Your Last Ten

[John Foley]

Shinnecock - Expectations were high and they were blown away.
TCC - Pepper Pike - Wonderful land movement - whatever it's thought of, it's under-rated.
Saint Andrews - New - First round in Scotland & now I get the native area consternation. Want to see it again.
Saint Andrews - Old - Just sublime. The aura, the loop, the greens - everything you could have hoped for. So memorable.
Carnoustie - Lets just say you get a great caddie and it helps. I really liked it.
Kingsbarn - Loved it. The 12th hole is as good view / walk in all of golf.
North Berwick - No greater place to experience all that golf has to offer than a day here. I'll dream about it until I return.
Gullane #1 - Surprisingly great. Some of the best green complex's I saw. Loved the flow.
Chicago -  Loved it. The history, the greens!! The routing. Truly amazing
Piping Rock - Shockingly great. The comparison between here & Chicago is worth a long diatribe which I hope to get to.

[Niall C]

Saint Andrews - New - First round in Scotland & now I get the native area consternation.

John


Not sure what you meant by your comment on the New. Can you explain ?


Niall

[Mike Worth]

Saint Andrews - New - First round in Scotland & now I get the native area consternation.

John


Not sure what you meant by your comment on the New. Can you explain ?


Niall

I didn’t make the comment and I don’t know for certain what he meant, but let me take a stab at this


When I played the New Course in 2007 I was paired with a couple of locals


When I played the New Course this year (2024) I was paired with two other Americans. I didn’t see ANY locals on the New course.


It was my impression locals weren’t able to get times on New and had been effectively pushed off the course

[Brian Finn]

Saint Andrews - New - First round in Scotland & now I get the native area consternation.

John

Not sure what you meant by your comment on the New. Can you explain ?

Niall

I didn’t make the comment and I don’t know for certain what he meant, but let me take a stab at this

When I played the New Course in 2007 I was paired with a couple of locals

When I played the New Course this year (2024) I was paired with two other Americans. I didn’t see ANY locals on the New course.

It was my impression locals weren’t able to get times on New and had been effectively pushed off the course

I doubt this is what he was referring to - at least according to the Links Trust numbers.  Ticket Holders account for the same percentage of play on the New Course as they did prior to the pandemic. 

[Mike Worth]

Saint Andrews - New - First round in Scotland & now I get the native area consternation.

John

Not sure what you meant by your comment on the New. Can you explain ?

Niall

I didn’t make the comment and I don’t know for certain what he meant, but let me take a stab at this

When I played the New Course in 2007 I was paired with a couple of locals

When I played the New Course this year (2024) I was paired with two other Americans. I didn’t see ANY locals on the New course.

It was my impression locals weren’t able to get times on New and had been effectively pushed off the course

I doubt this is what he was referring to - at least according to the Links Trust numbers.  Ticket Holders account for the same percentage of play on the New Course as they did prior to the pandemic.

curious, what was that percentage?


I was definitely left with the impression that it was harder for locals to get a time. I don’t use the pandemic as the line in the sand for comparison.

[Mark Pearce]

The New doesn't take advance bookings - you turn up and get a place in the queue.  Not sure how that works against the locals?

[Mike Worth]

The New doesn't take advance bookings - you turn up and get a place in the queue.  Not sure how that works against the locals?

the Americans I played with had a prearranged booking time so I’m not sure how they did that given what you said

[Steve Holloway]

Littlestone
Woodbridge (Heath)
Quinta do Lago
New Zealand
Princes
North Berwick
Elie
St Andrews (Eden)
Crail
Beau Desert

What did you think of Beau?


Ciao

Absolutely loved the place - such a splendid set of immensely tricky greens - found them very testing - very difficult  to find the lines Any approach a little wayward or over hit trickles away down into cavernous run offs. They were for me the highlight of the place. Fantastic example of heathland course - Reminded me of another favourite of mine which doesn't seem to get the love - Hankley Common

[John Foley]

Saint Andrews - New - First round in Scotland & now I get the native area consternation.

John


Not sure what you meant by your comment on the New. Can you explain ?


Niall

HA!! I can see the confusion I have called - the fescue / native area off the fairway was brutal!!

[Will Thrasher]

Shinnecock - Expectations were high and they were blown away.
TCC - Pepper Pike - Wonderful land movement - whatever it's thought of, it's under-rated.
Saint Andrews - New - First round in Scotland & now I get the native area consternation. Want to see it again.
Saint Andrews - Old - Just sublime. The aura, the loop, the greens - everything you could have hoped for. So memorable.
Carnoustie - Lets just say you get a great caddie and it helps. I really liked it.
Kingsbarn - Loved it. The 12th hole is as good view / walk in all of golf.
North Berwick - No greater place to experience all that golf has to offer than a day here. I'll dream about it until I return.
Gullane #1 - Surprisingly great. Some of the best green complex's I saw. Loved the flow.
Chicago -  Loved it. The history, the greens!! The routing. Truly amazing
Piping Rock - Shockingly great. The comparison between here & Chicago is worth a long diatribe which I hope to get to.

Pretty elite set of last 10!

[C. Sturges]

Going back to July 1:


Sebonack
High Pointe
Sedge Valley
Crystal Downs
Chicago Golf Club
Tumble Creek
The Loop [both ways, in The Duel]
Bonar Bridge
Durness
Ardfin
The Machrie
Iona
Anstruther


I also walked National Golf Links, Lost Rail, Cypress Point, Pebble Beach, The Renaissance Club, and The Old Course during that stretch

Hello Mr. Doak,


I hope you are doing well.   What did you think of Machrie?  When I was last there it was going under the knife.  And it sounded like they wanted to get rid of everything that made it so special.   I hope I misunderstood.


Thank you,
chris

[David Restrepo]

Bit all over the place


Kingston Heath
Tokyo
Yokohama - West
Taiheyo Club - Gotemba
Abiko
Nine Bridges - Jeju
Wellington (Korea)
Gapyeong Benest
Nine Bridges - Haesley
Sunningdale - Old

[Paul Jones]

• Abaco
• Anchorage
• Lido
• Misquamicut
• Moose Run (Creek)
• Rhode Island
• Sadaquada
• Sedge Valley
• Teugega
• Yahnundasis

[Jim Jackson]

A hodgepodge of a past 11, not counting home golf:


Tokyo
Shoreacres
Chicago
Friar's
Fishers
Ballyneal
Nine Bridges
Camargo
Lakeside
LA North
Point Hardy

[Tommy Williamsen]

Although, this thread can be, "Can you top this?" It is fascinating to see how many great clubs we can access.

[Wade Whitehead]

George Wright
Kinloch
Trinity Forest
Fields Ranch (both)
Brook Hollow
Bandon Dunes (all five)
Ballyneal
Graybull
Sanctuary
Fossil Trace

(w/Ballyhack in between)

WW

[Mike Worth]

George Wright
Kinloch
Trinity Forest
Fields Ranch (both)
Brook Hollow
Bandon Dunes (all five)
Ballyneal
Graybull
Sanctuary
Fossil Trace

(w/Ballyhack in between)

WW

Are you a Dormie Network member?

[John Handley]

Spanish Oaks Golf Club, Austin
Bent Tree CC, Dallas
Walton Heath Old
The Berkshire Red
St. George's Hill Red/Blue
Swinley Forest
Royal Liverpool
Formby
Royal Lytham & St. Annes
Country Club of the Rockies, Beaver Creek (ish)

[Mark Pearce]

George Wright
Kinloch
Trinity Forest
Fields Ranch (both)
Brook Hollow
Bandon Dunes (all five)
Ballyneal
Graybull
Sanctuary
Fossil Trace

(w/Ballyhack in between)

WW

How is George Wright these days?  I played it on a trip 13 years ago and thought it was one of the great values in golf.  Some conditioning issues but really good golf.  Has it been relatively well looked after?

[Wade Whitehead]

How is George Wright these days?  I played it on a trip 13 years ago and thought it was one of the great values in golf.  Some conditioning issues but really good golf.  Has it been relatively well looked after?

Mark, I really enjoyed it. In wonderful condition and as original as can be. I'd tell anyone traveling to Boston to play it.

WW

[Richard Fisher]

A funny old year but with some interesting gems thrown in...


St Andrews Jubilee
Seacroft (excellent)
Hoylake (Royal Liverpool is the best golf club in England)
Thetford
The Sacred Nine
Brancaster
Prestatyn (excellent back nine, weirdly more links-y than the part nearer the sea)
plus usual Gogs, Huntercombe, Harlech, Porthcawl forays and St Andrews next week

[Tom_Doak]

 What did you think of Machrie?  When I was last there it was going under the knife.  And it sounded like they wanted to get rid of everything that made it so special.   I hope I misunderstood.

Hi Chris:


I expected not to like the course, for the same reasons you stated.  My only prior experience there was in 1983, when the course was crazy full of blind shots . . . I didn't think that was a great course in any way, but it was something of a museum piece.


The new course is certainly much more modern and designed to make more of the seaside views, but there was also a lot of good golf, and 3-4 blind shots to retain a taste of the old course.  After forty years, I didn't remember the old layout well enough, but one of the locals helped me piece together how it had all changed and it is pretty much ALL changed, except for the green site of the 17th. 


Also the hotel, which was once a wreck, is now lovely.  It's clearly geared toward the international tourist crowd who go to Islay for the distilleries, but also want to stay somewhere nice and have some golf, and it hits that mark.

[Tony_Muldoon]

Anstruther

Edited.




I can't wait for a new edition of the Confidential Guide. Care to share your thoughts?

[Sean_A]

Littlestone
Woodbridge (Heath)
Quinta do Lago
New Zealand
Princes
North Berwick
Elie
St Andrews (Eden)
Crail
Beau Desert

What did you think of Beau?


Ciao

Absolutely loved the place - such a splendid set of immensely tricky greens - found them very testing - very difficult  to find the lines Any approach a little wayward or over hit trickles away down into cavernous run offs. They were for me the highlight of the place. Fantastic example of heathland course - Reminded me of another favourite of mine which doesn't seem to get the love - Hankley Common

Beau Desert reminds you of Hankley Common? How so?

Ciao

[Chris_Blakely]

The Club at Brickstone, SC
The Currahee Club, GA Solid Jim Fazio course in the Mountains of North Georgia
Windsor at Walhalla, SC  had no expectations going in and this Harry Bowers course exceeded expectations.
Laurel Oaks, Ky surprising find in norther Kentucky
Sedge Valley, WI exceeded expectations, might be my favorite course on the property
Shoreland, MN hidden gem in southern Minnesota
Marshall, MN wonderful course to walk 18, utilizes a creek to creak several very unique holes
Ortonville, MN  finishing holes and original 9 holes are very good
Willingers, MN
American Dunes, MI my favorite course by Jack, blown away by what was achieved as I had played the previous course Grand Haven CC.