[Brian Cenci]

I live in East Lansing, MI and a friend and I are taking a golf trip (driving) out west for 16 days starting at the beginning of August.  As of now we have 16 different courses tenatively scheduled to play.  Only a few tee times have been booked (Bandon, of course, and all of the privates).  

I wanted to list where I am playing and hopefully a few of you have some suggestions or comments about the courses we want to play.  Maybe some aren't worth the money or are not as good as various rankings may suggest?  Maybe there are a few "hidden gems" that we are missing?  Maybe a few that we could play and haven't chosen to we really should?

The first thing we had to do was try to see which private courses would let us play (I am a national member at a semi-private club and my playing partner is a member at a private club as well, but we did everything on our own so not to put out our pros by having them call 30 different clubs to set up recipricals).  So we wrote over 100 letters and narrowed things down from there.  

We developed where to play based on the best public and private courses somewhat on the way to Bandon (according to rankings by Golfweek, Golf Digest and Golf Magazine), did a lot of research on-line looking at the courses, cost (nothing over $250) and we wanted to get a variety of course types to play.

So here is where we are thinking of playing and the timeline.  Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated.

Day 1 - Victoria National Golf Club (Indiana)
Day 2 - Olympia Fields (both North & South courses) (Illinois)
Day 3 - Harvester Golf Club (Iowa)
Day 4 - Wild Horse (Nebraska)
Day 5 - Prairie Dunes Country Club (Kansas)
Day 6 - Golf Club at Redlands Mesa (Colorado)
Day 7 - Sunriver Resort-Crosswater (Oregon)
Day 8 - Bandon Dunes (Oregon)
Day 9 - Bandon Trails (Oregon)
Day 10 - Pacific Dunes (Oregon)
Day 11 - Powder Horn Ranch & Golf Club (Wyoming)
Day 12 - Links of North Dakota (North Dakota)
Day 13 - Hawktree (North Dakota)
Day 14 - Quarry at Giants Ridge (Minnesota)
Day 15 - Hazeltine National Golf Club (Minnesota)
Day 16 - Marquette G.C. - Greywalls (Michigan)

We also have the opportunity to play Medinah No. 3, Flint Hills National and Sutton Bay (and possibly Sand Hills) but are choosing not to play any of these because of either cost or location relative to the overall trip plan.

[Tyler Kearns]

Brian,

It looks like you have a terrific trip planned. I'm not sure how often you'll be making it through the Dakotas, but I would suggest that Sutton Bay should not be passed up. Perhaps substitute Links of ND and Hawktree for Sutton Bay and Red Rock. Further, I have heard that Old Works in Anaconda, Montana is good. It is a Nicklaus design built at the abandoned Anaconda copper mine, featuring numerous relics of the old site, including coal slag bunkers (which are also features at Hawktree).

TK

[Bill_McBride]

Brian, you must have a C-130 on standby to get from Colorado to Bend Oregon overnight!  That's quite a trek.  Check your Mapquest.  Ditto Bandon to Wyoming overnight. Unless you guys are in your 20's and can do the 24-hr thing and still be able to swing!  Looks like a great trip.

[Brian Cenci]

Bill,
     Yea...I am 25 and my playing partner is 21.  We know that those two treks are going to nearly be overnighters.  We've done some pretty crazy one day trips where we leave at 5:00 in the morning and get back at midnight, where we play several courses in one day (far away that is).  We just got back from a trip in March where we were gone for 8 days and played 8 courses in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida, which the trip ended by driving striaght through from World Woods-Pine Barrons to East Lansing, Michigan.

[Bill_McBride]

Good luck and god speed, my son.  At 63 it would take my back a week to stop looking like a pretzel, and no way I'd be able to play!  I have a very hard time flying somewhere in the morning and playing in the afternoon.  Youth is far too precious to be wasted on the young!  

[Bill_McBride]

The other thing you might want to do is add a day and play Forrest Richardson's Hideout in Monticello, Utah.  It's on the way.

[Jim Thompson]

Brian,

If you and your partner can get up with the best of them, I'll throw in a 7:00am tee time on day 1 to get you off on the right step.

Let me know if you're interested.  Enjoy!

Cheers!

JT

[Joe Hancock]

Brain,

Only two suggestions from me:

1) Take up JT on his offer

2) Lawsonia (Green Lake, WI)

Joe

[Don_Mahaffey]

Brian,
I like Crosswater a lot. Pretty decent golf in a very nice setting, but...it's no Bandon.
That drive from Colorado to Bend is very long and I think you are really pushing it with your schedule. Bandon is golfing paradise, you might consider giving yourself a little break in getting there.

[William King]

I 2nd Joe's suggestion of Lawsonia, especially the Links course!

[Brian Cenci]

Thanks for some of the suggestions thus far.  And Jim, I'm going to talk to my partner but we may take you up on that offer.  Is there any on here that really aren't going to live up to the hype?

-Brian

[texsport]

I'd suggest getting your tee times reserved at public courses to be played on weekends.

[peter_p]

Brian,
Crosswater to Bandon is 250 miles, under 5 hours. Both could be played in one day, dawn to dusk. Might save you on the drive from Colorado. If you shower and change at the clubs you can save $ on fewer motels.

[Mike Erdmann]

More power to you if you can pull it off, but the drive from Bandon to Sheridan, WY is 20 hours!

[Michael Dugger]

WOW!

QUITE THE TRIP

Ever think about Rawlins golf club in Rawlins Wyoming.  It's right off the freeway, Tommy, I think, posted some neat pictures of it a while back.

I fully concur with the Anaconda thing, Old Works.  That would be nice too.

[Brian Cenci]

Peter,
     I'd do the Crosswater to Bandon in one day but we are planning to play 36 each day at Bandon.  I like the look of that Old Works course.  Actually very similar to the Powder Horn course and I think it is closer to Bandon.  Good suggestion!

-Brian

[Brian Cenci]

Michael,
     What Rawlins course?  I can't find any info. on it.  Is it under a different name?

-Brian

[Craig Van Egmond]

Brian,

   Maybe Micheal is referring to Rochlle Ranch, a new Ken Kavanaugh course in Rawlins, that was talked about on GCA a while back. There was a thread with some pics that looked pretty cool.

Here is a quote about the course:

"the course measures 7,925 yards from the championship tees and 5,763 yards from the front markers. To accommodate a variety of players on a site that often features strong prairie breezes, Kavanaugh designed extra-wide, strategically bunkered fairways. The layout sports a rugged, rough-hewn look, with weathered, wind-blown bunkers and expansive sand dunes."

http://www.rochelleranch.com/

[Doug Wright]

Brian,

Pretty aggressive itinerary, even for 20-somethings...  
Prairie Dunes to Grand Junction (Redlands Mesa) is a Looooong drive, as are the Colo-Oregon and Bandon-Wyoming segments. A couple of thoughts from my Colorado vantagepoint:

I've heard that Engh's new Lakota Canyon (just off I-70 west of Glenwood Springs, CO) is better than his highly regarded Redlands Mesa. If you are going to play Redlands Mesa, you should try to go the short distance up Highway 50 to Delta to play Rick Phelps' Devils Thumb.

I'm sure Matt Ward will weigh in on your schedule when he returns to a computer. He played Rochelle Ranch in Rawlins this past week and liked it a lot. However, if I were you, I'd play Old Works as mentioned in lieu of Powder Horn in Sheridan, Wyo or Rochelle Ranch. Old Works is near I-90 in Butte; Rochelle Ranch (I-80) and Powder Horn are well off the path you're planning. You're doing enough driving...

[cary lichtenstein]

In Colorado, the 2 courses you want to play are:

Sanctuary and Lakota Canyon, both by Jim Engh.

[Brian Cenci]

I tried to play The Santcuary, but there guest policy is apparently outing only, or by invite to the course.

[Brian Cenci]

Guys thanks for the suggestions.  We made the following adjustments to the trip.  We are substituting Old Works in Montana for Powder Horn in Wyoming, more because it is less of a drive from Bandon to N.D.

We are also going to playing Lakota Canyon Ranch in Colorado rather than the Golf Club at Redlands Mesa.  It looks like a nicer course and more naturalistic routing of the holes.  I was curious as to why it is not ranked in any publications as compared to G.C. at Redlands Mesa though.

I really wanted to try and play Rouchelle Ranch and we may be working on that further since it is 4 hours north of Lakota Canyon, but we are pushing our schedule as it is and my playing partner is getting worried.  That course looks pretty rugged and long and I would love to play it.  Curious as to why it is so cheap?

I was awaiting to see if Matt Ward had any comments on this area since I know he is on a golfing adventure there now.

Anyways, thanks for all the suggestions and help.

-Brian

[Matt_Ward]

Brian:

Power Horn is a fine layout -- ditto Links of ND (which I believe is vastly overrated) but you should connect with I-80 and head thru Salt Lake City and play Thanksgiving Point in Lehi and then head further east on I-80 and play the new Rochelle Ranch in Rawlins, WY.

Both of these courses have reasonable fees -- especially Rochelle Ranch -- $20 golf on weekdays plus just $5 more for a second 18.

One other note -- heading through Reno -- also via I-80 is also a good golf option.

[cary lichtenstein]

Lakota is not ranked because it is brand new and had a soft opening last year. It should win best new public course this year and rank high in Golfweek and Golf Digest when enuf raters get out to play it.

Simply amazing.

By the way, Redlands Mesa is also excellent, as is Black Rock in Idaho

[John_Conley]

I think you are nuts to try to get to the Quarry.  Not from a golf standpoint, all accounts are that it is excellent.  But it is so far out of the way from a Michigan to Oregon run!  Unless you are in the U.P.

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