I’d regret not nominating the course where I learned to play, still play, and will die playing, Canyon Springs in Twin Falls, Idaho. Sh**ty but fun works for me. Here affordable golf rules the roost. Everything suffers as a result. Everyday I’m reminded that most golfers play where their buddies play and that the relative merits of the golf course fall somewhere south of this in terms of importance.
I acknowledge the theoretical possibility of having the ultimate golf experience--playing the best course with your best buds—but I also suspect that this ultimate might be best defined as unattainable so long as we continue to play. I see it as more of a reflection one makes at the end of the journey…the best day of golf I ever had was… I also acknowledge that I make little effort to put this notion to the litmus test.
More than once it has occurred to me that I should try harder to play the best courses with the best people, to make the most of every round, to play as well as I am able, and so on. Hell, I’ve even considered playing in every gca.com event I can as a reasonable place to begin such a quest. Then I just say “naw, it’s only golf” and move on with my life.