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cary lichtenstein

  • Karma: +0/-0
Best Courses I Played This Year First Time
« on: November 22, 2006, 05:56:18 PM »
I thought I'd share with the Treehouse the best courses I played this year for the first time. I recommend all to play these courses. In no particular order except West Coast to East Coast:

The Plantation In Maui: Excellent Coore and Crenshaw, great topography and a tour stop you can watch on TV

Oak Quarry in Southern California: An unexpected treat

Pacific Dunes: After all the hype, this Tom Doak course did not dissappoint

Ballyneal: amazing

Highland Links in Cape Breton Nova Scotia: An absolute spectular treat

Royal Montreal Blue: Montreal's best renovated by Rees for next years President's Cup

Myopia Hunt: An unexpected low profile course that I loved

Charles River: A Donald Ross course that flies way too far under the radar.

Eastward Ho: Whoa...a beaut, marvelous topography

Yale: Even better than the pictures and Ran's write up if that is possible

Bayonne: Incredible creative earth moving project, hats off to Eric B

Homestead: Excellent resort, dining and course, a bit bugy

Greenbriar Old White: Wonderful restored McDonald/Raynor

Royal New Kent: Just great Mike Strantz course

« Last Edit: November 23, 2006, 05:49:05 PM by cary lichtenstein »
Live Jupiter, Fl, was  4 handicap, played top 100 US, top 75 World. Great memories, no longer play, 4 back surgeries. I don't miss a lot of things about golf, life is simpler with out it. I miss my 60 degree wedge shots, don't miss nasty weather, icing, back spasms. Last course I played was Augusta

Dave_Miller

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Best Courses I Played This Year First Time
« Reply #1 on: November 22, 2006, 06:02:22 PM »
I thought I'd share with the Treehouse the best courses I played this year for the first time. I recommend all to play these courses. In no particular order except West Coast to East Coast:

The Plantation In Maui: Excellent Coore and Crenshaw, great topography and a tour stop you can watch on TV

Oak Quarry in Southern California: An unexpected treat

Pacific Dunes: After all the hype, this Tom Doak course did not dissappoint

Ballyneal: amazing

Highland Links in Cape Breton Nova Scotia: An absolute treat

Myopia Hunt: An unexpected low profile course that I loved

Charles River: A Donald Ross course that flies way too far under the radar.

Eastward Ho: Whoa...a beaut, marvelous topography

Yale: Even better than the pictures and Ran's write up if that is possible

Bayonne: Incredible creative earth moving project, hats off to Eric B

Homestead: Excellent resort, dining and course, a bit bugy

Greenbriar Old White: Wonderful restored McDonald/Raynor

Royal New Kent: Just great Mike Strantz course



Quassi:
You do get around.  Glad you enjoyed the River.
Happy Thanksgiving
Dave

ward peyronnin

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Best Courses I Played This Year First Time
« Reply #2 on: November 22, 2006, 06:37:14 PM »
Cary

You must have big boobs and a tight little tush or have kissed the blarney stone. What a lineup

"Golf is happiness. It's intoxication w/o the hangover; stimulation w/o the pills. It's price is high yet its rewards are richer. Some say its a boys pastime but it builds men. It cleanses the mind/rejuvenates the body. It is these things and many more for those of us who truly love it." M.Norman

Tiger_Bernhardt

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Best Courses I Played This Year First Time
« Reply #3 on: November 22, 2006, 07:20:20 PM »
Mountain Lake, Bandon Trails, Ganton, Woodhall Spa, Shinnyand  NGLA in the elite class of cannot wait to go back and will if invited with no notice.
Athens CC, Stone Canyon, Gallery South, Stone Eagle, Mayacama, Astoria GC, Sharks Tooth and ANGC look alike in SC across the river(having one of those moments) in the really hope I pass that way again club.

Tim Pitner

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Best Courses I Played This Year First Time
« Reply #4 on: November 22, 2006, 07:23:45 PM »
Bandon Trails, Ballyneal, Denver Country Club.  Short, but sweet.  

Geoffrey Childs

Re:Best Courses I Played This Year First Time
« Reply #5 on: November 22, 2006, 07:40:38 PM »
Five courses stand out for me as first time plays.

Eastward Ho must be mentioned first as it was the course that most exceeded my expectations. How this amazing gem remains hidden is probably a testament to its members who probably would like to keep it that way.

Merion East- I was lucky enough to see it on two separate occasions and my lofty expectations were still exceeded. It just might be the single greatest parkland golf course I've ever played.

Engineers CC Thanks Jason!  This place is just great and probably going to get better in the coming years.  It is both challenging, difficult and great fun.  Who can beat that!

Boston Golf Club is a modern gem and one hell of a golf course.  It's tough and at the same time full of golf shots you want to play again and again. See and experience it if you can.

Lawsonia Links - What else to say but WOW!  This place is what public golf or any golf should be.  It reminded me of home at Yale.  Travel however far you need to see this absolutely thrilling and heart pounding golf course.
« Last Edit: November 22, 2006, 07:43:29 PM by Geoffrey Childs »

Bill_McBride

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Best Courses I Played This Year First Time
« Reply #6 on: November 22, 2006, 07:41:34 PM »
Cary, did you forget Bandon Trails on purpose?

Nick Church

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Best Courses I Played This Year First Time
« Reply #7 on: November 22, 2006, 07:50:35 PM »
Pebble Beach lived up to any & all hype for me.

Noel Freeman

Re:Best Courses I Played This Year First Time
« Reply #8 on: November 22, 2006, 08:04:14 PM »
Hirono Golf Club, Hyogo Prefecture.. Japan..

C.H. Alison
 
Eastward Ho! Transcendent golf.  Once you go there, there is no turning back on what golf can be at the spiritual level.. Inspired, the Ho! left me tongue tied and twisted.. I literally was flying.
« Last Edit: November 22, 2006, 08:07:39 PM by Noel Freeman »

Jerry Kluger

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Best Courses I Played This Year First Time
« Reply #9 on: November 22, 2006, 08:27:44 PM »
My wife said : "You're going to Nebraska to play golf - what did they carve them out of cornfields - you're out of your mind."  Wild Horse, Sand Hills, Dismal River and Ballyneal - I just can't imagine anything better - came back home with a stupid grin on my face. Funny thing is how many good golfers who are members of well respected clubs have never heard of these courses.  Next stop, Bandon.

Dean Paolucci

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Best Courses I Played This Year First Time
« Reply #10 on: November 22, 2006, 08:28:46 PM »
First timers for me in calendar order:

The National - 'nough said!
Trump Bedminster - Interesting.
Liberty National - Brilliant all around.
Old Memorial - Tops for new GCA by Smyers.
Nassau CC - Very cool with 14 4's and 1 par 5.
"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."  --  Mark Twain

Yannick Pilon

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Best Courses I Played This Year First Time
« Reply #11 on: November 22, 2006, 08:44:06 PM »
Cary,

Great line-up!  What about your stop in Montreal?  We never got any comments on your round at Royal Montreal... :-X

I had a great year too, and I plan to continue this trend by visiting a few more places next year....

So far this year, I have played:

Riviera.  I feel unlucky I have not seen this place before the tweaks it recently got.  But I was not dissapointed anyway...

Rustic Canyon.  Fabulous course.  Best bang for your buck you can ever get!

Talking Stick.  The first glimpse I got of the greatness of the Coore & Crenshaw duo.

Bethpage Black.  Tough but fabulous!  Kick ass job by Rees Jones....  Oh oh!  Am I going to be trashed for saying this? ;D

Garden City.  I wish there were more courses like this one.  So simple, yet so classy!

I was also very fortunate to walk theses three fantastic layouts:

Friars Head.  Possibly the best and most spectacular course I have, personnaly, ever seen. Wicked greens!

Sebonack.  Close second to Friars Head.  People will talk about this course for a long time....  (Thanks for the tour, Mike!)

Shinnecock. Do I need to add anything? ;)

Its been a good year....

YP
www.yannickpilongolf.com - Golf Course Architecture, Quebec, Canada

Steve_ Shaffer

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Best Courses I Played This Year First Time
« Reply #12 on: November 22, 2006, 09:02:13 PM »
My line up of first timers is comparatively sparse. Here goes:

1. Bethpage Black. Maybe next time from the red tees. ;D

2. Papago in Phoenix. First time in a very long time so I'll include it. A good walk in the park and a welcome change from higher priced big names in prime season.

3. Wigwam Gold. An excellent restoration of an RTJ classic by Forrest Richardson.

4. Blackstone. The first Engh course in AZ didn't disappoint.

5. Lederach. The new Kelly Blake Moran public course nearby that was  described by Mike Cirba as "the antithesis of modern golf."

6. Victoria Hills near Orlando. This Ron Garl course on atypical FL terrain was a pleasant surprise.



"Some of us worship in churches, some in synagogues, some on golf courses ... "  Adlai Stevenson
Hyman Roth to Michael Corleone: "We're bigger than US Steel."
Ben Hogan “The most important shot in golf is the next one”

Tommy Williamsen

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Best Courses I Played This Year First Time
« Reply #13 on: November 22, 2006, 09:08:12 PM »
Most of my best first time courses were in England.
St. Enodoc
St George's Hill
Swinley Forest
Prestbury
Beau Desert
USA
White Bear Lake Yacht and Golf Club
Trump National (Bedminster)
Jeff Brauer, I loved the Quarry
Where there is no love, put love; there you will find love.
St. John of the Cross

"Deep within your soul-space is a magnificent cathedral where you are sweet beyond telling." Rumi

Walt_Cutshall

Re:Best Courses I Played This Year First Time
« Reply #14 on: November 22, 2006, 09:15:37 PM »
Bandon Dunes: just a delight to play

Pacific Dunes: a thinking man's course, and beautiful to boot

Long Cove: wow what a fantastic course, requires every shot you've got

Kittansett: an unassuming course that lulls you to sleep, then eats your lunch

That's about it for outstanding new (to me) courses this year--too many injuries, too little golf.

mike_beene

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Best Courses I Played This Year First Time
« Reply #15 on: November 22, 2006, 09:34:29 PM »
Forest Creek south was a pleasant surprise.Samoset in Maine was ok but the views and enjoyment were great.

Daryl David

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Best Courses I Played This Year First Time
« Reply #16 on: November 22, 2006, 10:40:33 PM »
No particular order, but lots of fun in 2006!

Castle Pines (course fun, milkshakes overrated)
The Quarry in La Quinta (very good Fazio)
Stone Eagle (amazing)
Tumble Creek (much under appreciated, very good)
Sand Hills (Wow, dream fufilled)
Ballyneal (words can't describe)
Isleworth (love the clubhouse, the course.....)
Circling Raven (pretty good alternative to CDA resort)
Boat of Garten (Fastest and most firm I have ever played)
Brora (truly a gem)
Royal Dornoch (spiritural experience, equal to RCD or Muirfield)

Its been a damn good year.

Bill_McBride

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Best Courses I Played This Year First Time
« Reply #17 on: November 22, 2006, 10:51:35 PM »
Isleworth (love the clubhouse, the course.....)

Daryl, did you play Isleworth before the major redo?

I did and frankly wasn't overly impressed.  If you played both before and after, please fill me in on the changes.

I thought there were too many holes just like the one before, and the bunkering scheme was repetitive.  Look forward to hearing what's new.

Bill_McBride

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Best Courses I Played This Year First Time
« Reply #18 on: November 22, 2006, 10:55:54 PM »
First time for me in 2006:

Hoylake  8) 8)
Wallasey  8)
Delamere Forest  ;D
Beau Desert   8) ;D
Bandon Trails  8)
Eugene Country Club  ;D
Eastmoreland  ;D ;)
Caledonia  ;D
True Blue  ;D++
We-ka-po  ;D
Talking Stick South  :D
Oh yeah, NGLA  8) 8) 8)

And sorry I missed Bulls Bay!
« Last Edit: November 23, 2006, 09:27:24 AM by Bill_McBride »

Tim Gavrich

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Best Courses I Played This Year First Time
« Reply #19 on: November 22, 2006, 11:04:41 PM »
5. Athens CC--Contains all the right elements in a great DR gem.  Wonderful set of green complexes.  Many thanks to Mr. Mike Young for setting my father and me up for a lovely round there!
4. Taconic GC--If the fates hold it for me, I will spend the next four years of my golfing (and learning) life around this splendid old classic.  Once again, the greatness is in the greens, which, along with the rest of the golf course, will be touched up over the next couple years thanks to Gil Hanse.
3. Cuscowilla--My first taste of the great Coore & Crenshaw.  Two of the best short par fours with which I am familiar.  Perfect blend of fast greens with intriguing green contours
2. Pinehurst No.2--Really doesn't need much of an introduction.  I've never been humiliated more profoundly by a golf course.  Of course, I can't wait to have another shot at it.
1. Newport CC--Played it in some of the worst golf weather I can remember, but still loved it.  Its setting is utterly magical; all the old, grand mansions all around the golf course (the clubhouse itself as well), not to mention the ruggedness of the place.  It was a blast in the rain (but for the misery of the cold and wet), and I can only imagine how much fun it can be in the dry season.
Senior Writer, GolfPass

Mike_Cirba

Re:Best Courses I Played This Year First Time
« Reply #20 on: November 22, 2006, 11:06:45 PM »
In no particular order;

Lederach - There's always something invigorating about seeing work by an architect who pushes the envelope while staying somehow classically oriented without becoming completely unhinged.   Probably 20% will hate it and another 60% won't understand it, but anyone who views golf as a unconventional adventure will relish it.

Engineers - A set of greens among the five most undulating I've ever seen or played, on land that stirs the senses and taxes the game.   Recent renovations have made it slightly more fair, but it's a long, long way from anything close to vanilla.   Exhilerating.

Tallgrass - How many great short par fours can you squeeze into one property?   Enough to have Tallgrass among the creme de la creme of northeast public courses, even if it's virtually invisible in the bastion of great golf that is the Hamptons.

Gallery North - A strategic smorgasborg in the foothills above Tucson, there is enough variety and interest here to keep a smile on your face all day long.   I kept waiting for a letdown, which never happened.

Merion East - A sign of a masterpiece is that it gets better with each play.   A multi-layered orchestra in three parts, with a crescendo that resounds long after the last notes have been played.  (EDIT - OOPS - just realized it said "played for the first time this year".   Well, I'll just excuse myself by saying that playing it each time is like a new experience ;))

Merion West - An amazing routing that includes numerous holes that would never be built today.   More's the pity.  Easily the longest 5900 yards in golf.

Jeffersonville - I'm not sure that Donald Ross knew how good this course was, but there isn't a single shot out there that isn't fun and interesting.  (DOUBLE OOPS - Does it count if I say that I played it for the first time with Kyle Harris and Doug Braunsdorf this year?)  

« Last Edit: November 23, 2006, 08:54:45 AM by Mike Cirba »

Wayne Freeman

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Best Courses I Played This Year First Time
« Reply #21 on: November 22, 2006, 11:16:29 PM »
  Courses I absolutely loved this year:
              Chicago Golf
              Somerset Hills
              Monterey Peninsula Shore
              Royal County Down

  Other notables:
              Bandon Trails
              Buffalo CC
              Oak Hill
              Forest Highlands
              Royal Portrush

   Most fun I had:       Pacific Grove      

Jeff_Mingay

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Best Courses I Played This Year First Time
« Reply #22 on: November 22, 2006, 11:36:01 PM »
Considering I've been sitting in bulldozers, excavators, and airplanes all summer, with not a club in my hand since the end of July, I have to say the best course I've played for the first time this year is the Quilchena Hotel course at the Quilchena Ranch, British Columbia.

The Quilchena Ranch course is adjacent to Sagebrush, where we're currently under construction. The course features nine holes built by locals with limited golf knowledge, two flagsticks per green (equals 18 holes for the course), and a pseudo-Alps hole! You also play almost completely blind over some trees at a short par-3, and there are some powerlines in the way at a few holes... nonetheless, the Quilchena Ranch course is a blast!
jeffmingay.com

Bob Jenkins

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Best Courses I Played This Year First Time
« Reply #23 on: November 22, 2006, 11:41:32 PM »

1) Thanks to Sean Leary, Aldarra Golf Club east of Seattle.

2) Fox Harb'r in Wallace Nova Scotia. Unbelievable resort with a great course by Graham Cooke.

3) The Bear Course (Nicklaus) at the Okanagan Club in Kelowna BC. Disappointment. I suspect the Bear spent very little time designing this course. Not good condition and does very little imagination.

4) Bandon Trails - I had played the other two before and Trails for the first time this year. Somehow I think of Bandon as being in the dunes and only part of "Trails" ie, the opening and closing two holes are in the dunes. But it is still worth the visit. Need to play it a few more times. The opening and closing holes are among the best anywhere.

Finally, playing with my 12 year old, whereever it was.

Bob Jenkins

Sean Leary

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Best Courses I Played This Year First Time
« Reply #24 on: November 22, 2006, 11:42:41 PM »
In no order..

Bandon Trails- 3rd course is a charm

Ballyneal-John K- its way better than "solid" my friend

Astoria- Good course, great people I played with
(thanks Peter, John, and Tiger)

Prairie Dunes- so good I joined

Stone Eagle- Engineering marvel

Palms- Players club

Plantation- Gentlemans club

Eastward Ho- poster child for GCA.com. Absolute must see    for everyone on here.

Merion (East)- if there was only one I could play, no question  its Merion.

Querencia- desert oasis

Stock Farm-glorious experience

Pumpkin Ridge (witch hollow)- underrated gem