Right...is everybody ready? Thus beginneth another edition of GolfClubAtlas Survivor, with a few twists that shall become apparent presently. The goal is to identify the greatest golfing region in the world; after much thought, here are the rules:
There will be two separate divisions of candidates, International and American. The candidates are listed below, with a notable course listed in parentheses after each for representational purposes:
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INTERNATIONAL DIVISION:
Northern Ireland (Royal County Down)
Southwest Ireland (Ballybunion)
Highlands, Scotland (Royal Dornoch)
Ayrshire, Scotland (Royal Troon)
East Lothian, Scotland (Muirfield)
Fife, Scotland (The Old Course)
Southern Wales (Royal Porthcawl)
Northwest England (Royal Birkdale)
SW of London [Heathlands], England (Swinley Forest)
Southeast England - Kent and Channel Coast (Royal St. George’s)
Victorian “Sand Belt”, Australia (Royal Melbourne)
Mornington Peninsula, Australia (National-Moonah)
AMERICAN DIVISION:
Greater Boston, Massachusetts/Rhode Island (The Country Club)
Long Island, New York (Shinnecock Hills)
Westchester County, New York (Winged Foot - West)
Greater Philadelphia, Pennsylvania/New Jersey (Pine Valley)
Greater Miami, Florida (Seminole)
North Carolina Sandhills (Pinehurst No. 2)
Northern Michigan (Crystal Downs)
Monterey Peninsula, California (Cypress Point)
Greater San Francisco, California (Olympic Club)
Hawaiian Islands (Kapalua)
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One clarification to the above: Pasatiempo counts for BOTH the San Francisco and Monterey Peninsula regions. I figure both have equal claim to it, so rather than cut it in half, both get to share it.
Reminder: depth and breadth of quality is just as important as a region's shining light. Also, remember that the sole qualification we are assessing herein is golf course architecture (and everything that falls under that label). Climate, length of golfing season, friendliness of local people, remotness from civilization, and other such non-golf-related issues should not be taken into account, nor should factors such as "evenness of fairway grass", "average stimpmeter reading", "clubhouse architecture", "range balls stacked in neat pyramids" or anything else along these lines except insofar as it affects the golf course(s) in question.
YOUR INSTRUCTIONS FOR ROUND ONE:
1. Nominate an International region you wish to banish from contention.
2. Nominate an American region you wish to banish from contention.
3. Nominate an American region which is NOT listed above for inclusion. Possible regions for nomination include, but are by no means restricted to, the following:
Greater Columbus, Ohio (Muirfield Village)
Coastal South Carolina (Kiawah Island - Ocean)
Greater Orlando, Florida (World Woods)
Greater Jacksonville, Florida (TPC Sawgrass)
Greater Chicago, Illinois (Chicago GC)
Greater Minneapolis, Minnesota (Hazeltine)
Central Nebraska (Sand Hills)
Greater Phoenix, Arizona (Desert Highlands)
Bandon, Oregon (Pacific Dunes)
Greater Los Angeles, California (Riviera)
We start with 12 International and 10 American regions. At the end of this first round we will have 11 International and 10 American regions (one American region will disappear, another will appear to take its place). Beginning with Round Two, we will proceed to kill off one region in each division per round until we are left with two International regions and one American region; the three survivors will compete against each other in two subsequent rounds.
Entries must be received by noon, EST, on Monday to be valid. And please follow ALL THREE requests, as indicated: nominate two regions for exclusion and one American region for inclusion. Good luck, and may the best golfing region win!
Cheers,
Darren
(PS - any questions or comments about the format, which courses are in each regions, and so on should be dealt wtih herein as well.)