Links magazine - 18 Biggest course openings in 2010

[Cliff Hamm]

Here is Links mag. take on the coming year:



>> Albany (certainly a unique look from the one picture)
>> Bahia de los Suenos
>> Baker's Bay
>> Black Pearl
>> Cape Fear National Golf Club
>> Corales
>> Diamante Cabo San Lucas
>> Harbor Shores Golf Club
>> Hickory Stick Golf Club
>> Lost Farm at Barnbougle Dunes
>> Old American Golf Club
>> Old Macdonald
>> Patriot
>> Prairie Club (Dunes)
>> Prairie Club (Pines)
>> Praire Club (Horse)
>> TPC San Antonio (Oaks)
>> TPC San Antonio (Canyon)

The link to Links article:

http://linksmagazine.com/golf_courses/features/2010_course_openings.aspx

[Emil Weber]

"The Oaks course, which was designed by Greg Norman with help from Sergio Garcia, will be the new home of the Valero Texas Open. "

Oh what a help Sergio must have been!


Thanks for the list, Cliff.

[Peter Zarlengo]

From the first page....

"and Prairie Dunes, which will feature 46 holes in the Nebraska sandhills."

Ha!

[PCCraig]

Not a bad line-up. The picture of Jack's course in MI actually looks pretty good. And I have to admit the Prarie Club is starting to look cool and it may be worth a 13+ hour drive from Chicago to check out for a long weekend. 

[George Freeman]

That picture of the Lost Farm is mesmerizing, and one of the few I have seen of what appears to be a finished golf hole.  Has anyone else posted photos of finished (or close to finished) holes of the course on GCA?

[JC Jones]

"biggest" courses?  Is this based upon acreage?

[Chip Gaskins]

AT&T Oaks?  Naming rights, good grief.

Lost Farm looks amazing.

[Ronald Montesano]

Reminder that you can see more shots of Hickory Stick here:  http://s46.photobucket.com/albums/f140/buffalogolfer/Hickory%20Stick/

[Rob Rigg]

I am surprised that Kidd's "Huntsman Springs" did not make the list - it looks more compelling to me from photos than several of the courses that Links called out.

[Bob Jenkins]

You can add the new course at Predator Ridge, Vernon, B.C., designed by Doug Carrick, which will open in July. It will be known as the Ridge course, while the remaining original 18 will become the Predator course. Amazing, that after a contest to name the new course, they come up with such unimaginative names!

I can't say I know of any other new courses to open this year in B.C.

Bob J

[Tom_Doak]

Maybe someone should tell them the photo of Diamante on their main page isn't Diamante, but the 18th hole at the Bay of Dreams (!).

And it looks like everybody missed Sergio Garcia as the next breakout architect.

[Mike Cirba]

And it looks like everybody missed Sergio Garcia as the next breakout architect.

Tom,

I understand that he looks at a topo no less than 25 times before drawing a line.

My source tells me he's trying to reduce that and pull the trigger much quicker, but...

[Peter Zarlengo]

That picture of the Lost Farm is mesmerizing, and one of the few I have seen of what appears to be a finished golf hole.  Has anyone else posted photos of finished (or close to finished) holes of the course on GCA?

George,
I think that hole pictured in the article is the "B" hole that links you between two really cool holes on the back nine. It looks a lot closer to playing than one month ago when I was there. Everything was shaped and seeded, with grow-in in full force. I haven't seen lots of photos here and think that is probably a good thing for the Barnbougle team.


I think that, from what I have seen in pictures and in person that there is some pretty cool stuff opening up and just as many that get your attention as when 100s of courses were opening. Maybe a quality over quantity approach that sure wasn't around when these magazines started these course opening lists is started to take hold. I guess if you're an owner pumping that kind of dough into a project in this economic climate, you'd better be sure that you're going to get the kind of finished product you want.

Or maybe there is just more buzz around these things because there are fewer of them.

[Jud_T]

Who says the golden age is over? There's at least 3 courses that I'm dying to play....

[Ronald Montesano]

Hickory Stick and what other two, Jud?

[Jud_T]

Corales and Baker's Bay, obviously....

[Shawn Arlia]

Praire Dunes looks amazing. The Dunes course especially. Im not sure if harbor shores is public, but that is the only one even remotely close to us on the great lakes.

[Alex Miller]

And it looks like everybody missed Sergio Garcia as the next breakout architect.

Tom,

I understand that he looks at a topo no less than 25 times before drawing a line.

My source tells me he's trying to reduce that and pull the trigger much quicker, but...

I laughed out loud. Well done.

[Matt MacIver]

I'm sorry but the Corales photo almost made me spit-take my coffee - it's one of the most visually jarring golf pics I've ever seen.  It one picture is worth a 1000 words...then I won't be playing here.

Someone who knows the course please tell me they took more advantage of the coastline and terrain than that picture shows?   

[Ronald Montesano]

RE:  Tom Doak's concern earlier in thread:

Here is the quote from the lead page of the story...

"And if the first opening of the year, Diamante Cabo San Lucas, is any indication, it should be a great year for architecture. "

I don't see where they connect the photo with DCSL...There is no photo caption, just the mention of DCSL in the teaser.

[Mike Nuzzo]

Not a bad line-up. The picture of Jack's course in MI actually looks pretty good.

Pat
Are you a bunker slut? 

[Ronald Montesano]

I'm sorry but the Corales photo almost made me spit-take my coffee - it's one of the most visually jarring golf pics I've ever seen.  It one picture is worth a 1000 words...then I won't be playing here.

Someone who knows the course please tell me they took more advantage of the coastline and terrain than that picture shows?   

This is a baffling post to me...I have no idea what "spit-take" could possibly mean, nor do I comprehend "then I won't be playing here."

And later still, the point about taking more advantage of the coastline...well, there are regulatory issues that preclude taking advantage of most things, living and non-living, in our world.  What else could "they" have done in this photo?  I get the sense that this is a "Fazio built it and I won't come"-nature comment and I don't support it.  We see one photo and we judge?  Here is a pdf to get you started on a proper decision trek:

http://www.puntacana.com/assets/File/Corales%20Map.pdf

[PCCraig]

Not a bad line-up. The picture of Jack's course in MI actually looks pretty good.

Pat
Are you a bunker slut? 

Does the love of bunkers in all shapes and sizes and placed in with no rhyme or reason considered being a slut??? Then perhaps so.   

[Scott Weersing]

Here is another course opening, The Old American Golf Club, for 2010.

http://www.worldgolf.com/newswire/browse/61899-Old-American-Golf-Club-Makes-Stellar-Debut-North-Texas-Golf-Expo

http://www.golftexas.com/departments/coursereviews/old-american-golf-club-preview-the-colony-10761.htm

Should we care?