College courses - NCAA brackets

[John_Conley]

Just finished this exercise.

In the South , we get an interesting second round matchup between Duke (endowed a decade ago for substantial improvements, hosted an NCAA Championship) and Notre Dame (Warren Course designed by Coore & Crenshaw).  I have only seen the course at Duke.

The winner will go on to meet Oklahoma State (Karsten Creek, always in the GOLFWEEK Top 100 Modern - now 24th) to see who goes to the Final Four.

Can anyone in the West give Ohio State (Scarlet, designed by Alister Mackenzie with proposed updates from alum Tom Weiskopf) a match?  I say no, so Ohio State meets the survivor of ND/Duke/Ok. St. in Atlanta.

The East looks very weak at first glance. Wisconsin (University Ridge) has no real threat.

In the Midwest , Stanford needs a solid second half to hold off Florida (newly revised) in the Sweet Sixteen before marching to the Final Four.

Gets a little tough at that point.  Curious to see who you think comes out on top and why.

[THuckaby2]

In the West:

UCLA plays a lot at Riviera - that might give OSU-Scarlet a run but I sure as heck don't want to start another 1000 posts about the "renovations" there!  I don't know what Oklahoma's home course is but they might have a contender... And Arizona there in Tucson could claim a contender also... Not to mention UC Santa Barbara - if we give the VALLEY CLUB it's ballgame!  So say OSU-Scarlet and Valley Club meet in the West final.  GO GAUCHOS and on to to final four for UCSanta Barbara.

You hit on what's on my mind today most definitely.  Today and tomorrow are the greatest sports days of the year for this college hoops junkie.

TH

[SPDB]

Although its not done yet, can we include Doak's Red Raider for the sake of competition?

It might beef up an otherwise sleepy east bracket.

[THuckaby2]

Give Marquette the courses in Kohler and that might make the East bracket interesting.... and can St. John's claim Bethpage?

TH

[SPDB]

I almost forgot - in the west you also have the Capstone Club (Bama), a gil hanse design.

[THuckaby2]

Bama's in South region.  But cool, Capstone can give the Duke/ND winner a run.

TH

[SPDB]

Kansas has got Colbert Hills, #1 in Golfweek's recent state rankings (public).

Also Michigan State has Sharf (sp?), don't know if it can challenge Wisco or Red Raider.

I'm sure Scott will weigh in here with his views of Wake Forest

[John_Conley]

Tom:

You seem to know a lot more about this than I do.  I was under the impression that the Valley Club of Montecito was intensely private.  Ditto Riviera.

Kohler?  Not affiliated with Marquette University in any way.  The company that makes toilet and bathtubs developed it.

I am not familiar with the course at U of Alabama, but I promise you it doesn't register in the Top 3 of the South Region with Duke, Notre Dame (played the old campus course a decade ago, but I'm told this new one is real good), and Oklahoma State.

[John_Conley]

Spiderbite:

I thought Colbert Hills was affiliated with Manhattan.  Jim Colbert went there.

Lawrence used to have some affiliation with Alvamar, a 36-hole facility.  I don't know if it is a true college course.

[SPDB]

John -

Corrected, I stand.

Respectfully,

Spiderbite

As for Hanse's Capstone - I know nothing of it, but some of the pictures look pretty good. This for example:

[John_Conley]

Thread WAS easy to read until that picture came!!

It does look nice.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that YALE almost won the Ivy's automatic bid.  It has been Penn or Princeton for so long.  That would have added to the field for our golf course competition.

[THuckaby2]

JC:  most of these courses are private.  The UCLA golf team as far as my experience plays a lot at Bel Air and a lot at Riv... and ask young Mr. Shackelford re the connection between UC Santa Barbara/Pepperdine and Valley Club.  I think that's why he spent some time at each school - access to this course!

But yes, it is intensely private.  Strange, your the only one I've ever heard use that term, which I say all the time...

TH

[John_Conley]

Hucks:

It doesn't matter where a college team plays.  How many people does that entail?  At most a dozen?

A college course is where college students play.  Taconic, the Orchards, Yale, Stanford, etc...

Funny thing about Stanford - it actually is an essentially private course.  "Members" are faculty and alumni.  A guy with no ties off the street can't play it.  If a visit is arranged through one of the quasi-members, I'd end up paying more than most private clubs charge non-members.

But it is available to their students, who are too busy studying to take advantage.

The University of Minnesota golf team has access to every private club in town for at least a couple rounds per year.  That doesn't mean the crappy course isn't the official college course.

[Anthony_Nysse]

SPDB,
   We're from MSU and we have no idea what Sharf is? It is something we can buy....at Walmart? We have Forest Akers. My roomy, who in turf also and hails from 'Sconsin and used to live 5 minutes from University Ridge and a C&C enthusiest, says that "the Ridge" is way, extremly overrated and not made for walking because of the distance between the 9th green and 10th tee.

[THuckaby2]

JC - gotcha re the ground rules.  That just makes too few teams in the "tourney" relevant, that's all.  Thus my stretch.

Re Stanford, hell yes it's private, I was just there.  But students do get to play, at a VERY low price too.  Just one of many regrets I have that their acceptance letter didn't come with any financial aid way back when... Think I could have had some fun with that course?

TH

[Mike_Young]

NCAA Hoops.  Just got in to Chicago to watch UGA Dawgs wear out the Murray State guys.  Then possibly on to a showdown Sunday with Bobby Knight and Texas Tech.
Mike

[Scott_Burroughs]

A few comments.

Alabama's Capstone Club may be unkown and unheralded, and I've never played it nor heard of any one who has, but I wouldn't be surprised it it is excellent.  Gil Hanse.  'nuff said.  The pictures on his site other than the one above are not very good.

My Wake Forest GC has nothing to do with WFU.  WFU is located in Winston-Salem, about 90 miles from WF the town, where I live.  WFU used to be in WF the town, but moved to W-S 40-some years ago induced by RJ Reynolds.  WFU receives a lifetime stipend from RJR for this.  Arnold Palmer attended WFU (it was WFC then, I believe) when it was in WF the town.  WFU has no course of there own yet, but plays out of Dunlop White's Old Town (at least some of the time), I think.  There were plans to build their own course, but I don't know if it's still happening or not.  Dunlop probably knows.  It would have the same name as my course, WFGC.

[SPDB]

My mistake - it's at Oakland University.

[Darrin]

Just for clarification....

Sharf is Oakland University in Rochester, MI, a new Rick Smith design.  It's every bit as good as Forest Akers at Michigan State; alas, the Oakland basketball team is nowhere as good as MSU....

[Darrin]

SPDB:

Oops...you beat me by 1 minute!

[John_Conley]

Alabama barely survived Florida Atlantic, which in in Boca Raton.  Boca is in Palm Beach Co.  Using Tom H's criteria, that makes them affiliated with more courses than any other school in the country!  

[John_D._Bernhardt]

I do not think bcause a nice course is in the same area does not qualify as a college course. A college course is a collge course and Riviera is not UCLA.

[Dunlop_White]

Plans for Palmer to build a University course for Wake Forest fell through five years ago. The location appeared ideal for a course, Brookberry Farm. The land was beautiful.

Wake Forest continues using Old Town Club!

[Paul Richards]

Where's the Illini Orange and Blue on your lists?

[RJ_Daley]

Creighton golf team just dinks it around at Brauer's Champions in Omaha, and sometimes Dye's Firethorn out in Lincoln, and Lafoy's Quarry Oaks half way in between.  To the best of my knowledge, their gunner Korver doesn't golf much...