Top 25 Courses You Want To Play

[DFarron]

Mine in order-
Seminole
Augusta
Pine Valley
LACC North
Crystal Downs
Fishers Island
The National
Merion
Royal Dornoch
Royal County Down
Royal Melbourne
The Country Club
Sand Hills
Cruden Bay
MPCC Shore Course
Pacific Dunes
Honors Club
Winged Foot East
Bandon Dunes
Old MacDonald
Calusa Pines
Mountain Lake
Arcadia Bluffs
Peachtree
Double Eagle

[Bart Bradley]

Drew

watch out

Bart

[Paul Gray]

25!

I've got a list of courses in the south of England still that's longer than that and it's where I live!

[Terry Lavin]

...

[BHoover]

Apparently even listing courses one wants to play, without even asking to actually play said courses, is considered taboo (i.e., access whoring). Come on, why is this discussion board so uptight. Yeesh.   

[Eric Smith]

http://golfclubatlas.com/the-next-fifty/

[Don Mahaffey]

Whenever this sort of thread starts up I cringe.

Read Ran's reviews about how golf only flourishes when top ties clubs spend 8 figures, look at all the glorious pictures, read about the great experience other private club members had playing said course, but don't dare express a desire to actually see the course in person.

This isn't a tabloid...is it? 

[Tom_Doak]

I have a list in the back of my book, too.

Crossed one off the list today, in fact.

[John Kavanaugh]

Here is the list of the 25 best courses he has played.  Seems like a serious guy.


Cypress
Pebble
Miurfield (Scotland)
Chicago GC
Shinnecock
The Old Course
Carnoustie
North Berwick GC
Prarie Dunes
Muirfield Village
Cal Club
Inverness
The Golf Club
Oakland Hills South
Garden City
Camargo Club
Olympic Club Lake
Machrihanish
Pasatiempo
Canterbury
Brookside
The Valley Club of Montecito
Riviera
Barton Hills
San Francisco GC

[Sandy Smith]

I have been so  lucky to get a few "bucket list" already.
My next 25 would be.

National
Shinnecock
Garden City
Fishers Island
Seminole
Chicago
Royal Melbourne
Yeamans Hall
Jasper
Pinehurst #2
Muirfield
Merion
Crystal Downs
San Francisco
Casa De Campo
LACC
New South Wales
Oakmont
Maidstone
Valderrama
Myopia Hunt
Mount Bruno
Sand Hill
Friar's Head
And the first tee time at George Waters maiden design.

[Duncan Cheslett]

Access whoring?

Oh the irony that in the USA, where money apparently drives everything, access to top golf courses is down to 'who you know', whereas in the stuffy old UK, all that really counts is how deep your pocket is!

 

[Tim_Weiman]

Not sure I could come up with a full twenty five, but my list would certainly include:

Hirono
Fishers Island
Friar's Head
LACC
New South Wales
Alwoodley

[Sam Morrow]

These aren't in a particular order.

1. Ballyneal
2. Bayside
3. CPC
4. Pebble
5. Riviera
6. St. Alberts
7. Sagebrush
8. Cabot Links
9. Old Course
10. RCD
11. Ballybunion
12. Royal Melbourne
13. Cape Kidnappers
14. Shinnecock
15. NGLA
16. Augusta National
17. Pasatiempo
18. Clear Creek Tahoe
19. Friars Head
20. Pine Valley
21. Merion
22. Oakmont
23. Black Creek
24. Pete Dye Golf Club
25. Tobacco Road

It's very difficult to do this but a fun exercise.

[Kevin_Reilly]

Fun exercise, and in my mind is completely fair game for here.  Would be better if there were little comments for each course, as to why it is on the list (aside from just being a top-ranked course you haven't played).  Lists without commentary aren't as interesting for me...in the new Confidential Guide I skimmed over the various "category lists" in the back and probably won't turn back to them again.

Surprised to see Sand Hills only at #13 on the original poster's list.

[Tom_Doak]

I don't get much of anything out of other people's lists, because they are mostly listing top-100 courses we already know about.  The only time it gets interesting is when they have a course on their list I haven't heard of.  For example, Sam Morrow's mention of "St. Alberts" is fascinating ... if it isn't an auto-correct typo.

[Paul Gray]

Access whoring?

Oh the irony that in the USA, where money apparently drives everything, access to top golf courses is down to 'who you know', whereas in the stuffy old UK, all that really counts is how deep your pocket is!

 

Their empire has made it to the 1920's. 

[Paul Gray]

I have been so  lucky to get a few "bucket list" already.
My next 25 would be.

National
Shinnecock
Garden City
Fishers Island
Seminole
Chicago
Royal Melbourne
Yeamans Hall
Jasper
Pinehurst #2
Muirfield
Merion
Crystal Downs
San Francisco
Casa De Campo
LACC
New South Wales
Oakmont
Maidstone
Valderrama
Myopia Hunt
Mount Bruno
Sand Hill
Friar's Head
And the first tee time at George Waters maiden design.

Just out of interest, why only one British course? Did you miss Muirfield on a trip over here or something?

[Adam Lawrence]

Access whoring?

Oh the irony that in the USA, where money apparently drives everything, access to top golf courses is down to 'who you know', whereas in the stuffy old UK, all that really counts is how deep your pocket is!

 

Their empire has made it to the 1920's. 

Paul, is it strictly necessary for you to be quite so snarky and supercilious _all_ the time? I realise you may well mean nothing, or very little by it, but a combination of your posts in recent days does tend to make one think that you believe yourself to be the smartest person here and that virtually everyone else in golf is the sort of snob who only values things when they are expensive.

Please don't take this as a major insult; I'm just trying to let you know how you come across. I'm sure it doesn't reflect the real you. At least I hope it doesn't 

Adam

[Chuck Glowacki]

Shinny
Fisher's
Creek Club
Piping Rock
Engineer's
Rockaway Hunt
Sebonak
Garden City (men's)
Westhampton
Southampton
South Fork
Mill River
Noyac
Oyster Bay
Quogue Field Club
Seawane
St. George's

and I have not left Long Island yet.

[Chuck Glowacki]

also:

Deepdale
Tam O'Shanter
Inwood
Southward Ho
Wheatley Hills

[Ed Tilley]

Split into a 10 which is a bit of a dream - I'm never likely to get there or get an invite or both.

Dreaming 10

Augusta
Cypress Point
Pine Valley
Sand Hills
Royal Melbourne
New South Wales
Barnbougle Dunes
Bandon resort (all courses but just put as 1)
Merion
Rye

Slightly more realistic 15 even if I can't justify the expense on some

TOC
North Berwick
Prestwick
Western Gailes
Machrie
Trump International Aberdeen
Lahinch
Doonbeg
West Sussex
Hankley Common
West Hill
Woking
Deal
Ganton
Birkdale

[Eric Smith]

I don't get much of anything out of other people's lists, because they are mostly listing top-100 courses we already know about.  The only time it gets interesting is when they have a course on their list I haven't heard of.  For example, Sam Morrow's mention of "St. Alberts" is fascinating ... if it isn't an auto-correct typo.

Tom:

I'm afraid that's just Sam needling me a bit. St Alberts is a course I one day hope to build on my parents place.

[Sean_A]

Below is my 2014 hope to play list.

First Timers

Cruit Island
Dunfanaghy
Narin & Portnoo
Portsalon
Llanymynech
Sandy Lodge
Welshpool
Leckford

Revisits

Sacred 9
St Georges Hill
West Sussex (the new Ganton)
Walton Heath Old
Walton Heath New
Rye

I haven't done very well!  

Below is my list of wanna sees based on where I am likely to be travelling or could easily do if the right opportunity arose  

Indianwood Old
Barton Hills
Dunes Club
Kingsley Club
Crystal Downs
Palmetto
Morfontaine
Haagsche
Machrie
Berkshire Red
Pulborough
Walton Heath New

I think this makes 24 total.  There is loads of scope for other courses near many of the listed courses.

[Chris DeToro]

Beyond the usual suspects, I'm actually most interested in seeing the courses that get talked about a lot here that I haven't been to like Dismal River, Rock Creek, and Ballyhack, so I can engage more with those threads.  Then the courses I really want to play--

the Cabot courses--there's just something mystical to me about links golf and the more off the beaten path area
the courses in upstate NY like Teugega and Yahnundasis because I like that they sort of fly under the radar, but this is the area where Ross, Travis, et al spent a lot of time in their careers so I think much can be learned from spots like that
Ekwanok--mostly for the setting
Royal Dornoch. Berwick, Prestwick--to further my understanding and appreciation of links golf and architecture

Not 25, but a glimpse

[Sam Morrow]

I don't get much of anything out of other people's lists, because they are mostly listing top-100 courses we already know about.  The only time it gets interesting is when they have a course on their list I haven't heard of.  For example, Sam Morrow's mention of "St. Alberts" is fascinating ... if it isn't an auto-correct typo.

Tom:

I'm afraid that's just Sam needling me a bit. St Alberts is a course I one day hope to build on my parents place.

no needling,  I look forward to being there opening day.