[Jason McNamara]

10. ANGC
9.  Harding Park
8.  Sahalee
7.  Bandon Trails
6.  The Country Club
5.  Champions
4.  Torrey Pines
3.  Pinehurst #2
2.  PBGL
1.  Medinah
http://tinyurl.com/2u2y7o

I am guessing the conventional wisdom here is good-to-great start, not sure about the middle (esp. 6 & 7), mostly agree with the top.  I have only played one of these,* so the rest of you will have to discuss the merits.

What's right, what's wrong, and what course should have been on this list?

* And I 've never even seen Harding Park on TV!  :-)


(I left it out above for readability, but assume each listing refers to the principal course - Torrey North, Champions Cypress Creek, etc.)

[Phil_the_Author]

Did you take a look at Golf's current rankings to see how THEY have ranked these courses?

Easy to name names; a lot more difficult to come otu and say in print WE HAVE OVERRATED THEM.

[JR Potts]

10. ANGC
9.  Harding Park
8.  Sahalee
7.  Bandon Trails
6.  The Country Club
5.  Champions
4.  Torrey Pines
3.  Pinehurst #2
2.  PBGL
1.  Medinah
http://tinyurl.com/2u2y7o

I am guessing the conventional wisdom here is good-to-great start, not sure about the middle (esp. 6 & 7), mostly agree with the top.  I have only played one of these,* so the rest of you will have to discuss the merits.

What's right, what's wrong, and what course should have been on this list?

* And I 've never even seen Harding Park on TV!  :-)


(I left it out above for readability, but assume each listing refers to the principal course - Torrey North, Champions Cypress Creek, etc.)

One correction, isn't Torrey South the principal course?
 
That being said, I've played 5 of those courses and am quite impressed with all 5.  Each one of those courses are in fine fine company.

[Eric Franzen]

And despite the heroics of Nicklaus and Watson, from ground level the par-3 17th is the game's single most overrated hole.

The game's most overrated hole? I don't know... Really tough if you want to go for certain pin positions... A shallow green... but there is also quite often a bit of a breeze to spice everything up.

[K. Krahenbuhl]

10. ANGC
9.  Harding Park
8.  Sahalee
7.  Bandon Trails
6.  The Country Club
5.  Champions
4.  Torrey Pines
3.  Pinehurst #2
2.  PBGL
1.  Medinah

Their top 100 in the US rankings...
ANGC - #3
Harding Park - NR
Sahalee - NR
Bandon Trails - #47
TCC - #21
Champions - NR
Torrey Pines - #60
Pinehurst 2 - #10
PBGL - #5
Medinah - #32

[Tom_Doak]

I must say I find it really odd to post an article like that without a byline or any other credits.  Who thinks they're overrated?  The editors?

[Bob_Huntley]

And despite the heroics of Nicklaus and Watson, from ground level the par-3 17th is the game's single most overrated hole.

The game's most overrated hole? I don't know... Really tough if you want to go for certain pin positions... A shallow green... but there is also quite often a bit of a breeze to spice everything up.

[Matt_Cohn]

Tom,
I'm with you on that - I was also looking for names and didn't find any.

I think the list is reasonable but some of the little blurbs are over-written and harsh. For example, after saying that Torrey Pines North displays "an utter lack of artistry", they write that "better courses have been bulldozed for less"; Bandon Trails' 14th is not controversial or severe, but instead "ridiculous".

I know they're going for shock value, but I think they may have overreached on a few occasions.

I'd put in a few other tour venues before Torrey and Harding but those are also hometown courses so I'm biased.

[Bob_Huntley]

And despite the heroics of Nicklaus and Watson, from ground level the par-3 17th is the game's single most overrated hole.

The game's most overrated hole? I don't know... Really tough if you want to go for certain pin positions... A shallow green... but there is also quite often a bit of a breeze to spice everything up.

Gosh, I played the just last week with some awfully good players and none of us felt the hole was over-rated. In fact it was just the reverse. I would agree that from the front tees it is no monster, but from the championship markers you need to be on your game.

Bob

[Adam Clayman]

Bob, The only way for people to feel the 17th is over-rated is to either expect too much, or, to place such an emphasis on the holes visuals that they think they know better. You cannot beat the 17th for testing ones metal down the stretch. And the view of the Pacific is endless.

[Jason McNamara]

One correction, isn't Torrey South the principal course?

Indeed - my bad.  I didn't think that Torrey North was so great as to be overrated in the first place; guess I brain-cramped there.  Good catch.

[Jim Nugent]

Jason, the Torrey course they say is overrated  is the north, though.  

[Ray Tennenbaum]

it was probably written by the guy who's in charge of the ratings at Golf (see the links on the bottom right), probably because they were tired of not being discussed on GCA

[John Sabino]

would have to fully agree with their #1 pick. When I played Medinah I couldn't believe it, a mid-range muni course at best.

[Matt_Cohn]

Joseph,

Sorry to pick on you here, but I think your comment about Medinah has something in common with the "harsh" write-ups that I noted in my post. (Geoff Shackelford mentioned it in his blog, too.)

I think there's a majority opinion on this site that Medinah #3 is not the 11th best course in the country. But "a mid-range muni course at best"? Surely you don't mean that. A mid-range muni would be ranked about 11,000th in the United States.

Do you really think that Medinah is the 11,000th best course in the country?!

[K. Krahenbuhl]

When I played Medinah I couldn't believe it, a mid-range muni course at best.

You have to be kidding.

[JR Potts]

When I played Medinah I couldn't believe it, a mid-range muni course at best.

You have to be kidding.

Have you read his review.  He's not kidding.

He liked the sloping par 4 11th....although 11 doesn't slope.  He also liked the par 5 16th....although 16 is a par 4.
He also didn't like the conditioning...although it looked like he played the course in late October.
He also didn't like the airplanes.

Overall, it was a great review.  Mind you, it is a review from a guy that has a blog written in explitives dedicated to gaining access to top courses.  I would like to know how he got on Medinah.

[John Sabino]

Matt - fair comment, no, I don't mean it's that bad, simply that I agree with golf.com in assessing it as the #1 over-rated course in the U.S. Joe

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

That article belongs on fox news or any of their evening so called news/entertainment shows. This is a blow to the credibility of Golf Magazine

[JR Potts]

would have to fully agree with their #1 pick. When I played Medinah I couldn't believe it, a mid-range muni course at best.

BTW - Joseph...what's your real name?  You keeping it secret to protect your "journalistic" integrity?

It's easy to write such things in an anonymous forum.  

BTW - you did your host and/or your club proud.

[John Kavanaugh]

That article belongs on fox news or any of their evening so called news/entertainment shows. This is a blow to the credibility of Golf Magazine

John,

I take it that you do not like Champions being on the list.  What did the article say that was not true?  You have to admit that that is one horrible picture and at least you have that guys name.

http://tinyurl.com/25u8d8

[Kalen Braley]

I think this is being a bit over-blown...

After all, the story/article/slideshow is only claiming they are over-rated, not that they are bad/mediocre courses.  If a course is a Doak 8, yet the common thinking of most is that its a 9 or 10, then by definition is over-rated.  But at the end of the day a 8 is still a helluva course...

[JR Potts]

This wasn't overblown at all until some idiot on here had the "courage" to anonymously call a course on here a mid-range muni course at best.

Is Medinah overrated at #11....probably.  But to call ANY of the courses on this list "mid-range munis" is ignorant at best.  Especially anonymously.

[Tim Bert]

"Admittedly, nice guys Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw had a tough act to follow in doing the third course at Bandon Dunes Resort, and on an inland plot at that. But those early raves have turned to furrowed brows for those who properly contemplate its back nine flaws, chiefly the ridiculous 14th hole and the inexplicably left-tilting landing area on 16."

I found the comments on this one a bit off.  Most reviews I've heard have this as a rival for Pacific Dunes, and I've heard opinions going up rather than down as this article implies.  I'm definitely looking forward to my second look (and the first since the course has had a few years to grow in.)  I think the most "overrated" course at the resort is probably Bandon Dunes.  The 14th is certainly a love-it or hate-it hole, so I guess we know where the author stands.  I found 16 a bit odd as well, but it is surrounding by a great stretch of finishing holes (15, 17, and 18.)

[JR Potts]

Read the comments on Pinehurst.  Something about being too short for the pros.  So what?

Comments like that make me wonder what the benchmarks were for the rankings.  Are they overrated PGA tracks?  Or just generally overrated?    

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