Love at First Sight

[mike_malone]

Several years ago I was at my friend Jim Finegan's post-funeral luncheon at Philadelphia CC. I was chatting with a friend and noticed his big book ("Where Golf is Great") on the table next to me. I told myself I'd open it to a random page and plan a visit to whatever course I landed on. It would be like a recommendation from Jim. By chance, the book gave me Prestwick. I'm reasonably well traveled across the pond, but I've never been there and I've always loved looking at photos of the legendary holes/features there--Sea Headrig, the Alps, etc.


I'm disappointed to say that I've yet to make that trip, but it's been at the top of my list ever since. I hope to get there soon.

Tom,


That was always my first love but I played it eventually and loved it.

[Garland Bayley]

When you ask about near misses, Royal Portrush comes to mind.

I had seen pictures from the Valley Course that stirred my soul. Unfortunately, the portion that was pictured was claimed by the revision of the Dunluce Course for the championship. More Unfortunately, when I played at Royal Portrush, I played after that segment had been removed from the Valley Course, and before that segment was open for play on Dunluce. So I missed out seeing/playing it on either course.

 

[Mike_Trenham]

For me the litmus test here is, did I daydream about buying a home close by and playing most of my golf there.


Sakonnet, Rhode Island - Loved how rustic the whole place was presented.  Like most Ross courses the challenge is from 100 yards in to the hole.  Played original routing while Gil and Bill were creating the new routing.


Carne, County Mayo Ireland - Holes on the front seem to play mostly though the dunes and then on the back it’s more up and down the dunes.  A real ball striking challenge, where working the ball properly is properly rewarded.


Cassique, Kiawah SC - A perfect “members course” sufficient to host a USGA Mid-Am yet not a total back breaker, on each hole birdie or double-bogey are equally imaginable, if not truly in reach.


B-side - with a recovery


Dismal River, Hooker County Nebraska - My first visit was at the nadir of the club’s existence there was turf loss everywhere and yet everything about the place was pretentious, staff, menu, caddies.  I would never had thought one day I would return.  Yet years later I would return twice for 5th Majors as the new management had changed the culture and the turf was much improved while far from exceptional. I would tell anyone already in the area not to miss DR. We don’t hear much about DR on here of late hopefully it’s not getting totally denuded.

[John Kirk]

I am very careful about the coronavirus pandemic, but if I do travel again for golf, the course that looks most thrilling to me is the new St. Patrick's course.  I'd love to see how it plays.

About ten years ago, I walked around Myopia Hunt Club one day during the Massachusetts Amateur.  That was a love at first sight kind of thing.

[Thomas Dai]

Askernish, Prestwick, North Berwick (W), RWN/Brancaster, Royal Melbourne (W), RACV Healesville, Tara Iti, Waverley (NZ), Arrowtown (NZ), Lido/Wisconsin, Sand Hills, Wolf Point, St Patricks. That'll do.
Chances of 100% success, zero, chances of partial success, slight. One can always dream though (and keep looking at photos and videos!).
atb

[Richard Fisher]

Prestwick is one of the single best golf experiences (course/clubhouse/member and staff friendliness) in the world. Always recommended!


For me, it was the pictures (one per course, except for Rye that got two) in A Round of Golf Courses, a sacred text on this site: the photo from the back of the old pre-modification 3rd (Cader) green at Aberdovey, even down to the rain puddles on the paths, was so evocative. You can't go far wrong with Dickinson's eighteen (as Sean Arble and others have noted) and I have now visited them all, save Gleneagles and Moortown, which remain on the bucket list.

[Sean_A]

Prestwick is one of the single best golf experiences (course/clubhouse/member and staff friendliness) in the world. Always recommended!


For me, it was the pictures (one per course, except for Rye that got two) in A Round of Golf Courses, a sacred text on this site: the photo from the back of the old pre-modification 3rd (Cader) green at Aberdovey, even down to the rain puddles on the paths, was so evocative. You can't go far wrong with Dickinson's eighteen (as Sean Arble and others have noted) and I have now visited them all, save Gleneagles and Moortown, which remain on the bucket list.

It never occurred to me that Dickinsons book should serve as a list even though its an excellent cross section of GB&I courses.

Ciao

[Richard Fisher]

The sub-title says it all 'A Selection of the Best Eighteen' - which it is! But it was some of the pictures that first entranced my childhood self.

[J_ Crisham]

What is a golf course you love but haven’t yet played? A course you’ve seen images of that appears to speak exactly to what you like most out of a design? A course you’ve fallen in love with at first sight?

To encourage variety for our discussion, I ask you to look beyond top-20 ranked courses you haven’t yet seen. I’m more interested in selections that are reflective of your own personal style, kindred to your golfing soul, not everyone’s shared white whales.

I’ll offer three of my own:
1. Essex County (MA) - Like MacKenzie at Pasatiempo, there is something to be said when an architect chooses to live on property. There appears to be a healthy serving of eccentricity at the Clvb. From the blind tee on 8, to the ridge on the right that tumbles toward the center like a peeling wave, all mown at fairway height (!); the visual stack of 10 green and 11 looming behind it; 12’s blind tee; 15’s fairway angled like a cape, with its massive bunker fronting the green; and is there a quirkier finish than 17 and 18 in American golf?

2. Myopia - For its history as an early US Open venue, and the challenging heritage its layout maintains; the obscene 9th, a green that is incomparable today but for maybe one found at Scottsdale National’s Bad Little Nine; The amount of fairways bisected by stream, sand or native hazards, even road (2, 4, 5, 6, 11, 13); the museum quality of its clubhouse and—since I’m an English guy—one day experiencing a round where John Updike was a member. Taken with Essex, I wonder if there is a 36 hole day stateside that is as analogous to the charms of UK golf.

3. Shoreacres - The density of Raynor’s superb routing; his array of template holes, but with the ingenious decision to extend fairways all the way to the fall lines of the ravines; the way the ground tumbles steeply at the landform’s edges with an almost sculptural quality, as if chiseled away by hand (2, 4, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16); the firm and fast conditions that purportedly rival that of any club; the clubhouse perched on its bluff overlooking Lake Michigan.       

I’d also like to hear the B-side to the above question—for those of you who’ve experienced a round at a place you’d long dreamt, how’d it turn out? Did you encounter more or less than what met your initial eye? Did it surpass the high expectations you’d set for it? Or did reality pale to the fantasy?

One that comes to mind for me was Cal Club. I recall watching Thomas Bastis’ hole by hole flyover on YouTube as if on a loop, listening to Andy Johnson’s Fried Egg podcast with Allan Jamieson and David Normoyle on the club, and surveying its terrain on Google Earth.

The course proved to be an exemplary members course, with no weak holes, and a couple wonderfully imaginative ones (5, 7, 8, 9, 16). Its turf conditions are the best I’ve encountered. When it comes to architecture alone, though, I would side with Pasatiempo as being superior. Don’t get me wrong, Pasatiempo has a few holes much weaker than any at Cal, but at the same time it also hosts a collection of world class holes, whereas Cal strides through an uninterrupted flow of good and very good holes.   

My overall experience at Cal, however, left some to be desired. The round was early on a Monday morning. Although we had caddies, it felt as if I’d arrived before any staff, and found myself wandering around the clubhouse until I stumbled into the north locker room where eventually I met my host. For much of the morning I honestly wondered if the club was closed and that we were out there anyway, but ultimately that wasn’t the case. Yet unfortunately from the pro shop, to the bar and locker room, it was one of the less accommodating atmospheres I’ve had as a guest.

The silver lining is that one’s experience is always circumstantial, and can be easily remedied. What matters ultimately is the quality of the course, and no doubt Cal Club hosts one of the finest and most enjoyable layouts in the West.

Michael,
        It's interesting how golfers can have such differing views/experiences at clubs. I have had the good fortune to play The Cal Club several times since the restoration was completed. My first visit was with a couple of fellow GCAers. We initially met an older gentleman before we played who was a retired Orthodontist, Dr Len Warren. He spent a good part of the day visiting with us and had a magnum bottle of Caymus waiting for us when we finished our game. It was the way life should be.
    This gentleman introduced us to a local legendary man Al Jamieson. The fact that today is Veterans Day we should take our hats off to Al and the rest of our Veterans and those serving our country. Al served tours of duty in Vietnam as a USMC. A true Man's Man. He could not have been more welcoming and engaging. He spent great time explaining the entire restoration process to us.
    If I have 2 regrets in my golf life its that I didn't join the Cal Club as a National member there on the spot 10 years ago.and that I didn't take Bob Huntley up on joining MPCC as a National member 12 years ago when it was doable.  Fortunately a couple of my fellow Beverly members are gracious enough to host me at The Cal Club . The Cal Club is the way life should be- great golf and even better members.
   

[Michael Chadwick]

Michael,
        It's interesting how golfers can have such differing views/experiences at clubs. I have had the good fortune to play The Cal Club several times since the restoration was completed. My first visit was with a couple of fellow GCAers. We initially met an older gentleman before we played who was a retired Orthodontist, Dr Len Warren. He spent a good part of the day visiting with us and had a magnum bottle of Caymus waiting for us when we finished our game. It was the way life should be.
    This gentleman introduced us to a local legendary man Al Jamieson. The fact that today is Veterans Day we should take our hats off to Al and the rest of our Veterans and those serving our country. Al served tours of duty in Vietnam as a USMC. A true Man's Man. He could not have been more welcoming and engaging. He spent great time explaining the entire restoration process to us.
    If I have 2 regrets in my golf life its that I didn't join the Cal Club as a National member there on the spot 10 years ago.and that I didn't take Bob Huntley up on joining MPCC as a National member 12 years ago when it was doable.  Fortunately a couple of my fellow Beverly members are gracious enough to host me at The Cal Club . The Cal Club is the way life should be- great golf and even better members.
   

Thank you for sharing this. A fitting tribute today for a club and, more importantly, the people who comprise it.

[V_Halyard]

This is a homer answer but mine was the completed Sand Valley. The best are when I take folks that have grown up in Wisconsin mere miles from the course(s) and their first reactions are What the ***k.

[Ira Fishman]

The most appetizing set of photos of mostly less than famous courses I have seen at least recently is The Road Less Traveled that was a Feature Interview a few months back.


On the B side, my expectations for Royal Dornoch were so unrealistic that it was inevitable that I would be a bit disappointed. A great course to be sure but I had dreamt of playing it for 40 years. The finishing holes just left me a little flat.


Ira

[Jim Tang]

There are so many.....


Tara Iti - Playing a Doak in that setting has to be a remarkable experience.  I've not been on site but from the course to the clubhouse to the lodging everything looks so perfectly melded into the natural environment.


Cal Club - A walking course, firm and fast playing conditions and that bunkering!


Sleepy Hollow
Valley Club
Hidden Creek


I don't know what it is exactly about these three.  They just stir the soul.

[Jeff Schley]

For the course I first saw a photo and wanted to play it is sitting at the top of the Mike Devries alter of worship, Cape Wickham. I saw it and like everyone else in the golfing world I'm a sucker for gorgeous water views. Didn't disappoint and in my top 5, albeit if inland certainly would be down a ways.


Valley Club I never saw any photos of before I played it, but as a young adult always heard of the Valley Club while living in So Cal. Mentally I had heard so much of the setting in Santa Barbara, Mackenzie lineage, exclusive and impossible to get on, etc. that I had such high expectations and it didn't disappoint. The view from the patio onto the vast open array of holes atop with a view with perfect weather.... yeah love it, but it certainly doesn't need my endorsement. Love this view I found here.

Several courses I love but haven't played outside of the obvious top dogs are:Lofoten Links in Norway. How can you not want to play this one. The iconic photo I think of.  FYI for those who haven't seen the northern lights, this isn't what you see with the naked eye, but a great digital camera on specialized settings. But still love it, although somewhat false advertising.  Crans-sur-Sierre in Switzerland..... wow!

Wade Hampton... mountains look to be stunning and in the fall with the colors.

Sperone in France. Just beautiful location and views. Haven't read jack about the architecture...... it had me at hello....

[Brent Carlson]

Michael,


Great question.  For me it is Merion.  I've always found it astounding that so much good golf is packed into such a compact site.  The combination of great holes of every length and what seems to me a nice flow makes it attractive.  I've watched the post-Hanse flyover many times and it is incredible.  The 2013 US Open only elevated its status in my eyes.  A golf course does not need to be 7,500 yards to challenge the world's best.  Merion is my choice.