Whip it Out: Post your Top 25 Courses Played

[Jim Colton]

Ground Rules: Post your personal top 25, ranked in order. No alphabetical cop out lists.  Should generate a lot of critique and discussion, but you can only critique IF you post your own top 25. I'll be the guinea pig.

Rank
1 Pine Valley
2 National Golf Links of America
3 St Andrews (Old)
4 Cypress Point
5 Ballyneal
6 Shinnecock Hills
7 Royal Dornoch
8 Oakmont
9 Merion (East)
10 Pacific Dunes
11 Pinehurst (No. 2)
12 Riviera
13 Friars Head
14 Sand Hills
15 Los Angeles CC (North)
16 Crystal Downs
17 North Berwick
18 Bandon Trails
19 Old Macdonald
20 Kingsley Club
21 Dismal River (Doak/Red)
22 Bandon Dunes
23 Castle Stuart
24 Blackwolf Run (River)
25 Kingsbarns

[Dan_Callahan]

Well that's a kick in the nuts ... your #25 is better than my #1.

Ouch.

[Jon Heise]

1- Pebble Beach
2- Greywalls
3- Pinehurst No. 2
4- Pine Needles
5- Crystal Downs
6- Tanglewood Park
7- Torrey Pines South
8- Augusta Country Club
9- Kiawah Island Ocean Course
10- Kingsley Club
11- Forest Dunes
12- Tobacco Road
13- Palmetto Golf Club
14- Dunes Golf and Beach Club
15- True North
16- Timberstone
17- Arcadia Bluffs
18- Grosse Ile G&CC
19- Eagle Eye
20- Otsego Club Tribute
21- University of Michigan GC
22- Southern Pines
23- Rock Barn
24- Mid Pines
25- Raisin River GC, Monroe MI

[David Egan]

1   Cypress Point
2   Pine Valley
3   Ballybunion (Old)
4   Merion
5   Chicago
6   Lahinch
7   SFCC
8   Shoreacres
9   Carnoustie
10   Whistling Straits (Straits)
11   Olympic (Lake)
12   Bethpage (Black)
13   LACC (North)
14   Skokie
15   Olympia Fields (North
16   Blackwolf Run (River)
17   Ridgewood
18   TPC Sawgrass (Stadium)
19   Lost Dunes
20   Portmarnock
21   Estancia
22   Ocean Forest
23   Arcadia Bluffs
24   North Berwick
25   Sea Island (Seaside)

[Sean_A]

My Favourite 25 - see page 44

www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,42584.1075.html

Ciao

[Jud_T]

1.  Royal County Down
2.  St. Andrews (Old)
3.  Pacific Dunes
4.  Ballybunion
5.  Pinehurst #2
6.  Fisher's Island
7.  Riviera
8.  Winged Foot West
9.  Carnoustie
10. Pebble Beach
11. Bethpage Black
12. Lahinch
13. Kingsley Club
14. Yale
15. Prestwick
16. Shoreacres
17. Portmarnock
18. Bandon Trails
19. Lawsonia
20. Wnged Foot East
21. Waterville
22. Lost Dunes
23. Olympia Fields North
24. Skokie
25. Turnberry

Honerable Mention:  Bandon Dunes, Island, Pine Needles, County Louth, Dunes Club, Fenway, Black Sheep, WeKoPa Saguaro, Talking Stick North, Tamarack

[Jud_T]

Jim-

Whistling Straights and Blackwolf River over Kingsley and Pinehurst #2? not obvious my friend! and i'll give 10-1 that TDoak doesn't rock his list here....

[Shane Wright]

1. Royal County Down
2. Ballybunion
3. Pacific Dunes
4. Muirfield
5. TOC
6. Sand Hills
7. Royal Dornoch
8. Prairie Dunes
9. Royal Portrush
10.Waterville
11. Lahinch
12. North Berwick West
13. Tralee
14. Carnoustie
15. Kingsbarns
16. European Club
17. Whistling Straits - Straits
18. Bandon Dunes
19. Bandon Trails
20. Bethpage - Black
21. Wildhorse
22. Medinah
23. Colonial
24. Giant's Ridge
25. Portmarnock

[Jim Colton]

Jim-

Whistling Straight and Blackwolf River over Kingsley and Pinehurst #2? not obvious my friend! and i'll give 10-1 that TDoak doesn't rock his list here....

Jud,

Honestly, I have a hard time figuring out where to slot Whistling Straits. I need to revisit my list. I do have an affinity for BWR-River though. Probably a lot of sentimental value. Nobody said a personal top 25 had to be rational.

[George Freeman]

Aberdovey
Addington
Beau Desert
Brora
Cavendish
Co Sligo
Enniscrone
Harborne
Harlech
Huntercombe
Kington
Lakewood Shores Gailes
Lederach
North Berwick
Old Town Club
Pennard
Prestwick
Portrush Valley
Rye
St Enodoc
Southerndown
Tenby
Tobacco Road
University of Michigan
Woking

Close but no cigar: Merion, Sandwich, Ballybunion, Dornoch, Woodhall Spa, Formby, Burnham & Berrow, Carne, Saunton East, Notts, Machrihanish, Castletown, Prestbury, Dunbar, Perranporth, Shepherd's Hollow & Burnham & Berrow Channel Course

Ciao

Sean,

Wow.  Lakewood Shores Gailes over Merion, Ballybunion and Dornoch.  Didn't see that one coming.  I have not played any of them but not in my wildest dreams would I have expected Gailes to be listed over those three courses...

To each their own!

Cheers

[Scott Warren]

Royal St George's
TOC

New South Wales
Walton Heath (Old)
Royal Zoute
North Berwick (West)
Royal Cinque Ports
West Sussex
Swinley Forest

Newcastle
Co. Louth
Woking
The Addington
Rye
Huntercombe

St Enodoc
Royal Canberra
New Zealand
Terrey Hills
Praia d'el Rey

The Lakes (not played since redesign)
Trevose
The Vintage
Royal Sydney
The European

[Dub_ONeill]

1.  Royal County Down
2.  Portrush Dunluce
3.  Royal Dornoch
4.  Muirfield
5.  Old Course
6.  Pacific Dunes
7.  The Golf Club
8.  Pinehurst #2
9.  Ballybunion Old
10. Royal Birkdale
11. Lahinch
12. Porthcawl
13. Royal Aberdeen
14. Lytham
15. Cruden bay
16. Ailsa
17. Gleneagles Kings
18. Western Gailes
19. Portmarnock
20. Muirfield village
21. Pine Barrens
22, Baltray
23. Brora
24. Whistling Straits
25. Prestwick

[JC Jones]

1- Pebble Beach
2- Greywalls
3- Pinehurst No. 2
4- Pine Needles
5- Crystal Downs
6- Tanglewood Park
7- Torrey Pines South
8- Augusta Country Club
9- Kiawah Island Ocean Course
10- Kingsley Club
11- Forest Dunes
12- Tobacco Road
13- Palmetto Golf Club
14- Dunes Golf and Beach Club
15- True North
16- Timberstone
17- Arcadia Bluffs
18- Grosse Ile G&CC
19- Eagle Eye
20- Otsego Club Tribute
21- University of Michigan GC
22- Southern Pines
23- Rock Barn
24- Mid Pines
25- Raisin River GC, Monroe MI

Greywalls over Crystal Downs?  I also did not see that one coming.

[Jeff Tang]

1   Pacific Dunes
2   Ballyneal Golf and Hunt Club
3   St. Andrews (Old)
4   Sand Hills
5   Blackwolf Run (River)
6   Whistling Straits (Straits)
7   Pebble Beach Golf Links
8   Arcadia Bluffs
9   Bandon Dunes
10   Kingsbarns
11   Princeville Resort (Prince)
12   Kapalua (Plantation)
13   World Woods (Pine Barrens)
14   Paa-Ko-Ridge
15   Carnoustie (Championship)
16   Kingsley Club
17   Greywalls
18   Eagle Ridge (The General)
19   Links at Spanish Bay
20   Sea Island (Seaside)
21   St. Andrews (New)
22   Spyglass Hill
23   Blackwolf Run (Meadow Valleys)
24   Wild Horse
25   Black Mesa

[Anthony Gray]

  Cruden Bay  1-25

  Anthony

[Mark Chaplin]

Berkshire Red (4)
Chicago (2)
Cypress Point Club (1)
Flossmoor (3)
Formby (1)
Kingston Heath (1)
Machrihanish (4)
National Golf Links of America (1)
New South Wales (2)
North Berwick (2)
Oakland Hills (2)
Old Elm (1)
Pine Valley (3)
Prestwick (2)
Royal Adelaide (1)
Royal Birkdale (1)
Royal Cinque Ports (200+)
Royal Dornoch (1)
Royal Melbourne West (7)
Royal St Georges (50+)
Sunningdale New (10)
Sunningdale Old (10)
The Country Club (2)
The Old Course (1)
Walton Heath Old (10+)
Woodhall Spa (3)

[Greg Krueger]

Wow, that was tougher than I thought it would be! Never had put it on paper before......

1) Royal Dornoch
2) St. Andrews (Old)
3) Wade Hampton
4) Pinehurst #2
5) Hazeltine National
6) Peachtree
7) Interlachen
Shoal Creek
9) Long Cove
10) East Lake
11) Portmarnock
12) Tobacco Road
13) Nairn
14) Mid Pines
15) Minikahda Club
16) Bay Hill
17) Pinehurst #4
18) Sea Island (Seaside)
19) St. Andrews (New)
20) Doonbeg
21) Southern Pines
22) Minneapolis Golf Club
23) Wayzata C.C.
24) Raleigh C.C.
25) Golden Horseshoe (Gold)

[Sean_A]

Aberdovey
Addington
Beau Desert
Brora
Cavendish
Co Sligo
Enniscrone
Harborne
Harlech
Huntercombe
Kington
Lakewood Shores Gailes
Lederach
North Berwick
Old Town Club
Pennard
Prestwick
Portrush Valley
Rye
St Enodoc
Southerndown
Tenby
Tobacco Road
University of Michigan
Woking

Close but no cigar: Merion, Sandwich, Ballybunion, Dornoch, Woodhall Spa, Formby, Burnham & Berrow, Carne, Saunton East, Notts, Machrihanish, Castletown, Prestbury, Dunbar, Perranporth, Shepherd's Hollow & Burnham & Berrow Channel Course

Ciao

Sean,

Wow.  Lakewood Shores Gailes over Merion, Ballybunion and Dornoch.  Didn't see that one coming.  I have not played any of them but not in my wildest dreams would I have expected Gailes to be listed over those three courses...

To each their own!

Cheers

George

What can I say.  I likem' unusual and competitively priced. 

Chappers - Love for Oakland Hills?  It seems only you and the USGA.  Mind you, that set of greens is second to none.

Ciao

[Jaeger Kovich]

1 - Friars Head
2 - The Old Course
3 - Winged Foot West
4 - Pinehurst #2
5 - The Ocean Course
6 - Quaker Ridge
7 - Kingsbarns
8 - Bethpage Black
9 - Carnoustie
10 - Old Macdonald
11 - Yale
12 - Winged Foot East
13 - Bandon Trails
14 - Ridgewood
15 - Tobacco Road
16 - Queenwood
17 - Baltusrol Upper
18 - Fenway
19 - Bandon Dunes
20 - Pine Needles
21 - Southern Pines
22 - Stanwich
23 - Bayonne
24 - Mid-Pines
25 - Bethpage Red

And #26 Trump National Old (Bedminster)


Alphabetical lists are a cop out!!!!

[Jud_T]

Sean,

No way U of M is better than any of the courses on your close but no cigar list....and I'm an alum!!!!   

[Jason Topp]

1.   Sand Hills
2.   Royal Melboune West
3.   Dornoch
4.   The Old Course
5.   Ballybunion
6.   Kingston Heath
7.   Lahinch
8.   Pacific Dunes
9.   North Berwick
10.   Pebble Beach
11.   Turnberry
12.   Bandon Trails
13.   The Ocean Course at Kiawah
14.   Wildhorse
15.   Black Mesa
16.   Barnbougle
17.   New South Wales
18.   TPC Sawgrass
19.   Woodlands
20.   Kingsley Club
21.   Sutton Bay
22.   Bandon Dunes
23.   Harvester
24.   Pasatiempo
25.   Western Gailes


Probably the best way to spark discussion would be to identify courses you considered but left off the list.  I really like each of the following courses but could not identify a course I wanted to eliminate:

Big Fish
Carnoustie
Estancia
Fiddlesticks
Golden Valley
Interlachen
Minnikahda
Northland
Palmetto
PGA West Stadium
Rustic Canyon
Shadow Creek
Somerset
Spyglass
StoneEagle
Texarkana CC
Tobacco Road
Wakonda
Wolrd Woods – Pines Barrens

[Keith Buntrock]

I envy these lists.

[Sean_A]

Sean,

No way U of M is better than any of the courses on your close but no cigar list....and I'm an alum!!!!  

Jud

I probably agree with you, but nobody mentioned anything about "better".  These are my personal top 25 as of today.  A Best list or a list of recommendations would be quite different.  

BTW You should see my not even close list!

Ciao

[Jason Topp]

How good is Arcadia Bluffs?  There is a lot of negative talk about the course on here.

Ciao

It largely depends on your view of a very artificial looking course in a great location. I enjoyed it but did not consider it seriously for my list.

[Jud_T]

It didn't make my honerable mention list....