penal design.   By my count water is in play on some 16 of 18 holes and the bunkers are very well located!  The fairways are tight but fair.  Generally I am not a fan of penal designs but I respected this one (note that respected is not the same as liked).  I played with two Canadians from Toronto and had a 42 - 48 = 90 (got tired on the back...this trip was loaded with long drives).  Course opened in 1959 and was on Golf Digest's 1966 and 1967 list of America's 200 Toughest...and I have to agree with that designation.  Was designed by Dick Wilson and then renovated by Ron Forse in 2017.

Had drive of some 55 miles (and almost 90 minutes) to my next course so stayed half way north in a fine hotel in Punta Gorda.  Finished the drive the next morning and arrived at Coral Creek Club shortly after noon.  Coral Creek is not very well known and for sure wants to keep it that way.  I was the guest of Charlie W., a fellow member of Brookline, excellent player, and very good guy.  

Coral Creek opened in 2000 and was designed by Tom Fazio.  It is fun, interesting and challenging, with optional routes to play on most holes.  The course was in perfect condition and the clubhouse is simply exquisite.  One could play many rounds here before getting bored...especially since the course changes so much as the wind strengthens, weakens, and/or shifts direction.

We finished play about an hour before sunset and I then had to drive to Port St, Lucie, just south of Vero Beach, requiring a drive of some 155 miles that took just short of 3 hours.  I was a tired puppy when I arrived at my hotel, and had to play 36 on Friday 2/11 and then drive about 640 miles (9:30) to home (or stop part of the way home and finish the drive Saturday morning).  I was playing there because Port St Lucie CC hosted the Senior PGA Championship in 1963 and 1974 and this was the last course I needed to play to complete playing host courses for Senior Majors (I completed the Men's Majors and Women's Majors earlier...with one footnote regarding Mens Majors I plan to clear up this July).  Back then the club had two courses...named Saints and Sinners...but I found no documentation or person who could definitely say which course was used for these two events.  Some time after the 1974 Senior PGA the club went under and the Saints course was taken over by the city of Pt St Lucie and remains a municipal course there.  Sinners was purchased and is still owned by the local Club Med and is now branded as Trident Golf Club, which is currently undergoing a complete renovation (but remains open for play).  

I was able to get an early tee time for the Muni and got off the first tee around 7:05...finishing play around 10:30am.  This is not a bad muni and I certainly have seen/played worse but was glad it was done.  I then drove next door to Trident and was able to get right off (around 10:45)...and played it very quickly by hopping around the few groups on the course.  This place needs a lot of work and I have my doubts about how (and if!!) it turns out.  If a recession hits it will be a goner...but until then I had to play it to claim this bucket list!  I played well at Trident (38 - 41 = 79) and was off the course by 2:00pm and got to my car and headed wherever GPS said to go.  

Trust me it was a long drive home.  Of the 640 miles some 575 were on I-95, but I stayed awake throughout (consumed lots of Diet Pepsi's) and arrived home just past 11:30pm.  Pat was fast asleep and it did not take me long to get there myself.  Got out of bed around 10am Saturday morning!

This trip brought me to 1410 courses played and plans for my next trip...to Florida's East coast looked like I could finish my Florida "need to play" on my next trip down there...scheduled in another 5 days or so!  This trip covered 8 courses, took about 5 1/2 days and required some 1680 miles of driving!

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Florida trip #2 proved somewhat difficult to schedule but it happened very well thanks to the help of some friends in FL...especially one friend, Richard L. who set up three courses for me (thank you again, Richard).  Pat was joining me for part of the trip and things became easier when we realized it would be easier for both of us if she flew and I drove.

My schedule commenced on Wednesday February 15...at about 2:30am (had gone to sleep around 8:30 Tuesday night).  This would be a long tiring day, but a good one.  I had a 310 mile drive from home to Athens GA to start it off...and this was to be followed by a drive back into South Carolina to Lake Keowee near Greenville for a second 18 holes, followed by drive west to Atlanta.  What sort of crazed nut figured out this itinerary??  

Anyhow, I arrived at Athens Country Club around 7:45am .  Situated near the University of Georgia campus, Athens CC was founded in 1926 and retained Donald Ross to build their 18 hole course.  In the 1980's George Cobb was hired to add another 9 holes ("North") but I was here to play the Ross which hosted the 1970 US Junior Amateur.  After a routine bogey on the first hole, I hit a superb 5 iron that ran to the back of the 2nd green, leaving me a sharply downhill putt of some 70' breaking some 10' right.  Canned the sucker for my birdie...and after 8 holes I stood one under (birdied par 4 7th sinking a six-footer).  Hole 9 goes uphill seemingly forever and turns right, with a large tree overhanging the right side of the fairway.  I neglected to double check my alignment, my drive struck the tree and disappeared.  Reload time and ended up withe a triple bogey 7 for a 2-over 38 on the front.  Was time to talk with myself (golfers do that all the time).  I said to myself...one small mistake but you are sitting well at 2 over...go back to basics.  The amazing thing was that I listened to myself (Pat would say that I am the only person I listen to).  Played well on the back and was a total of 5 over through 16...needing two pars to shoot my age.  Stuck a 9-iron to 10' on #17 and made the birdie putt...followed by a bogey secured with a 5-footer on the uphill 18th and I had my 38 - 39 = 77.  This was my 4th time...two of which I beat my age my a shot...and this one felt great as I persevered after a triple on #9.

Very much liked the course.  Greens are tough (expected on any good Ross track) and there is lots of land movement.  Course is never boring and yet does not beat your brains in.  A superb "play every day" track.

By 10:30 I was back on the road heading toward Greenville...100 miles that took 2 hours.  In the mountains of NC and SC is a group of 7 courses under common ownership and marketed under the name "Cliffs". Back in 2018 I played Cliff at Mountain Park, a Gary Player design (Post #106).  Cliffs at Keowee Vineyards was on GolfWeek's USA Top 200 Modern fairly consistently from 2014-'21 and when I had called to play it these last two years it was not available due to "COVID demand".  It opened in 1999 and was designed by Tom Fazio.  I correctly assumed that with a good forecast it might be available this day as this was not "in season" climate-wise.  That assumption turned out to be correct and I wanted to take advantage of it now.  Otherwise I would possibly be left with this course sitting away from any others I wanted to play and difficult to get to and on to play.

I arrived around 12:30 and by 1:00 was on the course with a young intern working at the club.  This is a very good Fazio course...although I think the "signature Hole", a 250 yard (from tips) downhill par 3 mostly over water to the green is a bit much.  It was in excellent condition and my round was quite strange...a very ugly 47 on the front (remember that was after shooting my age in the morning) followed by an even par 35 on the back..."A Tale of Two Cities" as they say.  

Around 4:15 I was back on the road heading to I-85 for a 145 mile 2:30 drive to the suburbs just north of Atlanta.  I actually had a good night's sleep...which was a good thing given what I did on Wednesday and given that Thursday would include 18 holes in the morning and then a long drive down to Port St. Lucie.

Back in October 2018 I read an article in Golf Digest about one of their Panelists (named Jimmie James) who played the complete Golf Digest USA Top 100 in 365 days.  I contacted a person I know at Digest and got Jimmie's contact info.  We had a few interesting conversations but never were able to find a time when both of us were not traveling someplace.  Cherokee Town & Country Club's North Course had hosted the 1999 US Women's Mid-Amateur and I knew Jimmie was a member and he immediately offered to host me and set something up.  Cherokee was founded in 1955 and by 1957 wad secured land and built an 18 hole course designed by David Gil and Willard Byrd.  A third nine was added in 1966, and a fourth nine designed by Joe Lee and William Byrd was completed in 1985.  An all new clubhouse was completed in 1994 and then in 1998/99 Tom Fazio totally rebuild the original 36 holes and designed two 18 hole tracks (North and South) on the same footprint (but all new routing etc.).

North is a big golf course (almost 7200 yards from the tips) that meanders across wonderful rolling terrain.  The greens here are very good and difficult to read (at least for me playing it for the first time).  My only criticism is that 3 of the par 3's are downhill and feel similar to one another.

After the torture of the prior day's itinerary I was fairly tired and had a poor 45 - 45 = 90.  Some day in a more relaxed frame of mind I would like to replay this one.  In any case, I piled into my chariot and headed south for another 570 miles (8:30) of driving and arrived at my hotel at 10:15pm.

Three years after its opening in 2019, Michael Jordan's Grove XXIII may have become the toughest ticket in Florida.  Note that I wrote "toughest ticket" which is different from "toughest course" or "best course".  I had not planned to try to get on XXIII but friend Richard L. (who is not a member) insisted that it was doable and wanted me to see and play it.  So at 10:00 the morning of Friday, February 17 I was trying to figure out how to get through the electronic gate at The Grove...and finally succeeded.  About 1.5 miles away was the clubhouse...a spectacular one story (plus basement/lower level) building.  After changing shoes, first stop was at the practice range...all reports I had heard to date was that the practice facility was without question the best anywhere.  

However, me thinks we should step back for a minute and think about the "importance" of practice facilities in evaluating a course/club.  First some history that is highly relevant.  Herb Wind told me some 40 years ago that courses built before 1920 rarely had quality practice ranges...simply because before Bobby Jones, golfers did not practice by "beating balls".  Hence, if an architect presented plans including a 5-15 acre space labeled "practice area", the club most likely would have x'd it out of the plans and might have fired the architect.  As a result, the number of highly rated World Top 100 courses with "poor or none" to"OK/adequate" practice facilities is daunting.  Think of the following incomplete list:

Cypress Point/Pebble Beach/Riviera/Brookline/Winged Foot/Quaker Ridge/NGLA/Chicago GC/Yale/Fishers Island/Old Town Club/Baltusrol/Somerset Hills

All of the above are "regulars" on World Top 100 lists...yet their practice facilities are at best adequate.  Alternatively, think of places like Kinloch (Richmond, VA), The Medalist (Hobe Sound, FL), Dallas National (TX), Whisper Rock (AZ), ...all renowned for their practice facilities but never reaching the upper tiers of Top 100 lists.  The above evidence seems to say that the way to recognition as a great club/course does not include the practice facility.

To be fair, in today's game, "beating balls" is far far more important than 100, 80, 60, 40 or 20 years ago...so who knows if this will change in the coming decades.

Back to Grove XXIII.  At the range you are supplied with the top tier balls from any brand you may favor (although I did not see any Top Flites 😄).  And if you want to work on your putting, they have a practice green for every highly used grass surface.  They have a "Masters" green with the surrounding drop offs mowed in only the "away" direction (to conform with Augusta's mowing practices for several weeks prior to the Masters), as well as a "US Open" green surrounded by thick, long rough.  And there are areas where one can hit from about any unusual stance imaginable.  Simply heaven for a premier player.

I had heard several people say they were disappointed in the golf course itself, saying it was very flat and not interesting.  After the first two holes I was beginning to wonder if they were right, but then I saw #3, an ingenious par 3, with a tee built on the right side of a canal that parallels that side of the property and a green on the left side of the canal.  From the tips the course stretches to over 7600 yards, but I played it from about 70% of that number and it was challenging and fun from those tees as well.  Architect Bobby Weed moved a fair amount of dirt in building the course so while it is still a very flat piece of land overall, it does not play flat...and the golf world has a good number of outstanding courses built on flat land...starting with a place known as The Old Course across the pond in St. Andrews, Scotland.  And Pete Dye spend a career building lots of superb tracks on flat land and flat swamps.  

In many ways, The Grove reminded me of The Old Course and Trinity Forest in Dallas, Texas (see Posts #96 and #151 respectively) in that the greens are wonderful, the angles are wide and varied, the course is loaded with risk/reward options, and the bunkering is outstanding.  There also are aspects of the course I might question, but I sense that Grove XXIII is a work in progress.  Something like 30 bunkers have been removed, moved, or added in its first three years and the "rough" areas between holes is still growing in with alternative plans being considered for how to "landscape" these parts of the property.  My honest sense is that this course will evolve over the next 3-5 years and there is nothing wrong with that.  Time will eventually tell how high it rises in the rankings.

By the way, I had a 44 - 42 = 86.  Grove XXIII has yet to be listed on a "Top" anything, as most Panelists are scrambling to secure access.  Might take quite a while for it to appear on a "Top" list but I sense Michael is not anxious in any shape, way, or form.

On my drive south I received a call from Judy Talbott, whose husband Pete was a very close friend until his passing almost exactly two years earlier.  Judy had met a policeman in Greenwich who was the ex son-in-law (this gets complicated) of a couple from Detroit...and the policeman's father-in-law (Phil Meek) was the brother of a women (Marilyn Meek Webster) I was engaged to back in late 1970 and early 1971.  Phil had worked at Ford but left Ford shortly before I started there in 1968.  I last saw Phil at Crystal Downs GC in northern Michigan back in 2010 (they are members there and Pat and I were guests of another member who is also friends with them).  Anyhow, it turned out that Phil and his wife Nancy spend 6+ months/year in Florida at Old Marsh Golf Club, so I called them and arranged to see them on the morning of Saturday 2/19.

Totally unrelated (told you this was complicated) back in September 2017 I was in Scotland and played Muirfield (Post #99).  On that day I was paired with a gentleman from São Paulo, Brazil, Mr. Jairo L.  Jairo and we have kept in touch over these past 4+ years.  A few weeks before this Florida trip I learned that he would be in the West Palm Beach area during March.  Jairo has been a member of Old Marsh for many years.  I had played Old Marsh in January 2015 (just before I started blogging).  It is a wonderful Pete Dye course built on land like the land Grove XXIII sits on...totally flat...but as I said earlier, Pete Dye was a genius at building something superb from seemingly nothing.  Jairo and I discussed having lunch or dinner together during my trip but then my schedule changed making the afternoon of Saturday 2/19 free and Jairo asked me to join him at Old Marsh for 18 holes.  

So this morning I drove to Phil and Nancy's home (which sits about 300 yards from the Old Marsh clubhouse) for two hours of catching up and telling old stories about common friends...and then went over to the clubhouse at noon for lunch and golf with Jairo.  The world of golf is so very small...and very very wonderfully special.

Old Marsh was much better than I remembered.  The angles and tricks Pete played are masterful, especially on hole #5...where he hides most of the green behind a high mound he constructed..and the right third of the green sits as a peninsula jutting into a large lake right of the green.  When the pin is right one must be stupid to fire at it even though it is almost winking at you.  I think the expression is "stupid is a stupid does" and that was me this day!  Anyhow had a 46 - 41 = 87.  Jairo and I talked extensively about a course owned by a close friend of his that I need to play to re-complete the World Top 100 Ever (all sources) list.  Its renovation is almost complete and hopefully I can go down and play it in the next 2 months.

Sunday 2/20 would be a busy day.  Pat was flying from NC to Fort Lauderdale where she was catching up with old friends during the day and checking into the hotel we were staying at in Ft. Lauderdale.  I was scheduled to play High Ridge Country Club (in Lantana, FL, just south of Palm Beach) in the afternoon, and then I would meet Pat at our hotel before dinner with her friends from Fort Lauderdale.  Considering all the balls in the air this day, things went very smoothly.  Played High Ridge with Richard L. as guests of Lloyd M., who had built a substantial veterinarian practice in this area before retiring a few years ago.  He is a very good player and now works part time as a caddy on the LPGA Tour and loving it.  We talked extensively about the quality of play on the LPGA Tour (very high) and how almost all very good young male golfers probably have more to learn from watching these women play than watching the guys on the PGA Tour.  High Ridge was included on GW's 2019 USA Top 200 Modern Courses at #108, hence my play here this day.  Frankly, not my style of course.  First and foremost, way overwatered...green green green everywhere.  Second, it is overtreed.  Third, the bunkering is unimaginative in both style and placement.  Otherwise I liked it!  Sorry folks and members, not my style of course.  But I played decently...40 - 41 = 81, and got back to our hotel in Fort Lauderdale with enough time for shower and change of clothes before a wonderful dinner.

Monday morning we teed off at Coral Ridge Country Club in Fort Lauderdale.  Coral Ridge was designed and owned by Robert Trent Jones, Sr. and later renovated by his younger son, Rees Jones in 2020.  Pat and I played with a long time member Mike C. who was familiar with much of the club's history.  Back in 1966 Coral Ridge was included in GD's 200 Toughest list but has not reappeared on a "Top" list since.  It retains some of RTJ Sr.'s trademark features...long runway tees, large sweeping bunkers and large greens.  Rees' renovation reshaped many of the fairways and one feature that he added that I liked a lot is that the portion of the fairways near fairway and greenside bunkers generally slope toward the bunkers (and the maintenance practices are proper leaving no "rough" or high grass to stop a ball from rolling into the bunker)...so any shot hit in the vicinity of these bunkers will most likely end up in the bunker.  This feature is highly prevalent at courses in Great Britain, Ireland, and Australia but not found enough here in the USA.  It makes the bunkers "feel" like vacuum cleaners!  I shot a 43 - 42 = 85.  At one point Julius Boros was a member here, and note the plaque below near the 16th green...where Boros passed away watching other members play the hole:

Tuesday 2/22 was a day off (I needed it...this age thing gets worse over time).  Pat showed me around Fort Lauderdale (where she grew up) and after lunch along the beach we headed to Palm Beach and our hotel (filled with Palm Beach caricatures driving around in Rolls Royce and Bentley convertibles in outrageous colors...referring to both the clothes and the cars).  Tuesday evening we went down to Boca to have dinner with old friends from my Citibank and Westchester County days...the Webers.  

Wednesday 2/23 Pat spent the day going to museums and shops in Palm Beach while I drove north to Hobe Sound to play Floridian National (commonly referred to by its original name...The Floridian).  The Floridian was the private club for Wayne Huizenga (Waste Management Corporation), his wife, and their friends until it was sold it to Houstonian billionaire Jim Crane in 2010.  The original design was by Gary Player but Crane brought in Tom Fazio to redo the tees, bunkering and greens (the routing was essentially untouched) and the club reopened for play in 2011.  The facility, practice area, clubhouse etc. are as good as I have seen anyplace without being "too far" over the top.  More on the course below.

Since 2016 the club has been included on Golf Week's Top 200 USA Modern Course lists.  I played with two brothers, Ryan and Luke R. from Buffalo.  Good players and good guys...game set up by my friend Richard L.  This would be an interesting round.

After a routine bogey on the par 4 first, I had three straight pars and then a 6 on the par 5 fifth.  The sixth is a short drivable par 4 (I am keeping the yardage from my tees a state secret) that was playing with the wind.  I hit a perfect drive that reached the green about pin high and about 12' right of the pin.  Got a great read my my caddie Zach (right edge) and poured it into the front door...eagle 2!!  Cannot recall last time I drove a par 4 or the date of my last eagle...but trust me the word recent would not apply.  For the front had a 2-over 37.  Birdied the par 3 12th from 3' to bring me even par for the back and then had a bad stretch...three straight 6's on one par 4 and two par 5's.  Then gave myself another of those "talks" like I gave my self after the triple bogey a week earlier at Athens CC and parred the tough par 3 16th and birdied the short par 4 17th (hitting 9 iron to about 15").  The 18th hole here has water all along the left side and I struck a perfect drive but pushed my 4 utility a little right.  Out of the rough from exactly 50 yards to a front pin I got too cute.  Ball landed just short and rolled back into a green side bunker.  Now I had a tough up and done for my 77 and was ready to kill someone (like moi).  Had another conversation with myself and hit a good explosion leaving me about 12' uphill for my 77...again poured it in the front and if you were within 200 miles you must have heard my "yelp".  Shot my age again...and for the first time playing with others and have an attested scorecard!!  Felt great...especially that last putt after almost blowing it on 18.

I liked the course...but it is not a great strategic design.  The hole settings are beautiful, but there is one way to play most holes and not a lot of risk/reward trade-offs that leave the golfer guessing which to choose.  That IMO is Tom Fazio and it is tough to argue with his level of success.

After quick drink, I drove south down to our hotel.  Pat had a very good day as well and we spend the evening with our "out-laws", Peter and Harriet Harris, who spend most of the winter here.  

Early on Thursday we checked out of our hotel and headed down to Boynton Beach to play a track I have wanted to play for quite a while...Country Club of Florida.  It opened in 1956 and was designed by Robert Bruce Harris and later renovated by Arthur Hills (1987) and Lester George (2006).  Its Director of Golf, Chris Kushner had been at CCNC prior to taking this job about 10-12 years ago.  We played with friends from Brookline who are members here, Rob and Sue B.  I enjoyed the course a lot...fun to play and certainly not flat...surprisingly hilly (land contains large dune...similar to Seminole's...that creates very good land movement.  Walked this 18 which was great.  Had a 41 - 39 = 80.  Back in 1963 CC of Florida hosted the 2nd US Senior Women's Amateur.  Course was in excellent condition.

After a wonderful lunch with Rob and Sue, we had to rush up to Vero Beach where we would spend the next two nights.  Dinner that night was with John R., who is a very close friend from Brookline, and his brother Jim at our favorite restaurant in the Vero area...Scampi.  For the last two years John and his wife Anne Belle has been in Florida year round and it was very special to be able to visit.

Friday 2/25 we were at the Arnold Palmer designed Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club visiting good friends from Pinehurst Gail & Sherri K.  Gail and Sherri spent most of their adult life in Minneapolis and I have taken two trips to MN and WI to play some of the great courses in both states with Gail (Posts #94 and #114).  They belong to both Orchid Island and Quail Valley in Vero Beach.  I had not played either and had heard Quail was the better of the two (Gail strongly agrees with that assessment) but I needed Orchid as it hosted the US Women's Senior Amateur in 2018.  We played with Paul N. who used to live at CCNC as well and is also from Minneapolis.  

I had heard several stories about Orchid Island being fairly punishing, and soon learned that these stories were highly inaccurate...as they understated the case.  Water coming into play on a mere 17 of 18 holes...and this is not water that is far off the fairway...we are talking water in front of and/or on the side of greens, right along side the fairway's edge, or crossing the fairway.  Plus these fairways are fairly narrow!  Early on I decided not to bother keeping score.  Penal is too weak a word for this place and the word "fun" must rarely be uttered here.  Glad I got it done...next time hope to see Quail Valley...and Gail and Sherri accepted a bid to sell their house at Orchid that day!

That evening we joined them for dinner at Orchid, which was very well done.  It is a wonderful club but the course is just brutal!

Saturday 2/26 would be our last full day in Florida.  In the morning we went over to The Windsor Club (sits along the Atlantic just north of Orchid Island) to join Malcolm and Dusty M., good friends from Brookline.  They had grandkids visiting but had carved out this afternoon for 9 holes of golf at Windsor.  The course opened in 1991 and was designed by R. T. Jones, Jr.  I loved the course...it is challenging but fun...there is water but the water only comes into play if you get aggressive with your game.  Played solidly and had a 40 for the back nine.  This was a fun, relaxing way to conclude the trip.

Finally, that evening we joined Frank and Pam E., also very good friends from Brookline at the apartment they are renting for two months at The Moorings in Vero.  After dinner it was back to our hotel.  The plan was to leave Vero around 8:15am and head to Orlando's main airport, and drop Pat off for her flight to Raleigh-Durham Airport in North Carolina, which was scheduled to depart around 11:00am.  She would then drive from RDU airport to our Pienhust home and get home around 2:30.  I would have all the luggage etc. and then drive from the Orlando airport to our Pinehurst home expecting to arrive around 6:30pm.

All went smoothly at the Orlando airport, and then I headed north.  About 20 minutes later, Pat called my cell phone to tell me I had left her at the wrong Orlando Airport and there was not enough time for me to get her to the correct airport for her flight.  Big trouble, and all my fault.  So I headed back to where I had left her and we drove to gather back to Pinehurst.  I had entered Orlando International Airport on my GPS and could not imagine that Orlando had two "International" airports.  At my fraternity's meetings while I was an undergraduate, we used to award a prize for the "schmuck of the month" (pardon the French).  Dropping Pat off at the wrong airport surely would have won me first place for February and perhaps the year...

All in all Florida #2 totaled 2620 miles!

We ended up arriving home around 9:30pm and the next morning I had a car service take me to the garage at RDU airport and then I drove Pat's car back to our house...and had a long long nap.

So at this point, I thought I had played 1420 courses and I thought the 18th hole at Orchid Island was my 25,000th golf hole.  But about a week later I was looking up something on my excel spreadsheet listing the courses I had played and found North Shore Golf Club, a course on Long Island, listed twice...in 1991 and 2020!  So I had to delete the 2020 entry and this meant that I had not yet hit 25,000 holes, but was at 24,991 after the nine holes at Windsor.

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You may recall from my last Post that my visit to Lubbock, TX to play Tom Doak's Rawls Course at Texas Tech had to be cancelled due to snow.  Last week I looked at the weather forecast for Lubbock for March 8 and 9, and it looked good, if a bit windy.  I needed Rawls to "re-complete" the USA Top 100 EVER (All Sources) and had 5 overseas courses to re-complete the Worldwide Top 100 EVER (All Sources).  Back in 2018 I stood with one foot at the summit of these both mountains...equivalent (at least in my mind) to simultaneously standing on Mt Everest and K-2.  Had to do this one course at a time a Rawls was as good a place to start as any.  

Looked at flights and American Airlines could get me to Lubbock late on 3/8 and I could fly Lubbock-->Dallas Ft Worth--> Raleigh Durham the evening of 3/9 and be home by about 2:00am on 3/10.  Then called Rawls and they said the 9th looked good.  Finally called an old friend from my days manufacturing mens' trousers...Matt M. of Lubbock, whom I had last seen after we had both played Cypress Point on the same day (but not with each other) about 30 years ago...and Matt said he would join me in Lubbock on the 9th.

Then about 10 days ago I realized I might be able to play Sedgefield in Greensboro, NC before my flight.  Contacted the pro there and that worked ...and the weather forecast was good.

Soo, on the morning of Tuesday 3/8, I headed up to Greensboro leaving home around 7:15am.  

Sedgefield was designed in 1926 by Donald Ross and restored by Kris Spence in 2008.  It is built on wonderfully moving land and there are only two contiguous parallel fairways (10 and 18).  The greens are among the best I have seen, filled with false fronts, relatively strong slopes in about every direction (L-->R, R-->L, Back-->Front, and Front-->Back).  The bunkering is excellent, as is the overall routing.  Frankly I do not understand why this club gets so little notice.  I played well after a double bogey on #1 and bogey on #2 and ended up with a 41 -  42 = 83.  This is a hidden gem worth playing...and I now understand why Webb Simpson plays so well here...he is semi-local and must have played here dozens of times and has great short game.

Sedgefield currently hosts the PGA Tour's Wyndham Championship (which was formerly known as the Greater Greensboro Open).  The GGO and Wyndham have been held in Greensboro, NC 82 times to date, 35 times at Sedgefield, 12 times at Starmount Forest CC, 31 times at Forest Oaks CC, and 4 times co-hosted by Sedgefield and Starmount Forest.  Sam Snead won the GGO 8 times including 4 at Sedgefield and once at a Sedgefield/Starmount co-hosted event.  Sedgefield has been included in GolfWeek's USA Top 200 Classic Courses since 2015.

After the round I drove to RDU and flew to Dallas Ft Worth and on to Lubbock.  On Wednesday morning I picked up Matt at the Lubbock airport and we went directly to the Rawls Course.  Tom Doak designed the course which opened in 2003.  The soil is mostly sand which is outstanding but the entire area is dead flat.  Doak claims they moved over one million cubic yards of dirt/sand to shape the course and I believe that and love the resulting design.  It has tons of width, few level lies, and local knowledge is simply essential.  One can be in the middle of a fairway and have no shot into a pin.  Plus the wind can blow like the dickens here...and it certainly did on March 9.  It blew 15-20mpg steady with gusts sometimes exceeding 30 mph.  The one negative here IMO is that the course is not well maintained.  It was hard for me to judge if that was because of the season/time of year or a substantive maintenance issue but the greens could use some TLC.  Even with the wind the place was great fun...but I was exhausted at the end of 18 even riding a cart...the wind here is simply relentless and wears you down.  Matt advised it is much more reasonable starting in mid April thru May, and again September and October...a "shoulder season" environment.

Two last points: (1) I thought the Rawls Course was named after Betsy Rawls, one of the founding members of the LPGA and one of the greatest women golfers ever.  Not true...named after an alumnus of Texas Tech University named Rawls; and (2) very special to be in the city that was the birthplace of the late, great Buddy Holly.

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So, through this round at Rawls I stood at 1421 courses and 25,027 different golf holes.  My 25,000th golf hole was #9 at Sedgefield, an uphill par 4 that turns right.  I "eaked" out a one putt bogey on it.

As noted above, I am back on top of K-2...having played every still existing USA Top 100 course EVER as published by some 7 different sources.  A total of 402 different courses have appeared on one or more of the 80 lists and I have played 400...the other two (High Pointe in MI and the original Sutton Bay in SD) no longer exist.  This is my second time on top of this summit and to my knowledge no one else ever accomplished this feat (but fact is...who knows?).

I have 34 courses to play to complete the "USA Top 200 course EVER as published by some 7 different sources" list which consists of 82 different lists and a total of 665 courses (of which 12 no longer exist).  I am missing 32 of the 248 courses that were on the Golf Digest 200 Toughest lists published in 1966 and 1967, plus two courses (Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe and Shady Canyon...both in CA) that Golf Digest has had on its #101-200 lists published since 2013.  I have played every course ever on Golf Week's USA Top 100 Modern and Top 100 Classic Courses since 1997.

Regarding the USGA Championship/Cups host venues, there have been 440 courses, of which 12 no longer exist and I have not played.  Of the "net" of 428, I have played all but 27.5 (have a back nine to play in Michigan).

Folks...I am getting "there".