Around about 1974, I decided that, if I could only play one course for the rest of my life, it would be Maidstone. While it's not the very finest golf course I've ever played, it's still my favorite. Since then (34 years ago) I've had the good fortune to play a few others that we've all discussed on GCA, and I've only replaced Maidstone with Cypress Point because CPC is a 12 month/year opportunity and Maidstone is, at best, 6 months. Were it not for having to take Nov-April off, Maidstone would still be my choice for "if I could only play one....." - despite the acknowledged "greatness" of others. National would seem to be a more logical choice for me but, objectively, I'm not such a great putter and Maidstone's greens are far less demanding - especially now that all the Golden Era greens are maintained at faster speeds than that for which they were designed.
I see Matt's point and I've always thought that Maidstone is a Top 3 golf "place" in the entire world more than a Top 10 golf course. On the other hand, it's still a damn fine layout! I think it's at least the equal of Kittansett, Oyster Harbors, Sankaty Head, et al and, for my money (which isn't much), it's right up there with Fishers Island.
Maidstone suffers from being compared to SH and NGLA. If it were located all by itself on the North Fork or on Martha's Vineyard, I'd wager it would be rated a touch higher by most folks.
And if the weather was playable 10 months/year, I'd put it ahead of Cypress - I enjoy the golf course that much.
Jon Spaulding:
The flagstick on #8 appears to be of normal height. They used to have a 12' flagstick on that green so you could see it from the tee box and have a better idea where to aim. Has that changed?