Gents, why Deal?
First of all I have to say it was a great trip and I'd love to play any single one of those courses again and if I were living there and lucky enough to be a member of any of them I would consider myself very fortunate.
That out of the way:
1. I'm a huge fan of links golf, it's by far my favorite type of golf. So huge "links" bias.
2. Variation. No two holes were similar at Deal in my opinion.
3. I love having to "Deal" with wind and elements - back to links type golf on this one.
4. Undulations in the fairways, how often do you end up with a flat lie there? I love this aspect of the game at Deal, way more creativity needed to pull off shots.
5. Amazing green surrounds and contours. Perhaps my favorite part of the game since it's one of the only parts I consider myself quite good at ie my scoring is usually done around the greens, I love it when this is challenging and requires a high level of creativity and usage of different clubs.
6. Atmosphere, finally I'm but a simple guy who grew up in the country, Deal is all about the golf as far as I can tell. This is one of the things I love about Noordwijkse as well although we lack any social aspects of club life which is a minus.
7. Fast and firm conditions - another links characteristic but to be fair RCP was completely under water two months ago if I can believe the photos Mark showed us. You could see areas that had been under water but the course was still in what I'd call great shape, especially considering that.
Ventured into town on the waterfront after for a bite to eat since the club house restaurant was already closed. That was lovely as well as Brett states. Although I wouldn't rate a golf course based on club house or the town it's in.