OK, maybe I have the definition of feng shui wrong but here's my opinion and I swear it's true. I'm sharing something personal here in the spirit of seeing what the rest of you think, so play nice:)
If I'm right, what you guys call feng shui, I call "The Vortex." It's a rare but electrifying and inspiring feeling I get on not just a superlative golf course, but at a moment in time that dovetails with the course where the rest of the world and all my cares just vanish and I am at peace on the course. It's a terrific natural high for both mind and body: intoxicating yet you can concentrate on playing, energizing you so much that your reserve tanks kick in, and making you feel a peace of mind that dominates the entire experience. I know some people don't believe in the spiritual side and I'm not usually a hippie freak, but as a former professional musician and a yoga junkie, I can attest to how the body can be trained. (Lloyd, a musical example was that every time we closed the show with the Rolling Stones's "Loving Cup," my adrenaline kicked into overdrive, I "played purely on feel and rhythm," and sang like they were outlawing music the next day. I "sang to the rafters" if you get my drift. It was always powerful and I had to calm down for several minutes after we left the stage. Lloyd, does that happen to you?)
Sitting here right now, two golf occasions come to mind.
1. The first time I played Bulls Bay, in the Dixie Cup, with Mike Christenson and a third whose name escapes me right now. It happened out on the 4th and 5th, the holes near the waterway. My body just felt an electrical charge that gave me both physical and spiritual energy. Maybe it was a subconscious thing of revering Mike Strantz, playing that fascinating and beautiful course, seeing his portrait in the clubhouse, or "feeling the love" that all Bulls Bay members have, but Mike C will tell you, my soul was at peace that day and I would have beaten any opponent.
2. In October of 2006, I played Arcadia Bluffs in the morning and played Crystal Downs with Doak in the afternoon and interviewed him later. I arrived at AB at the start of a glorious sunrise: black, then blue, then purple, then daybreak. I was floored by the course and decided that I'll propose to my future wife on the 11th green. I had the entire course to myself and saw one other foursome all morning. It was solace, peace, thinking-mans golf, beauty, and exercise all in one. The Vortex just invigorated me.
That afternoon, I met Doak for the first time and was a nervous wreck. Tom, did I seem nervous? Remember where I hit me tee ball on one? It was as far left as Mickelson's tee shot on 18 at Winged Foot in 2006. I didn't feel The Vortex with you because I was nervous and we had business, plus I had time to "wind down," but I still had a helluva time. That was still the greatest 36 of my life, better than my days at Bandon.
So I guess it's not only the course, but the circumstances and the mindset. I don't go looking for The Vortex. I don't think you can "call it up." It chooses you. It's more than just a serene round, its a physical manifestation of incredible spiritual energy. You can't go looking for it or expect it. Even though I saw the first hole-in-one at Ballyneal, drained a 100-foot putt on 8 and had the time of my life with my stalwart playing partners, but still the mythical turbo-boost didn't kick in and I wasn't looking for it.
The only time where I half-expected it and it occurred was at Monterey Peninsula CC Shore Course, which I played the day Mike Strantz died. That was moving, powerful, and bittersweet. Maybe a bit kicked in when I stood over Perry Maxwell's grave at Dornick Hills. That was overwhelming.
So for courses: Bulls Bay, Arcadia, MPCC, Tobacco Road, Oakmont, Black Mesa...maybe more...