I have in mind Bob H's statement that he is looking for a top 10 that "stirred the soul", not the best courses. My experiences have primarily been on the west coast and Scotland and am sure that if I had been to the great East Coast courses, Ireland and Australia, this list may look much different. This will involve some description of how the soul had been stirred so here goes, in no particlar order:
1) In 1985 I played Pebble for the first time. I will never forget the walk up from the 8th tee onto the fairway and what was laid out in front of me and to the right. I do not believe any location can compare.
2) On my first trip to St Andrews, hearing the starter at the Old Course on the loudspeaker, coming out with "Play away, please" in a high-pitched yet comforting voice. I was shaking.
3) Teeing off from the original first tee at Banff, which was over the pro shop and part of the Banff Spring Hotel, which in itself is a wonder. The tee has been moved and that hole is now much, much later in the round.
4) Ballyneal - The experience was so special. Played there a year ago and the head pro, Matt, and I were the only people on the course. Wind was blowing freely. Out in the middle of America with not a sole or a house in site. Playing a wonderful and unique course. I felt totally relaxed.
5) Pasatiempo - It feels like home. First played there in 1984 or 1985 and did not want to leave. Returned there this year on two occasions and it was even better, with the restoration of the bunkers by Tom D. and Jim Urbina. Very unpretentious place. Just good and unique golf with the MacKenzie mystique.
6) Cypress Point - Returned there this year, about 22 years after my first visit. It was even better than I had recalled. There is something mystical about the bunkers around and behind the 13th green. Having my best round of the year did not hurt. The place is so spectacular but so unassuming. Just pure golf, no yardage markers, easy walking, beautiful and strategic.
7) Capilano - Probably the best routing I have ever seen. Played it this year for the first time in 5 or 6 years with John Mayhugh and Sean Leary from this group. After hanging around this web site for a few years, I am so much more aware of shot options, the alternatives of a bump and run into the green, all of which is the antithesis of target golf. I wonder if Thompson and MacKenzie ever heard of the term, "target golf". Finally, having a drink with friends in the men's locker room at Capilano. Unbelievable place with a view to the mountains, the 16th and 17th below, etc.
Turnberry Ailsa - Like most of us in North America, before crossing the Atlantic, we had only seen the great old courses on TV and of course, there was no depth perception or relief. It looked so damn flat and boring, no trees, what the hell was so great? The evening we arrived in Scotland in 1991 we walked out to the Ailsa course, past where Jack hit his approach on 18 in the 1976 Open, and then beyond. I soon reached No 5, nestled down in the dunes. It was then I began to understand links golf. Trees are not needed. The wind was so much more of a factor than on North American courses. Over the next few weeks of that year, I became a convert to links golf, fast and firm, etc.
9) Chambers Bay - Park your car, walk over to the edge. Man! It blows you away! I swear that if NBC is still covering the US Open in 2015, there are spots out there where you can see every hole on the course and they can probably save on cameras as a result. No. 10 is a hole you will never forget. Reminds me of Bandon Dunes No. 5, as it squeezes up into the dunes. Bandon Dunes No. 5 is one of my favourite holes anywhere.
10) Pacific Dunes - Having been to Scotland, standing on the first tee, looking out at the ridges and mounds and bunkers just takes you back to the old courses. It is so much FUN! No concerns about a 36-36=72 par course, which it is not, looking at the turkey vultures glide along the cliffs of No. 4, the outside urinals at the restrooms near 4 and 13, bumps and hollows on many holes, especially 16 and my favourite hole at Bandon, Pacific No. 13.
Okay, I missed a few. Looking at the cairn on No. 1 at Cherry Hills in Colorado. The "wall" on No. 13 at North Berwick West, lunch wearing jacket and tie at Muirfield, my times at Predator Ridge, two wonderful rounds this past year at Monterey Peninsula on the Dunes and Shore courses (which will be remembered as much for the company) and the many days at my home course, old Point Grey in Vancouver.
Sorry for the babble. Could not help it.
Bob Jenkins.