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John Kavanaugh

For example...you have Florida golf...desert golf, midwestern parkland, links....But then you have sub-catagories like Oregon links and Nebraska links...Given playable days and turf possibilities...where are your favorites.

You might be surprised that given my love of bentgrass fairways and greens coupled with our new found winter warming trends...I'm not sure it gets much better than the Midwest on the St. Louis latitude.  Any farther north and it gets too cold and any further south you get stuck with zoysia and bermuda.  It is an amazing break point of weather and agronomy.

John Kavanaugh

Is it possible that the Oregon Coast is a better place to play golf year round than the Monterey Peninsula.  Is the Monterey Peninsula hands down number one...or are the greens just a little too out of whack.  Note: Some people find seasonal variances fun..

Ted Kramer

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Is it possible that the Oregon Coast is a better place to play golf year round than the Monterey Peninsula.  Is the Monterey Peninsula hands down number one...or are the greens just a little too out of whack.  Note: Some people find seasonal variances fun..

I would consider seasonal variances to be a key factor in choosing my favorite location/region for golf. Changing conditions can add so many crucial elements to the game. While I haven't played in too many different places, I have played on the Oregon Coast and the Monterey Peninsula and I would rank the former ahead of the latter.

-Ted

John Goodman

Links, links, links.  The ones across the pond.  I'd take the cluster an hour either side of Edinburgh first, then the west coast of Ireland, then the Scottish Highlands, then the southeast of England, then Northern Ireland.  A bunch of holes in my resume (no NW England or Wales) so I can't extend the list beyond that.

I've never played a links over here, but I'm gonna fix that in September (Bandon).  

 



 

John Kavanaugh

How about Florida vs Arizona...I prefer Arizona because I enjoy the way the ball flies at higher elevation.  The ball just feels too heavy in Florida.

Is it fair to say the North Carolina is a clear winner over South Carolina...seems clear to me.

John Kavanaugh

Having a little trouble choosing between Michigan and Pennsylvania...I think Michigan has better dirt.

Joe Hancock

  • Karma: +0/-0
...I think Michigan has better dirt.

John,

You should come see it some time. ;D

Joe
" What the hell is the point of architecture and excellence in design if a "clever" set up trumps it all?" Peter Pallotta, June 21, 2016

"People aren't picking a side of the fairway off a tee because of a randomly internally contoured green ."  jeffwarne, February 24, 2017

Evan Fleisher

  • Karma: +0/-0
Living for about 16 years in the Midwest now, I'm growing partial to our of our own forms of home cookin', which I like to call Prairie Links.

Many courses around these parts are built on rolling/undulating farmland terrain with little in the way of trees, hard surfaces, wind, elevation changes, etc.  I have grown fond of these style courses, and the conditions in the Midwest make these types of layouts fairly numerous.  Also varying soil conditions seem to give each a unique style and flavor...from the courses in the sand hills areas of Kansas and Nebraska to those found out my way in Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois.
Born Rochester, MN. Grew up Miami, FL. Live Cleveland, OH. Handicap 13.2. Have 26 & 23 year old girls and wife of 29 years. I'm a Senior Supply Chain Business Analyst for Vitamix. Diehard walker, but tolerate cart riders! Love to travel, always have my sticks with me. Mollydooker for life!

Tom Huckaby

Re Oregon coast v. Monterey, well you're really only talking the courses at Bandon v. those in Monterey.  So if you want to base this in reality, it comes down to those three v. the greater quantity to the south.  Also, the terrain and turf issues vary greatly from course to course in Monterey, so it's not really a viable question.

But with all those caveats, what the hell I'll take a stab at it.

Turf - Bandon.  Firmer, better, sandy base.  In Monterey, the only courses that have this are Bayonet and Blackhorse - all of the more famous ones are clay-based and are soft and wet for long parts of the year.

Weather - I have to go with Monterey.  Changing conditions are neat, but it's not like Monterey is always the same.  But most importantly, there's just plain not as much rain.  Rain and golf are a tolerance, not a choice.  




Jeff_Brauer

  • Karma: +0/-0
I've always considered a site that I have been offered to do a design to be clearly superior to one where I haven't......... ;D
Jeff Brauer, ASGCA Director of Outreach

Dan Herrmann

  • Karma: +0/-0
Give me Cape Breton Island, Nova Scota.  A great set of courses, including Highlands Links (Thompson).  A great culture, great summertime weather, and incredible scenery.

Oh yeah - I love Bandon too.

Too many of us Yankees forget to look to The True North for great golf.
« Last Edit: March 08, 2006, 02:20:33 PM by Dan Herrmann »

Tom Huckaby

Dan - I'd love to go to that True North.

But what about weather?

Has to be a very short golf season, no?  And part of JK's question asked for "playable days."