Nearest Course To You Which You Haven't Played.

[Duncan Cheslett]

I think the closest private course is Gay Hill (might be called Hollywood...not sure), 20.8 miles away (35 minutes).  I know very little about the course and have heard nothing to entice me.

Ciao

It doesn't look very private to me, Sean! 


http://www.teeofftimes.co.uk/hollywood-gay-hill-golf-course

[Bill Seitz]

I live in the Logan Square/Avondale neighborhood of Chicago.  Closest private I haven't played is Bryn Mawr, as I missed the GCA outing there and haven't otherwise made it over there.  Closest public is probably the 9-Hole Waveland/Marovitz course, largely because I'm not generally an early riser, and 3.5 hours to play nine holes does not appeal to me.


More interesting for me would be looking at where I grew up in the West San Gabriel Valley in Southern California.  I grew up in an unincorporated sliver of LA County between Arcadia, San Gabriel, and Temple City.  Closest private would be San Gabriel Country Club, despite having driven by it approximately 1.34 million times.  My mom grew up just across the street from the first green.  My uncles used to sneak out and play 2-17, as they were all across the street from the piece of land that held the clubhouse, 1st, and 18th holes.  Closest public was probably the 9 hole Scholl Canyon.  No idea why I never made it over there.  I worked at 2 different nine-holers a few miles away, so maybe I thought I didn't need to see a third.

[Chuck Glowacki]

Define "near".

[Richard Fisher]

I live in central Cambridge (UK) and have never in over thirty years of local residence played golf at Girton, although I did once dine there. This is (apparently) a rather flat up-and-down course out towards the M11, expanded from its original nine holes to eighteen in 1979. The club itself dates (rather unusually, in the British context) from 1936. I have also only played at a couple of the numerous new developments that sprang up within twenty miles of Cambridge during the 1980s and 1990s: of those Bourn Golf Club is actually rather pleasant, with a genuine sense of being 'out in the country', and is certainly the one I would recommend to anybody in the Cambridge area seeking a game that wasn't at the Gogs. And before GCAers all shout, it's worth saying (again) that the Sacred Nine is about forty minutes' away, off one of the busier roads in the UK, and emphatically not a 'local Cambridge club'.

[Scott Sander]

What's the nearest course to you which you haven't played? Two categories: Public and Private.

Public: Fair Way Golf Course - Lebanon, Indiana - 28.7 miles
Private: The Club at Chatham Hills - Westfield, Indiana - 10.4 miles

Approximately where do you live?
    Carmel, Indiana - suburb north of Indianapolis

Why?
        Fair Way - was not aware it existed until this exercise.
        Chatham Hills - New in 2016
 
Who designed it?
        Fair Way - "Local architect Henry Corbly" per club site. More googling led to this: http://www.turfnet.com/news.html/_/taking-the-plunge-r483
 - AN INTERESTING READ!!
       
       Chatham Hills - Pete Dye/Tim Liddy

What would the answer be if you played it your next round? Meridian Hills CC

What's stopping you?
     Fair Way - snow, temperature. Will go.
     Chatham Hills - opportunity. Opened late last season, and I simply have not yet made the time. Will go.

[Sam Krume]

I live in Epsom, Surrey. Played most within the county.
Most of the courses are accessible but I will split into 2:

Public: Hersham   9.4 miles away
Very very Private: Beaverbrook  4.8 miles away

Why: Never knew there was course at Hersham / Beaverbrook opened 2016

Hersham no idea of architect
Beaverbrook: Tom Watson with Dave Mclay Kidd

[MCirba]

Another course that I have not played is "Ferry Point" in the Bronx. It is not a political statement to date, just too expensive for my taste. However, I would play it with Mike Cirba if you have some sick desire to make yourself crazy Maybe we can get Lou Duran to come up for the day!!

Michael,

Any good muni's near Moscow we can play instead?   I'm hoping the spring weather is nice there but I hear they get frequent showers.   

[JESII]

The showers are very localized...hit and miss...

[Ben Hollerbach]

I live in Atlanta:


Closest Private: Peachtree Golf Club (1.8 miles)
Robert Trent Jones
Why? Its harder to get a game at Peachtree than it is at Augusta National


Closest Public: Steel Canyon Golf Club (9.6 miles)
Michael Riley
It's never really been on my radar as a place to play

[Tom Allen]

Approximately where do you live? Greater Cincinnati (north).

What's the nearest course to you which you haven't played?

Public: Fairfield Greens, South
Who designed it? Jack Kidwell
What would the answer be if you played it your next round?   The Mill Course, Sharonville. Dr. Michael Hurdzan
What's stopping you? Available time and a little lack of interest.

Private: Camargo
Who designed it? Seth Raynor
What would the answer be if you played it your next round?   Dayton Country Club, Donald Ross.
What's stopping you? Very difficult to get access (I'm not whoring for access here, just explaining why I haven't played it).

[V_Halyard]

What's the nearest course to you which you haven't played?
Commuter betw Iowa and Los Angeles


Two categories:
Public: Iowa City Elks Club Golf and LA Chester Washington since American Golf
Private: Iowa Dubuque CC and LA Post Renovation Wilshire CC
Approximately where do you live? : Commute Between Iowa and Los Angeles
Why? Interested in seeing another Iowa Bendelow and Playing renovated Chester Muny and Wilshire CC
Who designed it?
Dubuque=Tom Bendelow | Chester=Billy Bell Sr.
Wilshire=Norman Macbeth/Kyle Phillips
Elks = Unknown


What's stopping you? Travel, Winter Snow, rain and pace of play at Chester though Chester used to have the best cutthroat Tuesday Games in Muny LA

[Jason Topp]

Both of mine are courses that look mediocre at best.  The private course would require a couple of phone calls to play but I have never seen that effort as worthwhile. 

[Drew Groeger]

I live in Chicago. At this point in my golfing life, I'm driving out of the city to play something new.

Public:

What's the nearest course to you which you haven't played? This was a fun exercise, I didn't know I have played every public course within 10 miles of me! My current nearest unplayed is Wilmette Golf Course.

Who designed it? Roseman (1922), Greg Martin (2014)

What would the answer be if you played it your next round? Is this a funny way of asking what's the second closest course you haven't played? Glenview Park GC (Roseman - 1927, R. Jacobson 2015), a mere stone's throw away from The Glen Club (Fazio 2001), which I also haven't played yet.

What's stopping you? Wilmette and Glenview Park are definitely on my list for this season, especially since both have recently been reworked. Price and some sketchy reviews have kept me from The Glen Club, but I really should bite the bullet and give it a go.


Private:

What's the nearest course to you which you haven't played? Bryn Mawr CC (5 miles away)

Who designed it? Langford/Moreau 1921

What would the answer be if you played it your next round? Ridgemoor CC (7.2 miles away) Also Langford/Moreau 1913. Tillinghast may have been involved with both of these courses at various points but I can't confirm.

What's stopping you? I don't know any members and have never asked (if that's a thing), need to get out more!

[Kirk Gill]

I live in Highlands Ranch, CO, and have never played the Highlands Ranch Golf Club, although it is less than two miles from my house. It was designed by Hale Irwin, and is considered "semi-private," so maybe it qualifies on both counts. I feel like I'll get around to playing it one of these days. I have hit balls on the range.


If I have to list a truly private course, there are a number in the area, but I think the closest that I haven't played is Sanctuary. I think it's closer to me than Castle Pines or Cherry Hills, etc.

[Tom Dunne]

I live on the Sound Shore of New York.

Private: Rye Golf Club. This is attributed to Dev Emmet and has an IMO profile on this site. It's an unusual property in the sense that it's a private club that's owned by the municipality. If that sounds like a recipe for trouble, you'd be right--the former GM recently went to prison for embezzling something like $750K from the club. 


Why I haven't played it: Despite being a Rye Town taxpayer, I don't live in the right zip code to qualify for the more reasonably-priced membership. The jaw-dropping annual quote I was given a few years ago would cover several national memberships. In any event, there's a charming public nature reserve directly adjacent to the club, so on a nice day I can walk out to the islands in the harbor and watch the play on the par-3 10th.     


Public: Pelham Bay Golf Club. A Van Kleek design on the Bronx/Westchester border that is the sister course of the very good Split Rock, which Dr. Geoff Childs introduced to me after much arm-twisting. No doubt NY taxpayer funds that went to Ferry Point would have been put to great use here.


Why I haven't played it: Pure sloth. Pelham Bay one day!

[Mark Jackson]

I live in Dublin, OH (suburb on the northwest side of Columbus).


Private: Scioto Reserve Country Club (Barry Serafin, 2001) - approximately 5 miles from my house. Not to be confused with the more well-known Scioto Country Club, I've had opportunities to play, but never really had a burning desire to get out to Scioto Reserve. It is a housing development course and, from what I have heard, they do not allow players to walk due to the distances between holes. My uncle had a membership out there for a few years, but we always elected to played its sister course Kinsale Golf Club (also a housing development course) instead because it seemed less crowded. I'm sure I will make it out there at some point.


Public: Wilson Road Golf Course (Jack Kidwell, 1971) - approximately 12 miles from my house. It is a 9-hole executive course that is part of the City of Columbus Municipal Golf courses and is adjacent to the 18-hole public facility at Mentel Memorial Golf Course (which I have played many years ago). I really had no idea this 9-hole course existed until performing this exercise since it has probably been 15 - 20 years since I played at Mentel Memorial. Not sure if I will make much effort to play it anytime soon. Maybe when my sons begin to show an interest in golf, I will make it out there.

[Scott Warren]

I am in Gymea on Sydney's southern beaches.


The nearest public course I haven't played is 1.2km (three-quarters of a mile) from my couch -- Kareela GC. It's pretty poor and costs as much as a much better council-owned course another 5-7 mins away so there is no point.


If I played it, the next nearest would be Bexley GC just over the river. Maybe 10km as the crow flies.


Nearest private is a tough one. Would likely be Manly GC about 40km away on the northern beaches. I played it once as a teen but it has had a full reno since then.


At this point of my life, my golf is limited to about 30 rounds a year and every round I play somewhere new is one less round I get with mates at my home course so I find the motivation to see new places just to say I've seen them is less than it once was.

[Carl Nichols]

I live in Washington DC (actually in the district).  I would divide the courses here into three categories--Private, Public, and Military.  My answers are:


Private:  It would take about the same amount of time to drive from our house to Argyle CC (Silver Spring, MD) and the "Championship" course at Trump National (Potomac Falls, VA).  I have pretty easy access to Argyle--while the greens at our club are being redone, we are able to play at Argyle and some other area courses--but don't have much interest, at least over playing other places.  I'd like to play the Trump course (I've played only the "river" course) but had to cancel the one time I had an invite.


Public:  Falls Road (Potomac, MD).  This is close to my home club and other much better places I can play (private and public), so I've just never had an interest in playing here. 


Military:  There's a course at the Armed Forces Retirement Home (aka the Old Soldiers' Home) near Catholic University in DC.  I'd like to play here, just out of curiosity--I have no idea if it's supposed to be any good.     

[V_Halyard]

The nearest one (5 miles from my house) I have not played and the only one I have not played in Rutland is Kendrew Barracks (formerly RAF Cottesmore) ( hole golf course which has interesting obstacles





The nearest 18 hole course that I have not played is Priors Hall in Corby designed by Fred Hawtree in 1967 - http://www.priorshallgolfclub.com/

... is playing through controlled by the tower?

[Mark Provenzano]

Live in Morgan Hill, CA

Closest private: The Institute, 6.2 miles across town.
2002/Damian Pascuzzo.
Haven't had a chance to play or even look at it; probably need to marry into the Fry family for access. Or be a caddy there (or at neighboring Cordevalle), as the caddies claim they play more rounds there than than anybody.

Closest private: Santa Teresa Muni, San Jose CA 11.3 miles
1963/George Santana
Been to the driving range many times, taken my kids on the Par 3 course when they were little. No reason not to have played it other than there being other options that weren't as crazy busy as it seems to be all the time.

[James Brown]

I live in Chevy Chase, MD, right across the D.C. line. 


Private:  Burning Tree (5.4 miles)
Still searching for the right hook up after 16 years in DC. 


Public:  Patuxent Greens (16 miles)
A local soft, but nice high end course.  Zero interest.  I think I have played every other Washington course inside of 30 miles from me. 

[Carl Rogers]

Tidewater Virginia
-Bayville, private Fazio... just do it once
-Princess Anne, private, renovation by Tim Liddy
-Cavalier, private, 1928 Charles Banks, par 69

[Michael Graham]

I live in Edinburgh.


Nearest private (in the U.K. sense) is Duddingston GC, a Willie Park design from 1895. It's supposed to be one of the better parkland courses in the city with some interesting holes. I don't know why I've yet to visit it as it's not expensive to play and is all of about four miles from my house.


Nearest private (members and guests only) is The Renaissance Club in East Lothian. Everyone I know that has visited says what an excellent course it is. I believe you can play it as a visitor once if you pony up £250. I will get there eventually,..

[Carl Johnson]

I've lived in downtown Charlotte for 48 years.  The closest private I've never played is the Quail Hollow Club, about 9 miles south of my house.  I've been to functions there and spectated ("patroned") tournaments there (which I have enjoyed doing), but never played it.  I know members and could ask to be invited (would never do that) to play, but the terrible truth is that I think it's too "big" of a course for me and I have no burning desire to play it.  On the other hand, if I were to be invited and the circumstances fit, I'd gladly give it a try.  Architects over the years: George Cobb, Arnold Palmer, Tom Fazio. (But I don't know who's done the work in very recent years (including major changes in 2016 in prep for the 2017 PGA).)



Daily fee. Without doing lots of research, I'd say the Fort Mill (S.C.) Golf Club, about 20 miles away.  Front nine is D. Ross.  Don't know about the back.  This is a course I should play.  Recommended by many.  Only by accident I have not.                                         

[MCirba]

I live in Edinburgh.


Nearest private (in the U.K. sense) is Duddingston GC, a Willie Park design from 1895. It's supposed to be one of the better parkland courses in the city with some interesting holes. I don't know why I've yet to visit it as it's not expensive to play and is all of about four miles from my house.


Nearest private (members and guests only) is The Renaissance Club in East Lothian. Everyone I know that has visited says what an excellent course it is. I believe you can play it as a visitor once if you pony up £250. I will get there eventually,..

I'd also mention that Michael Graham is a terrific chap and real gentleman to enjoy a round with for anyone travelling in the Edinburgh area and I saw him almost ace the 13th at Muirfield in 50mph winds back in the fall of 2015.