Guess Where This Course Is.........

[Daryl "Turboe" Boe]

Dick,

Yes you did now that you mention it.  But I had to get in my shameless plug for South Dakota.  

Maybe you could tap the golf/gambling croud that Kevin Costner is trying to woo with his Upscale project in the Black Hills (The Trestle GC @ Dunbar Resort).  Who would have thought my beloved SD could be come the Myrtle Beach of the High Plains.

Hmmmmmmm.....
Daryl

[D Moriarty]

This discussion reminds me of a recent article in Links Magazine about the Old Works course in Anaconda Mt., the point of which seemed to be that Old Works was perhaps a waste in a town with too few people and no real chance of ever developing a consistent tourist trade.  

I am a big fan of public-access courses in the middle of nowhere.  In my experience they are more affordable, get less play, play faster, and have a loyal and appreciative clientele who know the course and treat it with respect (like members of a private club might).  Part of their charm is that the only people that play these courses are locals and those that made an effort to get there.

Because of budget constraints (Old Works excepted)of a truly small market, architects might be forced to work with what they have, instead of staining the land with fake waterfalls, island greens, and over-graded and out of place flat-as-a-football-field fairways.  And, because land is aplenty in the middle of nowhere, the architect might work with land suited for a golf course instead of shoe-horning a course into the last available space.

Plus, if we weighed accessibility when considering great course architecture, we should gut the lists of the private courses (and ultra-high end "public" courses like Pebble).  I can drive or fly to the 'middle of nowhere' and play, but may never get to play the Los Angeles Country Club, which, as I write this, is only a long iron away.  

[Jeff_Stettner]

D:
Well said. Having played Hawktree, The Links of North Dakota and Old Works, I agree with your sentiments to the value of these "nowhere" golf courses. They seem to be staying afloat (Hawktree is even looking to add another 18) while offering the public a real deal in golf's otherwise overpriced land of CCFADs.  

[D Moriarty]

Jeff:  
I haven't had the pleasure of playing in North Dakota, but the pictures above look inviting.  

While I am not a fan of some Nicklaus projects, I think Nicklaus's people did a great job at Old Works, especially given the site.  The slag traps and the smelter ruins really capture the spirit of the area, and are a much better fit than imported white sand. Plus, the course is a joy in the howling wind-- you can usually count on a pretty good breeze.

In fact, Southwest and Central Montana should be added to the above list of great untapped links locations.  Not only does Montana have interesting and abundant terrain and an ever-present but constantly changing wind, it also has something else in common with the great Scottish and Irish courses:  The towns are full of Scots and Irish, only a few generations removed from the home of golf.  

[D Moriarty]

I guess I forgot about Eastern Montana, but most consider it part of North Dakota anyway.  

[Jeff_McDowell]

D,

You're certainly right about easy access to these courses.  I walked on Hawktree in the middle of the Fourth of July week, and played by myself.

[TEPaul]

I'm really late looking over this thread but man, are those basic lines on those photos gorgeous! Just look at how everything flows, blends, rolls and melds seamlessly and naturally. The forgrounds and the grasses with the green lines, bunkers and surrounds, the course horizon lines beyond it and the gentle rolls of the top profiles on the course with the horizon line and the sky beyond.

That stuff is gorgeous, Bill Coore could probably sit and stare at those photos for hours!!