What would it take ?

[Patrick_Mucci]

If a club wanted to move up in the rankings.

Let's not use a hypothetical golf course in this thread, let's use a real golf course.

Could GCGC move up in the rankings ?

What would it take for GCGC to move up in the rankings ?

[Mike_Young]

Marketing

[Nick Pozaric]

i hate to ask but what is GCGC

[Donnie Beck]

Garden City is in my top 5, but I am not sure how much further it could move up.. Maybe it a little more exposure would help. How many raters actually get on? I don't really think the members of Garden City care where Golfweek has them ranked? If it is ranked  #10, #15 or #17 it is one special place.

[ed_getka]

Get Tom Fazio in there! Garden City Golf Club is GCGC.
Patrick,
   I've only seen the course once and haven't experienced all possible winds and other permutations so I am not qualified to respond. I'd be more than happy to come back and give you my thoughts if you will give me an exemption.
    Seriously, I think the biggest thing is that GCGC is a low profile club, and many golfers today don't have an appreciation for the subtlety you find at GC. The modern day golfer also is into the Fazio aesthetic and I think GC probably doesn't meet that objective for many golfers.

[Donnie Beck]

From a playability stand point the first thing I would do is start overseeding heavily with fescue/colonial bent mix in the fairways. I would then shut the water off and let the ball bounce around there like it is supposed to. I can't think of a better course to bump and run shots onto the greens.

[Gerry B]

1)Politics

2)Hosting a major tournament can be a major factor in the equation- which in the case of those clubs who have restricted membership policies ie. men only - is not an option. (Augusta being the exception)

After playing with and talking to the members of many of the exclusive / elite and in most cases highly ranked  clubs, the famous  Clark Gable(Rhett Butler) line from Gone With the Wind would be an accurate description of how many of these members would respond when  asked how they feel about the ranking of their course - "Frankly my dear I don't give a damn"(where we are ranked)

[TEPaul]

Pat:

Look at the Beverly thread. That's certainly not a hypothetical. So instead of just telling us again how you think all memberships are ultimately to blame for everything that happens and the committees within them are a bunch of big egos why don't you address your questions to Beverly and those who were responsible for the course's restoration that allowed it to move up in the rankings?

But the additional question is despite now having a membership who's now probably content with the course and an increased ranking what will Tom MacWood tell us they and Ron Prichard did wrong to the architecture of that golf course in their recent restoration?  

[Wayne Freeman]

I agree that in the case of Garden City, it would take some major political work and marketing-  and some big tournaments.  But guys-  it already is ranked no lower than 32 by all the major golf magazines.  Does it really deserve to be any higher?  It's certainly not going to displace Shinny, Merion, Cypress Point, Pebble, Southern Hills, Winged Foot, Prairie Dunes  etc. etc. etc. ----  L.A. Country Club is another one that would probably be able to move way up in the rankings, because it is also a great course. But the members don't want to have anything to do with major tournaments.  The USGA would probably love to have the U.S. Open there, but there's no chance.