Why Mind/Body/Spirit Balance is the Number 1 Criterion for Me

[Ira Fishman]

This is the height of presumptuousness given I am a rank amateur when it comes to architecture and mediocre at best when it comes to golf.  But is it is the holiday season so I trust that you will be forgiving.


For me a course that equally balances appealing to the intellect, challenging our golfing abilities, and moving our spirit is the pinnacle of success.  For me, Lahinch, CPC, North Berwick, and PH2 have met that test.  Each has a the kind of variety of holes that stirs one's intellectual interest, demand enough of your game, and have a wonderful flow and relationship to their setting.


To try to make my point, there are some great courses that do not quite achieve that balance for me.  Royal Dornoch hits Body and Spirit (big time for Spirit), but I thought there were too many similar holes and a less than stellar finish to get the Mind aspect quite right.  The same with Ballybunion which also is awfully difficult as it relates to the Body aspect..  Bandon Trails meets Mind and Body for me, but does not quite rise to the heights regarding Spirit (perhaps unfair because of the inevitable comparison to the settings of the other three courses).  Pasatiempo and Woking fit into the same category.  No course is too easy for me, but as much as I loved Golspie and Kilspindie, some probably find them lacking regarding the Body aspect.


Ira

[Peter Pallotta]

Perfect - holiday season or not.
And, since we all have minds, bodies and spirits, there can be no such thing as rank amateurs.
I've yet to play a course that meets the criteria, Ira.
Sure, two out of three ain't bad, mind and body -- and I've very often wondered if I'm being foolish for wanting/seeking all three.
But you and others have mentioned courses that do fit the bill, so I suppose they are in fact out there.
On the other hand, a word I use to described what I hope for probably is asking too much: 'transcendent'.
I know one thing (I think): there must be wind, and plenty of sky, and the naturalism of found golf holes.
The 'hand of man' and the 'transcendent' don't seem to go well together in this regard, at least not for me.
Maybe for the more enlightened they can and do. 
Peter   

[Ira Fishman]

Peter,


I used the word transcendent in the Originality thread to describe all four courses in my OP.  PH2 might not meet your definition of transcendent, but I think the other three would.


Ira