It was inevitable that this thread evolve into a ranking discussion - that's fine and to be expected. David's post #12 got me to thinking. As I understand it Golfweek has defined criteria for rating courses with each assigned a rating of 1 to 10. The fact of the matter is that Cypress Point Club could well warrant the assignment of a "20" for such criteria as: 1) walk in the park; 2) routing; 3) conditioning and, more importantly ecology; and 4) variety and memorability of par 3's.
Arguably, a quick look at the other criteria might yield a push with the likes of CC of Troy, but the off-the-charts superlatives of a Cypress Point Club carry the day and warrant the premium.
I do like Sean's Top 250 theory (provided Lederach isn't in it
). IMHO #250 is plenty good enough. Anything better is just an embarrassment of riches.
Bogey