Top Five by Region

[Bill Gayne]

What region/nation has the best five?

New York:
Shinnecock
National Golf Links
Winged Foot
Fishers Island
Friars Head

Callifornia:
Cypress Point
Pebble Beach
San Francisco GC
Rivera
Olympic Club Lake

Ireland:
Royal County Down
Royal Portrush
Ballybunion
Lahinch
Portmarnock

England:
St. George’s
Birkdale
Sunningdale
Woodhall Spa
Lytham St. Annes

Scotland:
The Old Course
Muirfield
Dornoch
Turnberry
Carnoustie

Australia:
Royal Melbourne
Kingston Heath
Barnbougle Dunes
New South Wales
Barnbougle Lost Farm

[BHoover]

I can answer this question only by saying which I'd most like to play, if given the choice and if forced to pick just one...and that would be...Australia.

[J_ Crisham]

In California I would bump out SFGC and Olympic and insert The Valley Club and LACC. Would be my choice to play because its year round and all very user friendly for the average golfer.

[Tom_Doak]

The New York courses and the five Scottish courses listed each total 46 points on the Doak Scale.  The other groups total 45 or 44.

Scotland might have had 47 if you'd subbed North Berwick in for Carnoustie.

[jonathan_becker]

I would rearrange Australia as

Royal Melbourne
Barnbougle Dunes
Kingston Heath
Lost Farm
New South Wales

Having said that though, all are amazing golf courses and they each definitely have unique high points.

For all the groups though, and as strong as they all are, NY probably wins

[Carl Nichols]

In California I would bump out SFGC and Olympic and insert The Valley Club and LACC. Would be my choice to play because its year round and all very user friendly for the average golfer.

You could go Northern California and put Cal Club in for Riviera and still be solid (and you could even think about MPCC)

On the other hand, if you're considering entire countries as regions, you could reasonably add NJ to NY and include Pine valley.

[Ryan Kennedy]

I can answer this question only by saying which I'd most like to play, if given the choice and if forced to pick just one...and that would be...Australia.

This is the best answer!   Where would you want to travel to the most?

Clearly we could go on for days about which courses to switch in & out, so list the regions in order of where you want to go..

Being from Cal, mine is skewed.
1.  Australia
2. Ireland
3. Scotland
4. NY
5. Cali

[Thomas Dai]

Not sure I can think of a city, let alone a region, with better 12-month p/a golf than Melbourne. Playing greens so firm you can take trolleys across them.
All the best

[Jud_T]

NY and Cali have to be out on conditioning alone.  Golf was meant to be played on sand.  I'm not qualified on England and Aussie.  My guess is England wins if you make it 20 instead of 5.  A tough call between Ireland and Scotland.  Given your list I'd go Ireland, but given my druthers I'd say Scotland, even if TOC is the only one that would probably make my list of favorites once I've played 'em all.  For starters you can dump Turnberry for Prestwick and not lose any sleep.

[Sean_A]

Can't say which are best, but I can say I would rather play the Oz or NY courses.

The one list I find unappealing is England.  That is nowhere near the best 5.  This is more like it

Sandwich
Deal
Sunny Old
Rye
St Enodoc

Total of 38 Doakers, but it should be more because Doak missed the boat at Deal.

I spose Ganton may sneak in, but its a tough crowd.

Compared to 39 Doakers for the courses below.

St. George’s
Birkdale
Sunningdale
Woodhall Spa
Lytham St. Annes


Ciao

[Josh Tarble]

Another region to toss in would be Chicago, MI, WI

Crystal Downs
Chicago Golf
Whistling Straits
Shoreacres
Olympia Fields


That's not even mentioning Kingsley, Beverly, Erin Hills, Medinah, Lost Dunes etc. etc.

[Jason Topp]

Shouldn't Phillly be one of the regions in the mix? 

[Jason Thurman]

The Plains just called. They want all you coast-dwellers to stop treating them like a third world flyover country.

Prairie Dunes, Sand Hills, and Ballyneal are a given. There are lots of choices for another two courses, especially if you loop in some of the great courses outside the Sand Hills region like Omaha CC or Southern Hills. Personally I'd have a hard time leaving out the Dunes course at The Prairie Club, though I know some may find it a bit over the top.

I don't know the region well enough to make a definitive list myself, but there's nowhere I've enjoyed visiting more as a golfer.

[David Amarnek]

Jason,
I was thinking the same thing.
Philly:
Merion (Doak 10)
Pine Valley (Doak 10)
All the Flynn courses (Rolling Green, Philly CC, etc.; mostly Doak 7's)
Stonewall Old (Doak eight); I've only walked it, never played)
Aronimink (Post-renovation; should be higher than a Doak 6 currently)
Including Pennsylvania and you have:
Oakmont (Doak 9)
Not shabby!!!

[Keith OHalloran]

Jud,
NGLA, Shinnecock, Fisher's and Friar's Head were all built on sand. I am not sure about Winged Foot, but if you want to throw it out. Substitute Maidstone, Garden City, or the Creek, and you would have 5 sand based courses on LI.

[Richard Choi]

You could do PNW...

1. Pacific Dunes
2. Old MacDonald
3. Chambers Bay
4. Bandon Dunes
5. Bandon Trails

[Mark Chaplin]

England and Australia compete for the best variation of golf - links paired with heath or sandbelt.

[Bill_McBride]

"NGLA, Shinnecock, Fisher's and Friar's Head were all built on sand."

Keith, what about the former potato field in the lower part of the course?  Also all sand?

[Jim Nugent]

Jud,
NGLA, Shinnecock, Fisher's and Friar's Head were all built on sand. I am not sure about Winged Foot, but if you want to throw it out. Substitute Maidstone, Garden City, or the Creek, and you would have 5 sand based courses on LI.

Sebonack is another good choice there. 

[Jim Sherma]

These are some pretty big regions. Let's make it a 30 mile radius or so and the great areas become much more rare. Philly, Westchester Co, Long Island, London, Fife, the Sandbelt and maybe a few others. Including LACC and and Olympic Lake as a region is stretching it in my book. One possible definition of a region could be a set of courses any two of which could comfortably played in the same day.

[Jud_T]

Jud,
NGLA, Shinnecock, Fisher's and Friar's Head were all built on sand. I am not sure about Winged Foot, but if you want to throw it out. Substitute Maidstone, Garden City, or the Creek, and you would have 5 sand based courses on LI.

Ok, my bad.  How about sand and cool season grasses...

[Keith OHalloran]

Bill,
Yes, even the potato field portion of Friar's Head is sand based.

Jud,
Most grasses here are bent and Poa. Not sure what is considered cold season grasses?

[Tim Leahy]

You have to take the Cali region. No other region has great golf and IN&OUT.

[Jud_T]

Keith,

Real Links Golf Courses...you know, the ones that don't spend 1mm on maintenace and where the ball still bounces after an inch of rain...actually brings up an interesting question.  Anyone know what the maintenance budget at the Old Course is?

[Andrew Lewis]

I'd propose the Pinehurst area for consideration.  

Incredible strength for a micro-region (the courses below are within ~25 miles when including Tobacco Road; within maybe 6 miles otherwise).

Plus, the unique ability to see different "levels" of both Ross greatness and how later architects riffed on Ross on similar terrain.

1) Southern Pines -- Introductory Ross
2) Pine Needles / Mid Pines -- Intermediate Ross
3) Pinehurst #2 -- Advanced Ross
4) Forest Creek -- Fazio's take
5) Tobacco Road -- Strantz's take
6) Dormie Club -- Coore+Crenshaw's take