What great courses have you played *a lot*?

[G Jones]

East Lake 30+
Carnoustie Championship 50+
St Andrews Old 30+

Panmure... i only kept records one year - in 1999 I counted the number of holes I played here and it added up to the equivalent of 280 full rounds. ...and i don't play in the winter!

[Geoffrey Childs]

Bethpage Black (undergraduate home course) - probably 75 times now

Yale - home course - lots more then Bethpage

A step below them

Fenway GC - ~25-30 rounds

Stanford - 40-50 rounds

[Marty Bonnar]

Riviera               100+

Cypress Point      100+

Pebble Beach       100+

The Old Course    100+

Los Angeles C.C.  a bunch


Bob

Sir Bobert,
I did a quick calc. You have apparently played an average of maybe 200 rounds (or even slightly more) rounds a year, EVERY year of your adult life. And I believe I may under-estimate.

...as the Hotel Porter said to George: "Bestie, where did it all go so wrong?"

cheers,
FBD.

[Bob_Huntley]

Martin,

You are spot on. A goodly number of those days were 36 holers and when in Scotland, 54 were de riguere.

The record number of rounds at MPCC was held by the late Dick Lugo who owned the Shell gas stations in Carmel and Pacific Grove. His tally for one year was three hundred and twenty one rounds, walked every one of 'em.

Bob

[Marty Bonnar]

Bob,
As I am so positive it would be highly entertaining, deeply enlightening and downright bloody good fun, I would very happily pay a lot of money to the charity of your choice for a copy of 'The Huntley File' - a recounting of the lifetime of a Golfing Nomad.

THAT would be a very fine addition to any golf library.

Have you ever considered such a possibility?

FBD.

[RichMacafee]

Royal Melbourne 50+
Kingston Heath 1000+
Metropolitan 30+

[Bob_Huntley]

Martin,

A good friend gave me a small tape recorder some time ago and said I owed it to my children to record some bit of my experiences, I promised I would, but have never gotten around to it, feeling that it was a little self aggrandizing. However, if I put in a whole bunch of the failures and disappointments it should even out.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Bob

[Tim Bert]

Riviera               100+

Cypress Point      100+

Pebble Beach       100+

The Old Course    100+

Los Angeles C.C.  a bunch


Bob

That's quite a list!

I'm interested to know what a man with the above logged rounds would have on his "top 5 most desired to play (not previously played)" list.  Would you mind sharing?

The most rounds I've ever played at a course that might be considered great by many would be 6 at Pacific Dunes.  That number should climb to nine this year, but Im a long way from qualifying for a post on this thread!

[Ari Techner]

Franklin Hills CC - 500+
Eugene CC - 250+
Pacific Dunes - 150+
Bandon Dunes - 35+

[Andy Troeger]

Some of you gentlemen play a lot more golf than I do!

Other than my home course that my parents belonged to while I was growing up I'm not sure I've played ANY course more than 50 times. I've played that one hundreds of times.

[Glenn Spencer]

I consider NCR a great. I have been fortunate to get out there many times. In fact, going again on Tuesday. I have seen that course go through a lot, massive tree removal, bunkers and a few other things. The funny thing is I think it has only rained on me once or twice and I don't think that I have played it all that wet. The conditioning seemed to get a lot more freedom after the removal and it only has gotten better. It is a better golf course today, but also easier visually. The last time I played there, I found the most perfectly conditioned golf course that I have ever played. I have seen Camargo, I don't know, maybe 15 times or so. 20? They have been over the years, so I saw all the changes it went through. I don't know if my memory is bad or not, but the last time out there, it seemed a lot faster and a lot more difficult than it had been in the 90's. Could have been in response to the Australian invasion in the US AM Q. It just looked faster and played faster. Same with the greens.

[Mark Pearce]

Muirfield 20+
Hoylake 20+
Huntercombe 20+
Berkshire (Red and Blue) 20ish

What have I learned from playing these?  Not sure.  Certainly that golf's more fun when you have to think about what you're doing.  Also that all these punish really bad shots immediately but the punishment for poor (rather than atrocious) shots can be incremental unless you think straight.

[K. Krahenbuhl]

Champions GC -Cypress Creek 35+

[Bob_Huntley]

Riviera               100+

Cypress Point      100+

Pebble Beach       100+

The Old Course    100+

Los Angeles C.C.  a bunch


Bob

That's quite a list!

I'm interested to know what a man with the above logged rounds would have on his "top 5 most desired to play (not previously played)" list.  Would you mind sharing?

The most rounds I've ever played at a course that might be considered great by many would be 6 at Pacific Dunes.  That number should climb to nine this year, but Im a long way from qualifying for a post on this thread!

Tim,

There are so many, but off the top of my head I would list;

Royal Worlington
Kawana
BandonDunes
Pacific Dunes
Friars Head . (Which I was to play tomorrow but had to cancel)

However, before I kick the bucket I would like to play Nchanga Golf Club, Zambia, one more time.

Bob

[JESII]

Here's to hoping that bucket stays well clear of your feet Mr. Huntley...

[TEPaul]

As Bob Huntley's are obviously in the region he lives in, the West Coast, mine are in the region I live in the east coast and northeast.

They would be;

PVGC
Merion
PCC
HVGC
Rolling Green
Lancaster
Oakmont
Fox Chapel
Piping Rock
NGLA
Maidstone
Shinnecock
Seminole

I guess all of those are around 7 or so on the Doak Scale which I'm not sure I completely understand. What is it---something like whether you'd drive 100 miles to play a course? Well, I've played those Pittsburgh clubs a bunch over the years, mostly in state tournaments and Pittsburgh is a 300 mile drive from Philly, so does that make Oakmont, Fox Chapel and the Pittsburgh Field Club something like a 30 on the Doak Scale?  

Darren:

Yes, I do think most of those ranked and really great courses are a constant learning process, particularly when they transtion to what I call the IMM and their features and architecture really comes alive. I think relatively firm and fast greens and relatively firm and fast conditions "through the green" is the best way to make great architecture really come alive and offer on-going learning experiences.

[Jason Blasberg]

Engineers: 40 plus
Cuscowilla: 25 or so
Prairie Dunes, beats 'em both but I've only got about 15 rounds in.  Another couple of years and I'll be at about 30.
 

[Pete Lavallee]

Paging Brian Gracely, where have you played a lot?

[Tim Bert]

Tim,

There are so many, but off the top of my head I would list;

Royal Worlington
Kawana
BandonDunes
Pacific Dunes
Friars Head . (Which I was to play tomorrow but had to cancel)

However, before I kick the bucket I would like to play Nchanga Golf Club, Zambia, one more time.

Bob

Interesting that Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes make the list but not Bandon Trails.  Is it because that course is of the least interest to you of the three and you ran out of room, or have you by chance played it but not had the opportunity to play the other two?

[Bob_Huntley]

Tim,

You allowed me five, remember?

I have heard and read so much about the senior twosome that I felt I had to omit the Trails, even though some prefer it to the others.

Bob

[Tim Bert]

Do you have plans to get to Bandon in the near future?  I want to know how long I can tell my golf buddies, "I've played two of the five courses on the most desired to play list authored by the gentleman that has played CPC, Pebble Beach, Riviera, and TOC 100 times each!  

Of course, most will respond by saying "Big deal.  I'd rather be that guy!"

[Ed_Baker]

Doak 7's Hmmmm,
Let's see, the first 4 over 100 each,
Salem
Winchester
Wannamoisett
Brae Burn

TCC Brookline Clyde course  30 or so
TCC Open Course alas only 4 times

Kittansett  25 plus
Oyster Harbors 50 plus
Eastward Ho !!  25 plus
Worchester CC  25 plus

Pinehurst #2  25 plus
Mid Pines 100 or more
Pine Needles 25 or more

Pine Tree  25 or more ( not since the greens were redone or Katrina finished the tree removal program)
Seminole  25 or more
Jupiter Hills 25 or more ( Hills course)
Boca Rio  25 or more, ( not since Powerful Patrick fixed it though)
Adios  a ton in the old days

[Craig Disher]

Pinehurst Nr 2 50+ times
Rye GC 40-50 times

and I can't think of two more dissimilar courses.

[Gordon Oneil]

I don't know you Ed, but anyone who has played Oyster Harbors that many times can't be all bad.

I've been following this post and wondering how long was it going to take until it turned into a "My...list of courses I've played 'a lot'....is longer than yours" contest.

I am impressed with the collective maturity gentlemen.  As well as embarrassed by my small mindedness, so to speak.

[Brian Cenci]

I've played Crystal Downs 500+ times