Courses that you changed your mind about after multiple plays...

[Geoffrey_Walsh]

In reference to the thread about whether or not you can evaluate a course in one play I have a slightly different take on it. What are examples of courses where you have had your initial opinion meaningfully changed after repeated plays? I certainly have a few cases where courses that at first I rated very highly then saw my love fade after more plays. While I am interested in these cases, I am almost more interested in the cases where your opinion of a course became much higher upon repeated plays.

Firestone South - After playing it a few times you start to realize there are subtle slopes in the fairways that you don't pick up during the first round.  Those straight holes really require you to shape the tee shots.  Both 1 & 9 are great examples.

[Tim Leahy]

Torrey Pines South was first disappointing when I played there in a college tournament because I thought it was a wasted opportunity for some great holes on an ocean front property but didn't  match Pebble or even Sandpiper's cliffside holes.
However when I moved to SD in my late 30's and lived up the road getting the residents rate playing weekly for 2 years I came to appreciate the subtle greens and tough Kikuyu rough as well as the layouts challenge in the ocean winds.

[Brad Lawrence]

Bethpage Black. The first time I played it, it was about three months after the U.S. Open. I was incredibly excited.  I’ll never forget parking well before the break of dawn and then watching daybreak reveal the 1st and 18th.  But after playing it 4 times, I don’t like it very much. Boring greens and complexes.  About half of the greens are completely surrounded by rough.  Difficult holes that are not super interesting or fun.  It’s very hard. That doesn’t mean it’s any good.

[Sean Ogle]

This has been mentioned numerous times in this thread already, but Old Mac is the best example of this for me.


I've played it 4 times now, and the first 3 I really didn't care for it.


The big thing that changed during my 4th play was that I played it in the Summer - all of my previous rounds there had been in the off-season with pretty heavy wind.


This ended up making holes like the long par 4, 4th absolutely brutal. Once I played it with the wind blowing in the direction the way the course was designed, I had a newfound appreciation for it.


And I wonder for how many golfers their dislike of the course might be due to similar reasons?


It still isn't my favorite at the resort, Trails gets that designation, but assuming I'm playing during the summer months - it's one I'm much more excited about looping these days.

[Donnie Beck]

National Golf Links for sure. It has so many blind holes it took me 4 or 5 rounds to truly appreciate it.

[Tim Martin]

Wintonbury Hills has grown on me considerably after dozens of plays. The routing despite a fair amount of elevation change is walkable with only the climb from 4 green to 5 tee giving pause. The course has five par threes, ten par fours and three par fives which cover some very different terrain depending on the section of the property and a compelling set of greens and surrounds. The par three 3rd hole has a cool reverse redan green with a varied set of pin positions. Finally I’ve grown to like the course more than it’s neighbor Keney Park.

[MCirba]

Wintonbury Hills has grown on me considerably after dozens of plays. The routing despite a fair amount of elevation change is walkable with only the climb from 4 green to 5 tee giving pause. The course has five par threes, ten par fours and three par fives which cover some very different terrain depending on the section of the property and a compelling set of greens and surrounds. The par three 3rd hole has a cool reverse redan green with a varied set of pin positions. Finally I’ve grown to like the course more than it’s neighbor Keney Park.

Tim,


With a bit of planning, is it realistic to play both in a single day mid-season?

[Tim Martin]

Wintonbury Hills has grown on me considerably after dozens of plays. The routing despite a fair amount of elevation change is walkable with only the climb from 4 green to 5 tee giving pause. The course has five par threes, ten par fours and three par fives which cover some very different terrain depending on the section of the property and a compelling set of greens and surrounds. The par three 3rd hole has a cool reverse redan green with a varied set of pin positions. Finally I’ve grown to like the course more than it’s neighbor Keney Park.

Tim,


With a bit of planning, is it realistic to play both in a single day mid-season?

Mike-Absolutely! Let’s set it up.

[MCirba]

Tim Martin,

Love it...let's do it.   Thanks!

[Jeff Schley]

National Golf Links for sure. It has so many blind holes it took me 4 or 5 rounds to truly appreciate it.

Donnie, so it went from a 9.9 to a 10 after slogging around for 5 rounds?