Top 25 Courses You Want To Play

[jeffwarne]

Despite the gaping holes in my modern course, west of the Mississippi resume,.....

Starting at Traigh in Northwestern Scotland, working north  through Askernish, Scarista, over to Durness, (with a few 9 hole gems whose names I've forgotten along the way)
Reay, Wick, down along the coast to Moray, Cullen, 5-6 in that area whose name escapes me, Fraserburgh. Peterhead, Rosehearty, Stonehaven and flying out of Aberdeen.

That's at least 25 so I may need a full 7 days

Then there's the rest of England and the Arble tours........

so many courses, so little time..

[Thomas Dai]

Starting at Traigh in Northwestern Scotland, working north and west through Askernish, Scarista, over to Durness, (with a few 9 hole gems along the way) Reay, Wick, down along the coast to Moray, Cullen, 5-6 in that area whose name escapes me, Fraserburgh, Stonehaven and flying out of Aberdeen.

Jeff,

That would be an epic trip.

Low key and under the usual radar, the best way to go.

atb

PS - see also Benbecula GC - the course immediately adjacent to the airport folks normally use to fly to/from Askernish/Uist - http://www.benbeculagolfclub.co.uk/ - it might be just up your street!

[Greg Taylor]

There's the usual suspects:

ANGC, PV, Shinnecock/NGLA

But more interestingly the unseen to me Sean Arble golf trail...

Painswick
Pennard
Sacred Nine
Huntercombe


Then there's courses I would never have heard of if it were not for GCA...

Whippoorwill, Ballyhack, Prairie Dunes, Kinsgley, Ballyneal


And finally Sunningdale... I simply have to play what is arguably the best inland course in the UK.

[Ryan Coles]

There's the usual suspects:

ANGC, PV, Shinnecock/NGLA

But more interestingly the unseen to me Sean Arble golf trail...

Painswick
Pennard
Sacred Nine
Huntercombe


Then there's courses I would never have heard of if it were not for GCA...

Whippoorwill, Ballyhack, Prairie Dunes, Kinsgley, Ballyneal


And finally Sunningdale... I simply have to play what is arguably the best inland course in the UK.

Played Sunningdale x2 on Tuesday. I'd say they are the two best. Will take more plays to separate them. £165 for both courses in bright autumnal sunshine. The best value greenfee I've paid. The Club is perfection.

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

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.   

+1
We all love and respect the same game, otherwise we wouldnt be on this site.
It is a marvelous game played predominantly by wonderful people as the very generous responses to my Australia trip show...other than me making somewhat of a faux pas and misunderstanding.....if a guy want to post his wish list , so be it

[Josh Tarble]

Can I just list the "Gourmet Choices" from each Confidential Guide and be done with it?

[Greg Taylor]

There's the usual suspects:

ANGC, PV, Shinnecock/NGLA

But more interestingly the unseen to me Sean Arble golf trail...

Painswick
Pennard
Sacred Nine
Huntercombe


Then there's courses I would never have heard of if it were not for GCA...

Whippoorwill, Ballyhack, Prairie Dunes, Kinsgley, Ballyneal


And finally Sunningdale... I simply have to play what is arguably the best inland course in the UK.

Played Sunningdale x2 on Tuesday. I'd say they are the two best. Will take more plays to separate them. £165 for both courses in bright autumnal sunshine. The best value greenfee I've paid. The Club is perfection.

Thanks for that... LoL... "here's what you could have won".... 

[J_ Crisham]

My list is:
      Northland In Duluth
      Fenway
      Baltimore CC
      Olympic Club(post reno)
      Rock Creek
      Whispering Pines
      Orchard Lakes
      Barton Hills
      Canterbury
      Inverness
      Astoria
      Davenport CC(post Reno)
      Cedar Rapids CC(post reno)
      Meadow Club
      Palmetto
      Old Town
      Roaring Gap
      Grandfather
      Sara Bay
      Glenview Club(post Reno)
      Shoreacres(post Reno)
      Old Elm(post reno)
      Medinah 1(post reno)
      Barrington Hills
      Cape Arundel   

[Bradley Anderson]

St. Andrews
NGLA
Shinecock Hills
Pine Valley
Merion
Myopia
Garden City Golf Club
Seminole
Fishers Island
Cyprus Point
Alwoodley
Walton Heath old
Sunningdale Old
Moortown
Augusta
Muirfield
Crystal Downs
Prairie Dunes
Riveria
Essex, MA
Victoria
Mid Ocean
The Country Club
Ekwanok

[Tim Martin]

St. Andrews
NGLA
Shinecock Hills
Pine Valley
Merion
Myopia
Garden City Golf Club
Seminole
Fishers Island
Cyprus Point
Alwoodley
Walton Heath old
Sunningdale Old
Moortown
Augusta
Muirfield
Crystal Downs
Prairie Dunes
Riveria
Essex, MA
Victoria
Mid Ocean
The Country Club
Ekwanok

You don't see Ekwanok on many of these lists. A great selection as Travis routed a beauty with some unique holes and a great set of greens.

[Chris DeToro]

A couple mentions for Ekwanok now 

[Tommy Williamsen]

Not sure I have 25.  There are three I would like to see: Askernish, Machrahanish, Machrie.

[Rich Goodale]

The top 25 courses I want to play are mostly re-plays, for various reasons and from the following random list:

Kingston Heath
Cypress Point
Pebble Beach
NGLA
Dornoch
Muirfield
Olympic (Lake)
SFGC
Valley Club
TPC-Sawgrass
Myopia
Winchester
Prestwick
Western Gailes
Stanford
Silloth
St. Jean de Monts
Ballyliffin (Old)
Woods Hole
Dornoch Struie
Gulph Mills
Chechessee
Leven Links
Il Piccolo
Aberdour
Kilspindie
Auchterderran

Of the ones I have not yet played, the list is smaller, and decreasing year by year:

Sheep Ranch
Mulranny
Boat of Garten
Augusta National
Pine Valley
Friar's Head
Fisher's Island
Seminole
The Country Club
Enniscrone

[Adam Lawrence]

Not sure I have 25.  There are three I would like to see: Askernish, Machrahanish, Machrie.

The Machrihanish / Mach Dunes trip is a no brainer - tack on Machrie and a couple more for a superb West of Scotland trip

The new Ardfin course on the isle of Jura will be done before too long also. Bob Harrison tells me they expect construction to be finished next year, presumably for opening in 2016.

[Kevin_D]

I suppose I'll chime in here and try to add a little color on why for each grouping and will try to avoid the obvious (Cypress! PV!  ).

Long Island: Southampton GC, Atlantic, the Bridge.  I've played the big names in the Hamptons and all have lived up to their high billing. These are the 3 I haven't played.  Love the threads on Southampton here after the reno (and heard great things from some golfers who have played their share of great courses), and curious to see Atlantic and the Bridge for myself.

Westchester: Sleepy Hollow and Fenway. Sleepy is probably the course that, seeing pictures of and reading about the reno, I think I would most enjoy that I haven't played yet. Fenway - read good things here from Pat and others, curious how it compares to Wykagyl, Quaker, Siwanoy. I'll also throw in WF East too - curious how it compares to West in both architecture and difficulty (hopefully easier!).

NJ: Somerset Hills.  Current photo thread - enough said!

SoCal: the wife likes LA, and I like going with her and playing golf while I'm there (especially when it's winter in the Northeast!).  I had a blast playing Riviera earlier this year. Love the thread on Wilshire and would like to check that out. In the no brainer category I hope to play LACC - Ran's terrific review says it all.  Would also love to see Bel Air, and definitely plan on hitting Rustic Canyon during my next trip (which to me kinds of looks like Tallgrass - my go to public near the Hamptons - but in a much better setting).

NoCal: need to play Pasatiempo for sure as part of my next trip to Monterey - photos look amazing and have heard nothing but great things, both here and elsewhere. Despite it possibly being a slog I would like to play Spyglass too.  Around SF Cal Club looks the most appealing to me - blown away by the photos I've seen.

FL: would like to see the two Doral courses Hanse just re-did - Red and Gold - to see how they turned out. Loved what he did with the Blue Monster and those seem like they might be more playable. The other one I hope to see (which I discovered thanks to this site) is Pine Tree.

So many golf courses, so little time...

[Jud_T]

Not sure I have 25.  There are three I would like to see: Askernish, Machrahanish, Machrie.

This. Also Parraparaumu, Westward Ho!, Brancaster, Mildenhall, North Berwick, Pasatiempo and Palmetto.  The anti-access whoring list...

[Thomas Dai]

Not sure I have 25.  There are three I would like to see: Askernish, Machrahanish, Machrie.

This. Also Parraparaumu, Westward Ho!, Brancaster, Mildenhall, North Berwick, Pasatiempo and Palmetto.  The anti-access whoring list...

Jud,

Please forgive me for asking, but does Mildenhall also go by another name?

Atb

[Thomas Dai]

Thank you. I did wonder.

In fact, I looked up the RW&N website only to see they record their address as Bury St Edmonds. It's miles from B-St-bloody-E!!!!

So, henceforth I propose that RW&N should be called not the 'Secred-9', but should be called the 'Secret-9'!

Atb

[DFarron]

So...being new to this group wanted to explain my posting. Stumbled across GCA while being bored at work, have been a golf course architecture fan since I took up the game 33 years ago. I thought that this was a forum where guys who really love golf could discuss the merits of various courses. Kind of disappointed I got the reaction I did, so since I'm new let me share a few things.

1. My intention was never to show off or brag. Because of my profession I have been extremely blessed to have played some wonderful courses.

2. I AM NOT looking for an invite, hook up or any other favor from a member of this group. Because of how long I have been in the golf industry I have invites to every place that I have mentioned in the post, but time and location have precluded me playing them. That being said I hope to play all the courses on the list.

I hope that helps....just want to while away some boring hours at work talking about one of my favorite subjects, that's all.....

[Joey Chase]

Although it seems silly to me to make a "dream list", I agree with Brian in that you can't have enough places you'd like to realistically visit.

My 25 are:

Neguri - I love the few courses I have seen by Arana and really like the setting of the course and have been to that part of Spain and love it
Le Touquet
Hardelot - These two are together in that I would like to see this region and check out the two clubs and also see the renovation work by Frank Pont that looks great
Kennemer - I loved the atmosphere at Noordwijkse and am told Kennemer is as good.  I really like the idea of great links golf in the Netherlands
Prestwick - It may be the course I want to play above all others
The Machrie - It seems like as great an experience as it is a golf course
Estela - Having spent a fair amount of time in Portugal, it is the only course I really want to see.  That is until the new course by Kidd is done in Comporta
Hamburger - Heathland in Germany sounds good to me.  I would like another reason or two to visit the area
Fontainebleu
St. Germain - A really good reason to visit Paris again and two fun looking places.  I was jealous of the few photo tours this summer
Myopia - I love Garden City and am told, although the golf is quite different, the ambience of the clubs are similar.  Garden City is my dream club to join
All of Bandon - What a great place to place...  so I'm told
Ganton - Woodhall Spa has amazing bunkering and it sounds like Ganton rivals it.  
Yas Links - A friend helped do the shaping for Kyle Phillips and raved about it.
Crystal Downs - The one dream course I may someday play, I hope.  It must be great, Tom Doak plays out of there!
Fano - I like the idea of such a cool low key links in Denmark and want to see it for my own eyes
Royal Melbourne
Kingston Heath - I'll get down under sometime for these guys and a few others
Swinley Forest - I love Morfontaine, the whole experience is great.  Can Swinley Forest be better?
Casa de Campo - I love Pete Dye courses and this one is among his best and in a tropical setting
Yeaman's Hall - Seth Raynor gets it done and I can't get enough
Thracian Cliffs - I would love to see it for the spectacular setting alone
Old Town - All of the photos of this place make it look magical
Granville/Dinard - I am planning a visit this winter, I love links golf, would like to see french links golf and am anxious to see these ones
Shinnecock Hills - This one is my albatross/white whale.  I have had a few chances to play but never was able to.  Also, one of my first memories of a U.S. Open watching with my Dad, a sadistic greenkeeper that reveled in the idea of the pros struggling to break par and Corey Pavin's 4 wood is etched in my mind.  Probably the one on this list I'll not get to, but a great one all the same.

There are a hundred others I want to see and play but that's my 25

[Adam Lawrence]

Joey - now _that's_ a list!

[Joey Chase]

Joey - now _that's_ a list!

I forgot to mention Roncao D'el Rei - the unfinished course I helped shape in the Alentejo region of Portugal.  It really just needs sand in the bunkers and, sadly now, a bunch of detail work to be playable.  Unfortunately it is being grazed by cows and the Alentejano black pigs and not mowers.

[Adam Lawrence]

Is that the project Dave Fleury was doing?

[Joey Chase]

Is that the project Dave Fleury was doing?

Yes, with Roger Rulewich. 

[Ash Towe]

Shinnie
PV
Augusta
Crystal Downs
Garden City
Streamsong
Cabot
RCCC
Old Town
Dismal River

Ellerston
Newcastle
Peninsula North
Cape Wickham

Prestwick
Rennaissance
North Berwick

Royal St Georges
Nottingham

Tara Iti
Oreti Sands
Royal Wellington

Bit of a cheat next:

Copy Brian Sheehy's trip to France
Copy BUDA Cup to Holland