I admittedly spend way too much of my time on the internet looking at far away courses and dreaming that I was there.  Just ask my wife.  
Lately I've been checking out photos of the great heathland courses SW of London.  It's an aesthetically beautiful area, and arguably the birthplace of modern golf course architecture.  Hopefully one day I will get there.
My question is this:
There are a couple of courses I can think of right off the top of my head that, for marketing reasons or whatever, are called Heathlands (Tom Doak's Heathlands in Myrtle Beach and Doug Carrick's Osprey Valley Heathlands north of Toronto), but are obviously meant to emulate the links experience.  Since I'm not well-travelled (the understatement of the year, so far), I'm wondering if anyone knows of any special courses on this side of the Atlantic that succeed in to any degree in emulating a true "Heathland" experience?

Chris,

I've read that the earliest versions of Colt's Toronto and Hamilton courses were heathland-like, in style and appearance. Colt had just laid out Swinley Forest when he came to Canada to design Toronto and Hamilton. Antique photos of those courses definitely show a Swinley-, Sunningdale-esque look.  

Sadly, both courses are relatively "cleaned up" these days. And, the bunker styling has changed dramatically, away from an resemblence of Colt's bunkers found in the heathlands.

The principle reason there aren't many heathland experiences in North America though, is: there aren't many (if any) heaths. Simple.

Do you guys all know what heather is?  It's a beautiful plant and an amazing golf hazard.  Some people now actually think it is just long grass, because the word has been bastardized as a marketing term, and that just makes me cringe.

To me, you can't have a "heathland" course without heather, and I have only seen small bits of heather on any course in the USA or Canada.

The original back nine at High Pointe had ferns out in the rough between holes, which was close to that feel, but it wasn't heather.  We thought about trying to plant some at Pacific Dunes in the beginning, but realized after a little while that it really didn't need anything more than the natural variety of vegetation it had ... heather grows just fine out in Bandon, but unfortunately there isn't much growing on the property for Bandon Dunes Resort.

Mark:

There's barely any iceplant left on the courses in Monterey.  It is not a native plant so it has become a victim of environmental political correctness.

Mark:

There's barely any iceplant left on the courses in Monterey.  It is not a native plant so it has become a victim of environmental political correctness.

There is plenty of nasty iceplant to mess around with during the last nine at Pacific Grove Muni. I encourage you to have a clooser look at the grooves on my clubs if further evidence is needed...

I keep loking for a heathland experience in the US.  Next to links golf heathland golf is is my favorite.  I agree with someone who said that true heathland is disappearing even in  England with the explosion of trees.  It cannot be true heathland without the heather which gives it it's distinctive flavor and look.  Yet I think there are some couses that do have the "experience" of heathland golf on this side of the pond, albeit sans heather.  NGLA may be one.  It felt like Walton Heath at the holes around the turn.  But even courses that give the experience of heathland playability  are few and far between.

Hiawatha Landing is a great choice.  $45.  Its in Binghamton, NY...spend the bext day at scenic Conklin PLayers' Club

Good stuff, Tony.

Some Swedish heathland golf for you all. This is Ljunghusen - the next door neighbour to Falsterbo.

Mark:

There's barely any iceplant left on the courses in Monterey.  It is not a native plant so it has become a victim of environmental political correctness.

Tom,

Not to get off topic here, but how does the gorse at Bandon relate to your quote above?

I've always imagined that Essex and Myopia have a look a bit like the London-area heathland courses, but most of the vegetation there is long fescue-like grass.  

I think it comes from the bunker styles, the grass-faced/pot/collapsing edge style often has moss and other non-grass plants growing on them, giving them an "almost-heather" look.

I'm wondering if anyone knows of any special courses on this side of the Atlantic that succeed in to any degree in emulating a true "Heathland" experience?

Poppy Ridge in Livermore, sister to Poppy Hills in Pebble Beach, claims to be a Scottish Heathland course:  (From the Northern California Golf Association Website):

Poppy Ridge Golf Course is the second NCGA Member Course and opened in 1996. The 27 hole Scottish Heathland Course consists of three nines aptly named Chardonnay, Zinfandel and Merlot and is located in the wine country of Livermore. Rees Jones, 1995 Golf Digest Architect of the Year compares the design and playability to Scottish links courses.[/i]

Poppy Hills / Poppy Ridge

There's a small patch of heather on the 7th, par 3 hole, at The Orchards in Mass.  It's the real thing.

The Gailes at Lakewood Shores Resort in Northern Michigan..

Although the conditioning falls short of "firm and fast", the design is meant to imitate that of a heathland course (imho).

jf