Sorry it took so long to report back. I had to catch up on work. Pictures will be uploaded later. Surprisingly, all four us ranked our favorite courses on the trip in the following order:
1. Rock Creek Cattle Company
2. Gozzer Ranch
3. Huntsman Springs
4. The Club at Black Rock
5. Shooting Star
6. Coeur D'Alene Resort
7. Old Works
Rock Creek was by far our favorite. The course was even better than I had expected. Fun and challenging, the course was in great condition and is one of the coolest places I have ever been. Seven and Fourteen are two of my favorite par 4"s that I have ever played. Being a member at Victoria National, I am not a Fazio hater. I do agree with most of you that his courses do run together with the exception of Wade Hampton and VNGC. Gozzer is great and has exceptional par 5's. The design variety is much better than most Fazio courses. Huntsman's back nine was incredible, but the front was not. Surprising how different the nines are at this very cool club. Am I wrong about the front nine? We had the luck of having Jim Engh play with us at Black Rock. He is a great golfer and a fun guy to be around. I understand his philosophy of making golf courses fun, but I am a minimalist and it will take time for me to love his courses. They are beautiful and different, so he succeeds in his goals. He told me that Ireland is where he finds his inspiration and looks up to Mike Stranz designs. Ten to fourteen are about as different as it gets, but they are gorgeous holes and very memorable. I would love some feedback on his designs from you. I liked this course better than The Sanctuary, The Creek Club and Tullymore. It is well worth playing, but make sure you have a caddy for the first time. Shooting Star was the most disappointing of the trip. It seemed very contrived and was well behind the above four courses on our list. As different as Gozzer was than most Fazio courses, Shooting Star seemed to be like most of his courses in a beautiful setting. Coeur D'Alene resort was a pleasant surprise. It was in great condition and was very memorable. If you get passed the "floating green," it is a fun courses to play. There are a few funky holes, especially on the front. After reading previous posts, I am sorry to say that we did not get Old Works. The routing was very average and the black slag bunkers were gimmicky. I am not a fan of Nicklaus design. Maybe we just wanted to get to RCCC as soon as possible. I am anxious to hear of some of your views.