Golf Digest...Another mistake

[Jordan Wall]

I always get Golf Digest to have sopmething to read (besides this obviously).  Yesterday I saw this new article and it got me thinking, what the heck??

It was of the new five star courses.

I was shocked to see some courses I have heard very lowly of, such as TPC of Myrtle Beach, and others I had never seen or heard of before.  Then I saw some ones I was more familiar with, like Pacific Dunes and Bandon Dunes, yet not Bandon Trails...?  The thing is, supossedly GD had these two courses at 4-1/2 stars for the last six years?

I have not played much quite yet, but I was shocked to find out Kapalua was not a 5 star (Plantation of course) but a 4-1/2 star and some other very mediocre, maybe OK courses around my area were also at 4-1/2 stars.  Supposedly there are only 500 public courses with a 4-1/2 star rating.  To me, Kapalua was like a 5 star course for me.

I know rankings on this site are not always looked very highly on, but is this big rankign a joke??  Yet another mistake??

What are people's personal list of 5-star public courses??  

[Dan_Callahan]

I think the star ratings are based on reader votes, not a ratings formula.

[Jordan Wall]

Dan,

They may be but is this another mistake??

I was shocked that yet again Kapalua was not 5 stars...

[Eric Franzen]

Maybe they didn't like "the standard of service at the facility" there...


Places to Play provides you with the most comprehensive information on public-access golf courses in North America. Our readers reviewed thousands of courses they played over the previous year and rated them using a five-point scale for five separate criteria: the overall golf experience, the value for the money, the standard of service at the facility, the overall conditioning of the course, and the normal pace of play for an 18-hole round of golf. In addition, readers were invited to write comments on their experiences at each of the courses they rated -- both the good and the bad.

[Glenn Spencer]

Jordan,

Don't quote me, but I think that there are a lot of variables in that particular list. ie. cost, whether you can walk or not, and whether it is friendly to women and all sorts of bs like that. I don't think that it is always a great barometer of how good the actual golf course is.

[Dan_Callahan]

Jordan,

I think it shows that the average golfer and reader of Golf Digest has an opinion of what constitutes a great course that is different from that shared by most posters on this site.

I find that the "official" rankings done by panelists at GolfWeek, Golf Digest, etc., are pretty good. I might disagree with where a course is put on the list, but have almost never played a ranked course that I thought was bad.

On the other hand, I have played many 3- and 4-star courses (as listed on golfdigest.com) that I would rather not play again. There are a lot of diffferent tastes out there, I guess.

[Tom Huckaby]

Jordan:

You do understand how those Places to Play ratings are compiled, right?

Via reader submissions.

So don't blame GD, blame the general public.  That's how those courses are perceived.  And also the criteria goes far beyond just the golf course... Amenities, price, all sorts of other real world things are to be considered.

I find Places to Play has a definite value, as a general barometer.  That is, a course that gets 4 stars or more is unlikely to be completely worthless.  But getting too far into the specifics is futile... and is really not the intent.

TH

ps - Dan/Eric- crossed in space - we're on the same page.

[Glenn Spencer]

Jordan/Eric,

I agree with Eric's statements wholeheartedly, except for one case. I went to Zanesville,Ohio to play a 5 star called Eaglesticks. very pretty and about 6200 yards on 100 acres. I was so pissed I couldn't see straight. It was awful, but most other times it has been useful.

[Tom Huckaby]

Jordan - re "mistakes" remember that "value for the money" is part of the equation.  Kapalua's prices are HUGE.  That alone might mark it down a half a star for a lot of people.

Again, taking these as a general barometer seems to work.  I don't doubt there are five star courses that some are going to hate - hell some people don't find Pebble Beach to be all that great.  So nothing's perfect.

So one really ought to just take these with an ocean of salt, not put any great weight on them....

TH

[cary lichtenstein]

Jordon:

Be happy that GD gives us information. It gives you a beginning from which to do your our research as to which courses to play.

The stars are inconsistent, but it gives you an opportunity to log onto their websites, read course reviews, use the search feature (when it works) on GCA, etc

[Mike Vegis @ Kiawah]

That's the challenge with the opinion of the general public.  Take, for example, the following from www.golfcourse.com.  Obviously, this person was looking for Augusta National, not The Ocean Course:

"If you like golf in a very "Natural" state then you will love it. All of the bunkers are played as waste area so they are not groomed and are packed down. The greens were still dormant (brown) and looked a little thin and grainey (Ive seen alot better). For the high price you pay to play it ($260 - $300), I think they could be a little nicer rather than make you feel like you should be thanking them and a cheap twenty-five cent complimentary bag tag is a little insulting. The best value is to play one of the other three courses in the morning (around $150 each)and play the Ocean Course at half price in the afternoon."

He gave us a 3 (out of a possible 5) rating.

Golf Digest "Best Places to Play" has been good to Kiawah this year, though:

The Ocean Course - 5 star
Turtle Point - 4 1/2 star
Osprey Point - 4 1/2 star
Cougar Point - 4 1/2 star
Oak Point - 4 1/2 star
 

[Glenn Spencer]

Mike,

Another commentary on the Ocean Course for you.

The Ocean Course rules and so did Tommy Cuthbert!!!

Glenn

[mikes1160]

Mike,

The Ocean Course is awesome. However, he may be spot-on about the bag tag  

[Mike Vegis @ Kiawah]

Mike,

The Ocean Course is awesome. However, he may be spot-on about the bag tag  

Spoken like a Notre Dame fan, darn it!!!  Don't make me pull out another can of Michigan State Spartan whup-ass like we did last year...  Anyway, they are really, really nice 25 cent bag tags.  (Not to mention that, unlike other top resorts, we don't charge a caddie fee on top of the caddie tip...  And, that we're currently building a $24 million clubhouse to make The Ocean Course experience even better for those who can't see the quality of a course that doesn't have wall-to-wall manicured ultra-green rye grass with azaleas and magnolias.)

[Jim Franklin]

As others have stated, "Places to Play" is a place to start and compiled by the readers. I remember playing my friend's course in Howie-in-the-hills FL and two people got hit in the head by wayward shots that day. The course was built in a relatively small area. When I got back home, "Places to Play" was in my mailbox and I looked up his course and one of the quotes was "where a helmet". I would say he was pretty accurate.

[Glenn Spencer]

IMO, if you are worried about the gift you receive, then I don't want to hear what you have to say about a golf course!!

[Jordan Wall]

Arcadia Bluffs also got a 5 star.

Does anyone have a list of all the five star courses??

[Eric Franzen]

(source: golfdigest.com)

Short article about this years five star courses:

http://www.golfdigest.com/courses/index.ssf?/courses/gd200605fivestarcourses.html

[John Kavanaugh]

Arcadia Bluffs also got a 5 star.

Does anyone have a list of all the five star courses??

Jordan,

Did you start this thread without reading the magazine....If you need a copy please post your address and I will send you mine.

[Jordan Wall]

John,

No I do have a copy.

Got it yesterday.

I just dont have a copy with me at the moment.  Its at my house.

Jordan

[John Kavanaugh]

Jordan,

Wasn't it great to see a Seattle Trail...what would you have included that was left out..

[Jordan Wall]

John,

I thought the Seattle trail was cool.  I also thought that the best Seattle public course was mssing.

Gold Mountain is my favorite by far, should be a 4-1/2 or 5-star, and it is only 50$ on weekends in summer.

Obviously GD missed it

[John Kavanaugh]

Jordan,

Don't you think 17 public 5 stars in this country is enough...Those are some pretty lofty courses on that list that really deserve to stand alone..

[Jordan Wall]

Well...

Maybe some courses belong in 5-stars...and some dont...Kapalua should be...

[Tom Huckaby]

Jordan:

Once again you keep blaming the selections on the magazine... it's the READERS who compile these.  GD doesn't miss or "get" anything here.  They simply compile the results of those readers willing to submit ratings.

Think Kapalua should be five stars?  Submit a rating and get your Dad and all your friends to do so as well - voila!  Next year it will be.