Grade your state/county

[Scott Sander]

To my mind, Indiana gets a B+ since 1999.

Teacher's Notes:
Indy Anna is a joy to have in class.  She is polite and popular among her peers, though she does tend to step back from the brightest spotlights when given the opportunity to shine.

Unlike many of her classmates, IN particularly excels in public courses.  High marks for new public work in this grading period include Trophy Club, Coyote Crossing, The Warren Course, Purgatory, Belterra, and Purdue (Ackerman).  Heartland Crossing is another one for this list, but I caution the student needs to put a bit more time and energy into it or I fear it will disappear or dramatically diminish, resulting in a grade of "incomplete".

Frankly, the Dye Course at French Lick is causing a bit of a rift among the staff in attempts to grade.  Half of the teachers think it is inspired, if abstract, art - while the other half think it was just a mean-spirited excuse to steal all the trees off an otherwise lovely hill.

In terms of private courses, the grades are good, though not as strong as the public side.  High marks for the openings of Victoria National, Bridgewater, and very recently Chatham Hills.  Woodland CC also had a very successful total redesign.
It has not all been positive, though: Indiana has struggled to keep several older, traditional clubs vibrant and healthy.  She is not alone in this regard.

Finally, it must be noted that for some reason, the student tends to get shy on the largest stages. 
Crooked Stick does marvelously as a site for tournament play for all, except, it seems, for the younger men.  When given the chance to host a Gala, she keeps allowing unseemly -20's.  That would not be a problem except that she keeps re-making herself between those Galas, robbing herself of some gorgeous curves and bunkers just to appease the tour players... who then come out and shoot -20 again. Stop doing that. No good ever came from changing yourself for a bunch of boys!

On the other hand, VN and The Dye Course at French Lick could without question keep the best in check as-is, but the state has them tucked so far away, they will almost certainly never get the chance.

Also, of immediate concern is the fate of one of Indy Anna's best works:  Wolf Run has been widely reported to be in her final months.  I have seen students rally from worse, though, so I remain hopeful.


Overall - Again, marvelous work on the basics.  The state's attention to and gifts for the common golfer are truly fine achievements.
To earn a solid "A", she would have to do a little extra credit to turn around the few blemishes on her report card.

[Joe Bausch]

I just drove by the nine hole Clayton Park and also think Olde Masters should be noted for cheap thrills.

When our work at Cobb's Creek is done, I'm turning my focus to the restoration of Clayton Park and Olde Masters.  Then you can regrade DelCo.   

[Ed Brzezowski]

I just drove by the nine hole Clayton Park and also think Olde Masters should be noted for cheap thrills.

[/quote

When our work at Cobb's Creek is done, I'm turning my focus to the restoration of Clayton Park and Olde Masters.  Then you can regrade DelCo.   

How can you not mention the work at AGC??

[Kalen Braley]

Utah is a tough one.  Can't imagine its very high up the list....a C at best.


But it does have a bunch of really good cheap muni/public courses that are easy to get on, especially on Sundays. 


And We have Sand Hollow and a few decent privates!! 

But haven't many of Utah's better courses been built since 1999?

Carl,


I suspect thats true.  In thinking of all the top ones I've played here, that may apply to almost all of them.

[Niall C]

West of Scotland
 
If memory serves, Robert Price in his book Scotland’s Golf Courses, lists c.140 courses in the general West of Scotland area. It’s as mature a golf “market” as you can get.


Obviously the headliners are Turnberry and this year’s Open venue Royal Troon. Turnberry has been largely redesigned, opening recently to rave revues, while Troon also got the MacKenzie Ebert treatment to good effect. Never the most popular with overseas visitors it appears that RT is now getting a bit more respect if not love however time will tell whether that is the Open effect or a general reassessment of its merits.


Whether the Turnberry redesign and Troons exposure from the Open will persuade more visitors to visit the west coast ahead of the east coast or even up north also remains to be seen.


Away from the main attractions there has been little new development in the last 17 years which is maybe what you might expect for such a mature “market” with the most notable new courses probably being Dundonald (Kyle Phillips) and Marr Hall (Dave Thomas). Both courses were conceived as commercial operations but Dundonald is now member owned. One other notable addition is the recent development of a nine hole municipal in the north of Glasgow which says something if the local authority sees a demand for basic golfing facilities in these straitened times.


On the debit side we’ve lost at least one members club that I can think of. The club had to give up the ghost after 105 years in existence. I’ve heard said of another 2 or 3 that reputedly are on the brink and even the most well healed clubs have small or no waiting lists. From an observational POV while there might be a higher than usual turnover in members at most clubs in recent years, those that are members seem to be fairly keen judging how busy most courses are.


Hopefully we won’t lose any more and from a personal standpoint I hope it encourages clubs to be more cost driven and get back to basics with the golf coming first.


Niall

[Carl Nichols]

Utah is a tough one.  Can't imagine its very high up the list....a C at best.


But it does have a bunch of really good cheap muni/public courses that are easy to get on, especially on Sundays. 


And We have Sand Hollow and a few decent privates!! 

But haven't many of Utah's better courses been built since 1999?

Carl,


I suspect thats true.  In thinking of all the top ones I've played here, that may apply to almost all of them.

So wouldn't your grade be much higher than a C? As I interpreted it, at least, Ran's question was looking for a grade on the relative improvement -- and Utah seems to have gotten much better.

[Tim_Weiman]

Sadly Goat Hill has progressively gotten worse

Jeff how can you give an A+ when you end the way you did.


What I'm generally seeing is the top end golf is getting better and the daily plays are getting worse.  For many on here that may be cause for an A+ but that's not my perspective.


I've been in Dayton Ohio for just over a year and haven't experienced much of Ohio golf.  Dayton is rife with golf history (home of MacGregor and hosted the PGA on 3 different courses).  This is also the first time I've been in the top end of private golf.


The last course I played was Brookside, in Canton, and they were working on irrigation throughout the greens.  The course was magnificent and I hope Ran gets there to profile it (it's in the next 50 list).  My home course is doing some tree removal and redoing our bunkers.  In the specified time period our greens were rebuilt, after hosting a USGA event.  I follow our superintendents twitter feed and this week he posted photo's of progress on the bunkers.  I couldn't help but realize how fortunate I am to play a course where significant amounts of money is utilized to improve the overall aesthetics of bunkers (there is also improvement in strategy as bunkers are changing size, location and surrounds).  At the same time I felt a bit guilty.


Next door a great change to Moraine has recently been highlighted.  The work looks amazing and the course looks beautiful from photo's.  There is one thing that I strongly disagree with in Rans review.  It was Fosters thought but the piece states "the low key charm of the club reminded him of the appealing way they go about golf in the United Kingdom."  I think one of the vital aspect of the way they go about golf in the United Kingdom is the availability of the course to the overall community.


Another top thread is about Community Golf Club, reportedly designed by Alex Campbell who designed Moraine.  Community is just over a mile away (with Dayton CC adding a fourth and abutting Community) but it's purpose is much different.  I'd say community is the course that reminds me of the way they go about golf in the UK.  I haven't played the courses, a bit more guilt writing that, despite living less than a mile away and driving by it when I go play golf at my home club.

I have played some public courses in Ohio.  Weatherwax closed 36.  The courses on the military base, while nice haven't had significant work done.

So basically my assessment on the 17 year period with 1 years experience: B-, the top end golf is improving while the daily plays (and even some good private clubs in less than ideal locations) are diminishing.

*Edited to fix micro/unreadable font issue

Joe,


The great thing about golf in Ohio is not courses we have ever talk about here. Rather, it is the wealth of "mom and pops" that are affordable and actually decent to play.

[Chris DeToro]

Living in the tiny state of Rhode Island, we're lucky to have a lot of great architecture.  The best of which, in my opinion, have been well preserved over the course of the past 17 years.  However, I will say that there have only been a couple of new additions over that time but only one, that I can think, of significance (Shelter Harbor).  And many solid courses have struggled to keep up.   


In general, the golf landscape doesn't seem much changed over this period of time.  Maybe I'm a tough grader, but I give it a C

[Kirk Gill]

There are others who are better qualified to answer for Colorado, but on the face of it there's been a positive improvement since 1999 that deserves at least a B.


Ballyneal alone is a net positive, but there's also Colorado Golf Club and Common Ground. Jim Engh created Pradera, Fossil Trace, Lakota Canyon, Redlands Mesa, Red Hawk Ridge, and Four Mile Ranch. Murphy Creek is a very good muni that opened in 2002. Ravenna (Moorish) struggled mightily but still appears to be in the game. There's also a new TPC course opening up in Berthoud. Now, not all are fans of these various courses, but they are new, and getting play. Most of these courses have been built near Denver, and I'm not so sure what has been going on with mountain courses and the like.


Cherry Hills received a renovation by Renaissance Golf, which seems to have been well-received. I can't speak to other renovation work.


What I really don't know a lot about is the course closures in the state. A public in north Colorado Springs called Gleneagles closed, and some courses in more out of the way places closed, like Grandote Peaks (Moorish/Weiskopf) in La Veta, Cougar Canyon (Nicklaus) in Trinidad and Cornerstone (Norman) near Montrose.


I also know that Denver's City Park Golf Course is in danger of being used as a stormwater detention location, although the fight on that issue continues.

[Kalen Braley]

Utah is a tough one.  Can't imagine its very high up the list....a C at best.


But it does have a bunch of really good cheap muni/public courses that are easy to get on, especially on Sundays. 


And We have Sand Hollow and a few decent privates!! 

But haven't many of Utah's better courses been built since 1999?

Carl,


I suspect thats true.  In thinking of all the top ones I've played here, that may apply to almost all of them.

So wouldn't your grade be much higher than a C? As I interpreted it, at least, Ran's question was looking for a grade on the relative improvement -- and Utah seems to have gotten much better.

Carl,


I would certainly agree there.  I clearly overlooked that component of Ran's question.  In light of that, Utah would at the very least be an A-! 

[Adam Warren]

Haven't seen anything for Kentucky, so I will give it a shot.  I currently live in the Louisville area, lived in Lexington for a while, and grew up in Eastern Kentucky.

I think I would give Kentucky a C+...at best B-.  It's really tough.  There have been a few reno jobs at places like Louisville CC, Valhalla, and I think Big Spring CC. I don't remember the year Idle Hour was reno'd, but I think that reno is pretty well received (though again, not many have seen it due to exclusivity) I havent seen the work at LCC or BSCC, and of course we have all seen Valhalla.  I'm sure most of us don't think very highly of that one.  I can't think of any renos to any public courses with the exception of UK Club in Lexington and  Valley View just across the river in Southern Indiana (which we basically claim for golf purposes due to its proximity to downtown Louisville).

Since 99, lots of courses were built in Kentucky.  The most prominent probably being Olde Stone in the Bowling Green area.  That's probably one of the few private courses built in that time frame.  There were a number of the solid, more destination type public courses built after 99.  Basically all of the Kentucky State Parks Golf Trail courses (Wasioto Winds, Hidden Cove, Eagle Ridge, and Dale Hollow being the best of those) however conditions at each have dipped due to state funding.  Cherry Blossom, Stonecrest, Heritage Hill,

There were also a number of bad, subdivision type courses that were built during this time frame that I will not go into who they are/were.  Some of these have closed, some decent courses have closed, some older courses have closed, and many courses have seen a major dip in conditions.  Honestly, some areas could probably benefit from a few more closures. 

The fact that there probably have not been GREAT designs in Kentucky from these newer age courses, no major renos that I can think of (other than Valhalla multiple times) but there was a bit of boom itself during that time (mostly started in the mid 90s) in particular with the State Park golf trail courses it brings it up to probably my B-.  Afforability of all public courses also play a major factor.

[Cliff Hamm]

Living in the tiny state of Rhode Island, we're lucky to have a lot of great architecture.  The best of which, in my opinion, have been well preserved over the course of the past 17 years.  However, I will say that there have only been a couple of new additions over that time but only one, that I can think, of significance (Shelter Harbor).  And many solid courses have struggled to keep up.   


In general, the golf landscape doesn't seem much changed over this period of time.  Maybe I'm a tough grader, but I give it a C

Yes, I think you are a tough grader.  Public golf in RI has never been strong, but Newport National raised the bar significantly.  As good as anything in NE.  Meadowbrook is not my favorite but still a solid addition. Triggs is improved over the years.


For just the public improvements I would move he grade to a B or so....

[John Kavanaugh]

Ran gave North Carolina a B+. It makes me happy to know so many states have done at least as well or better. This truly is a Golden Age.

[Ronald Montesano]

Triggs is so much stronger than the first time I saw it. Same bones, but more calcium. And the food in the clubhouse!!

[Donovan Childers]

Haven't seen anything for Kentucky, so I will give it a shot.  I currently live in the Louisville area, lived in Lexington for a while, and grew up in Eastern Kentucky.

I think I would give Kentucky a C+...at best B-.  It's really tough.  There have been a few reno jobs at places like Louisville CC, Valhalla, and I think Big Spring CC. I don't remember the year Idle Hour was reno'd, but I think that reno is pretty well received (though again, not many have seen it due to exclusivity) I havent seen the work at LCC or BSCC, and of course we have all seen Valhalla.  I'm sure most of us don't think very highly of that one.  I can't think of any renos to any public courses with the exception of UK Club in Lexington and  Valley View just across the river in Southern Indiana (which we basically claim for golf purposes due to its proximity to downtown Louisville).

Since 99, lots of courses were built in Kentucky.  The most prominent probably being Olde Stone in the Bowling Green area.  That's probably one of the few private courses built in that time frame.  There were a number of the solid, more destination type public courses built after 99.  Basically all of the Kentucky State Parks Golf Trail courses (Wasioto Winds, Hidden Cove, Eagle Ridge, and Dale Hollow being the best of those) however conditions at each have dipped due to state funding.  Cherry Blossom, Stonecrest, Heritage Hill,

There were also a number of bad, subdivision type courses that were built during this time frame that I will not go into who they are/were.  Some of these have closed, some decent courses have closed, some older courses have closed, and many courses have seen a major dip in conditions.  Honestly, some areas could probably benefit from a few more closures. 

The fact that there probably have not been GREAT designs in Kentucky from these newer age courses, no major renos that I can think of (other than Valhalla multiple times) but there was a bit of boom itself during that time (mostly started in the mid 90s) in particular with the State Park golf trail courses it brings it up to probably my B-.  Afforability of all public courses also play a major factor.

I would probably go with a C. I will add Hurstbourne CC was redone during this time frame, along with Champions Trace, now known as Keene Trace. Keene Run opened up during this time frame, and has merged with Champions to become one club. Only new construction I know of is a Nicklaus sig. course in Wilmore  to be named Legacy Point. Some of the older country clubs are doing small improvement projects here and there.

[Doug Wright]

There are others who are better qualified to answer for Colorado, but on the face of it there's been a positive improvement since 1999 that deserves at least a B.


Ballyneal alone is a net positive, but there's also Colorado Golf Club and Common Ground. Jim Engh created Pradera, Fossil Trace, Lakota Canyon, Redlands Mesa, Red Hawk Ridge, and Four Mile Ranch. Murphy Creek is a very good muni that opened in 2002. Ravenna (Moorish) struggled mightily but still appears to be in the game. There's also a new TPC course opening up in Berthoud. Now, not all are fans of these various courses, but they are new, and getting play. Most of these courses have been built near Denver, and I'm not so sure what has been going on with mountain courses and the like.


Cherry Hills received a renovation by Renaissance Golf, which seems to have been well-received. I can't speak to other renovation work.


What I really don't know a lot about is the course closures in the state. A public in north Colorado Springs called Gleneagles closed, and some courses in more out of the way places closed, like Grandote Peaks (Moorish/Weiskopf) in La Veta, Cougar Canyon (Nicklaus) in Trinidad and Cornerstone (Norman) near Montrose.


I also know that Denver's City Park Golf Course is in danger of being used as a stormwater detention location, although the fight on that issue continues.

This is a very good summary Kirk. I'd actually grade Colorado a bit higher to an A- because the additions are really excellent and varied and quite a lot of work has been done over the past 17 years to improve some older courses. On sheer volume alone, Colorado has upgraded its golf courses, and public courses in particular, while we haven't lost too much (although the NLE Weiskopf/Morrish Grandote Peaks in remote southern Colorado was a favorite of mine). Ballyneal and CommonGround top the list of additions, but Colorado Golf Club and both Red Sky Ranch courses are very strong newer courses as well. Jim Engh's work isn't every GCA aficionado's cup of tea, but the volume of courses in the state is impressive as you mention, and courses like Redlands Mesa, Fossil Trace and Four Mile Ranch are worth seeing for what can be done in challenging terrain. Others of note (all public daily fee) include Bear Dance between Denver and Colorado Springs, which is a home-made effort that actually is a pretty good mountain-like course, Antler Creek by Rick Phelps near Colorado Springs,  Highland Meadows by Art Schaupeter in Windsor and Green Valley Ranch (a more restrained Perry Dye course). Cherry Creek GC (Nicklaus) in Denver is a big improvement over its predecessor on the same property. Although some (including members thereof) may quibble about whether the work at Cherry Hills and Castle Pines GC improved those courses, the combination of significant tree removal, bunker work and relocation, and restoration of greens to their original sizes supervised by Gil Hanse at Denver CC has been very well received.  Looking back, a lot has happened golf-wise here in Colorado over the past 17 years.   

[Mike Schott]

Michigan/Oakland County.


It's well known that Michigan is blessed with numerous excellent private courses. We don't match New York or New Jersey in this regard but we can certainly hold our own. A- is a fair grade.


Oakland County where I live is home to OHCC, Franklin Hills, Orchard Lake, Birmingham CC, Bloomfield Hills as well as Plum Hollow. We also have dozens of public tracks, many of them quite good and very affordable although none are golden era courses. Private course grade A, public course grade B.

[Tom_Doak]

I'd give northern Michigan a B or B-


We were ahead of the curve in over-building golf courses during the boom, so new course construction was grinding to a halt right around the date that Golf Club Atlas was starting up.  In fact, just before that there were three new private clubs in planning right around Traverse City, and it was a given that if more than one of them was built, all would struggle.  Eventually, The Kingsley Club and Lochenheath happened, the Gary Player course west of town did not, and it's taken years for Kingsley to get a sound footing, whereas Lochenheath was a failure from the start.


The Kingsley Club and Forest Dunes are the only courses that kept our region from getting a C-minus.  When you consider how many sandy sites we've had to work with here, it's a shame there aren't more excellent courses.  But it's hard to make it pay off as a developer when there is so much competition at such a low price point.


There have not been many renovations to consider up here, because there aren't many old courses to start with.  The subtle work at Belvedere has made it better than twenty years ago, but I can't think of many others I could say that about.

[Eric LeFante]

Going through the thread it seems like the most improved are Oregon, New Jersey, New York, and the Boston area.

Oregon is obviously an A. I think NJ as a whole is an A but would like to hear from the other residents. For NY - Buffalo, Niagara, Rochester, and Long Island got good marks, and just about all the great Westchester county courses have received wonderful restorations (Winged Foot, Quaker Ridge, Fenway, Wykagyl, Sunningdale, Westchester CC, Sleepy Hollow, Knollwood, Century).

[Kyle Harris]

Polk County, Florida

B+

Grade achieved largely on the strength of Streamsong alone, however, once one gets over the initial shock that Polk County has over twice the land area of the entire State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations it is not all that difficult to recognize that we have some decent golf perhaps excessively overshadowed by the resort offerings of Orlando. The middling public course offerings and the opening and subsequent closedown of a good Steve Smyers course drag the grade down a bit. The on-going work at Mountain Lake is another highlight.

The Breakdown

Architects

Seth Raynor: 2
Donald Ross: Vestiges of 1
Dick Wilson: 1
Tom Doak: 1
Bill Coore: 1
William Flynn: 1
Jerry Pate: 1
Stiles and Van Kleek: 1, plus vestiges of another
Ron Garl: Numerous
Steve Smyers: 2


Public Golf Courses (Non-resort category) of note:

Southern Dunes Golf Club: Smyers course that opened in the mid-1990's. Has been ranked. Best offering in this category, by far.
Cleveland Heights Golf Club: Underappreciated Flynn holes, of which 16 remain, in a 27-hole facility. Conditioning improving with an influx of money and civic reorganization. The Flynn touches still evident are enough to tickle even the medium-interest architecture crowd. The non-Flynn is not noteworthy. The Nature Faker under represents the remaining Flynn. 
Lekarica Golf Club: The golf course every GolfClubAtlas cognoscenti claims to love, but would likely avoid due to the awful conditions. Stiles and Van Kleek.
Wedgewood Golf Course: Oldest course location in the county. Original Stiles and Van Kleek course destroyed by I-4, but the current Ron Garl offering is decent enough. The original course was on one of the nicer spots in the county along the shores of Lake Gibson in Lakeland. Historic based on connection to the Carpenters' complex and migrant labor cemetery adjacent to the 10th/11th holes.
The Club at Eaglebrooke: A very good Ron Garl design in South Lakeland.
Bartow Golf Club: One of many tenuously-attributed Donald Ross courses out there. Remnants of the original nine hole course remain but what is there presently is too inconsistent in quality to be fairly attributed to Ross even with the strongest evidence of his involvement.
Highlands Reserve Golf Course: Mike Dasher course worthy of more than one look.
Providence Golf Club: Another Mike Dasher course I haven't played yet. Good word of mouth reviews.
The Club at Bridgewater: NLE Steve Smyers course that opened in 2008 and was closed by late 2011. Sad to see it go. First five holes were borderline impossible, but the rest very strong. Large, almost crazy greens and a wide variety of distances.
Sandpiper Golf Course: Pure fun and I think it is Steve Smyers's first golf course. Abysmal conditions but any course with back-to-back Par 3s followed by back-to-back Par 5s, and five of each total with a wide variety of yardage is good by me. Worth a look if looking for something close to I-4.

Private Courses:

Mountain Lake: Seth Raynor redone by Brian Silva, with further work by Ron Prichard. GolfClubAtlas darling and great atmosphere.
Lone Palm: Decent enough Dick Wilson course and home club of Steve Smyers, with on-going work by the same.
Grasslands: Middling Jerry Pate design. 10th hole is the only standout.
Lake Wales Country Club: The other Seth Raynor. Aerial and ground photos of the original layout show a Biarritz (which, curiously, Mountain Lake may not have had initially), a Punchbowl, and an Eden. Only the Eden remains (5th hole). The club still hangs on to a Donald Ross attribution which has zero evidence other than word-of-mouth. Worth a look.
Country Club of Winter Haven: The Bill Bergey/Rees Jones renovation of this solid local's course is fantastic. Solid golf with some excellent holes and a delightful routing. Play it.

Resort Courses:

Streamsong Red/Blue: What else needs to be said?
Streamsong Black: See above.

There are a plethora of other courses.

[Joe Hancock]

Well done Kyle. Thanks for the effort you put into that list and for your trusted opinions.


Hope to see you again this Winter.

[Kyle Harris]

Well done Kyle. Thanks for the effort you put into that list and for your trusted opinions.


Hope to see you again this Winter.

Likewise, Joe. I realized I had forgotten the CC of Winter Haven. It is added.

[Anthony Gholz]

Following along Mike S's comments re Michigan/Oakland County. 


I think it should be noted that Oakland County's well known private course pedigree along with Wayne County's CC of Detroit and Detroit GC, have definitely been strengthened in the last decade.  The CC of Detroit is now as close to original Charles Alison condition since Trent Jones 1952-53 remake.  Foster and Doak have eliminated trees; reshaped tees, bunkers, and greens; and Tom has subtlely (sp?) shifted playing directions on a couple of holes. He also relocated the 17th green, imo for the better.


DGC and Red Run are in the ongoing hands of Bruce Hepner.  He also just finished a complete overhaul of Birmingham CC.  Finally BCC is course of one mind rather than the half dozen or more "looks" that many name architects have given it over the years.  Definitely now a course that one can see hosting a PGA in the '50s.


Keith Foster's redo of another Alison course, Orchard Lake, is well covered on this site.  Bloomfield Hills is a work in progress, for the better.  Foster also spent some time there removing trees and revising some mowing patterns.  They may still move forward with a much needed re-bunkering, albeit without Foster. 


The BIG course change in Oakland County is Andy Staple's complete remake of Meadowbrook CC.  It has just been put to bed by old man winter, but a good spring should make it ready for play next summer.  This is the course to watch.  Andy has taken another course with multiple pedigrees and put together a new routing that finally makes coherent use of a great piece of property.  It too held a PGA in the '50s,  and dare I say, finally has a course that is up to major standards again today.


And finally up in St Clair County, Port Huron GC has had a new Master Plan created by David Savic (formerly Old Course Design).  David's tree removal plan is slowly being implemented and hopefully in a couple more years his vision for restoring/renovating this 1920-28 Charles Alison design will be implemented.  His greens restoration of 2001-02 has already made it a course worth playing if you're in the SEM area.


I hope other SEM gcaers will jump in to tout the many recent and ongoing renovations of our Golden Age heritage.
Anthony

[Sean Leary]

B


Here in Washington state, the best 5 courses in the state have all been built since 1999. (Chambers Bay, Wine Valley, Gamble Sands Aldarra and Tumble Creek). Not much on the horizon. Would have liked to see the proposed course out by the Gorge happen, but haven heard anything in a while.


Renovation wise, some good things happening in the last few years, especially with many clubs starting to get it with tree removal (e.g. Sahalee)and maintenance. Jeff Mingay in particular is doing some good work at Macan courses around the Seattle Tacoma area..