GD Best New for 2009 Comes Out -- Sagebrush Wins in Canada

[Robert Thompson]

I got notified that Golf Digest has its best new list on its rater's site -- and am surprised nothing is already on here (and if it is, I'm sorry...) Nice to see nods to Sagebrush (which involved GCA's Jeff Mingay) and Ottercreek (which had GCAer Dick Kirkpatrick involved).  Oh yeah, and some others like Doak etc. as well...

Here's the list:

Best New Public
1. The Pete Dye Course at French Lick (Ind.) Resort Yards 8,102
Par 72 Fee $350
Designer Pete Dye 888-936-9360 frenchlick.com
2. Palouse Ridge G.C. at Washington State University Pullman, Wash. Yards 7,308
Par 72 Fee $89
John Harbottle
509-335-4342
palouseridge.com
3. Tetherow G.C. Bend, Ore.
Yards 7,298 Par 72
Fee $175, David McLay Kidd
866-948-2582
tetherow.com
4. Pound Ridge (N.Y.) G.C.
Yards 7,171 Par 72
Fee $235, Perry
Dye and Pete Dye
914-764-5771
poundridgegolf.com
5. Blue Top Ridge at Riverside (Iowa) Yards 7,505 Par 72
Fee $80, Rees Jones 877-677-3456
riversidecasino
andresort.com
6. Wild Rock G.C. Wisconsin Dells, Wis. Yards 7,414 Par 72
Fee $99, Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry, 608-253-4653
wildrockgolf.com
7. Sand Hollow Resort
(Championship) Hurricane, Utah
Yards 7,316
Par 72 Fee $125
John Fought and
Andrew Staples
435-656-4653
sandhollowresort.com
8. Newport Dunes G.C. Port Aransas, Tex. Yards 6,821
Par 71 Fee $95
Arnold Palmer,
Erik Larsen
and Eric Wiltse
361-749-4653
newportdunesgolf.com
9. Sweetgrass G.C.
Harris, Mich. Yards 7,275 Par 72 Fee $75 Paul Albanese
800-682-6040
islandresortand
casino.com
10. The Preserve
on Rathbun Lake Moravia, Iowa
Yards 6,988 Par 72 Fee $59, Kevin Norby
641-724-1400
honeycreekresort.com


Best New Private

1. Pikewood
National G.C.
Morgantown, W.Va.
Yards 7,588
Par 72 Initiation fee $30,000 Designers
John R. Raese,
J. Robert Gwynne with Johnny Pott and
Dow Finsterwald
pikewoodnational.com
2. Rock Creek
Cattle Company
Deer Lodge, Mont. Yards 7,466 Par 71 Fee $100,000
Tom Doak rockcreek
cattlecompany.com
3. Martis Camp Truckee, Calif.
Yards 7,751 Par 72
Fee $105,000
Tom Fazio
martiscamp.com
4. Cornerstone C.
Montrose, Colo. Yards 7,945 Par 72 Fee $95,000
Greg Norman
cornerstonecolorado.com
5. Trump National G.C. Bedminster (N.J.) (New)
Yards 7,511 Par 72
Fee $150,000
Tommy Fazio
trumpnational.com
6. The Idaho C. Sandpoint, Idaho Yards 7,089
Par 71 Fee $30,000
Jack Nicklaus
theidahoclub.com
7. The G.C. at Rainmakers
Alto, N.M. Yards 7,101 Par 72 Fee $75,000 Robert Trent Jones Jr. with Mark Voss
rainmakersusa.com
8. The Cliffs at
Keowee Springs
Six Mile, S.C.
Yards 7,100
Par 72 Fee $175,000 (includes membership at eight Cliffs courses), Tom Fazio cliffscommunities.com
9. Innsbrook G. & Boat C. Merry Hill, N.C. Yards 7,254
Par 72 Fee $25,000 Arnold Palmer and Erik Larsen
innsbrookgolfandboat.com
10. The C. at 12 Oaks Holly Springs, N.C. Yards 7,132
Par 72 Fee $7,500 Michael Nicklaus
with John Cope
visit12oaks.com

Best New Canadian

1. Sagebrush G.
& Sporting C.
Quilchena, B.C.
Yards 7,372 Par 72 Fee $5,000 per year
individual; $10,000 per year corporate (by invitation)
Designers Rod
Whitman, Richard Zokol and
Armen Suny
sagebrushclub.com
2. Otter Creek G.C.
Otterville, Ont.
Yards 7,124 Par 72
Fee $77, Dick Kirkpatrick
519-879-9800
ottercreekgolfclub.com
3. The C. at
Tower Ranch
Kelowna, B.C.
Yards 7,212
Par 72 Fee $125
or $10,000
Thomas McBroom 250-491-8211
golftowerranch.com

Best Remodel

1. Charlotte C.C.
Yards 7,335 Par 71 Fee $72,000
Redesigner Ron
Prichard charlotte
countryclub.org
2. Olympia Fields (Ill.) C.C. (South) Yards 7,111 Par 72
Fee not available
Steve Smyers
ofcc.info
3. California G.C. of San Francisco South San
Francisco, Calif. Yards 7,216 Par 72
Fee $102,000
Kyle Phillips
calclub.org
4. Austin C.C.
Yards 7,061 Par 72 Fee $80,000
Pete Dye
austincountryclub.com
5. Mississaugua (Ont.) G. & C.C. Yards 7,037 Par 71
Fee $59,000 (Canadian)
Doug Carrick
mississauguagolf.com
6. Wilmington (Del.) C.C. (South) Yards 7,334 Par 71
Fee not available Keith Foster
wilmingtoncc.com
7. Bayonet
& Black Horse 
(Bayonet) Seaside, Calif. Yards 7,104
Par 72 Fee $160
Gene Bates
831-393-3006
bayonetblackhorse.com
8. Princess Anne C.C. Virginia Beach, Va. Yards 6,042
Par 70 Fee $23,000
Tim Liddy
princessannecc.com
9. Willow Oaks C.C.
Richmond, Va.
Yards 7,003 Par 72 Fee $30,000
Lester George
willowoakscc.org
10. Bayonet & Black Horse (Black Horse) Seaside, Calif. Yards 7,024 Par 72 Fee $160
Gene Bates
831-393-3006
bayonetblackhorse.com

[Bill Gayne]

Great to see Willow Oaks and Lester George recognized.

[Sean Leary]

Pikewood? By no name designers? Pretty big upset, no?

[Jason Topp]

If Blue Top Ridge is one of the top 10 public courses there must have been 12 public courses that opened this year.  Very mediocre.

Charlotte CC's ranking is well deserved. 

[Cory Lewis]

Nice to see Pikewood getting some attention, I don't know if the golf course is better than the others listed, but the experience of playing it would put it #1 on the list in my opinion.

[Will MacEwen]

I haven't played Tower Ranch or Otter Creek, but Sagebursh must have won going away.  I know in the Score ratings it just nipped the new course at Bear Mountain, which caught me off guard.

Robert - I like how you put the CanCon right in the header.  

[Robert Thompson]

Will -- haven't played the Bear Mountain course, so I don't know how it measures up, but I know plenty of people who were surprised at its quality.

As for the CanCon, I'm a Canadian boy through and through....

I haven't played Tower Ranch or Otter Creek, but Sagebursh must have won going away.  I know in the Score ratings it just nipped the new course at Bear Mountain, which caught me off guard.

Robert - I like how you put the CanCon right in the header.  

[Anthony_Nysse]

Pikewood National just got a new Superintendent who was an Assistant at Oakmont. From the sounds of it, it has a great owner, is built on an AMAZING piece of property and that conditioning will continue to get better!

Tony Nysse
Pine Treee GC
Boynton Beach, FL

[Ryan Farrow]

Pikewood National just got a new Superintendent who was an Assistant at Oakmont. From the sounds of it, it has a great owner, is built on an AMAZING piece of property and that conditioning will continue to get better!

Tony Nysse
Pine Treee GC
Boynton Beach, FL

Anthony, who is the Super?

Ok, It looks like a pretty nice golf course, but I really can't understand how it could be better then RCCC. The sites are not in the same ballpark. And its in Morgantown!

$$$

[Ian Andrew]

Congratulations to Rod, Jeff, The Penguin, and all those on site.
I can wait to play the course!
(Rod - this almost makes up for when you should have won "easily" for Blackhawk)

Congratulations to Richard for the vision and perseverence to get this thing built.
Congratulations to Armen for the way it plays.

I think this is a very good day for Canadian Golf.


Congratulations to Dick Kirkpatrick for building a great course for a shoestring compared to all the others.
You should be just as proud because dollar for dollar you have no peers!

[Andy Troeger]

I'm a little disappointed that Rock Creek didn't win--it was the best course I played in 2009 and in my top five overall. Pikewood National was already pretty high on my wish-list so I hopefully will get to see it eventually. I would be curious given the huge geographic distance between the courses whether many (if any) panelists saw them both prior to the deadline and which one they preferred. Has anyone in the DG played both?

I played four of the top seven new private clubs this year and would place them in the same order as they were ranked--Rock Creek, Cornerstone, Idaho Club, and Rainmakers. I'm not surprised to see any of them in the top ten.

It surprises me based on photos that Sand Hollow has not done better on these lists. Additionally, I think it is interesting to note that all of the top four publics (French Lick, Palouse Ridge, Tetherow, and Pound Ridge) have led to some interesting discussion at some point here. Sadly, per the statistics given only Palouse Ridge is less than $175 to play. It is too bad that no course in the top eight would have made the old "affordable public" cut-off even when it was $75.

[Mike Nuzzo]

Congratulations Rod & Jeff & Ron Prichard & Tim Liddy & Andrew Staples

Pikewood seems to me to be a case of conditioning and access.
The course looks like it is on a cool site.
It looks like an impossible walk - even though there are no cart paths.
Long walks between green & tee - a couple huge ones.
Long holes - none short.
The back looks much better routed than the front.
Narrow clearings - not thinned out enough on the edges.
It is clearly in the Testing & pretty category.

[Scott_Burroughs]

Charlotte CC's ranking is well deserved. 

Have you seen Cal Club?

That gets my vote based purely on pictures.   

[Jud_T]

Apparently this will make thousands of people want to go to French Lick and drop $350....  

[Steve Okula]

If Blue Top Ridge is one of the top 10 public courses there must have been 12 public courses that opened this year.  Very mediocre.

Charlotte CC's ranking is well deserved.  

Good point. How many golf courses opened in North America this year? Are there any that didn't make the list?

[Jud_T]

Trump #5? How is this possible when he everything he touches it the best?   

[Kalen Braley]

Steve,

I am baffled Wine Valley did not make the list...I hope/would like to think its only because it didn't get enough rater visits.

Thats a massive omission in my book!!

[Andy Troeger]

Kalen,
Wine Valley was not a candidate course--perhaps it opened too late.

All,
From what I remember of the list of candidates, at least a few didn't make the list 

[Jeff Doerr]

Pikewood vs. Rock Creek - I'd call this win a tribute to the ANGC values that still dominate GCA for most.

I'm also not sure on Idaho Club and Palouse coming in as high as they did...

[Derek Dirksen]

Next year there has to be a small list.  What will there be?  Ballyhack, Wine Valley, Patriot, Sequoyah National, Clear Creek Tahoe, Prairie Club, Firekeeper???  What else is out there?

[Andy Troeger]

Next year there has to be a small list.  What will there be?  Ballyhack, Wine Valley, Patriot, Sequoyah National, Clear Creek Tahoe, Prairie Club, Firekeeper???  What else is out there?

Victory Ranch and Red Ledges in Utah should be candidates. Old MacDonald and Dormie Club both might get pushed back one more year.

I think even this year about half of the courses on the list were remodels.

[Cory Brown]

I am sure that the Charlotte C.C. renovation is great, but are these rankings based more upon which clubs were restored to host major championships than which renovation was actually the best?

I also did a search on the restoration work at Charlotte C.C.  and couldn't come up with much.  Has there been any discussion or photos of the work posted?

[Andy Troeger]

I am sure that the Charlotte C.C. renovation is great, but are these rankings based more upon which clubs were restored to host major championships than which renovation was actually the best?

Cory,
The remodel category is based solely on the quality of the "new" course--it doesn't take into account major championships or the quality of the course prior to the work.

[Joel_Stewart]

Pikewood? By no name designers? Pretty big upset, no?

It's a very big upset since nobody ever mentioned this course on the internal Golf Digest panelist web site.  It seemed apparent that Rock Creek and Martis Camp would fight it out for 1 and 2.

This list is always the most disappointing to me, as year after year some dark horse course comes along and bumps a very good course.

Charlotte CC may be a wonderful course, I will clarify that I haven't played it but to beat Cal Club is remarkable.   Cal Club should go down as one of the great restorations in US golf history.  The obvious reason which happens over and over again is the course is difficult and is walking only.  Those 2 factors killed its chance with 75% of the GD panelists so maybe I shouldn't be surprised.

[Kye Goalby]

I am sure that the Charlotte C.C. renovation is great, but are these rankings based more upon which clubs were restored to host major championships than which renovation was actually the best?

Cory,
The remodel category is based solely on the quality of the "new" course--it doesn't take into account major championships or the quality of the course prior to the work.

If the above is how the GD Best Remodel is voted upon I think that  Princess Anne CC even being on the list with places like Cal Club and Olympia Fields is an amazing accomplishment.  Princess Anne was a really crappy course before the remodel (sorry to anyone that is a member there, but it was amazingly lousy).  It is on a basically flat site, with every hole being pretty narrow and generally having housing on both sides.  The  total yardage is 6000 yards if you measure it the longest way possible.  To top it off, there are 8 (not a typo, eight) holes that cross roads.  That is 8 holes  with play crossing public roads and another 5  public road crossings between holes or to get  to the clubhouse!

I have a bias as  I had a  little bit to do with it as  part of the team that worked there with Tim Liddy, and I think if you are voting on improvement from what it was, it arguably deserves to be number one on the list (although from the pictures i have seen , the Cal Club looks pretty impressive in that regard). If, however, the voting for remodels is really on what is actually there as a finished product with no regard to what was there prior, I am really amazed, and proud, that a 6000 yard course literally in the middle of a subdivision finished in the top 10.  There are some very good greens there now, but is that really how it is voted on??   Any input by the GD raters on how the winners in this category are determined would be appreciated.