Your History of Greatest Golf Course Ever Played

[Doug Wright]

1994: Bear Creek GC, Denver, CO (At this point in my life hard=good. If that was still the calculation, then Bear Creek might still be #1. Just a brutally difficult golf course)

I played there years ago, and man it was hard!!  Was that a private mens club at one time?  With "Bear" in the name it was not designed by Nicklaus was it?

Daryl, Bear Creek is private "men only" (for now?) club. Designed by Arnold Palmer's group--I think Ed Seay was involved. Agree it is a tough golf course.

The last I knew Jon Petersen held the course reocrd at 63.  Jon was an assitant pro at my home club in Sterling for a number of years in the late 90s.

FYI in 1988 at Bear Creek, Billy Mayfair won the Pacific Coast Amateur by 18 shots. He was the only player under par at -18. An incredible performance.

A quick google showed the 1988 Amateur at Bear Creek Golf Club in Murrieta California, and not here in Colorado.  Could that be a typo maybe?

Yes that is a typo--it was in Denver

[Doug Wright]

A twist on Wade's thread, what's your personal evolution of what you considered the best course you've ever played?

This was a fun exercise:

Early 1960s:  St. Bonaventure GC then Bartlett CC, Olean NY
Late 1960s: Pennhills Club, Bradford  PA
Early 1970s (college golf): Oak Hill East
Early 1980s:  Pebble Beach
Late 1980s (Denver era): Cherry Hills
1990 (first trip to Scotland): Muirfield
2001 (shortly after discovering GolfClubAtlas.com): Pacific Dunes
2002: Sand Hills
2005 (second trip to Scotland): Royal Dornoch
2008 (first trip to Northern Ireland): Royal County Down
2009 Pine Valley

[Pete_Pittock]

1950s Portland GC
1969  Spyglass Hill
1969  Pebble Beach
1975  Pinehurst #2
1975  Ballybunion
1975  St Andrews
1997  Crystal Downs
2000  Pacific Dunes
2000  Royal Melbourne
2005  Cypress :Point  

[mike_malone]

Late 50's.  Putt Putt. My intro to gca.
1963 Nemours. DuPont CC
Late 60's. Louviers also DuPont
Late 70's Pocono Manor
1985 Rolling Green
1996 Royal County Down
1997 Ballybunion
2002 Pine Valley
I have played many wonderful courses since PV but I doubt it will be topped.

[John Foley]

1979 - Bristol Harbour - Canandaigua NY
1993 - Hiawatha Landing - Binghamton NY
1994 - PGA West - Stadium Course
1995 - Kapalua - Plantation Course
1996 - Kiawah Ocean Course
2000 - Sand Hills

I keep wondering if the experience at Sand Hills will ever be topped. Most of the rest of my top 20 has all come since 2000 so I have had a chance to see some great places, but nothing can ever live up to Sand Hills.

Doug - I almost had Bonnies course as my first, but Bristol beat it by a few months!

[Dan Kelly]

Birth to 1986: Hazeltine

1986 to 1996: Pebble Beach

1996 to present: Sand Hills

I like to keep things simple.

[Michael Herrmann]

'82-'83-ish:  Hartwell GC.  Narrowly edges out Delhi par 3 as it has a spot where fairways cross and the element of danger is in play!

1983:  Miami View GC – dad joined when I was 6, been my home club ever since

1993:  Muirfield Village – the $25 to play in the US Junior Am qualifier was one of the greatest deals in golf

1994:  Scioto CC

2001:  Harbour Town – probably put it on par with Scioto and Muirfield at the time, but then 5 days later….

2001:  Ocean Course Kiawah

2010:  Ballyneal

As it stands now I would put Muirfield Village ahead of Scioto but back then I was a little more drawn to the “history” aspect with Scioto.  But I think the course is not quite the equal of MV.

I imagine this list will certainly change with an upcoming trip to Chicago in the fall for a couple outstanding courses and a trip to Scotland next spring.

[jvisser]

Hi,

My first post as a new member, nice way to start thinking back to all the courses I played and seeing
many on the lists of others that are on my wish list.

Many ways of tackling this list... as I played many courses without a clue about golf course architecture
I just put in the ones that I appreciate the most for various reasons.

1990   Narin and Portnoo; first experience with links golf and boy did I love it. Should go back!
1990 - 1998 mainly played golf in The Netherlands (see end of post)
1998   St Andrews; Eden and Jubilee
           Crail Balcomie
           Falkenstein
1999 - 2006 Injuries cut short many a golf trip
2008   Wentworth West
           Sunningdale New
2010   Bandon; Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes, Bandon Trails, one week before Old MacDonald opened. Good reason to return.
           Royal Worlington & New Market
2011   Royal St. Georges, Royal Cinque Ports, Rye, Littlestone, Prince's, Tandridge, El Saler,
2012   Getting to grips with new home course; Noordwijk

Overall appreciation of courses:
1 Pacific Dunes
2 Royal St. Georges
3 Sunningdale New
4 Royal Cinque Ports
5 Bandon Dunes

As for the Dutch courses I played over the years; my current ranking:
1 Noordwijk
2 Haagsche
3 Eindhoven
4 De Pan
5 Kennemer

Cheers,

      Jan

[Jeff Tang]

This is kind of tough but I think also interesting to show how one's golf tastes may have changed over time.  My list isn't that long but supplanting Pac Dunes is a tough task.  Dates are estimates:

Burr Hill (1985)
Royal Fox (1989)
Blackwolf Run (River) (1993)
TOC (2000)
Pacific Dunes (2003)

[Michael Baldwin]

My list is neither long nor accomplished but I feel pretty good about the current #1.

1995 – Brush Creek Golf Course (a family farm turned 9 holer – where I learned to play in Arkansas)
1996 – Glenwood Country Club
1996-2009 – Didn’t play (growth spurt, girlfriends,  architecture school, money)
2009 – Glenwoodie
2010 – Shepherd’s Crook
2010 – Medinah #3
2012 – Lawsonia Links

[David Davis]

Hi,

My first post as a new member, nice way to start thinking back to all the courses I played and seeing
many on the lists of others that are on my wish list.

Many ways of tackling this list... as I played many courses without a clue about golf course architecture
I just put in the ones that I appreciate the most for various reasons.

1990   Narin and Portnoo; first experience with links golf and boy did I love it. Should go back!
1990 - 1998 mainly played golf in The Netherlands (see end of post)
1998   St Andrews; Eden and Jubilee
           Crail Balcomie
           Falkenstein
1999 - 2006 Injuries cut short many a golf trip
2008   Wentworth West
           Sunningdale New
2010   Bandon; Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes, Bandon Trails, one week before Old MacDonald opened. Good reason to return.
           Royal Worlington & New Market
2011   Royal St. Georges, Royal Cinque Ports, Rye, Littlestone, Prince's, Tandridge, El Saler,
2012   Getting to grips with new home course; Noordwijk

Overall appreciation of courses:
1 Pacific Dunes
2 Royal St. Georges
3 Sunningdale New
4 Royal Cinque Ports
5 Bandon Dunes

As for the Dutch courses I played over the years; my current ranking:
1 Noordwijk
2 Haagsche
3 Eindhoven
4 De Pan
5 Kennemer

Cheers,

      Jan

Welcome Jan!

Nice list, have to say I love your list of best Dutch courses. Especially #1, good choice!

[Garland Bayley]

...
1198  Pacific Dunes
...

So the truth be known golf was invented on the Oregon Coast and Pete has another name, Shivas Irons.

[ChipOat]

Pre-1973: Merion (East)
1973-1980 Pine Valley - it took me awhile to really appreciate it.

[Terry Lavin]

Pre-1973: Merion (East)
1973-1980 Pine Valley - it took me awhile to really appreciate it.

A minimalist response!  Well done.

[Matthew Petersen]

A twist on Wade's thread, what's your personal evolution of what you considered the best course you've ever played?

This was a fun exercise:

Early 1960s:  St. Bonaventure GC then Bartlett CC, Olean NY
Late 1960s: Pennhills Club, Bradford  PA
Early 1970s (college golf): Oak Hill East
Early 1980s:  Pebble Beach
Late 1980s (Denver era): Cherry Hills
1990 (first trip to Scotland): Muirfield
2001 (shortly after discovering GolfClubAtlas.com): Pacific Dunes
2002: Sand Hills
2005 (second trip to Scotland): Royal Dornoch
2008 (first trip to Northern Ireland): Royal County Down
2009 Pine Valley

You preferred Cherry Hills to Pebble Beach? Do you still feel that way?

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

1979 - Gweedore
1981 - Dunfanaghy or Laytown & Bettystown
1983 - Donegal (Murvagh)
1984 - Rosapenna (Old)
1985 - Lahinch
1985 - Ballybunion (played it a day or two after Lahinch)

That's it; nothing better since.

[Tyler Kearns]

1985: Elmhurst
2001: Capilano
2004: Pasatiempo
2006: St. Andrew's Beach
2006: Royal Melbourne West
2012: Sand Hills (tie)

[John Ezekowitz]

Perhaps I can make some people feel old with this:

Late 1990's: Ponkapoag GC. The muni near Boston where I learned to play will always hold a special place in my golfing heart. It is a shame that the environmentalists held up the talks of a big restoration (I think it was over some lizards?), because they have the land and layout to make a really great golf course.

Early 2000's: Belmont CC. My home course. See the photo tour I posted here: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,52992.0.html

2007: The Country Club
2008: Royal St. George's (narrowly edging out Deal, Rye, and Sunningdale from my England trip)

2010: Merion East
Present: Still Merion, although Old Mac is probably second or third. I guess I am one of the relative few who prefers it to Pac Dunes?

[Scott Warren]

My list is brief and unlikely to change from here on in.

1995: A number of middling Sydney courses that, aged 12, I interchangably thought were better than one another. Castle Hill, Riverside Oaks, Monash, Liverpool.

1997: New South Wales GC. Played regularly over the ensuring decade and it only continued to grow in my estimation.

2009: Royal Cinque Ports, TOC and Royal St George's, played in that order, assumed top spot.

2010: Pine Valley. Subsequent plays have only confirmed that it's comfortably ahead of anything else I have played.

[Rich Goodale]

1956:  Winchester CC
1971:  Myopia HC
1976:  Pebble Beach GL
1978:  Royal Dornoch GC

[Mark Pearce]

1985 Ley Hill
1990 Farnham Park
1990 Rickmansworth
1991 Sandy Lodge
1992 Muirfield
1992 Royal Dornoch
1992 The Old Course, St Andrews
2002 (ish) Muirfield
2009 Royal St Georges
2011 Cypress Point
2012 Muirfield
2012 Royal Dornoch

As can be seen from this list, I find it difficult to be sure, of the really great courses I have played, which is the single greatest.  I could, at the moment, make an argument for any of the last 5 courses mentioned on that list.