Courses played in 2012 that were Surprisingly Very Good

[jonathan_becker]

Black Bull in Bozeman, MT.  Lots of width, easy to walk, tight routing, and pretty good variety in the greens.  Much more greens movement than expected from a Tom W course.

Wilshire CC in Los Angeles.  I knew it wasn't going to suck, but man is there some sweet ground movement out there.  Plus, it's old school Hollywood!  A must play while in Los Angeles as far as I'm concerned

[Joe_Tucholski]

I enjoyed a lot of great courses in 2012 but none really "surprised" in a psitive sense....i had high expectations that were ,generally, met.

I know this is a parallel topic (or should be) but the one that surprised the other way was Oitavos Dunes in Portugal. Top 60 in the World? I didn't really get it.

As Greg has said it's not often I'm surprised by a very good course.  If It's very good I have usually heard a great deal about it.  As far as good courses that I was surprised by:

Saddle Creek in copperopolis ca.  A course I played because it was a club corp course and in the area we were going.  I expected what I saw at most other club corp courses I've played on ca but it was much better.  Its out of the way of most things and but if your east of stockton give it a look.

Whispering Pines - Pines course in the pinehurst nc area.  A course I played with my dad, honestly because it was the cheapest rate I found.  I enjoyed it and will for sure play it again.  Is there a bad course in the pinehurst area?

[Mac Plumart]

what were your surprises this season?

I liked The Concession more than I thought I would  the turf was great for golf. And although it was tough, it has options and was playable.

Wexford Plantation was really good.

Mac,

Without going back though them all (which I may do here later) I was quickly struck by the fact that we might share one brain, because these two were two that had jumped out in my mind of courses that exceeded my expectations this year when I read this title.  Then I saw you posted the exact same two.  Scary!

Scary is right!   

[David Royer]

Sleepy Hollow-  Not sure why it doesn't get better reviews.  I found the conditioning and playability to be outstanding. 

[John Shimp]

Colleton river dye. I actually watched my son play.  Really exceptional. Particularly the back. I was somewhat disappointed w harbour town in comparison. Horrible conditioning at ht including temp greens hurt it.  But cr dye is something

[Nigel Islam]

Erin Hills was very good. I really did not think I would like it much, but I liked it much more than Blackwolf Run.

[Joel_Stewart]

Monterey Peninsula Dunes.  I've been wasting my time playing the Shore course and after playing the Dunes would play it 7-3 over the Shore.

I look forward to see what Brian Silva proposes for the Dunes course aside from the new drainage and irrigation system. 

[Ronald Montesano]

I'd waste my time playing either course...but the world needs ditch diggers, too.

[Pete_Pittock]

Very limited away golf this year.  Tops was Victoria GC, already mentioned by Pete Lavallee. The Ridge course at Predator Ridge near Kelowna BC had a good variety of holes. My visit to Tumble Creek was shorted to a 90 minute golf cart sprint to beat a shotgun start tournament.

[Michael Goldstein]

Some courses were very impressive - even with their reputation.

The three that genuinely surprised me:

Dormie Club:  all round classy layout.  The variety and quality of the greens / surrounds was magnificent.

Hokitika Golf Club (NZ):  sensational land to scale and a traditional links routing that really works. Definitely not perfect - particularly the greens, but a genuine links course clearly designed by someone 100+ years ago who knew what he was doing. 

Otaki Golf Club (NZ):  on land similar to paraparaumu beach gc this place oozed potential. 

[Tommy Williamsen]

King Kamehameha on Maui was a real surprise. It might be the windiest course I have played but the course was designed for it.  The terrain and surroundings are just stunning.

[Andrew Bertram]

Silloth Solway
after adding it to my itinerary after reading such praise hear I was expecting a good course, it exceeded my expectations comfortably

Skokie CC Chicago
This was added as an extra and I was super impressed, not just by the course the whole club was wonderful

St Germain
Thoiught it would be good, it was better

The rest I expected a lot and got a lot
Shoreacres I expected great, and came away a massive fan, blew me away
Crystal Downs, had very high expectations and they were exceeded

Little Frankston, played it 20 years ago, just wonderful and was better than I remembered



 

[Scott Warren]

Andrew,

Glad you enjoyed Silloth. It's a hell of a fun course, and more variety than most links serve up.

Is St Germain your favourite Paris area course outside of Morfontaine? I'll be back there in July with time for one game.

[Andrew Bertram]

I would have St Germain and Fontainebleau just ahead of Chantilly

However all 3 worth playing

[Bradley Anderson]

Pine Hills CC in Sheboygan. Very interesting set of greens. Set in the same kind of terrain as Blackwolf Run. Apparently the architect was an associate of Langford.

[John Kavanaugh]

Dismal river in Nebraska was a revelation. One of my all time favourite courses and there must be something about the architecture that I am missing in thinking it's a great course. Great variety, green complexes, other worldly setting, land movement etc etc - the only draw back is that it's not feasible to walk - and that is a pretty major drawback but it didn't bother me so much at Dismal as it would anywhere else - usually because cartball courses usually = not so playable - but DR is very playable.

Walking is done on a horizontal plane and what makes Dismal great is its use of vertical space.  It is the one golf course in the world that lets you breathe.

[Wayne Wiggins, Jr.]

Local
Mira Vista CC (Berkeley, CA).  Have written about this before… MVCC is a top-notch redo by Forrest Richardson and Mark Fine making it a worthwhile play in the Bay Area on any day.  Other than #14 where a small pond juts into the left half of the fairway which in turn is “protected” by  a straight row of four or five trees (cypress maybe), every hole is interesting and great fun to play.  Wish my club’s leadership could see what a entertaining, thoughtful golf course can be.

National
Rolling Green GC (Springfield, PA).  While not really apropos to this audience, RGGC receives very little attention out there in the great, wide world.  It amazes me the number of times talking to someone, not from the Phila. area, about golf in that region who’s never heard of what’s arguably among the Top 5 courses in an area that’s arguably the 2nd best for quality courses in the entire nation.

Kansas City CC.  Some very good terrain and a solid routing across it.  Fun golf course with a number of interesting holes that, if the membership continues their tree management, could shine even brighter.

[John Kavanaugh]

Dismal river in Nebraska was a revelation. One of my all time favourite courses and there must be something about the architecture that I am missing in thinking it's a great course. Great variety, green complexes, other worldly setting, land movement etc etc - the only draw back is that it's not feasible to walk - and that is a pretty major drawback but it didn't bother me so much at Dismal as it would anywhere else - usually because cartball courses usually = not so playable - but DR is very playable.

Walking is done on a horizontal plane and what makes Dismal great is its use of vertical space.  It is the one golf course in the world that lets you breathe.

John - very interesting - I think I know what you are talking about but can you expand?

Thanks but I can't today because I have a tennis game waiting and am in no mood to deal with the cynics.  Not to mention that I doubt that I can put it in writing.  I'll start a thread sometime when I've got the time to fight it.

[Tim Leahy]

I second Mira Vista CC in the Berkley hills.

Also really enjoyed the Incline Village Championship Course on Lake Tahoe. Was redone a few years ago and has great views and very playable.

[Ronald Montesano]

I can't wait for that thread, because I have no idea what he means, nor any way that he can possible defend that statement.

[Jeff Tang]

what were your surprises this season?

I liked The Concession more than I thought I would  the turf was great for golf. And although it was tough, it has options and was playable.

Wexford Plantation was really good.

Mac,

Without going back though them all (which I may do here later) I was quickly struck by the fact that we might share one brain, because these two were two that had jumped out in my mind of courses that exceeded my expectations this year when I read this title.  Then I saw you posted the exact same two.  Scary!

Scary is right!  

Count me in this camp as well, I played Concession last February and the course was much better than I anticipated.  The course played fast and I thought the course had some really interesting tee shots and the greens required a lot of touch and were exacting.  While it was tough I think it would be a fun course to play multiple times.

[Howard Riefs]

The back nine holes of Brooksville CC that Bobby Weed routed through a quarry. Quite a surprise after the mundane front nine.

[Paul Jones]

Victoria GC - I made the trip to play Royal Melbourne, but this one blew away my expectations
Myopia Hunt Club - I always heard this was a good course, but I put it in my Top 5
Boston GC - Once again, I always heard it was a good, but really exceeded my expectations
Wolf Point Club - It is now my favorite golf experience.  Mike and Don did something special there - JUST WOW

[Bruce Wellmon]

Dismal river in Nebraska was a revelation. One of my all time favourite courses and there must be something about the architecture that I am missing in thinking it's a great course. Great variety, green complexes, other worldly setting, land movement etc etc - the only draw back is that it's not feasible to walk - and that is a pretty major drawback but it didn't bother me so much at Dismal as it would anywhere else - usually because cartball courses usually = not so playable - but DR is very playable.

Walking is done on a horizontal plane and what makes Dismal great is its use of vertical space.  It is the one golf course in the world that lets you breathe.

The "saddle" par 3 is a vertical hole for certain.

[Terry Lavin]

I'd put Dismal at the top of this list, were it not for the 532 Spoiler posts that I read here before I finally teed it up last July.   

I knew I would love the setting since Sand Hills has been my favorite play for a long time. I didn't realize how much I would enjoy the cartball, but I loved it. Didn't realize how great the clubhouse setup would be. It was outstanding.   I didn't have a clue how great the vibe would be for a new member. It was awesome.  I was surprised by the wholly different look and feel of the new Doak course.  Finally, I was surprised that there are aspects of the club that suggest that the club would work better for me than Sand Hills.  But I do believe that to be the case.   All in all, a thoroughly refreshing surprise despite the sometimes annoying, incessant chatter about the club on the site.