News:

Welcome to the Golf Club Atlas Discussion Group!

Each user is approved by the Golf Club Atlas editorial staff. For any new inquiries, please contact us.

Pages: [1] 2   Go Down

Tom_Doak

  • Karma: +3/-1
Best New Courses - Sort of - 2011
« on: November 05, 2011, 05:01:18 PM »
I just received the December GOLF DIGEST in the mail and read through Ron Whitten's short reviews of every new course to open in America this year.

All twelve of them!

Maybe they should do a worldwide list?
« Last Edit: November 05, 2011, 05:04:27 PM by Tom_Doak »
Logged

Don_Mahaffey

Re: Best New Courses - Sort of - 2011
« Reply #1 on: November 05, 2011, 05:28:48 PM »
....from a course a day to a course a month.
Will next year be a course a season?

« Last Edit: November 05, 2011, 05:37:58 PM by Don_Mahaffey »
Logged

Jim Colton

Re: Best New Courses - Sort of - 2011
« Reply #2 on: November 05, 2011, 05:58:31 PM »
I can see the marketing blitz now:

"Named Top 12 New Course by Golf Digest, 2011"
Logged

ward peyronnin

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best New Courses - Sort of - 2011
« Reply #3 on: November 05, 2011, 10:48:52 PM »
Should they combine with top "redone" course of 2011
Logged
"Golf is happiness. It's intoxication w/o the hangover; stimulation w/o the pills. It's price is high yet its rewards are richer. Some say its a boys pastime but it builds men. It cleanses the mind/rejuvenates the body. It is these things and many more for those of us who truly love it." M.Norman

Tom_Doak

  • Karma: +3/-1
Re: Best New Courses - Sort of - 2011
« Reply #4 on: November 06, 2011, 05:58:29 AM »
Quote from: ward peyronnin on November 05, 2011, 10:48:52 PM
Should they combine with top "redone" course of 2011


Definitely not.  The awards for best renovations were a joke ... they couldn't decide whether it was "most improved" or just "best course to be renovated".
Logged

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best New Courses - Sort of - 2011
« Reply #5 on: November 06, 2011, 06:49:07 AM »
Frankly anyone who opens a course stateside these days deserves some kind of medal.  Kind of like 5-year old soccer leagues, but with balls of steel...
Logged
Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Steve Lapper

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best New Courses - Sort of - 2011
« Reply #6 on: November 06, 2011, 07:49:26 AM »
Quote from: Tom_Doak on November 05, 2011, 05:01:18 PM
I just received the December GOLF DIGEST in the mail and read through Ron Whitten's short reviews of every new course to open in America this year.

All twelve of them!

Maybe they should do a worldwide list?


Tom,

Now why would you want to go and wake Ron Whitten up from his stupor?? ::) ;D
Logged
The conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking."--John Kenneth Galbraith

Dick Kirkpatrick

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best New Courses - Sort of - 2011
« Reply #7 on: November 06, 2011, 08:56:00 PM »
Quote from: Tom_Doak on November 06, 2011, 05:58:29 AM
Quote from: ward peyronnin on November 05, 2011, 10:48:52 PM
Should they combine with top "redone" course of 2011


Definitely not.  The awards for best renovations were a joke ... they couldn't decide whether it was "most improved" or just "best course to be renovated

Or should we say "accurately restored" or a "sympathetic restoration"
In my opinion neither one can be attained.
Logged

Joel_Stewart

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best New Courses - Sort of - 2011
« Reply #8 on: November 06, 2011, 09:30:28 PM »
Quote from: Tom_Doak on November 05, 2011, 05:01:18 PM
I just received the December GOLF DIGEST in the mail and read through Ron Whitten's short reviews of every new course to open in America this year.

All twelve of them!

What are the 12?
Logged

Steve_ Shaffer

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best New Courses - Sort of - 2011
« Reply #9 on: November 13, 2011, 05:05:58 PM »
Here they are:

Awarii Dunes- Engh- Kearney, NE
Firekeeper-Brauer/Begay-Mayetta.KS
Salish Cliffs- Bates- Shelton, WA
Applecross- M. Nicklaus/Heatwole- Chester County, PA
Rope Rider @Suncadia-Jacobson/Hardy- Roslyn,WA
Metamora Fields- Weibring- Metamora, IL
TimberStone-Steidel-Caldwell,ID
Osprey Point- Case/Grossman-Boca Raton, FL
RockCreek-Nicklaus Design/Williams- Lake Texoma,TX
Kukul'ula-Weiskopf-Kauai,HI
and 2 Canadian courses:
Wildstone-Lawrence/Black Knight Design- Cranbrook, BC
Oak Bay- Watters- Honey Harbour, ONT
Logged
"Some of us worship in churches, some in synagogues, some on golf courses ... "  Adlai Stevenson
Hyman Roth to Michael Corleone: "We're bigger than US Steel."
Ben Hogan “The most important shot in golf is the next one”

Ben Sims

  • Karma: +1/-0
Re: Best New Courses - Sort of - 2011
« Reply #10 on: November 13, 2011, 05:11:35 PM »
Quote from: Tom_Doak on November 05, 2011, 05:01:18 PM
I just received the December GOLF DIGEST in the mail and read through Ron Whitten's short reviews of every new course to open in America this year.

All twelve of them!

Maybe they should do a worldwide list?


Tom,

The golf real estate developers of the 90's and 00's are doing bad enough as it is.  We don't need to give them a heart attack over how much of their business has migrated!

No joke, it would be interesting to know what the percentage of new courses in 2011 was made up of American openings. 
Logged

Steve_ Shaffer

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best New Courses - Sort of - 2011
« Reply #11 on: December 01, 2011, 10:35:14 AM »
Here are some pics posted by Ron Whitten at golfdigest.com:

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/2011-12/photos-new-courses#slide=1
Logged
"Some of us worship in churches, some in synagogues, some on golf courses ... "  Adlai Stevenson
Hyman Roth to Michael Corleone: "We're bigger than US Steel."
Ben Hogan “The most important shot in golf is the next one”

Mark Chaplin

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best New Courses - Sort of - 2011
« Reply #12 on: December 01, 2011, 01:58:39 PM »
Maybe Golf Digest could have a monthly column "Top 50 courses opened in China this month".
Logged
Cave Nil Vino

Mark Johnson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best New Courses - Sort of - 2011
« Reply #13 on: December 01, 2011, 03:20:01 PM »
has any played Kukul'ula?  I've heard its incredible.
Logged

Adam Clayman

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best New Courses - Sort of - 2011
« Reply #14 on: December 01, 2011, 03:23:39 PM »
Steve, Thanks for posting this.

I just went to see the pix and the very first one, makes me NOT want to continue.
 


The caption reads;

Quote
For pure risk and reward, Firekeeper in Kansas has plenty of alternate routes and options to encourage even average golfers to think strategically.

For such a short sentence, I found at least 3 things I take umbrage. Showing a tree lined hole and taking about options seems odd. Then I realize they are not only wrong about average golfers, but, are insulting us. And finally, Pure Risk Reward...What the hell is that?
Logged
"It's unbelievable how much you don't know about the game you've been playing your whole life." - Mickey Mantle

George Pazin

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best New Courses - Sort of - 2011
« Reply #15 on: December 01, 2011, 03:27:05 PM »
Quote from: Steve_ Shaffer on November 13, 2011, 05:05:58 PM
Here they are:

Awarii Dunes- Engh- Kearney, NE
Firekeeper-Brauer/Begay-Mayetta.KS
Salish Cliffs- Bates- Shelton, WA
Applecross- M. Nicklaus/Heatwole- Chester County, PA
Rope Rider @Suncadia-Jacobson/Hardy- Roslyn,WA
Metamora Fields- Weibring- Metamora, IL
TimberStone-Steidel-Caldwell,ID
Osprey Point- Case/Grossman-Boca Raton, FL
RockCreek-Nicklaus Design/Williams- Lake Texoma,TX
Kukul'ula-Weiskopf-Kauai,HI
and 2 Canadian courses:
Wildstone-Lawrence/Black Knight Design- Cranbrook, BC
Oak Bay- Watters- Honey Harbour, ONT

Kinda makes you wonder if anyone ever pays attention to other courses' names.
Logged
Big drivers and hot balls are the product of golf course design that rewards the hit one far then hit one high strategy.  Shinny showed everyone how to take care of this whole technology dilemma. - Pat Brockwell, 6/24/04

Morgan Clawson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best New Courses - Sort of - 2011
« Reply #16 on: December 01, 2011, 05:01:59 PM »
"Kinda makes you wonder if anyone ever pays attention to other courses' names."

Good point. 
How many other "Osprey somethings" are out there?
And to use Rock Creek seems awfully silly.
Logged

Michael Goldstein

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best New Courses - Sort of - 2011
« Reply #17 on: December 01, 2011, 05:51:27 PM »
Chappas - far from it.  Try a column on courses closing in China per month.
Logged
@Pure_Golf

Aidan Bradley

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best New Courses - Sort of - 2011
« Reply #18 on: December 01, 2011, 05:58:51 PM »
Kukuiula is worth a look IMHO............



















Logged

Tim Martin

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best New Courses - Sort of - 2011
« Reply #19 on: December 01, 2011, 06:01:01 PM »
Quote from: Aidan Bradley on December 01, 2011, 05:58:51 PM
Kukuiula is worth a look IMHO............





















Aidan-Great photos. Man that looks good!
Logged

Jeff_Brauer

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best New Courses - Sort of - 2011
« Reply #20 on: December 01, 2011, 06:20:59 PM »
Well crap, Adam.  You do realize it's a par 3 you are looking at there at Firekeeper, right?
Logged
Jeff Brauer, ASGCA Director of Outreach

Tim Nugent

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best New Courses - Sort of - 2011
« Reply #21 on: December 01, 2011, 06:54:17 PM »
Quote from: Jeff_Brauer on December 01, 2011, 06:20:59 PM
Well crap, Adam.  You do realize it's a par 3 you are looking at there at Firekeeper, right?

Jeff, faked me out.  I was thinking short 4, man that flag looks small!  But then again at least it isn't across a marsh and on top of a rock knob! ;D
Logged
Coasting is a downhill process

Ian Andrew

Re: Best New Courses - Sort of - 2011
« Reply #22 on: December 01, 2011, 10:54:15 PM »
The course in Cranbrook only came back to life recently, it was built a while back.

The other one took all of us a bit by suprise, real estate play in cottage country.
I'm pretty sure they built nine per year over two years.
Logged

Howard Riefs

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best New Courses - Sort of - 2011
« Reply #23 on: December 16, 2011, 11:08:03 AM »
Golf Mag's Joe Passov bestowed his own "Best New Courses of 2011" awards.  Congrats to Jeff on the high praise for Firekeeper, which was named one of the "Best New Courses You Can Play."

http://www.golf.com/courses-and-travel/best-new-courses-2011

But as Tom stated in starting the thread, it was a thin year for new designs:

Due to the weak economy, only 15 new 18-hole equivalents—that's private and public tracks—opened across the country in the past 12 months, one of the lowest numbers ever, according to the National Golf Foundation.

Logged
"Golf combines two favorite American pastimes: Taking long walks and hitting things with a stick."  ~P.J. O'Rourke

Steve_ Shaffer

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Best New Courses - Sort of - 2011
« Reply #24 on: December 16, 2011, 01:29:48 PM »
Logged
"Some of us worship in churches, some in synagogues, some on golf courses ... "  Adlai Stevenson
Hyman Roth to Michael Corleone: "We're bigger than US Steel."
Ben Hogan “The most important shot in golf is the next one”
Pages: [1] 2   Go Up