[Ira Fishman]

I have sung the praises of Primland, but it is a real commitment to get there because it is so remote. The first time we went, we did the three hour drive from the Greenbrier (itself pretty remote) including the long stretch of winding state roads and were relieved when we got to the gate. Only to be informed that it was another 25 minutes up switch backs to get to the resort.


It was worth the trip for the setting and especially the golf. The course is laid out across the tops of the Blue Grass mountains. There is quite a bit of variety and good lines of charm.


In your own home country/locale, what course deserves more exposure despite the remoteness? Or maybe because of it?


Ira

[Mark_Fine]

There is a course near me called Locust Valley, a Gordon course that has a really nice set of greens that are fascinating to study but overall it has grown tired and needed some attention.  Sadly it may not be a golf course for much longer but there was a time when I knew the owner and we were going to spruce it up.  There were some recommendations for tree work which was done but ownership changed hands and a housing development will be the likely outcome.  I know some here know the golf course so they might chime in. 

[Tom_Doak]

I was curious to see Primland based on initial reports, but the one person I know best who went to see it said he just hated it!


I've not done as good a job as I should in getting around to see other courses in Michigan.  If the pandemic slows us down again this year, I will do a little more of that.  I keep hearing that Muskegon CC is worth a trip but I haven't done it yet; I would also like to get to Mike DeVries' Diamond Springs, and to The Gailes in Oscoda.


For sleepers in my area, I would nominate the nine-hole course at Northport Point, which my associates Bruce Hepner and Brian Slawnik did some work on a few years ago.  It's a beautiful spot and I think the residents are happy to fly under the radar.

[Andrew Harvie]

Elk Island, a nine hole Thompson near Edmonton, is head and shoulders the best 9 hole golf course in the country, and really just as impressive as the Thompson 5 with a bit of upkeep to show it off better, yet nobody has heard of it other than a handful of friends I've told. It's in a National Park, and built for the same reason as Highlands Links, so the contours are just off the charts good

[mike_malone]

Because of the diligence of guys like Chris Mavros, Joe Bausch, Mike Cirba, Matt Frey and others courses get noticed in Philly.

[Ira Fishman]

I was curious to see Primland based on initial reports, but the one person I know best who went to see it said he just hated it!


I've not done as good a job as I should in getting around to see other courses in Michigan.  If the pandemic slows us down again this year, I will do a little more of that.  I keep hearing that Muskegon CC is worth a trip but I haven't done it yet; I would also like to get to Mike DeVries' Diamond Springs, and to The Gailes in Oscoda.


For sleepers in my area, I would nominate the nine-hole course at Northport Point, which my associates Bruce Hepner and Brian Slawnik did some work on a few years ago.  It's a beautiful spot and I think the residents are happy to fly under the radar.

If the person you reference about Primland is a dedicated walker, I can understand the reaction. It would be a very difficult walk. But it is built on the top of a mountain. Kapalua Plantation is an almost impossible walk. Primland is a better course by a fair measure.


Ira

[Jim Sherma]

Locust Valley is/was a wonderful Gordon course. Jewish club that lost its purpose I guess once other clubs needed membership.


I bought the last men’s golf shirt in the shop and wear it proudly. I have easily a hundred rounds there under my belt and am a better golfer for it.

There is a course near me called Locust Valley, a Gordon course that has a really nice set of greens that are fascinating to study but overall it has grown tired and needed some attention.  Sadly it may not be a golf course for much longer but there was a time when I knew the owner and we were going to spruce it up.  There were some recommendations for tree work which was done but ownership changed hands and a housing development will be the likely outcome.  I know some here know the golf course so they might chime in.

[Mark_Fine]

Jim,
It would have been fun to play Locust together as well.  I used to live in Coopersburg and played it all the time.  It will be sad to see it go.


We really should play Bethlehem GC together this spring.  I am obviously biased having just renovated the golf course but it is a gem.  I have seen a few good courses over the years and I will state now that the greens at Bethlehem are up there with some of the best Gordon/Flynn greens I have ever played.  I am not talking about condition (which they are pretty good as well), I am talking about design.  They had changed a lot from all the sand buildup from years of sand being tossed up onto them from the green side bunkers, on some we removed over two feet of sand (that is another whole topic about how green contours unintentionally change over time).  We altered the edges of every green on the golf course and on some had to go into the green a third of the way or more to try to get them back to what they were and to get them to tie into the new surrounds.  A lot of soil probes were taken. I think it came out fabulous but that is really for the golfers who play there to decide.  It clearly is a course to be seen especially as it grows back in and the new super has time to heal all the areas that were under construction. 

[Tim Gavrich]

The one that sticks out most in my current home state is Riviera CC up near Daytona Beach. Very low-key public course, family-owned since inception, doesn't take tee times, very walkable, with subtly pushed-up greens that are just tricky enough without brutalizing any golfer (it's just 6,200 yards from the tips). Maybe it needs to be graded on a bit of a curve due to the flatness of Florida, but I really dig the place and think it deserves more attention for being so nicely integrated into the fabric of golf in that area.

[Frank Sekulic]

I have always thought that the Quarry at Giant's Ridge does not receive the praise it deserves.

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