Top 25 College Golf Courses

[John Blain]

Here is the Links Magazine list of the Top 25 College Golf Courses:

http://www.linksmagazine.com/golf_courses/features/best_college_courses/top_25_college_golf_courses_index.aspx

Any thoughts?

-John

[JNC Lyon]

Hard to believe that Finley and Duke are better than the Rawls Course at Texas Tech.

Nice to see Seven Oaks on the list, especially ahead of the Cornell course!

[CJ Carder]

Nice to see 4 ACC schools on the list (UNC, Duke, UVA, Clemson).  As a UVA alum, it pains me to say this, but I'm a bit surprised that Pete Dye's River Course at Virginia Tech didn't make the list. 

[Jim Nugent]

How do you feel about Karsten Creek at number one ahead of Yale?

[Mike Sweeney]

How do you feel about Karsten Creek at number one ahead of Yale?

I have never seen Karsten but that seems fine to me. There are typically complaints from college players about the blind shots at Yale. I would think that college players opinions should be considered for a list like this.

Of the courses that I have played (Yale, Cornell, Colgate, Duke, Orchards and Taconic) they all seem about right to me.

[Craig Van Egmond]

How do you feel about Karsten Creek at number one ahead of Yale?

As a Cowboy I am ok with it.

Without knowing what the criteria (conditioning, architecture, walk in the park, clubhouse, etc.) are for these rankings its hard to tell.  Karsten Creek is an incredible golf course, the best public in the state of Oklahoma by any measure, immaculately maintained, very walkable, has great practice facilities, an incredible clubhouse and is on a very good piece of land. It has some great holes, some not so great holes but when you play it you have this feeling that you are the only ones are the course. Sometimes you are. 

However as BK might point out, it is for the pleasure of the OSU men's and women's golf teams and not the University faculty, staff or students. All non-OSU golfers will have to pay $275.00 to experience the joy of Karsten Creek.

[Rob Rigg]

Jeff Brauer in 3rd place with Colbert Hills at K-State - rankings are not the be all and end all but it must be nice to see your name up there - especially when you know that frat boys are getting wasted and doing some serious damage to it . . . I mean you are helping shape the minds of young intellectual golfers.

It would be fun to play KC and Yale over a couple of days and do the classic v modern comparison.

[Adam Russell]

I think this is tilted some towards the golf teams, especially for UGA's sake. Its not that good. Bad RTJ even after DLIII  did a good job taking some of the severe penalties out.

[Andy Troeger]

I tend to put the courses I've played on this list in a far different order--with the exception of #1 Karsten Creek, which is fabulous.

After that I'd go (including only what I've seen):
Karsten Creek (Ok St)
Warren GC (Notre Dame)
University of New Mexico South GC
Eisenhower Blue (Air Force)
Ohio State Scarlet
Purdue Kampen

Yes, I'm a Notre Dame alum, so consider this full disclosure.

[Brad Klein]

Why is Karsten Creek considered a college/campus golf course? It's miles away from the school's campus, was funded and is owned and operated by an independent foundation, and affords no green fee break to students, faculty or alumni. It's not a university course in Golfweek's book. It's a daily-fee facility, straight and simple -- and a very fine one, to be sure. I wonder what the criteria are for including it on this list.

[Tom_Doak]

LINKS Magazine is doing rankings now?

Just what the golf world needed!

[Cory Brown]

I'm just glad to see Wazzu made the top 25 in something!     Go Cougs!

[Ronald Montesano]

The Orchards, as I understand, is no longer owned by Mount Holyoke.  Can someone clarify the relationship?  Taconic is also administered by a board independent of Williams College.

[Brad Klein]

Orchards is owned by MHC but leased out to Arnold Palmer Management for the operational side of things. Golf course is adjacent to campus; students play for (virtually) free, faculty get a discount, they also have a private membership program.

Taconic is, I believe, owned and operated by Williams College, with the golf course next door if not directly adjoining the campus (depends on where the property lines are, but it's very close). Students get a major discount, as do faculty and alumni. Last I heard, it was not open to the public for daily-fee play.

[John Handley]

well if they don't have to be officially accessible to the students/faculty then you have to include University of Texas Golf Club and I don't think I saw Stanford Golf Course either.

[John Handley]

my bad.. Stanford is 8.

[Ronald Montesano]

Thanks, Brad.  I found the Orchards-hosts-US Open story to be one of the great Ouimet-style stories of the last decade.  How does a dinky little New England town get the most important Women's championship in the country?  Great stuff.

[Craig Van Egmond]

Brad K,

     See reply #5, I knew you'd say that. 

[John Blain]

Brad/Ron,

Wiiliams College owns the land that Taconic GC occupies but a 12-person independent board of directors administers the day to day operations. Also, the public can play Taconic as "unaccompanied guests" at a much higher rates ($145) than alums ($80).

Ron,
As for the Orchards hosting the U.S. Women's Open, someone had told me that David Fay's wife graduated from Mount Holyoke and that got the wheels turning.

-John

[John Blain]

What about these college courses that don't even get a mention:

Penn State
Michigan State
University of Texas
New Mexico State
Princeton

I've not played any of them but I've heard really good things about all of them...none of the aforementioned are as good as Cornell or Colgate? Hard to believe.

John

[Brad Klein]

Craig,

sorry, I read that but it whizzed by me -- nice anticipation.


JPBlain,

while the connection with David Fay's wife and MHC was important, The Orchards had previously impressed the USGA (and Fay) back in 1987 when it successfuly hosted the U.S. Girls' Junior Am and then USGA executive director Frank Hannigan became enamored with the place.  It also helped a lot that the USGA logistics people were scrambling in 2002 to find a replacement for Lake Merced CC, which had dropped out of the U.S. Womens Open schedule. And the USGA folks found the infrastructure, tent villages, parking and access to The Orchards easy to manage.

[Andy Troeger]

What about these college courses that don't even get a mention:

Penn State
Michigan State
University of Texas
New Mexico State
Princeton

I've not played any of them but I've heard really good things about all of them...none of the aforementioned are as good as Cornell or Colgate? Hard to believe.

John

NMSU has a good course but I'm not surprised that its not listed. I'd compare it to a good municipal course without too many frills and good but basic conditioning. I would think there are 25 better university courses out there.

While in the state though, New Mexico Tech actually has a really fun little quirkly course located in Socorro, NM. Its never going to make a list like this one and admittedly has a couple kinda dumb holes, but its fun to play.

[Chuck Brown]

Michigan State has the Forrest Akers complex - two courses, one of which I thought was first-rate.  Indeed, twenty years ago it was a bit of an embrassment to me that the University of Michigan's remarkable Alister MacKenzie/Perry Maxwell layout was maintained in a manner that was shabby compared to Forrest Akers.  That has changed only because Michigan decided to take care of its course; MSU has always, and still does, have some of the most terrific trufgrasss management resources north of Augusta, GA.
I could be mistaken, but I think that Forrest Akers has been featured on other "Best Collegiate" lists.

[Chris_Clouser]

This is getting funny.  Purdue's Kampen course makes some high-profile list twice in a couple of weeks.  Makes me ask the question again...

Ahh, never mind.