Mike, c'mon, man, stick your neck out a little...I stuck mine out...
What do you think this group overrates and underrates, given its predispositions (assuming it has any)?
Shivas,
You make me laugh, man. That's a good thing.
C'mon...QR is sort of a sacred cow that always gets the proverbial "better than WF" comparison. But, you know I'll give my frank impressions, so perhaps this is a good time to do it.
Generally, I think this group is too impressed by "the look", especially of bunkering, and I'm possibly one of the prime offenders.
I also clearly get and understand your point about "shot values", however they're defined. I think we too often think that any shot should yield a playable result and although Doc Mackenzie was an idealist, it's a world that deals in reality.
That being said, let me give you some specifics that might rankle a few feathers on this board, and I'll throw some comparisons of courses that generally get mixed together into the discussion.
In my world, I'd take;
Blackwolf Run River over Whistling Straits 3 of every 4 times.
Riviera over LACC North 4 of 5 times. The latter is a George Thomas course that gets a pass, even though most of the great holes Thomas created no longer exist in recognizable form.
Merion over Pine Valley, even with the changes I've bemoaned with the bunkering. The latter is getting dated, and without a complete restoration plan that takes out about 1000 trees and restores the sandy areas to something looking remotely natural it's losing its lustre.
NGLA over Shinny, even though the latter is a perfect course that it's tough to find fault with. The former has more character, variety, and interest than Shinny ever had.
Pacific Dunes over Cypress Point, even with the Ocean holes that garner so much photo-op time. PD will outlive all of us while CP actually has some holes that fail to inspire despite the incredible site.
Sand Hills over anything else I've yet seen because it's pretty close to heaven. It's surprising to me that Wild Horse is even mentioned in the same breath, but the unvarnished fact that it is means to me that WH is the best public course in the country.
Trump National in NJ over Hidden Creek. The former shows what Fazio is capable of, while the latter, despite some superb holes, ultimately shows that minimalism works best on interesting land.
Kingsley Club over Friars Head. The former reaches levels of interest, discovery, and intrigue that constantly surprise and excite, while the latter just seemed to me to be too perfectly planned by half.
Kiawah Ocean over Yeamans Hall by an 8 to 2 factor. And Yale makes YH look like a.....well, you know.
Boston Golf Club over Bandon Dunes, Whistling Straits, and most of the modern Top 25.
Did I get your attention yet?
