I recently found this site though Jim Colton's golf blog, and it amazes me I haven't spent time here in the past.
My father has been the superintendent at a small rural Country Club in North Central Illinois for about 35 years, and I spent my formative years working and playing golf there. I played collegiate golf approximately 20 years ago, and attempt to stay active in amateur golf when time allows (although I am currently on the wrong side of scratch to do this with any success). I have been long fascinated with golf course architecture, and my likes have certainly changed with age, trends and exposure. During my school years, internet access had not yet become commonplace, so drafting golf courses was my main source of procrastination.
I currently belong to a small rural private club about 90 miles west of Chicago just south of I-80, as well as maintaining a season pass at a Jim Spears designed public course. I have a healthy golf addiction, and two young sons, therefore I play the majority of my golf at sunrise so I can still get in the office by 8:00AM. I have a passion for making these courses better through budget conscious means, and am trying to fight the fight against the clutter created by indiscriminate tree programs of a generation ago.
I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to play about 250 courses, many of which are simple, plenty that are fun, but few that have been truly great. I figured I'd use this post to share some thoughts on the courses I would give a Doak 6.5 or above. Because my thoughts have changed over the years, I may romanticize some name courses I played (especially when I was younger), and I find myself leaving off many that I may rate as more "fun".
- Olympia Fields (North) 7.5 - There is just something I really enjoy about this course. A strong test without being too intimidating, good variance in par 3 yardage, and some great par 4's. I also love the understated locker room that screams golf.
- Wolf Run 7.5 - When I played this course in approximately 1995, it was unlike anything I had seen. Signature hole after signature hole, and one of the better experiences I had for a single day of golf. That said, maybe modern equipment would have changed this, but this might be "too much" test for an everyday track
- Kapalua (Plantation) 7.5 - Just really good golf. I was happy I got multiple cracks at this one, because the first round was like learning a new game. Playing mostly parkland courses with modern equipment, it had been a long time since I couldn't stop a wedge on a dime. Great variety, views and golf.
- Crooked Stick 7 - Not sure if this rating is because of the name or the golf. I played this about 4 - 5 years after Daly won the PGA there, so equipment hadn't boomed yet, and I was amazed at the doglegs he cut.
- Flossmoor Country Club 7 - Just a fun, challenging and underrated test of golf. Has a more open and pure feel than most of the Chicago Clubs.
- Beverly 7 - If Olympia Fields didn't have 3 and 14, I think Beverly would be the better course.
- Geneva National (Palmer) 7 - I don't like Palmer courses, at all. I don't like most of the courses in Lake Geneva. That said, I love this course, and it's greens. Subtle, fast and undulating. Maybe not the best for pace of play on a resort course, but I love playing there and how it tests. Unfortunately, the 18th is an awful hole, but other than that, I love it.
- French Lick (Ross) 7 - This place feels like golf. Great greens and complexes. Great routing.
- Warren Golf Course (UND) 7 - This C&C design doesn't get much credit, but it's another place that tests in many ways, and elicits feeling of tradition, IMO.
- Seven Canyons Club 7 - OK, the golf isn't that great, and corridors are too narrow. That said, if you are given this property it would be a disservice not to set the routing to maximize views, and this course does it. Certainly not a great everyday track, but an amazing experience.
- Conway Farms 7 - This course may be a little contrived and out of vogue now, but when I played it the year after it opened, it wowed my 17 year old self as innovative and creative. Real fescue in Illinois? Isolating holes without 100 year oaks? Mixtures of open and tight holes. I'm not sure how I'd feel if I played it for the first time today, as opposed to 1992. It may not have reached a 7, but still today I feel as though I did then.
- Rich Harvest Farms 6.5 - What a neat place if you stumbled upon it without any expectations. In reality, I'm not sure if it's that good of a course, and can't live up to expectations if you've "heard stories".
- Olympia Fields (South) - Great compliment to North. I would never tire of playing 2, 6 and 10. I could also go all summer without making a par on 17.
- Bull Valley 6.5 - If you want tough, look no further. Not for everyone, but it's a great place to hone and test your game.
Honorable mention -
Onwentsia Club - I'm not rating this, because my only remaining memory of playing a US jr Am qualifier as a 15 year old is putting of the green because I had never seen green speeds above 12 on greens with any undulation.
Kemper Lakes
Cog Hill
Lost Canyon
Treetop (Masterpiece)
Persimmon Ridge
Rock Hollow
Cambrian Ridge
The General
Cantigny
I've really enjoyed reading the last few weeks, and I look forward to learning more about architecture and joining the discussion in the future.