1. Pine Valley Golf Club 9.53
(No. 2 in 2009, p) Pine Valley, N.J.
1919, George Crump, H.S. Colt
2. Cypress Point Club 9.49
(1, p) Pebble Beach, Calif.
1928, Alister MacKenzie
3. Shinnecock Hills Golf Club 9.22
(3, p) Southampton, N.Y.
1931, William S. Flynn, Howard C. Toomey
4. National Golf Links of America 9.11
(7, p) Southampton, N.Y.
1911, Charles Blair Macdonald
5. Merion Golf Club (East) 9.09
(4, p) Ardmore, Pa.
1912, Hugh Wilson
6. Oakmont Country Club 9.01
(6, p) Oakmont, Pa.
1903, Henry Fownes
7. Crystal Downs 8.88
(8, p) Frankfort, Mich.
1931, Alister MacKenzie, Perry Maxwell
8. Pebble Beach Golf Links 8.86
(5, r) Pebble Beach, Calif.
1919, Douglas Grant, Jack Neville
9. Augusta National Golf Club 8.75
(9, p) Augusta, Ga.
1932, Bobby Jones, Alister MacKenzie
10. Fishers Island Golf Club 8.71
(11, p) Fishers Island, N.Y.
1926, Seth Raynor
Anthony,
I don't think the likes of Cypress Point, NGLA, Crystal Downs, Fishers Island are found further down the lists. In fact it would seem that only two courses that emphasize challenge over fun, Pine Valley and Oakmont, make the top 10 classic.
1. Sand Hills Golf Club 9.34
(No. 1 in 2009, p) Mullen, Neb.
1995, Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw
2. Pacific Dunes 9.23
(2, r) Bandon, Ore.
2001, Tom Doak
3. Whistling Straits (Straits) 8.68
(3, r) Kohler, Wis.
1997, Pete Dye
4. Bandon Dunes 8.29
(5, r) Bandon, Ore.
1999, David McLay Kidd
5. Ballyneal 8.27
(8, p) Holyoke, Colo.
2006, Tom Doak
6. Sebonack Golf Club 8.24
(7, p) Southampton, N.Y.
2006, Tom Doak, Jack Nicklaus
7. The Golf Club 8.23
(9, p) New Albany, Ohio
1967, Pete Dye
8. Pete Dye Golf Club 8.19
(4, p) Bridgeport, W.Va.
1994, Pete Dye
9. Friar’s Head 8.15
(6, p) Baiting Hollow, N.Y.
2003, Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw
10. Shadow Creek Golf Club 8.12
(10, r) North Las Vegas, Nev.
1990, Tom Fazio
Taking the top 10 modern, it would seem that the Pete Dye courses that are in the minority might be the ones that emphasize challenge over fun.