I've just returned from a two week trip to the Eastern Coast of the US, playing several fantastic golf courses. I thought I'd share a few highlights and thoughts on the courses I played.
Bethpage Black - Somewhat spoiled by the thunderstorm which struck around the turn, I thought this was a very tough course on a grand scale, but with little imagination around the greens and very few severely contoured greens. It's an absolute beast from the tips, but thinking back only a few holes will stick in the memory (4, 15, 17, 18). Some wonderful bunkering makes defining distances difficult.
NGLA - Probably my choice if I had to play a course day in, day out. It's very playable, even from the tips, I love the quirky greens and it seems to me the course that would be the most interesting to play on a regular basis and the one which rewards local knowledge the most. The 1st green was spectacular, our caddies informed us when seeing the pin position (back left) that a 5 would be a good score. It was! I look forward to watching the Walker Cup there in 2013.
Shinnecock - I saw similarities between this and Muirfield. Very tough, but fair. Absolutely spectacular to look at and play, with several challenging holes. The redan is wonderful and far more tilted than I had appreciated before. The rough was pretty high, but the greens weren't running as fast and true as I would have hoped. Just a wonderful, true test of golf and I hope the US Open returns there sometime soon. Probably the truest overall test of golf on any of the courses I played.
Pine Valley - Now this is a monster of a course from the tips! Some incredibly contoured greens, visually intimidating but actually more room to play than you think. Definitely a course you need to be driving it well on. I can't really think of a weak hole on the course, and the sense of isolation you feel on the course (and indeed off it when in the Dormy House) is spectacular. Favourite hole would probably be 7, the design of the green is so visually confusing as it appears from the lay up area that the green is wider than it is deep. If you don't hit a good drive it's a par 6 as you're not getting over Hell's Half Acre.
Merion - Certainly plays longer than the yardage! The greens were in great condition, and I think the course will be a superb host for the Walker Cup and the US Open. The rough was pretty benign and I can imagine how tough it will be with the rough up. There are a couple of great opportunities for the USGA to move tees up and create great risk / reward par 4s on 5 and 9. The finish of 16, 17 and 18 will challenge anyone. For day to day play this would be next after NGLA for me.
Kiawah Island Ocean Course - Another real toughie from the tips! Absolutely spectacular setting, and the Sanctuary Hotel is probably the best I've ever stayed in. I was fortunate enough to be pretty lucky throughout the trip with caddies and Scott here was superb, really enthusiastic and helped make the round even more enjoyable. The wind was pretty calm (about 15-20mph) but I don't want to think how hard it is with the wind up. It will be interesting to see what happens in the US PGA in 2012 as I think the scoring could be very high.
Pinehurst 2 - Although the North and South was about to start, I was surprised at the condition of the course. I understand it gets a lot of play but I was surprised at how short the rough was and the lack of real speed in the greens. I presume this is due to the US Amateur taking place shortly. Whilst not spectacular to look at, it's a course for precision and to test your chipping and putting and really tests your imagination the nearer you get to the greens.
Tobacco Road - I really enjoyed this. You have to trust the yardages and convince yourself that you're playing the right shot, but it's great fun golf, albeit the pace of play was pretty slow. Some fabulously contoured greens and definitely a course I think I could shoot a pretty good number on if I played there again. I'd like to see more imaginitive courses like this built in the future.
The whole trip was most enjoyable and I was fortunate enough to be able to play some wonderful courses. Each has many merits and it's really difficult to pick a favourite, so I'm not going to!