Your State's Hidden Gems

[Erich]

Forgetting any course that is ranked by Golf/Golf Digest/ or Golf Week what would you consider to be your home state's hidden gem.  It can me a nine hole muni or an upscale private club that no one knows about.  

Georgia-Cabin Bluff

[-2.5]

B.O. Van Hook Golf Course.  Home of the University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles.  Hattiesburg, Mississippi.  Off-season home of the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers.

Pushed up greens that require a well placed aerial assault or a very well judged run-up lest the result be a chip back up from the rear or sides of almost every green.  Big pine trees, Augusta-like.  But not really.  There are a couple of lakes.  Simple golf.  Friendly atmosphere.  NOT a CCFAD!  

Lays onto the land, in some places a bit uncomfortably, but is that not quirk?  Not much in the way of extraneous mounding, just up and over a few rolling ridges and hollows.  Could use a bit of sprucing up, some additional Rossian touches would be especially appropriate in this setting.

[Scott_Burroughs]

North Carolina.

Among courses I haven't played (according to various folks here):

Wilmington Municipal
Deep Springs
Highlands
Roaring Gap

Among courses I have played:

Cheviot Hills
Henderson CC
Southern Pines

[A.G._Crockett]

Erich,
Since you started in coastal Ga., I'll add the Woodyard in Savannah.  Bob Cupp design, relatively new, and I hear nobody talk about it.  The par 5's are as good as I've played.

[Mitch Hantman]

Are we including courses that may be ranked in the "best in state" lists by Golf Digest?

[Tony Petersen]

Colorado:

Spring Valley GC
Wellshire GC
City Park - Denver
Mad Russian GC
Saddleback GC
Raccoon Creek GC

Just a few of the courses around the Denver area that I've played often, but haven't received any sort of recognition outside of local circles...

[ERICH]

I didn't mean to include or exclude any golf course rankings.  I was just looking for an open forum for quarky or different or hidden courses in everyone's state that maybe some of us didn't know about.  Even if it has 17 terrible holes and one out of this world hole, throw it out.  All we can do is learn something new.  

[Doug Wright]

Comtn,

With all due respect my snowbound friend, there's a reason several of your selections haven't "received any sort of recognition outside of local circles." They're not worthy!

Wellshire? It's an OK muny with some Ross buried deep in its recesses and fortunately some very evident, but IMO to be a hidden gem it very much needs a Ron Prichard Ross makeover a la the above-mentioned Wilmington NC Municipal. Then we'd be talking a gem, and not hidden either!

Denver City Park? One of the best views of downtown Denver anywhere and my favorite early morning quicky before work but c'mon--it's neither hidden nor a gem. Name one redeeming  value on that course besides the view and its proximity to downtown?

Raccoon Creek? Maybe early in its existence but countless weak holes and it's been surpassed by at least a dozen others since it was built.

Mad Russian? OK, that qualifies but likely only for this GCA crowd. Anybody else playing it would say The Mad Russian farmer/owner who designed the course was off his rocker!  

Can't comment on Saddleback and Spring Valley. In fact, I've never heard of Spring Valley, so at least it's hidden!  

My hidden gem in Colorado is Grandote GC, a very fine  Weiskopf/Morrish design in out of the way La Veta in southern Colorado. This summer it was laid bare by drought, only the greens were anything other than brown, and the firm and fast conditions only made me appreciate it more.

I've heard that Devil's Thumb in Delta  on the western slope is also a gem, and it's certainly hidden, but I've not played it yet.

All The Best,

[CHrisB]

Texas has gotten such a bad rap as a golf state that any good course here might be considered a "hidden gem" to the rest of the world. But here are a few I've played that would certainly qualify:

Waterwood National GC, Huntsville (Roy Dye & Bill Coore, 1976)

River Oaks CC, Houston (Donald Ross, 1924)

Oak Hills CC, San Antonio (A.W. Tillighast, 1921)

Delaware Springs GC, Burnet (Dave Axland & Dan Proctor, 1991)

The Bandit, New Braunfels (Keith Foster, 1997)

Ridgewood CC, Waco (supposedly laid out by the members in 1947--I find that hard to believe)

Texarkana CC, Texarkana (Langford & Moreau, 1927)--OK, this is just over the state line in Arkansas, but we need it more than they do

[Mitch Hantman]

I would seriously recommend playing Indian Creek CC in North Miami Beach, Fl.  It is a
wonderful William Flynn course on a manmade island in Biscayne Bay, with 35 feet of
elevation changes.  Excellent strategic design, with outstanding green complexes, and
incredible bunkering.  Always in terrific condition, and the wind always blows.  It isn't the
hardest course around, but it is the MOST FUN course in Florida, and will test your
entire game.  The clubhouse is a wonderful 1920's gem as well.

[Tony Petersen]

Thought I would throw out a few comments on my list of "hidden gems" in Colorado per Doug's request:

Wellshire: great deal for a Ross design ($19.00), with history. Small greens and not your typical public course for Denver. I like the parkland routing, the trees and it's a great course to walk. Not hidden, but a fun course, especially for a Muni in Denver.

City Park - Denver: Holes 1-4 have TOUGH greens (especially if you're above the hole!), which is about the only redeeming aspect of the course. Played City Park with Jonathon Kaye (East High, Class of 86) and a couple of his friends, and he concurred. The greens make the course worthy, though nothing to go out of the way for.

BTW, Spring Valley is located in Elizabeth, about 15 minutes from Parker... Check it out sometime, the back nine is BEAUTIFUL and the course is an all-around test with some elevation and an interesting routing

[RJ_Daley]

Wisconsin,

Quic Qui Oc, Elkhart Lake, Bendelow9 1909 - possible Langford or plans left by Bende for constructor of 9 additional in 1940s.  A museum piece.

Creeks of Ellingson, Hortonville, Lohmann-Quinto-Otis (owner) Best new course here. Go out of your way to play this one.

Brown County Muni, Larry Packard, hidden gem for many but recognised as one of top 5 public in state.

Bulls Eye, Larry and Roger Packard, Private, not heard of much.

[rpurd]

A few comments on these "hidden gems".......River Oaks in Houston gets national acclaim and is known to any Ross fan.  Indian Creek?  Good luck getting on......it is ultra-private.....it is a good test, but isnt hidden either.  I do have a few off the beaten path......Exeter CC in New Hampshire.....very old 9-hole layout......Agawam Hunt Club in Rhode Island.....very old style links course.

[Gib_Papazian]

California:
Stevinson Ranch - near Turlock/Merced
Saddle Creek - Copperopolis, about two hours from Lodi in the foothills.

[brad miller]

CA, Meadow Club, what's new with Mike Derives work there?

[Matt_Ward]

In my home state of NJ I would add the following in order of significance (FYI -- none are rated among the state's best by GD):

Forsgate / Banks Course (Jamesburg) -- superb design and use of terrain by the famed Charles "steam-shovel" Banks. I would also add that one of the four best par-3's in all of Jersey can be found there, in my opinion, with the 194-yard par-3 3rd and ditto on the par-5 side with the classic uphill par-5 9th hole which measures just over 580 yards.

To the credit of the club the course doesn't rely upon excessive yardage and the greens have plenty of character as only Banks could provide. The finishing three holes are also sensational with the tri-levl green at the mid-length par-4 16th, the biarirz style apar-3 17th which comes in at 220 yards and the superb closing par-4 18th which is roughly 420 yards and features a wonderfully diagonal green guarded fiercely in fron by one of the deeper Banks bunkers you will find.

Due Process Stables (Colts Neck) -- formerly under the control of Robert Brennan, this Johnny Miller / Gene Bates design is well done given the flat land of Colts Neck. The bunkering and routing are also rather complex and the reason why so little is mentioned is because so few people have played the course.

Medford Village (Medford) -- formerly called Sunny Jim's this William & David Gordon design is one long hard course. Spray a bit and you'll be playing more reloads than you can imagine. Solid routing for a south central Jersey layout and again few people really mention the course. In Confidential Guide Tom Doak gave the course a solid 6 and closed with these words: "... this could be of Quaker Ridge caliber. Instead, it's just a very good golf course that will probably continue to escape notice."

Montclair GC (West Orange) -- the 36-hole layout has an interesting history because the nines feature the design work of Banks and the renowned Donald Ross. The two best nines are #2 / Ross and #4 / Banks. Montclair possesses some of the most vexing greens you can imagine. Miss too long or too far to the side and recovery will require Houdini talent. The course isn't long -- maxes out to just under 6,600 yards but the terrain is located on a steep sloping hill. To the credit of both designers the holes are artfully done and avoid the usual issues of having mundane downhill holes followed by rigid uphill ones. In 1985 the club hosted the US Amateur and has in the past served as home to sectional qualifying for the NY / NJ region for the US Open.

On the public side I have to mention The Knoll in Parsippany. Designed by Banks as well The Knoll was for most of its existence often mentioned in the same league with such heavyweights as Winged Foot and Baltusrol. The layout was also selected by the late Dave Marr as one of his ten favorite courses. I know many people took a double take when they saw Marr's listing in GD a few years back.

Few people know The Knoll better than George Bahto and he's in the midst of restoring all the great qualities of the course. The first three holes are simply elegant and first rate and the closing 18th -- a long par-4 with its redan type green brings you home in fine fashion.

In the latest issue of The Jersey Golfer all four courses initially mentioned finished in the top 15 and are worth anyone's time if you can swing an invite. The Knoll is public and therefore easier to access and I certainly add it's one of the best 15 public courses you can play in the Garden State even with the growth of upscale daily fee golf.

[Craig_Rokke]

These are not all hidden, and they're not all flawless gems,
but I'd say that these all deserve wider acclaim in PA:

Locust Valley-Gordons
Galen Hall-Tillinghast/ Findlay
Walnut Lane-Findlay
Buck Hill-Ross
Immergrun-Emmet
Bedford Springs-Ross
Green Hills-$10 9-hole throw-back  by R. White. If nothing  
               else, you can go for a cheap ride on a roller coaster of a golf course that probably hasn't changed a lick in 80 yrs.  The pro shop guy said Hanse and Kittleman took a
look at it at one time, but I don't think anything came of it.

Old Homestead-one of the better Blaukovitch courses
Coatesville CC-private Findlay that doesn't get much acclaim,
                    but is interesting.

[Mike_Cirba]

Craig & Matt;

Good ones!

In NJ, The Knoll is a course I'm sure most on here would enjoy and ditto to Medford Village, which originally was built to challenge Pine Valley in terms of difficulty and intimidation.  It has since been toned down, but I would have loved to have seen the original.

In PA, I'd throw in a little known course about 40 minutes north of Philadelphia called Hickory Valley GC (Presidential).  The original 27 hole course was designed by a fellow by the name of Richard Kidder in 1968, and has some fabulously wild greens.  Ron Prichard built a new nine in 1996, splitting the place into 2 18 hole courses, the Presidential and Ambassador.

Either is worthy of play, but the Presidential with nine by Prichard and nine by Kidder is a lot of fun, despite a few very quirky holes.  Still, the coolest hole on the property is the 18th on the Ambassador nine, which is a 620 yard, double-delayed dogleg par five that crosses a wide creek for the third shot and increasingly narrows the more aggressively one tries to play it.  Neither course is perhaps more than a 5 on the Doak scale, but it's fun if you're in the neighborhood.

[Craig_Rokke]

Mike-
Hickory Valley is a good call. I played it perhaps a dozen times
before the Pritchard work, but only once since. No reflection on the job he did which was quite good. Wish I could picture #18 @ the Ambassador.  I always had  thought the first 27 were one of R. Pritchard's earliest courses, but I guess I was mistaken.

The hole that always perplexed me was the par 4 over the stream: My recollection has the carry over the stream at
close to 260, yet, if you lay up, it's gotta be at least 240-250
to the green. All with trees abounding on both sides of the water.

[Joe Hancock]

Michigan,

Marquette Trails in Baldwin.  Some of the most fun you'll ever have 4 putting!

Really, a hidden gem.

Joe

[Steve Lang]

Ottawa Park in Toledo, Ohio. Built in 1899, added a second nine in 1916 and hosted the first U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship in 1922.  Rumor was that Ross helped design back nine for S.P.Jermain, aka Mr. Inverness.

Colonial, west side of Ada, Ohio on SR 309.  

Hawthorne Hills, NE side of Lima, Ohio (LIMA = lost in middle america)

[Jason Hines]

Nebraska,

Beatrice Country Club: Completely revamped in the early 90’s to a mixture of classic and modern holes that was tastefully done.  Excellent greens and very well maintained throughout.


Fairbury Country Club:  Nine hole track that has been around since the early 1900’s and is very well maintained by a proud local community.  Walked 27 holes in 3 hours one time.

Heritage Hills:  Not hidden for western Nebraskans but is hidden from the rest of us, a lot of hills, yucca plants and rattlesnakes in the rough.  A very challenging layout.  


Jason

[BCrosby]

Hyde Park - JAX, Florida.

$30.00 green fee for a terrific old Ross/Thompson 1928 course.

Bob

[Mike_Cirba]

In PA, I'd add Donald Ross's Torresdale-Frankford CC, located within the city limits in NE PA.  It's sweet.  

[Rob Hallford]

Indiana:  Rock Hollow in Peru.  Tim Liddy design and home of PGA pro Chris Smith.  

rob