Overrated Courses

[cary lichtenstein]

I'll start with these 2 and why:
Seminole-I played it twice and both times I thought it was very overrated
Oakmont-I played it once and it beat me up, I thought it was ridiculously difficult and to this day, why such a difficult course should be rated that high I fail to understand

[Jeff Schley]

Cary


Very tough and certainly we are no authorities but it is a discussion board.


Royal county down - too tight for average golfers with even average wind.  Didn't enjoy, just too tough.


Garden City - flat land and while the greens were good, didn't think tee to green it was very notable.


Old Barnwell - cut down every tree it seemed and lost some opportunities as a result IMHO. New course with buzz so not ranked yet.

[Tim Martin]

Metedeconk National Tournament Course
Atlanta Athletic Highlands
Hamilton Farm


All three are overly penal and repetitive IMO.

[Ira Fishman]

I have mentioned before but at least I am consistent:


Kapalua Plantation
Bandon Dunes
Pinehurst 4
Kingsbarns
Castle Stuart
Royal Dornoch (a wonderful course but not top 10 for me)

[Brian Finn]

I'll start with these 2 and why:
Seminole-I played it twice and both times I thought it was very overrated
Oakmont-I played it once and it beat me up, I thought it was ridiculously difficult and to this day, why such a difficult course should be rated that high I fail to understand

Cary - what about Seminole makes it overrated?  I have never played there.  Not defending it, just curious.

[Brian Finn]

Old Barnwell - cut down every tree it seemed and lost some opportunities as a result IMHO. New course with buzz so not ranked yet.

What opportunities were lost? 

[Ted Sirbaugh]

I hesitate to say this because I still love the course, but I think Fishers Island has become a tad overrated and social media probably plays a big role in that.


The views are undoubtedly phenomenal, and the best holes are among the best in the world. But thinking about the golf course as a whole, I wouldn't necessarily put it above Somerset Hills, Friar's Head, Pacific Dunes, Seminole, or Pinehurst #2, to name a few. 

[John Handley]

Wow, some interesting comments.  But I do find it a little interesting that some of the things that GCA call out raters on actually are comments on why y'all think they're overrated.


I've played Oakmont and yes it is a difficult course, but I thought it was fantastic.  I played well and shot 78 so that helped, but I thought the golf course and the design was terrific.  Same with RCD.  I've played it 4x and think it's one of the best.  Maybe too tough in conditions for "average" golfers but that doesn't mean it's not a great course.  Dornoch too, I thought it was outstanding.

[John Kavanaugh]

I have mentioned before but at least I am consistent:


Kapalua Plantation
Bandon Dunes
Pinehurst 4
Kingsbarns
Castle Stuart
Royal Dornoch (a wonderful course but not top 10 for me)

I’ve played half your list and I’m still disappointed that I played two of them purely out of peer pressure. The third I loved.

[Ira Fishman]

I have mentioned before but at least I am consistent:


Kapalua Plantation
Bandon Dunes
Pinehurst 4
Kingsbarns
Castle Stuart
Royal Dornoch (a wonderful course but not top 10 for me)

I’ve played half your list and I’m still disappointed that I played two of them purely out of peer pressure. The third I loved.

C'mon JK, name names.

[David Kelly]

Sand Hills - I put it on Ballyneal's level, not top 10, even acknowledging its historical importance. I think there are a lot of uphill approaches, I think it could have been made more walkable and I think there is a maintenance issue where the gunch immediately next to the rough is overly lush because the grass receives the water meant for the fairways and rough (I know the wind makes this hard to fix) but quite often a ball just into the gunch is unfindable but balls blown out of play by many yards are easily findable and playable. But my biggest issue is that the green speeds are so fast and the greens are so exposed that serious wind often makes the greens unplayable.  I haven't been there that many times but on two occasions the ball wasn't staying on the green or wouldn't stop on downwind putts.  That has not been an issue at BN with similar wind on the same trips. 

[Joe Zucker]

I hesitate to say this because I still love the course, but I think Fishers Island has become a tad overrated and social media probably plays a big role in that.


The views are undoubtedly phenomenal, and the best holes are among the best in the world. But thinking about the golf course as a whole, I wouldn't necessarily put it above Somerset Hills, Friar's Head, Pacific Dunes, Seminole, or Pinehurst #2, to name a few.

I agree with this one.  Fishers is still one of the best courses in the world, but the less than great holes (18 especially) make it tough to be top 10 for me.  The experience with the ferry, the club, the lack of fairway irrigation make for an unbelievable experience.  But we're splitting hairs at the top 0.0001% and Fishers is a bit less than Pinehurst #2, NGLA, or Sand Hills for me. 

[John Foley]

TPC Sawgrass, Newport & Olympic Lake

[Jeff Evagues]

Bethpage Black

[Tom_Doak]

Metedeconk National Tournament Course
Atlanta Athletic Highlands
Hamilton Farm

All three are overly penal and repetitive IMO.

None of these are rated highly by anyone.

[Tom_Doak]

I hesitate to say this because I still love the course, but I think Fishers Island has become a tad overrated and social media probably plays a big role in that.

It’s the prettiest of Seth Raynor’s courses (by far) and a lot of people love them their templates; personally I’ve always respected their approach to maintenance.  But architecturally it was only an 8 on the Doak Scale and there are just as many “meh” holes as at Pebble Beach.  I am shocked when people put it in their top ten. 

[Tim Martin]

Metedeconk National Tournament Course
Atlanta Athletic Highlands
Hamilton Farm

All three are overly penal and repetitive IMO.

None of these are rated highly by anyone.

Tom-All three are on the 2024 GolfWeek Top 200 Modern List for courses built after 1960.

[Carl Johnson]

I'd be interested in why y'all think the courses are overrated.  What are your standards?  Kingsbarns, Royal Dornoch and Royal County Down have been mentioned.  I am a old guy (not yet dead) and have played these three courses.  RCD was not playable by me, so on that basis it's overrated.  A caddy in our group at RCD remarked that it wasn't playable by their older members.  I wouldn't belong to a club if I couldn't play the course.  (My home club, which is well rated, is getting that way.) On the other hand, I'll accept that not all courses are playable by everyone, and they can still be highly rated within the context of what they are.  I found Kingsbarns very playable, and most of Royal Dornoch as well, and can accept them as not overrated.  TOC?  If it was created today, I don't think it would be mentioned at all, but the history alone is such that I can't say it's overrated.  Trying to think of one that I believe is overrated without question (in my mind): Carnoustie.  Muirfield I might put in the same category, though I played it in a heavy rain so probably not fair to judge.  Both courses were difficult, flat and uninteresting (for me).

[Will Thrasher]

Metedeconk National Tournament Course
Atlanta Athletic Highlands
Hamilton Farm

All three are overly penal and repetitive IMO.

None of these are rated highly by anyone.

Tom-All three are on the 2024 GolfWeek Top 200 Modern List for courses built after 1960.

I wouldn't necessary say 100-200 on the GolfWeek Modern list are highly rated. It's one beef I have with the GW rating system (and I say that as a GW rater). While I think in some ways it is an interesting thought exercise to parse classic vs. modern we're talking about golf courses at the end of the day. All you need to do is compare the 100-200 ranked classics vs. the 100-200 moderns and the different in quality becomes quite stark imo. I think the Golf Magazine top 100 is the gold standard in this regard.

[Rob Marshall]

The Ocean Course. Nothing spectacular about it in my mind.

[John Kavanaugh]

Ira,


I love Bandon Dunes. No one should have to feel embarrassed to declare it their favorite at the resort. Hard to fight the propaganda.

[Cal Seifert]

Bay harbor
Atlantic
Pinehurst #4
Tobacco Road
Bethpage Black

[John Kavanaugh]

The Ocean Course. Nothing spectacular about it in my mind.

I made a promise to Mike Vegis to defend his beloved course. So to you sir, I say NO.

[Paul Jones]

Torrey Pines (South) - I do not think it is ranked anymore, but it was when I played it.  Most disappointed I have ever been playing a ranked course.


Colonial - Enjoyed the history, but the golf course was pretty forgettable. 


Medinah (3) - seemed like I played the same par 3 multiple times (haven't played it since last renovation).

[DFarron]

TPC Sawgrass, Newport & Olympic Lake

I didn’t like Olympic until I had played it about 7 times, then really stated to appreciate it.