If you could change one Confidential Guide entry, which one?

[Jay Flemma]

Hey Chuck:  I played Colonial today.   I think its great, but I think OKCGC is even better as is CD, but it's still excellent.  It was great playing it dormant and fast and firm.  Can't wait to see UMich.

[Sean_A]

How come no one on here thinks Doak overscored any courses?  Are all these courses located in Lake Wobegon?

Mark

I think Doak overscored just about all the Open courses, but that is to be expected.

Chuck

Alright, so Tom didn't see the renovations and what I think is more recent bunker work, but a 3?  That means Michigan can never really be better than a 4 in Doak's eyes.  When I look at some of the 6s given out I have to wonder what Michigan is lacking.  So far as I can tell, the stretch from 15-17 is a bit wanting, but the greens are just as good as the remainder of the course - which are very, very good.  The par 3s aren't great, but as a set they are good, diverse and require some playing.  There are two standout holes, both Dr Mac's: 3 & 6.  In my book Michigan doesn't earn a star, but it is recommended as a good option if one doesn't get the game he is hoping around Detroit.  That translates to a 6 everyday.  I can understand a difference of 1 on the scale, and very rarely 2, but a gap of 3? 

Ciao

[Jim Nugent]

Another question is what Tom himself would change, if he saw all the courses today.  He's the only who knows, and other than a few dropped hints, hasn't said much, has he? 

[jim_lewis]

This thread prompted me to review my copy of the Confidential Guide for the first time in a few years. By my count, I have played 187 of the courses that Tom rated in the book. For what it is worth, I am in general agreement with his rating on the overwhelming majority of those courses. In most cases where there is some disagreement, it is usually just by one rating point. Most of my significant disagreement (2 points +) is on courses that I think he has under-rated. They include: Pine Needles (5), Camden CC (4), Yeamans Hall (5), East Lake (5), and Mountain Lake (4). In each of these cases, significant work has been done since the book was published. In fact, Tom himself did the work at Yeamans Hall. Pine Needles was a 7 in my book even before the recent work.

I have never been among those asking Tom to update the book to reflect additional courses he has seen since it was published. Based on his busy schedule, I'm not sure there would be enough additions to justify the update. However, I think an update would be justified to reflect the changes (hopefully improvements) in many courses that deserve a higher rating. I've only mentioned a few. While he is at it he can upgrade Wannamoisett (7) and Fishers Island (7) and downgrade Pelican Hill (6).

Jim Lewis

[PCCraig]

Calling Chuck Brown.  Please pick up the maize and blue courtesy phone

I've been told that UMich is still a must play as well.

I missed my cue, Jay.  Sorry.
In Tom's defense, the UMGC has undergone a revelatory facelift since his CG was published.  I guess what I would say about it is that yes, there is an awful lot of Mackenzie and Maxwell there, and given the depth of Tom's appreciation for the two of them, I'd bet he has a better appreciation of those  features than I do.  Yes, there is no doubt that since the renovation (costing several times what the original land purchase and construction cost, and that without much touching the original greens), Tom would agree to mark it several notches higher, but based on a course that is different from what he originally rated.   I'd be curious to hear what else he might do to it now, post-Art Hills.
The simple fact of two Mackenzie/Maxwell courses in our state is cool enough that it would be nice to have someone like Tom, with such a deep appreciation of Crystal Downs, look at the UMGC.  I'm quite certain that in the 1940's and '50's, when the USGA selected UMGC as the site of the first USGA Junior (runner-up was a teenage Ken Venturi), Michigan was the noteworthy course and Crystal Downs was the unknown...
See what you've done, Tom Doak?

I would agree that U Michigan's golf course is really really good. There are some awesome short par-4's and long par-3's there with great greens. Worth a play if in the area.