Reprise with commentary, listed INPO
Pete Dye Golf Club--A private reserve in West Virginia with perhaps one weak hole, that being a par three on the back side, but I'd have to play it again to confirm/deny. Par four holes make or break a course for me and this course has an incredible variety of great one, moving right to left and left to right, utilizing slant fairways and true doglegs.
Tobacco Road--A perfect example of how sensory deprivation works. You overload the visual and the CNS falls apart. If this describes you, get your distance and trust your swing. You'll need it on 18 from the tips.
Pinehurst #2--Played it in 1982 as a high school junior at the Jesse Haddock Golf Camp (thanks, Coach!) Had absolutely no idea WHY it was supposed to be good, but it made me think about nearly every shot, on nearly every level.
Taconic--The first "unknown-great" course I believe I played. Given the nature of the hills, I first became aware of how the property could influence the golf course. The motto of the club, (medio tutissimus ibis/safest in the middle) was my first exposure to strategic play, a concept I have abandoned in my forties...How can you not hit the driver?!?!?!
The Orchards--Taconic's cousin. After hearing about it for years and seeing it on the tube (US Women's Open) I took a chance and got on in 2009. Not as dynamic a piece of property as Taconic, but Ross built a collection of memorable pasture holes. If by chance you come to the last triumvirate of holes at +2, know that it is possible to lose 5 or 6 shots to par on those holes, docile as they might appear.
(that's five...I think I can, I think I can)
Bandon Dunes
Bandon Trails
Pacific Trails--These three go together. Wife asked "where go 40th birthday?" assuming I'd say "monterrey." Nope. In contrast to others on this site, I found not a single weak hole among the 54. The guys I went round with (players and caddies alike) were equally as enthusiastic about the ground game as I.
LeatherStocking--Evidence that Dev Emmett needed more canvases on which to paint. Targets are slightly masked by bunkering, fairways roll enough to force alterations to flat-surface iron play, and putting flats demand your attention from start to finish (except for 16 and 17, which aren't his.)
Fox Chapel--The only template course I've played to date, coupled with the fastest greens I've ever putted. One course that I felt was strong enough to defeat me from beginning to end, from the easy holes (Punch Bowl and Short) to the most challenging. Playing the Biarritz properly (#17) was my saving grace.
(that's ten...I think I can, I think I can)
Whistling Straits Straits
Blackwolf Run River
Blackwolf Run MV--These three also go together, for obvious reasons. Straits had the reputation and the lakeside holes lived up to it. The inland holes, while less authentic (irony?), still demanded planning and proper execution. River is very challenging but has fewer memorable holes that its neighbor. As I reconsider, it would be one of the first to leave this list. Meadow Valleys begins in absolutely unremarkable, forgettable fashion, then rises to a finish with some of the best of the 72 holes in Koehler.
Victoria Hills--One of many great surprises of 2009. Sandhills course north-east of Orlando that offers rumpled fairways, varied green targets and honorable putting challenges.
Crag Burn--RTJ influenced three courses near Buffalo. Two are originals and one is a re-do. Crag Burn is a wonderful piece of work on a property with one literal high point. Its par five holes are all strong, attractive and architecturally sound. The par threes are varied (with two strong and two fairly weak) and the par fours are diverse and inspired. Not the heroic course you'd expect from him.
(that's fifteen...running out of gas, running out of gas)
Country Club of Buffalo--Donald Ross meets Merion. Give a man a quarry and step back. Excellent one-shotters, very good two-shotters and decent three-shotters.
Lookout Point--A Travis design I played once. Remarkable piece of land in Ontario that Travis had the good sense to leave unaltered. Has ascending, descending and traversing hill holes and a number of flatland ones, along with the cutest short par five (and tiniest postage stamp green) I've played.
Cherry Hill (ontario)--A Travis design I know well. Unremarkable piece of land in Ontario that Travis utilized to the best of his abilities. Credit Ian Andrew for his recent work. The course now places more of a premium on driving, allowing the superintendent to utilize thick, unforgiving rough a lot less.
Tullymore--My first and only exposure to Jim Engh. I'd call it sexy golf, as the splashy bunkering, the use of elevation switches and fairway movement created quite a memory for me. Fortunately, I had a good ball-striking day.
Southern Pines--There is often a category in high school yearbook polls called "Talks least, says most." Southern Pines talks least, says most. PLEASE don't look at the scorecard and hole yardages and think you will go low. Many drives go straight into hillsides, killing forward momentum. Those that don't, leave downhill and sidehill approaches that demand precision or bust from the swing.
(that's twenty...I know I can, I know I can)
The Old Course, St. Andrews
The New Course, St. Andrews--Can't separate them. My first and only exposure to the ground game of Scotland. The courses giveth and the courses taketh away. If you are great, they will allow you to be great. If you are so-so, you will combine greatness with pathos.
Kebo Valley--One of those hidden New England treats, a la Myopia, Taconic, Orchards, Eastward Ho!, et al. Not long, but tricky. Hit driver too often and you'll have lots of wedge approach shots from rough and bunkers. Hard to hold elevated, small, firm greens, even with those short clubs.
Arcadia Bluffs--I liked it. Simply put, I liked it. It's not a links course, but it has features of a links course. It demands a few heroic carries, but not so many that you feel burdened and beat down. I played with a guy who didn't get out-brawned by the course, just out-strategized. Time and time again we said to him "You don't have to carry it 210...just hit it 130 down there and have a sand wedge in." The corridors are there; you just have to find them.
Old Town Club--I failed to do two things at Wake Forest: take a Maya Angelou course and caddie at Old Town. This course comes back to me in dreams. First double green I ever saw, only Maxwell course I've been on (although I didn't understand its importance at the time) and relentless if you're not thinking and aiming well.
(that's twenty-five...might caca, I did it.)