...I'd like to hear a nice, succint summary of what appeals to each of us in a golf course.
I keep thinking about the courses that I have enjoyed playing or even just visitng throughout the years and whether I even like a certain kind of architecture, or a certain architect in particular. What I find, for me, is that my like or dislike of courses stems from a combination of much more than just architecture, so I think "the whole ball of wax" deserves to be discussed.
So I'll start:
"NATURALNESS" - This is probably not even a word, and it is more a preference than an end-all for me, but particularly in just looking at pictures of a course, without ever setting foot on it, I am compulsively drawn by courses that tend to blend with their surroundings and lean toward a more "natural" look in maintenance. The number one biggest reason I love golf is because it's a great game that I can play while enjoying the beauty of nature and the outdoors. Playing on a site that seems artifically imposed on the land and surrounding area is much less appeasing to me than feeling like I'm slapping my ball around on a meandering walk through the woods/meadow.
RISK/REWARD: I love challanging myself. I honestly would prefer that every hole I play have some sort of risk and reward. I want to be able to stand on the tee and ask myself "Do ya feel lucky mister?....huh? Do ya?" and based on my feeling about my game that day (and luck too of course!) choose or choose not to take the more daring and rewarding route. I want to feel good about a well struck shot, and be at least moderately penalized for a bad one. And I want the same to happen for my playing partner, should we choose to be in a match.
UNPREDICTABILITY: I want a course where I can always find something new. I like bumps and rolls and....wow, I'm even going to say it...funky lies. I don't want to play a course where if I play the same shots on the same holes everytime I play, the ball does the same exact thing. That would be tremendously boring. I believe golf should be played against nature and the course, and I want the course to be a fierce competitor and always keep me on my toes.
EYE CANDY: Regardless of how well I'm playing, and even whether I like the design of the course, I love to be blown away on at least ONE hole by something worth stopping to look at. However, I would prefer it be a nature sight. A tee shot into a sunset/sunrise, a spectacular view, an elevated tee onto a pristinely maintained sweeping fairway, an approach shot to a wild and gnarly green, sighting wildlife, a unique cart ride (if there has to be one) through a beautiful wood, or over a creek between holes, etc etc. These kinds of experiences are really what make me remember a course afterwards, not how well I did or didn't play there or my best or worst hole.
PACE OF PLAY: I despise slow play. My playing partners and I have often times just picked up and slogged our way back in after only 14 holes just because we were tired of waiting. This is a HUGE problem in golf. So much so for me that I will actually frequent a course more, regardless of many of the points above, simply because it is less crowded or manages it's patrons better. I'd much rather play the game and enjoy the course than be FORCED to sit on every tee and try to enjoy it from there.
AFFORDABILITY: There are so many great, awesome, wonderful courses that I've heard so much about that I, like most, would LOVE to play. But I can't afford most of them. And the other half are private, where I stand a very slim chance, even though I work in the industry, of ever playing there. And to top it all off, I find that it takes more than one outing for me to truly even SEE the course, let alone soak it in, break it down, sit back, relax and appriciate it. As an example, I had the priviledge of playing Pebble Beach once already. But I was so nervous, excited and self-concious about keeping my cool around my playing partners that I barely remember the round. I have honestly gotten more out of that course by being a spectator at the AT&T than that one time I played it. I wish with all my heart that I may get to play it again, but odds are I very well might not, and thus might never get to really experience the true splendor of the course from a player's perspective. I play afforadable courses because I know I never catch it all on the first go-round, but I don't have to worry about not being able to return. As much as many of us would hate to admit it, I think affordability is the NUMBER ONE factor that drives the admiration of any golfer towards one particular course.
Though I have a list of some great courses I'd like to see in 2008, my mind gets drawn back to one course more than any other: one that I grew up playing, still has the option of all day unlimited play for $50, presents some fun and challanging holes, has a monster of a crazy par 5 600 yds downhill dog leg off the top of a small mountain with a view over the entire valley. And I don't even know the name of the designer.
