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Ran Morrissett

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... now posted under Best of Golf/ Course Tours.

Paid writers have it tough. They face deadlines, space constraints, and even worse, are often burdened with uninteresting subjects. Happily, those limitations don’t apply to all of us here at GolfClubAtlas.com. We create course profiles and only write about courses/places that truly move us. Our motivation is altruistic and not pecuniary and that purity of purpose is one of this website's enduring virtues.
 
Since GolfClubAtlas.com was launched in 1999, countless photo threads have taken us to courses that we might not otherwise have seen  -  from Lord Howe Island to Costa Rica to Sri Lanka. The real challenge has been to organize the vast array of tours that numerous people have contributed. Enter Dave Harshbarger and his amazing, dynamic map. He has posted about it before but it is now a permanent addition to this site.
 
According to Dave,
 
The map below is a mashup of sorts, between Google Maps and the “experimental” Google FusionTables product.  Google developed FusionTables as a tool to facilitate spatial visualization .It quickly enables the upload of spatial data and rendesr it on a Google map.  The FusionTable is a virtual data table stored in the cloud (much like a Google Doc).
 
Being over 50 years of age, I honestly don't understand that :-[ :'(  but I do know that like Google, Dave's map is clean, super easy to use and opens up the world in a way that many of us will spend hours upon hours happily bouncing around the globe, dreaming of getting to this or that place. It's one of those wonderful instances in which technology adds value by expanding the mind.
 
A HUGE THANK YOU to Dave as his map is a spectacular asset; go have a play and see if you don't agree!

Best,

JLahrman

  • Karma: +0/-0
Awesome. I foresee this tool getting a lot of use.

Russ Arbuthnot

  • Karma: +0/-0
I already had this map bookmarked and referenced it quite a bit. As Dave says, he stopped updating it in May of 2013, but I do think it is possible for anyone to update it if they are resourceful enough. A tool like this would be immensely popular in my opinion as it gives more realistic and therefore trustworthy review / introduction to courses compared to other, unnamed, but heavily advertised review sites.

PCCraig

  • Karma: +0/-0
Wow...what an awesome tool. Thank you to Ran & Dave for putting together and posting.
H.P.S.

Matt Frey, PGA

  • Karma: +0/-0
This is amazing and will be my go-to tool. Thank you!

Chris DeToro

  • Karma: +0/-0
this is fantastic--great tool!

Wayne_Kozun

  • Karma: +0/-0
Thanks Dave - this is spectacular.

Carl Nichols

  • Karma: +0/-0
Can someone explain how to add a course tour to the map? 

Rich Goodale

  • Karma: +0/-0
Very well done, Dave.  Thanks!

As Carl says, can we add to these as many great courses have multiple tours and/or write ups on this site.

Rich
Life is good.

Any afterlife is unlikely and/or dodgy.

Jean-Paul Parodi

Greg Taylor

Great stuff - web page of the year!

David Harshbarger

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: GCA.com's own index of course tours, courtesy of Dave Harshbarger ...
« Reply #10 on: August 27, 2014, 09:19:07 PM »
Thanks for the positive comments.

Russ, Carl, and Rich, great question about adding to the map.  The short answer is "yes" the map can be added to. The long answer is "it is a little more involved". 

Most of the content that makes up this map was either cut and paste from the address bar of a browser or typed in.  Unfortunately, the piece of data that really matters, the location, was added to each row through an app that no longer works, due to changes Google made in the underlying API used to manipulate fusion tables.  Google made the original API obsolete (deprecated then retired).  Unfortunately, the app maker abandoned maintaining the app, and didn't provide an update to use the new API. Boo!

That app, MyMaps, was a thing of simplicity.  It embedded a google map in an app that allowed you to place a pin very precisely then write that location to a new row in a Fusion Table.  The location of the pin was converted to a snippet of KML, or keyhole markup language.  This snippet captured the latitude and longitude of the pin (lat lon) in proper KML.

Where that leaves this is that there needs to be a reliable method to create the KML snippet used to pin the course.  If we have that, having anyone add to the map would be very possible.

If anyone's interested in getting involved in updating this, send me a PM or email and we can start a separate thread on how to bring that forward.  I'm ready to move off my first requirement, that I can do the whole thing on iPad :-)  And the mapping tool supports some other cool features, like search (by Architect :) :) :) ?) so maybe there's a 2.0 version should Ran be so inclined.

Lastly, thanks to all of the contributors to golfclubatlas.com that have made an effort like this worthwhile.  It's the generosity of the many many chroniclers that imbue this visualization with meaning.  Thank you all for making it a pleasure to traipse to the corners of the globe.

The trouble with modern equipment and distance—and I don't see anyone pointing this out—is that it robs from the player's experience. - Mickey Wright

mark chalfant

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: GCA.com's own index of course tours, courtesy of Dave Harshbarger ...
« Reply #11 on: August 29, 2014, 12:37:23 PM »
Dave,

Thanks so much for all your effort to bring  us this great  research tool !!

Mark

David Harshbarger

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: GCA.com's own index of course tours, courtesy of Dave Harshbarger ...
« Reply #12 on: September 02, 2014, 08:37:51 PM »
Thanks to Russ Arbuthnot coming up with a workaround to get the location data updated, the GCA map now has some updated and new tours posted.

If you know of tours or other notable threads that should be included on the map please let us know. We can start bringing this up to date.
The trouble with modern equipment and distance—and I don't see anyone pointing this out—is that it robs from the player's experience. - Mickey Wright

James Boon

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: GCA.com's own index of course tours, courtesy of Dave Harshbarger ...
« Reply #13 on: September 03, 2014, 08:20:32 AM »
Ran and David,

A quick note to add my thanks for this as its a marvelous resource. I've always used Google Maps / Earth plus Bing maps when looking into golf courses, so having the ability to link straight to photo tours and other articles from there is fantastic!

If there is some way this can be updated and added to that would only enhance its usefulness!

Cheers,

James
2023 Highlights: Hollinwell, Brora, Parkstone, Cavendish, Hallamshire, Sandmoor, Moortown, Elie, Crail, St Andrews (Himalayas & Eden), Chantilly, M, Hardelot Les Pins

"It celebrates the unadulterated pleasure of being in a dialogue with nature while knocking a ball round on foot." Richard Pennell

David Harshbarger

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: GCA.com's own index of course tours, courtesy of Dave Harshbarger ...
« Reply #14 on: September 03, 2014, 08:18:32 PM »
Ran and David,

A quick note to add my thanks for this as its a marvelous resource. I've always used Google Maps / Earth plus Bing maps when looking into golf courses, so having the ability to link straight to photo tours and other articles from there is fantastic!

If there is some way this can be updated and added to that would only enhance its usefulness!

Cheers,

James

James, Russ is now making some updates and I'm starting to do a few too with a new approach to adding new courses.  We are also updating existing courses, so we should be back in business. 

If you want to help update it let me know and we can work through what's involved.
The trouble with modern equipment and distance—and I don't see anyone pointing this out—is that it robs from the player's experience. - Mickey Wright

Zack Molnar

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: GCA.com's own index of course tours, courtesy of Dave Harshbarger ...
« Reply #15 on: September 04, 2014, 10:57:59 PM »
This is an incredible resource. Thank you so much for putting this together. Maybe one day I will be tech-savvy enough to help update!

Sean_A

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: GCA.com's own index of course tours, courtesy of Dave Harshbarger ...
« Reply #16 on: September 05, 2014, 08:58:31 PM »
Very fine Dave, thank you.  I have looked at this map several times over the years.

One way to improve it is to have the name of the tour/course pop up when the mouse is hovered over the dot.

Ciao 
New plays planned for 2024: Nothing

David Harshbarger

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: GCA.com's own index of course tours, courtesy of Dave Harshbarger ...
« Reply #17 on: September 07, 2014, 05:16:48 PM »
Sean, I'll look into the improvements for mouse over behaviors down the line.

For now I'm getting the map up to date so that we can remove the "through 2013" asterisk.  We've added about 35 new courses since Ran put the map on the map so to speak.  New additions include Frank Pont's Swinkelsche, Puakea on Kuaui, Radley Run, Bamburgh Castle, Clovernook, and the mini-golf course at the museum of sculpture in Minneapolis.
The trouble with modern equipment and distance—and I don't see anyone pointing this out—is that it robs from the player's experience. - Mickey Wright

David Harshbarger

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: GCA.com's own index of course tours, courtesy of Dave Harshbarger ...
« Reply #18 on: December 11, 2019, 12:35:23 PM »
Unfortunately: Google has retired the service that powered this map.


Fortunately: Tableau has a free visualization service.


Unfortunately: Google included links back to the site built dynamically from the underlying data.


Fortunately: Tableau's version supports even better popups with dynamic links, plus *filtering by architect(s) and year*. 


https://public.tableau.com/profile/david.harshbarger#!/vizhome/GolfClubAtlas-TourMap/Sheet1


If you give it a try and have any issues, let me know.
The trouble with modern equipment and distance—and I don't see anyone pointing this out—is that it robs from the player's experience. - Mickey Wright

Joe Bausch

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: GCA.com's own index of course tours, courtesy of Dave Harshbarger ...
« Reply #19 on: December 11, 2019, 12:55:50 PM »

https://public.tableau.com/profile/david.harshbarger#!/vizhome/GolfClubAtlas-TourMap/Sheet1

If you give it a try and have any issues, let me know.


Yes, I'm using older version of browsers on one of my main computers.  That link always crashes an older version of Firefox and doesn't display correctly on an older version of Chrome (working on an older version of OS X).


I'll try later at home on my up-to-date MacBook Pro.
@jwbausch (for new photo albums)
The site for the Cobb's Creek project:  https://cobbscreek.org/
Nearly all Delaware Valley golf courses in photo albums: Bausch Collection

David Harshbarger

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: GCA.com's own index of course tours, courtesy of Dave Harshbarger ...
« Reply #20 on: December 11, 2019, 01:06:06 PM »

https://public.tableau.com/profile/david.harshbarger#!/vizhome/GolfClubAtlas-TourMap/Sheet1

If you give it a try and have any issues, let me know.


Yes, I'm using older version of browsers on one of my main computers.  That link always crashes an older version of Firefox and doesn't display correctly on an older version of Chrome (working on an older version of OS X).


I'll try later at home on my up-to-date MacBook Pro.


I've tested on latest Safari and Chrome running on a Mac.  Seems to work fine in both.  Fingers crossed you have that experience on your up-to-date Mac.

The trouble with modern equipment and distance—and I don't see anyone pointing this out—is that it robs from the player's experience. - Mickey Wright

Michael Felton

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: GCA.com's own index of course tours, courtesy of Dave Harshbarger ...
« Reply #21 on: December 11, 2019, 10:01:03 PM »
This is outstanding - just found the course that I used to play at when I was at school. Epsom Golf Club. Just about the last place I expected to see mentioned on here!

Sean_A

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: GCA.com's own index of course tours, courtesy of Dave Harshbarger ...
« Reply #22 on: December 12, 2019, 03:27:31 AM »
The map doesn't seem to work for me. When I hit view it goes back to dates and archies filters.

Happy Hockey
New plays planned for 2024: Nothing

Neil Regan

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: GCA.com's own index of course tours, courtesy of Dave Harshbarger ...
« Reply #23 on: December 12, 2019, 04:08:52 AM »
It works on iPad Safari.
You have to be careful with the interface, sometimes it bounces around mysteriously, and the filtering can be tricky to manage.
But the results are superb.


Thank you.
Grass speed  <>  Green Speed

David Harshbarger

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: GCA.com's own index of course tours, courtesy of Dave Harshbarger ...
« Reply #24 on: December 12, 2019, 10:35:10 AM »
The map doesn't seem to work for me. When I hit view it goes back to dates and archies filters.

Happy Hockey


That's not very happy hockey, Sean. 


Ideas: make sure the browser window is open large enough to see the map section and the filters.
Use the arrows at the bottom right to go back any changes (they act like back button in the browser).  Try the image that is n arrow back to a line.  This resets the view.



The trouble with modern equipment and distance—and I don't see anyone pointing this out—is that it robs from the player's experience. - Mickey Wright

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