Discussions on this board tend to revolve around the good fortune that many of us have of playing golf courses that are generally considered the best in the world. I, too, have been fortunate in the past, but as the season winds down here in the Midwest, I reflect and notice that this wasn't one of those years. Not only did I play the least amount of golf in a season since I first started playing, mainly on account of grad school and my two daughters (ages 1 and 3), but so too did the quality of venues suffer greatly, on account of a move to rural Indiana to appease my wife (near to her family and family farm ground). Listed below are my totals:
-27 holes at River Crest Golf Course - Covington, IN - an unremarkable municipal course
-18 holes at Geneva Hills Golf Course - Clinton, IN - an unremarkable municipal course
-18 holes at Hammock Beach, Ocean Course - Palm Coast, FL - a buddy of mine got married in St. Augustine and this is where he set us up to play. A few interesting holes.
-18 holes at Brickyard Crossing, Indianapolis, IN - I had not played here in 15 years, but had a few hours for a twilight round when I was in Indy this summer. It's quite a lot of fun.
To make matters worse, time constraints even forced me to decline a round this week at Harrison Hills, which is probably the only course of any architectural significance (and certainly pedigree) within 50 miles of where I live. Now I can honestly say that I enjoy playing golf no matter where I am playing, because to me playing golf is more about spending time with friends or family - and the intrinsic pleasure of hitting the damn ball - but I would be lying if I said I didn't also like the mental challenges associated with more creatively designed golf courses. So, did anybody have a worse year than this with respect to either quality or quantity, granting that illness may have kept some people sidelined entirely?