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I know this topic has been discussed previously, but I always enjoy hearing about places folks have played that may not be in the Top 100 but hold a special place in your personal rankings. For me, three come to mind:Blue Mound - hard to find many places where the architect has done more with less. Just pure fun, playable, and masterful Raynor on an otherwise rather bland piece of property.Brookside (Canton, OH) - Had the pleasure of playing this summer, so maybe some recency bias here. I was floored by the green complexes and incredible elevation changes. The property could use some more tree removal, but I wouldn't get tired of playing this place on a regular basis.Culver Academy - if this place had a locker room with good shower pressure (or whatever else helps rankings) and 9 even mediocre holes, I firmly believe this would be a top 100 contender. I've been lucky enough to play here quite a few times as it's less than an hour from me and absolutely love it every time. The super (Mike Vessley) does an oustanding job and posts incredible pictures on Twitter and Instagram as well.
Sand Hills
It doesn't say underrated courses only, so I'm going with conditions.I've been playing lately on a course clearly built on an old farm field. Probably clay underneath it, the turf can be a bit patchy, but they keep it a little longer and drier and that gives it an excellent bounce and roll. The greens are usually open at the front and I almost always bounce it short and roll it on. It goes to show that they can give you firm and fast conditions on almost any soil, as long as you can accept slower greens and longer turf in the fairways. I really like it! At this point, the spin I lose on irons from the fairway doesn't matter to me at all, I'd rather run that thing on anyway!
Quote from: Will Thrasher on Yesterday at 09:18:26 PMI know this topic has been discussed previously, but I always enjoy hearing about places folks have played that may not be in the Top 100 but hold a special place in your personal rankings. For me, three come to mind:Blue Mound - hard to find many places where the architect has done more with less. Just pure fun, playable, and masterful Raynor on an otherwise rather bland piece of property.Brookside (Canton, OH) - Had the pleasure of playing this summer, so maybe some recency bias here. I was floored by the green complexes and incredible elevation changes. The property could use some more tree removal, but I wouldn't get tired of playing this place on a regular basis.Culver Academy - if this place had a locker room with good shower pressure (or whatever else helps rankings) and 9 even mediocre holes, I firmly believe this would be a top 100 contender. I've been lucky enough to play here quite a few times as it's less than an hour from me and absolutely love it every time. The super (Mike Vessley) does an oustanding job and posts incredible pictures on Twitter and Instagram as well. Will, Darryl, Jeff, Thanks for the kind words regarding BMGCC. As you may know we are completing our restoration as we speak. Bruce Hepner has done a terrific job along with our world class Supt Alex. 2025 will be a very special year as the completely restored course is revealed. It's no longer a hidden gem......