2013 YANK AWARDS

[Sean_A]

I had an outstanding year for golf which by my reckoning included playing no less than 13 great courses, many of which are inland.  

MOST SURPISING COURSE:  Sacred 9 - I was taken aback at how good this design is - and I mean design in the sense archies would use the term.  Superb use of the features which when combined with some very good man-made stuff generates a great course from non-descript land.  RUNNER -UP: Carnoustie Burnside is just a pleasure to play and a reminder of how simple the game can be.

MOST DISAPPOINTING COURSE: Royal Ashdown Forest, far too much bland architecture getting away with being called great because the course is bunkerless.  The standard of this type is Kington and RAF doesn't measure up.  RUNNER-UP: While imo still great, but far short of what could have been created, Trump Aberdeen.

BEST NEW PLAY COURSE: Walton Heath Old really impressed me; no nonsense golf with loads of cool features.  RUNNER-UP: Dormie Club has incredible diversity!

MOST SURPRISING SECOND (third or fourth!) LOOK COURSE: Several revisits impressed me, but I think none more so than Alwoodley. I reckon the balance of challenge, interest, beauty and joy to be alive factor is about spot on.  RUNNER-UP: Old Town's renovation work has made a great course awesome.  SECOND RUNNER-UP: Mid Pines completely charmed me.  I liked the course, but the waste area work has transformed the design.  THIRD RUNNER-UP: I think the Deal light bulb finally switched on for me.  I still find it too difficult in a decent wind, but there is much to applaud.  

FAVOURITE LINKS not called St Enodoc  : This is a three-way tie between Cruden Bay, Carnoustie Burnside and Perranporth. I guess if forced to pick one it would be Perranporth because it is outrageous.  I played with a guy who doesn't see much golf outside his club and the dumfounded look on his face still resonates with me.

FAVOURITE INLAND COURSE: Kington!  RUNNER -UP: Old Town.    

BEST AFFORDABLE COURSE: By affordable I mean under £20.  Golf really has become stupidly expensive and Reddish Vale is a reminder that golf can be affordable, accessible and fun.  RUNNER-UP: Cleeve Cloud; golfers will travel a long way to get better, more interesting and prettier golf for ~$30.

BEST MODERATELY PRICED COURSE: By moderate I mean under £50 (~$75) and no member invitation or other special circumstances involved. When searching my notes I was surprised and disappointed to find so few candidates.  I guess I shall have to rectify this next year.  In any case, despite costing less than £30, Kington is the clear winner.    

BEST COURSE: Well, I think Deal is the undoubted winner this year. RUNNER-UP: In a much tighter choice, Alwoodley just beats out Old Town and Walton Heath Old.  Three of the four candidates are inland courses - I must be getting old.  Both Deal and Alwoodley proved to be most impressive this year and I hope to see them again in 2014.


I would like to see the awards of others so crank em' out.  

Ciao

[David_Tepper]

For those who don't know Cleeve Cloud (I sure didnt'! )

http://www.cleevecloudgolfclub.co.uk/

Slightly northeast of Cheltenham/Gloucester.

[Duncan Cheslett]

And the award for Worst Golf Club Website in the World goes to...


Cleeve Cloud!

http://www.cleevecloudgolfclub.co.uk/

[DMoriarty]

Sean's The Quarries of Cleave Cloud is a bit more useful . . .

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,49796.0.html

[Mark Chaplin]

Cleave Cloud's website suggests they get so few visitors they probably forgot to put the green fee up 10 years ago!

[Sean_A]

Folks should remember that Cleeve Cloud is the club of a muni - and I mean muni in the best possible sense.  CC is a very special place that brings  golf back home for me.  No trappings or other extraneous rubbish - pure golf.  

Brian - I know where you are coming from because I actually prefer Old Town to Alwoodley. But I think the flow of Alwoodley is better, I like the aesthetic more and the I think wind is more of positive for the design.  Things could change for me in the future when and if the bermuda rough is eliminated at OT.  That would be an incredible sight to behold. In any case, both are very much keepers and well worth the effort to see again; both get 2*s in my book - only six awarded (Prestwick, St Enodoc, Lahinch and Merion).  

I reckon you should do a boxing match between the two. These often have surprising results for me.

Ciao  

[Thomas Dai]

And the award for Worst Golf Club Website in the World goes to...
Cleeve Cloud!
http://www.cleevecloudgolfclub.co.uk/

It's a bit complicated because there's also - http://www.cleevehillgolfcourse.co.uk - although this website is not that much better! Being common land makes things a bit more complicated I guess.
ATB

[Mac Plumart]

Most surprising course... Yale.  I knew it would be good, but it was way beyond that.  Epic!

Best New Play course... Friar's Head.  

Best course played this year... Dismal Doak.  Incredible variety, interest, views, walk, greens..wow!

[Mark Saltzman]

Following Sean's template

MOST SURPISING COURSE:  Barton Hills - Not a difficult choice by any stretch, the restoration work at Barton Hills should bring the course out of obscurity into the discussion of Ross' best (yes I said BEST).  Perhaps his most diverse set of greens, which is really saying something.  RUNNER-UP: Weston Hills - Players - In the category of most surprising, one can always go with a top-100 course and say how much better it was than expected, but I think that is a cop-out, so I'll go with the largely unknown Weston Hills - Players Course.  Even with containment mounding, mandatory carts and a residential routing, the course impresses with more than adequate width, strategic placement of sand and water, firm conditions, and a decent if repetitive set of greens.

MOST DISAPPOINTING COURSE: Pacific Dunes didn't separate itself from the group of courses at Bandon, and somewhat surprisingly, in our group would likely have been voted 4th of the regulation courses at the resort.  I've been told PD is the most elastic course at the resort, but in 60* windless days, that is rendered irrelevant.  RUNNER-UP: Either Hope Valley or Sherwood Country Club could take second place honours.  HV was certainly a good course, but expectations had been raised to perhaps unmatchable levels.

BEST NEW PLAY COURSE: Los Angeles Country Club is followed closely by a handful of courses, including Valley Club, Riviera, The Olde Farm, The Country Club, Streamsong (Blue) Old Mac, Myopia Hunt Whittensville, and Boston.  I'd be contradicting myself if I didn't include Barton Hills on this list.

MOST SURPRISING SECOND (third or fourth!) LOOK COURSE: Not a lot of re-visits for me this year. I suppose my second visit to Streamsong Resort convinced me that the Blue is leaps and bounds ahead of the Red in my mind.  I'm still playing both on my next visit, but I can't imagine it will be long until it's only 36 on the Blue for me.

BEST AFFORDABLE COURSE: By affordable I mean under £20 $40.  There's not a ton of good golf in the US for there prices, but having paid $23 at Whittinsville and $28 at Rustic Canyon, there is some hope.  Little Marion and Inniscrone are two more great options.

BEST MODERATELY PRICED COURSE: By moderate I mean under £50 (~$75) and no member invitation or other special circumstances involved. When searching my notes I was surprised and disappointed to find so few candidates.  Interstingly, the choices in the category are largely behind my choices in the Affordable Choice category.  I suppose Rackham in Detroit wins this category.    

[Jud_T]

A pretty low key year, but nevertheless some interesting finds:

Most Surprising Course:   Kankakee Elks.  A ton of original Langford and surprisingly good late season conditioning for the princely sum of $35.  I believe holes 7 and 13 are being used as templates for the restoration of Medinah #1 as well.  Course could certainly stand to lose some hardwood and it's a shame about the original par 3 (5th?) which was abandoned for safety reasons, but I'll definitely be back.  Langford has to be the best GAD (Golden Age Dude) that most folks have never heard of.  Runner Up:  Briarwood Country Club.  Some really good original Alison here that's better than some bigger name Colt courses within driving distance.  I also really like the classic mid-century modern clubhouse.

Most Disappointing Course:  Knollwood Club  I was really looking forward to seeing this course again after the much heralded restoration.  Aside from addressing the much needed bunker drainage issue, I'm not really sure what all the fuss is about.  Runner Up:  Milwaukee Country Club While the beefing up of the course's difficulty no doubt gives the upwardly mobile single digit crowd a semi-chub, the loss of some original Colt bunkers and green sizes, the plantings to toughen up some great short 4s and the mowing lines which clearly were not as originally intended are all just kind of sad. (Disclaimer- I only walked MCC)

Best New Play Course:  Belvedere Golf Club  Some good use of elevation and a singular sense of place.  Not a world-beater but a sheer joy to play and well worth the extra effort to see (Charlevoix, MI is not exactly the center of the universe)

Most Surprising Second Look Course: Beverly Country Club  While I wish they'd cut the damn rough down a bit, the greens at the Bev are certainly worthy of further study.  Also maybe the best "club" in the Chicago area that isn't a complete sausage fest.

Best Affordable Course:  Spring Valley Country Club  No bunkers, no renovation and no fuss.  $18 all day rate for very good Langford on a nice piece of rolling Wisconsin farmland.  Check out the original irrigation map they just unearthed on the clubhouse wall while you enjoy your brat and Lienenkugel Summer Shandy.  I'd wager a season pass that it'll be topping this category again next year.

Best Course:  While it didn't really get a ton of competition this year, nevertheless Kingsley Club is the clear winner.  After a very difficult aeration due to an unseasonably cold and wet spring, the course recovered brilliantly for the Midwest Mashie, displaying some of the best F&F conditioning many of us have ever seen.  Can't wait to see the look of the 4th hole, from a different angle, from the new tees which should be open this summer.

[Tom_Doak]

To keep with Sean's list of awards:

MOST SURPISING COURSE:  Stoneham.  I know that Sean has always spoken highly of it, but if he'd done a thread about the course I had missed it completely, so I had no idea what to expect.  What I found was a terrific routing by Willie Park, Jr. and a bunch of long holes with difficult approaches off downhill lies.  RUNNER -UP:  Waverley Country Club.  Just as good as Stoneham, but I knew a bit more about this one.

MOST DISAPPOINTING COURSE: Beau Desert.  I guess my expectations were too high, since Sean seemed to put this one above his other recommendations, and it was actually one of the less interesting of the dozen new courses I saw in England this fall.  Sadly, the other one that fell into this category for me was Perranporth.  I remember how excited Noel Freeman and Paul Turner were when they discovered it.  It's a lovely setting, but the golf was pretty bizarre.

BEST NEW PLAY COURSE:  If I disqualify my own two new courses - plus the Red course at Streamsong - then it was Castle Stuart.  I actually liked Waverley a bit better, but I didn't get to play there.

MOST SURPRISING SECOND (third or fourth!) LOOK COURSE:  Wannamoissett.  The last time I saw it, it was cluttered with trees. The work that's been done there over the past ten years is excellent.  RUNNER-UP:  Yale.  The scale of it blew me away, after many years apart.

FAVOURITE LINKS not called St Enodoc  : A good category for me since I took my wife to St. Enodoc this fall, and I loved it as much as ever.  My revisit to Barnbougle Dunes was as good as it gets.  Fraserburgh was better than expected.  And a shout-out to Mulranny for being as raw of a links as they come.

FAVOURITE INLAND COURSE: Kington!  RUNNER -UP: Delamere Forest was also lovely.    

BEST AFFORDABLE COURSE: I am lucky not to know what some of these courses cost to play.  Circumstances prevented me from playing Mulranny or Rosehearty, but I am sure both are well under Sean's £20 cut-off.  I think the lowest green fee I actually paid was at Cullen, and that was a lot of fun.

BEST MODERATELY PRICED COURSE: Kington was more than £30 for an overseas visitor, but it is still the clear winner.    

BEST COURSE: After The Old Course at St. Andrews?  And Royal Melbourne (West)?  Probably Barnbougle Dunes.

[Rich Goodale]

Looking back, I played ~ 50 rounds in 2103 at ~25 courses.  Most of the courses and most of the rounds were played in competitions.  Most of my awards will be positive ones, but at the end I'll add a few disappointments.

EVERY COURSE SHOULD HAVE ONE:  Peter Hay par three 9-holer at Pebble Beach Resort.  PBR quality greens.  Easy to get on.  Relatively cheap.  Herds of deer as the main hazard.  Course shared when we played with local HS girls getting tuition from one of hte pros.

WORKING MAN'S COURSES DO NOT HAVE TO BE UNGREAT:  Leven Links is an extraordinarily hidden gem in the deepest darkest part of Fife.  I've played its neighbor Lundin Links at least 50 times over the past 35 years, but this year was the first time I crossed the fence to play Leven.  What a revelation!  It is a significantly "better" course than Lundin.  More variety, more interesting greens, more bumps and humps and hollows, more FUN!

YOU CAN EVEN BE A WORKING MAN'S COURSE IN THE NAPA VALLEY:  I played the Vintner's Club in Yountville in May with an old and dear friend, and it was all you could ask a modest 9-holer to be.  Good turf, good greens, varied layout, easy walk, the waft of growing wine grapes in the air.  Add to that one of the 2-3 best and most ffiendly golf restaurants/grills that I experienced this year, plus $25 green fees.  Nirvana.

PERFECTION ATTEMPED BUT FAILED:  Trump, Aberdeen.  The most ambitious and muscular new course that I have played over the past 20 years.  Makes Spyglass look like the guy who had sand kicked into his face before he took the Charles Atlas course.......  But.....
Too many long walks, too much framing, too many bunkers, too many tees, too few greens without massive undulations.  All that being said, this will be an Open course sooner rather than later (unless (or even if) the R&A/USGA get their act together regarding technology).

PERFECTION NOT ATTEMPTED BUT INCREASINGLY APPROACHED.  Dornoch.  What every golf course and golf club should (and maybe even could, in their own way) be....

MOVING QUIETLY FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH:  Kingsbarns.  The golf course improves every time I see it (every year or two).

POSSIBLE CONTENDER FOR BEST NON OPEN-ROTA LINKS COURSE IN ENGLAND:  Sheringham.  I didn't see too many flaws in this track when I played it in June.  (I'll be doing Hunstanton in 2014 to be able to make a comparison).

MINOR DISAPPOINTEMNT (1ST TIME):  Murcar.  Played the holes going up into and then down out of the hills for the first time in 10 or so years, and they do not do the course any favors.  I've said in the past that Murcar was as good as Royal Abereen, but I was probably wrong.

MINOR DISAPPOINTMENT (3RD TIME):  Montrose.  I've played there in a 3-day tournament for the past 3 years and always wondered why the course never resonated with me.  I thought it might be me, but now I think it is the course.  OK, but could be so much better.....

MINOR DISAPPOINTMENT (FINAL TIME):  Cruden Bay.  Holes 3-6 are really cool, but 1 and 2 continue to bore me and 7-18 have only a few redeeming moments, and many non-redeeming ones.  Can't see myself playing the course again.

Happy New Year!

[David_Tepper]

http://mulrannygolfclub.com/

http://www.sheringhamgolfclub.co.uk/home

[Pete Lavallee]

MOST SURPRISING COURSE: Whitinsville in Ma. this Donald Ross design was an eye opener. I knew it was probably the best 9 hole course in the US but was blown away by the quaility of each and every hole. The 9th hole of course is all world but none of the other 8 dissapoint. Great conditioning with perhaps the firmest green surfaces I have ever played stateside.

MOST DISAPOINTING COURSE: Dairy Creek in San Louis Obispo. This modern track by Harbottle would drive me to take up lawn bowling.

BEST NEW PLAY COURSE: Victoria Club in Riverside, excellent use of the creek that runns through the length of the property on the par 5 holes and several of the most unique golf holes on the planet. This Max Behr redesign should be seen by those apprceciating classic architecture.

MOST SURPRISING SECOND LOOK: San Diego CC, once you know its a Willie Watson and not a Billy Bell design I found it much easier apprceiate it. Good topography for golf in an unlikely neighborhood. The bunkers are really deep and the course has excellent variety to compliment its wonderful conditioning; really good green surfaces here.

FAVORITE LINKS (NStE): Monarch Dunes in Nippomo was much better than I anticipated with fescue fairways, imitation sand dunes and velvet bent grass greens. The only drawback is the overuse of water on the closing holes. Once you are away from the clubhouse however you can imagine you are on a links course, the fesue allows you to bounce the ball, which is of course critical to emulating links conditions. I will make the effort to play there again soon.

FAVORITE INLAND: I played Shadowridge CC in Sr Team Play and came away impressed with this David Rainville housing track. Good variety with the housing set back far enough to not be an issue.

BEST AFFORDABLE: I finally was admitted to the Coronado Mens Golf Club this year after waitng on the list for 5 years. I feel truely blessed every time I'm out there. The combination of the atmosphere on San Diego and Glorietta Bays, and best muni golf course in the County make this place a joy to compete on. Conditions here rival some of the area's private clubs and all for $30!

BEST MODERATELY PRICED: I'm pretty sure we paid less than $60 to play Santa Maria CC after the KP this spring. Really nice older layout, I actually likes the newer holes on the other side of the railroad tracks a little better. Wouldn't pass up a memebership here.

BEST: Whitinsville!

[Sean_A]

Saltzy

You are convincing me regarding Barton Hills.  Since its in an area which I tend to visit, I hope to see it some day.  Is it difficult to access?  Also, what is the drive time from Boston to Whittinsville?

Tom D

How did you cope with the greens at Delamere and Stoneham?  I find them quite flat and not terribly interesting. I did do review of Stoneham many years ago.  What did you think of Stoneham's 13th?

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,30823.0.html

I am quite surprised you liked Kington so much.  I think the layout is excellent, but ever so basic in terms of the man-made interventions.  

Rihc - I need to make it to Sheringham one day. I agree with concerning Montrose.  Okay, I played it after CB, Trump and Aberdeen, but man, so many holes were very similar.  This is quite good links land that should have produced a better course.  

Ciao

[Martin Toal]

Dear God, Arble is a Yank?

He always seemed so cultured and reasonable.








TFIC.

[Mike Hendren]

Martin, don't be so surprised.  There are dozens like him in the states.

Bogey

[Tony_Muldoon]

Boget there's a surprinsg no of them over here too!

Thanks to Sean's enthusiasm I too visited Stoneham.   Count me as another fan, here's the 13th.


Stoneham.

Short, blind and what the pictures don’t show is, don’t go left.

























PS form now on thes awards are to be known as "The Tin Man Awards".   No one watches the weather forecast closer than The Tin Man.

[Garland Bayley]

I don't travel a lot for golf, but I couldn't help but respond after seeing Pete's post.

MOST SURPRISING COURSE: San Luis Obispo CC. Neil Meagher is doing good things here. What I learned about the course before going there gave me no clue as to what I would find there. Pictures flatten things out. This course is not flat!

MOST DISAPOINTING COURSE: Marshallia Ranch, Vandenberg AFB. Boring, repetitious, artificial. I had looked forward to this because others had given it decent reviews.

BEST NEW PLAY COURSE: Morro Bay Golf Course, Morro Bay, CA. Fairly simple course on decent land. Since I only played about 6 new courses this year, not a lot of competition for this honor, but agreeing with Alex Miller on this means I can't be that wrong.

MOST SURPRISING SECOND LOOK: Soule Park, Ojai, CA. Just look how many mentions it got on the look forward to play low cost course thread.

LEAST FAVORITE FAUX LINKS (NStE): Monarch Dunes in Nippomo. It's built on sand not far from the Ocean, but the holes most affected by wind seem to be the narrowest. The holes least affected by wind are pond infested. I can't think of an uglier 18th hole, this one fashioned by a clearly artificially shaped artificial pond leaving a high handicapper nightmare approach shot.

FAVORITE INLAND: Other than my home course, I really like Longview CC, Longview, WA.

BEST AFFORDABLE: My home course, because you don't have to give up golf in the rainy season because of mud and sloppy conditions. Therefore, it is a year around value.

MOST CLUELESS MAINTENANCE. Elk Ridge, Carson, WA. If they could just mow the whole course to fairway height and let you play the exciting terrain instead of having ball sucking rough bordering narrow fairways in the very windy Columbia Gorge, I think it could be one of the most fun places to play in the Pacific Northwest. My regular playing partner is 13 to 15 strokes better than me, but I beat him here, because his "big" misses were lost balls, where mine lucked out and often found other fairways.

[Tony_Muldoon]

Saw about 12 new courses this year, would have been more if I hadn't had to bale from Buda.  Surprising how many of these courses could appear under multiple heading.s



MOST SURPISING COURSE:
Carnoustie Burnside, Thought this would be a filler. Fantastic turf and until I play it's bigger brother it seems like another unique course.
Runner UP The Torance Course.  Who'd thiunk you could have so much fun without actually getting to ST Andrews? Maybe not a world beater but worth playing (more than once I'll be back)


MOST DISAPPOINTING COURSE: Gullane no1.  Not sure what I missed.  It's a nice course and that's the best I can say of it.  Next Royal Montrose is only just a nice course with a lot of forgetable holes.  

BEST NEW PLAY COURSE: Royal Aberdeen.   I was expecting a rather dour "Championship" type course with a huge disparity in quALITY between the front and back 9.  What I found was a total delight. great clubhouse, great setting and lots of fun golf (the back 9 is hardly a let down now even if it's not on such stellar land0.   Although I prefer the quirk at Prestwick and N Berwick, this is a must play in Scotland, just missing the top 6 behind Dornoch, Turnberry, TOC, Muirfield and the two previouulsy mentioned. (This might also have qualified for most surprising course).

MOST SURPRISING SECOND (third or fourth!) LOOK COURSE: Seacroft. Wary of taking a crowd there but my third round was a delight. Not a world beater but I'm glad it's there.

FAVOURITE LINKS not called St Enodoc  Wink:  Brancaster  (this year).   (Although repeated visits to Norht Berwick prove it's not a one off charmer.)


FAVOURITE INLAND COURSE:  Sacred 9 - I was trepidacious. Reviews vary from 10 to disspointing - Finegan, and only 9 holes ot make an impression. 27 holes later and I'm looing forward to many more visits.

BEST AFFORDABLE COURSE: By affordable I mean under £20.  NOt sure I played any course under £20!  Pitlochry wasn't far off, Great fun and superb value - deserves a mention in favourite inland course.

BEST MODERATELY PRICED COURSE: By moderate I mean under £50 .  Did Seacroft meet this criteria?  Orsett in winter certainly did.

BEST COURSE:  Must be nearing a century of plays at Deal and I'm every bit as keen on the next round as ever.  


Enjoy the break and a Happy New Year all.

[Thomas Dai]

MOST DISAPPOINTING COURSE: Beau Desert.  I guess my expectations were too high, since Sean seemed to put this one above his other recommendations, and it was actually one of the less interesting of the dozen new courses I saw in England this fall.  Sadly, the other one that fell into this category for me was Perranporth.  I remember how excited Noel Freeman and Paul Turner were when they discovered it.  It's a lovely setting, but the golf was pretty bizarre.

Aaaaaaaargh!
Pretty good chance that folk around the Cannock area plus those in Cornwall together with their supporters will be burning copies of a certain new book when it is released (sic)!
ATB

[Brent Hutto]

BEST AFFORDABLE COURSE: By affordable I mean under £20.  NOt sure I played any course under £20!  Pitlochry wasn't far off, Great fun and superb value - deserves a mention in favourite inland course.

Glad to hear you found Pitlochry memorable and fun. They've had some renovation/lengthening/strengthening "stuff" done since I was there and I was hoping they had not somehow spoilt it. Best time I've ever had on a course built on such steep terrain. Only bad hole on the property IMHO is that little downhill one-shotter on the back nine with the OB fence and encroaching trees all around. Yuck. But otherwise it's just fun-fun-fun from beginning to end.

[Daryl David]

MOST SURPISING COURSE: New Zealand Club.  What a gem of heathland golf.  
Runner up:  Victoria.  I knew it would be good from TV, but it really blew me away in person.  As firm and fast as I have ever experienced.  Perhaps the one in the sandbelt that I would most want to play on a daily basis.

MOST DISAPPOINTING COURSE: Palouse Ridge.  I guess I had my hopes way too high as this course is always mentioned along with Wine Valley in the same breath.  No comparison.  WV is better in every respect from routing, greens and turf.  PR is still fun and a great value, but is not worth a big detour to play.

BEST NEW PLAY COURSE: Barnbougle Dunes.  Just awesome.  I can’t think of a hole that disappointed.  Love the greens and surrounds.  Always multiply ways to attack with appropriate risk and reward coefficients.

MOST SURPRISING SECOND (third or fourth!) LOOK COURSE: Old Mac.  My love of the course increases with each visit.  Another trip and it will take over as my favorite at the resort.

FAVOURITE LINKS not called St Enodoc.  Barnbougle in a runaway.  Honorable mention to Deal.

[James Boon]

Martin, he certainly is a Yank, but I'm not sure about this cultured and reasonable bit you mention?  

And Tony, spot on with your "Tin Man". As the man himself is so keen on nicknames perhaps we need to make this one stick?  

Thomas, I feel slightly at fault as I joined Tom for his round at Beau and I had a bad shoulder and played like a hacker that day! So I couldn't have been much fun and was surely a distraction from the delights of this course!  

Cheers,

James

[Mark Bourgeois]

MOST SURPRISING COURSE:  Annapolis - to paraphrase GB Shaw, some play courses as they are and ask why. I played this course as it could be and asked, why not? (Realistically I should paraphrase Carl Hiassen: ...others play this course as it could be and ask, how much?) Carolina CC GC deserves a mention: I can’t say I was “surprised” exactly, other than in the sense I continue to be surprised how fond I am even of “modified Rosses.” A strong personal reminder to continue to focus on playing any courses in Western (or, in the case of Charlotte, “Westernish”) North Carolina that have Ross’s name attached.

MOST DISAPPOINTING COURSE: UNC Finley. Particularly the back 9. The front kind of raised my admittedly-low expectations, with a nice walk, several interesting greens and good use of sandy waste areas. Those expectations were dashed by a back-nine waterlogged slog of unmemorable difficulty -- well, at least of “wrongly memorable” golf. Come to think of it, the expectation lowering began on 9.

BEST NEW PLAY COURSE: I am under no illusions that after one play I understand, from personal experience rather than from received wisdom, what NGLA really is about, but the memory of the round -- specific holes and shots -- continues to resonate months after the fact. No one ever tells you things like how wild the Cape’s fairway is. I like that on a course beaten to death here there remain things available to discover. RUNNERS-UP: Indian Creek has incredible diversity green complexes (If perhaps repetitive)! 17 years after first desiring to play it, I finally got to Roaring Gap. Worth the wait and then some; the newly restored course bears little resemblance to most of the photos in Ran’s review.

MOST SURPRISING SECOND (third or fourth!) LOOK COURSE: Burning Tree has surprised me with each successive round. It has to top out at some point, perhaps as soon as the next round, but I keep forgetting there are genuinely interesting holes out there. Desperately needs tree removal to improve conditioning (fans in October) and remove definition (trees frame playing corridors very “well”). If the trees go better mowing lines could be on offer, too.

FAVOURITE LINKS not called St Enodoc:  With great dismay I report no entry this year.

FAVOURITE INLAND COURSE: Yale. Personally, there is nothing new under the sun in this category.

BEST AFFORDABLE COURSE: By affordable I mean under £20.  Golf really has become stupidly expensive and Hyde Park is a reminder that golf can be affordable, accessible and fun. I had a sense of what I was in for on the putting green, in the center of which is an anchor stay for a very tall radio antenna. Many courses would have moved the green (had they not eliminated the antenna altogether); Hyde Park just worked it in. RUNNER-UP: possibly Lexington G&CC; really just for the canted, shockingly-fast greens I encountered late fall -- fun in a “once every now and then” sense.

BEST MODERATELY PRICED COURSE: By moderate I mean under £50 (~$75) and no member invitation or other special circumstances involved. Shennecossett is the clear winner. The non-Ross holes are disappointing, as is the Ross 1st. And the course sorely needs a pace-of-play consultant; management could recoup the cost in a matter of weeks (sadly). All of that is counterbalanced by a collection of fun par 3s, some nifty green complexes, and even a haha.