[Jeff_Brauer]

Mark,

Good point, there is more debate about lists than about the courses themselves, which I guess isnt' too terribly suprising since it seems most participants here really haven 't played the top 100, but I guess they do read magazines.

John (an appropriate name for you, huh?)  

I guess your rankings for any top 100 course would depend not only on the, uh, facility itself, but on whether you were "on your game" that day.  BTW, who do you blame for "slow play?" Who makes up your top 100 list - The Prune Juice Association of America?

BTW, if you can stand more bathroom humor, I once played Muirfield with Pete Dye. I putted terribly, looking up and missing left all day.  After the round, we both used the urinals, and he made a point of being to my right, reasoning that "I would probably miss that left the way I was going today."

And, last week at ASGCA, I happened to visit the restroom with one Mr. Jack Nicklaus.  As we were standing there, I told him that it was nice to be able to say that "I held my own with Nicklaus at Pinehurst......"

[Michael Moore]

Zero.

[Eckstein]

John

Can you poop on demand or do you just hold it in for a day or two?

[cary lichtenstein]

Come on John, full disclosure

[Eckstein]

John

Do you take a full dump or sometimes small rabbit-like pellets?

[cary lichtenstein]

Eckstein:

I am laughing out loud

Cary

[cary lichtenstein]

This thread has not only been hijacked by John, it has turned into one big shit

[Eckstein]

John

What kind of diet allows you to poop on demand and was this something you developed as a kid or later in life and has it ever backfired on you?

[cary lichtenstein]

It's the asphalt

[Eckstein]

John

I hope when you go you leave your bowel to science for further study. I know many believe you are full of it but it appears you eliminate it rapidly.

[John Kirk]

Bill,

I am a member at Stone Eagle.  I'm curious whether you thought it had a chance to be considered a top 100 course by either publication.

I agree that Stone Eagle's par threes are less interesting than the fours and fives, but after playing it a number of times, the subtle difficulty of hole #3 grows on you.  The whole thing has grown on me.  It tests your driving ability, your judgment of uphill and downhill shots, and your putting expertise.  And it's drop dead gorgeous.

The early buzz is that Golf Digest raters are very happy with it.  I would think Golf Digest's rating criteria suits Stone Eagle well, since the course is a very difficult course to walk.  I also think it is difficult enough from the back tees to suit the raters.

We just finished having the member-guest tournament there last year.  Most members and guests were long time Coachella Valley residents, and among the few people I surveyed the reviews were mixed.  It is so different than the typical high-end course in the area.

Anyway, curious to hear your opinion.  You and Bryan must have played 18 from the 10th tee.

The bathrooms at Stone Eagle is superb.  Baeutifully appointed, with sturdy commodes in individual rooms.  The good JK would love the place.  

[Tom Huckaby]

The early buzz is that Golf Digest raters are very happy with it.  I would think Golf Digest's rating criteria suits Stone Eagle well, since the course is a very difficult course to walk.  I also think it is difficult enough from the back tees to suit the raters.

John - curious why you would say this.  Remember there are no more bonus points for walkability - but that sure doesn't mean the tougher it is to walk the better it is assessed!  And Resistance to Scoring is still just one of 8 criteria that are assessed....

TH

[Scott_Burroughs]

My future goals are to finish up playing all of Bill Coore's courses (will play Austin Golf Club and Barton Creek in early May)....

.....I have not traveled abroad (my US trips are usually walking 4 different courses in two days)

Bill,

After, playing AGC and BC, you'll still have 1 more C&C to play, Klub Rimba Irian (1996) in Indonesia.  

[John Kirk]

I forgot that walkability was removed from the criteria.  Although resistance to scoring is only one of eight categories, it is the only magazine which considers this criteria.  But we all consider difficulty when evaluating courses.  If it isn't challenging, then it isn't very fun.

As you know, I don't participate in discussions regarding how each magazine rates courses.  They all have their way of doing it, and that's fine with me.  I love seeing the lists once they are compiled.

I still think Golf Digest's latest list reflects a willingness to rank modern courses among the all time classics much more than Golf Magazine, which seems to prefer the old courses.  So I think Stone Eagle has a better chance with Golf Digest.  I also think Golfweek will rank Stone Eagle in the top 100 modern, and maybe the top 50, but not in the top 25.  Personally, I'm really happy.  It's fun to play.  The staff and customer service are superb.  

[Tom Huckaby]

JK:

Thanks for that explanation - it makes perfect sense.

You make a very good point btw that while GD is the only one that sets out "resistance to scoring" as a specific criterion, it's impossible to believe it doesn't matter to some extent to the other magazines.  As you say, no challenge, no fun.

I have a feeling that Stone Eagle will do very well with all the magazines - how you feel it will go sounds just right to me also.

Can't wait to see it, come June!

TH

[Tommy Williamsen]

For a long time it meant something to me to traack how many I've played.  I still keep track of the courses I have played on the lists  but somewhere along the way I discovered that  liked playing different courses more than I liked playing golf.  I haven't played as many of the newer courses in the past few years, but I have recovered my love of hitting a golf ball and trying to get it into the hole on whatever course I am playing at the moment.  More isn't necessarily better
For the record:   78 Golf Digest
                       61 Golf World list
                       72 Golf US list
                       51 Golf Week classic
                       48 Golf Week modern
                       48 Golf World British Isles

[Lloyd_Cole]

Before I read Shackleford and Doak and then came here I used to keep a tally of the G. Digest courses I'd played. Trainspotting, I suppose. But I was often disappointed by the advice in their 'Places to Play'. So I stopped. I prefered the Rolling Oaks course at World Woods, for example.. go figure. And the most fun I've had on a golf course over the last few years was a 5000 yarder in the Massachusetts hills. So I'm almost surprised that I'm up to 26 on the Golf world list.

[Adam_F_Collins]

Two.

[Ryan Farrow]

Someday i would love to play one. But untill then all i can do is look at pictures and read about them.

[Emmy]

A mere twelve or so.

[John_Cullum]

I really love reading the replies to this question!  Anyone on this site who responds with an answer that they really don't care about what the lists say is being unrealistic and partly hypocritical.  We all care about those lists ( love em or hate em), and there is a certain sense of excitement for anyone playing any of these courses.  You can't tell me that all the critics on this forum of ANGC  or any of the other "ranked" courses wouldn't jump at the opportunity to play it rather than their "favorite" local course. The lists are what they are, and I think anyone, myself included, who embarks to try to play as many as possible is richly rewarded on many fronts.  I mean, let's get real, how many threads on this forum revolve around rankings in some form or another.  Pick a list, yours or someone else's and go play!

This reply could not be further from the truth. I pay no attention whatsoever to any lists. I rarely read any magazines that publish lists.

For the record, I have no idea how many listed courses I have played, and I am not going to undertake to do the research to find out. I'm just not that curious.

[Mark_Fine]

For several years, guys like Ran and John Morrisett, Tom Doak and myself and several others exchanged our own lists and rankings of the top 250 courses that we had seen around the world.  We ranked each course using the Doak scale so we had some consistency.  The comparisons are very interesting and I think all those contributing found it fun to do.  It is to some extent surprising to find out how close we all are in our evaluations.  Of course we do find some differences of opinion but that is expected.  The one thing Ran can do that I can not is list his top 250 courses that he has played in numerical order.  I still group my favorites by the Doak scale.  That is as close as I can get.  

[Robert Thompson]

I've toured or played nearly 30, I think.

Like Mr. Andrew, I find value in using the lists as a barometer, nothing more.

[Jim Nugent]

I was just looking through Golf Magazine's list, to see how many courses I have played, when a funny thing happened.  

I came to number 30 on the list.  It was a course I never heard of before.  Los Angeles Royal Vista Golf Course.  Curious, I clicked on the link, and got the following information:

"The 9-hole "North" course at the Los Angeles Royal Vista Golf Course facility in Walnut, California features 3,233 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 35.  Designed by Ted Robinson, ASGCA, the North golf course opened in 1965."

Wow!!  

A nine-hole course cracks the top 30!  Ranked higher than Friar's Head, Yeamans Hall, Yale, and Maidstone, to name a few!  

At 3,233 yards, I could only imagine the strategy and shot values that Ted is famous for, and that must have been built into this little-known gem.

As I looked further down the list, I realized there is a notable omission.  Los Angeles Country Club.  Hmmm.  Probably just coincidence.  Here is the link to the article:

http://www.golflink.com/golf-courses/awards/award-list.asp?id=6

Anyone who has played Royal Vista, please give me/us a full report!

BTW, I have played exactly one course on the GM top 100.  

[Tom Huckaby]

Jim:

That's an error by "Golflink" in their transcription of the Golf Magazine list.  #30 is LACC-North.

http://www.golfonline.com/golfonline/travel/ranked/article/0,17742,1097568,00.html

That is a pretty funny error though... I indeed have played LA Royal Vista and it's a quirky little 9-holer, good fun to some extent... but wow if it's a Top 100 in the US course, than I',m Tiger Woods.

 

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