Let me give a little context as to how the question came up. We were toting our own bags at an ODG course and Bart manages to take a momentary break from canning 40 foot putts to ask whether walkability is an essential component of great courses and whether it is possible to have a great course that isn't walkable. Not very good, but truly GREAT courses which can be considered among the best in the world. Think Doak 9 here: "An outstanding course—certainly one of the best in the world—with no weaknesses in regard to condition, length or poor holes. You should see this course sometime in your life."
I know that, in theory, every course is walkable...at least for Sherpas with the right gear and an established base camp. I suspect there isn't a course in the world that hasn't been walked at some point by someone. But some courses are clearly only walkable by the most devout. I don't see how any golden age course can be part of the discussion since all were designed before the advent of the golf cart. When created, they were intended to be walked. That doesn't mean they aren't tougher walks relative to some other places. So I think we are really only talking about modern courses. Is there a truly great modern course that isn't walkable? Here are the top 50 on Golfweek's modern list, which I believe roughly equates to a Doak 8:
1. Sand Hills Golf Club
2. Pacific Dunes
3. Whistling Straits (Straits)
4. Bandon Dunes
5. Ballyneal
6. Sebonack Golf Club
7. The Golf Club
8. Pete Dye Golf Club
9. Friar’s Head
10. Shadow Creek Golf Club
11. Muirfield Village Golf Club
12. Old Sandwich Golf Club
13. Kinloch Golf Club
14. Spyglass Hill Golf Club
15. Honors Course
16. TPC Sawgrass (Players Stadium)
17. Ocean Course at Kiawah Island
18. Wade Hampton Club
19. Kingsley Club
20. Chambers Bay Golf Club
21. Calusa Pines Golf Club
22. Colorado Golf Club
23. Bayonne Golf Club
24. Dunes Club
25. Dallas National Golf Club
26. Wild Horse Golf Club
27. Mayacama Golf Club
28. Bandon Trails
29. Castle Pines Golf Club
30. World Woods GC (Pine Barrens)
31. Harbour Town Golf Links
32. Desert Forest Golf Club
33. Monterey Peninsula CC (Shore)
34. Double Eagle Golf Club
35. Galloway National Golf Club
36. Boston Golf Club
37. Arcadia Bluffs
38. Gozzer Ranch
39. Blackwolf Run (River)
40. Pronghorn (Fazio)
41. Fallen Oak Golf Club
42. Paa-Ko Ridge Golf Club
43. Black Diamond Ranch (Quarry)
44. The Club at Cuscowilla
45. Whispering Pines Golf Club
46. Sutton Bay Club
47. The Preserve
48. Karsten Creek Golf Club
49. The Club at Black Rock
50. Quail Hollow Club
How far down on this list do you need to go before you find a course which isn't reasonably walkable? If you find one, do you think it qualifies as a Doak 9? Are there any non-US courses not listed above that qualify? If not, does that lend credence to the notion that walkability is a core requirement for recognition as one of the greatest courses in the world?
Speaking only for myself and not for Bart, I really hope this doesn't degenerate into another anti cart thread. That's been beat to death. Let's just focus on the quality of the courses.
Ed