[John Burnes]

Name your top 5 courses in each (or one).

[PCCraig]

STL:

STLCC
Bellerive
Old Warson
Glen Echo
Algonquin

Boston

TCC
Myopia
Essex
Boston
Charles River

Boston is clearly superior in the golf course department...

[Mark McKeever]

My top 5 Boston from my limited travels


Boston GC
Vesper
Eastward Ho!
Charles River
Worcester

[Pete Lavallee]

I sure wouldn't want to have walk back to my home in Boston after playing Eastward Ho!

Go Sox!!!

[Pete Blaisdell]

     I consider FENWAY PARK to be the center of BOSTON.

     My five best within shouting distance are TCC, BRAE BURN, GEORGE WRIGHT, CHARLES RIVER AND WOODLAND.

[Kyle Casella]

BGC (homer alert!)
TCC
Essex
CR
Dedham

Visited but never played in St. Louis, but would surmise the topography of New England is better suited for building great golf courses.

[Mark McKeever]

I sure wouldn't want to have walk back to my home in Boston after playing Eastward Ho!

Go Sox!!!

If I have to pull out Eastward Ho! for proximity, sub in George Wright.  Can't get too much closer to Boston than that!

MM

[Bill Shamleffer]

I will list my favorite publics:

Normandie
Annbrier
Forest Park
Spencer Olin
Gateway National


In Boston I have only played George Wright, but HIGHLY recommend it.

This rabid Cardinals fan declares "no mas" on St. Louis v Boston golf courses.  (But St. Louis does handily beat my new hometown of Springfield Mass.)

[Cliff Hamm]

Bill...I am not familiar with St. Louis, but Springfield is obviously a much smaller town.  Within an hour you have The Ranch, Wintonbury Hills, and Crumpin-Fox.  Those are all excellent publics.

[Dan_Callahan]

Bill, have you played Longmeadow yet? Or (a little north of Springfield) The Orchards?

[Bill Shamleffer]

Bill...I am not familiar with St. Louis, but Springfield is obviously a much smaller town.  Within an hour you have The Ranch, Wintonbury Hills, and Crumpin-Fox.  Those are all excellent publics

Bill, have you played Longmeadow yet? Or (a little north of Springfield) The Orchards?

I was being facetious in my comparison between St. Louis and Springfield.  But I have a lot of memories playing Normandie and Forest Park in my teens and early 20's.  I also enjoyed playing Paddock, St. Andres, Crescent (now private), Ruth Park, Ballwin, and NLE: Crystal Lake, Bahnfyre, and Crystal Highlands.

I have played Longmeadow and Wintonbury.  Longmeadow is fantastic and Wintonbury to a great muni.  The Ranch is just too pricey and I have not yet made it up to Crumpin-Fox.  Having two girls in grade school I end up playing most of my golf in little windows of time, usually after dinner or very early in the morning, and have to play someplace close.  Fortunately the Springfield muni is a good fit and a decent course, especially for some 1 or 3 club rounds after dinner.

The one thing I can not replace from St. Louis is the amazing driving range complex Tower Tee.  Tower Tee is old school great driving range - Range, 18 hole par-3 course, putt-putt, batting cages, son-cones, and two large and good putting/chipping greens.  Much of the driving range is off of mats, but about 25-30% of the space is real grass, and some of the mats are under cover that are also heated during the winter.  In addition the balls are usually pretty good.  The driving ranges near me in Springfield are mostly all mats, bad balls, and no putting greens.

I do have much more golf within a couple of hours of me in Springfield that I ever had in St. Louis, so I am hoping this bodes well a few years down the line.

[Cliff Hamm]

Bill.... You may also want to look into golfing magazine. In the spring, in the New England edition, they will run a special for about $45 or so.

http://www.publinksgolfer.net/pages/2012-Free-Golf-NE.html

Years ago played Chicopee. I remember it being not bad and  an excellent value. Also Whitinsville is probably only a bit more than an hour from you. Check GolfNow.com. I do understand, however, that with young children priorities are not golf.

[Joel Zuckerman]

No love for Salem? Surprising.....

Bill S, still waiting for my thank you note!

[John Foley]

The Ranch is just too pricey and I have not yet made it up to Crumpin-Fox.  Having two girls in grade school I end up playing most of my golf in little windows of time, usually after dinner or very early in the morning, and have to play someplace close.  

Bill - been there - done that - all I can tell you it will get better but you still wont play much more golf - you do need to go check out Crumpin-Fox - VERY good public access in the area. I did a photo tour here a few years back.

[David Amarnek]

I've only played one muni in Boston during my college days (BU) in 1974 and I can't remember a thing about it, other than it was convenient to the T.  My brother has offered, on several occasions, to take me up to play TCC and Myopia, but we have yet to coordinate our schedules.  

I've lived in St. Louis since 1981 and have played most of the privates (not yet able to get to Norwood Hills and a few others).  Here's my top 5 list:
1. St. Louis CC
2. Old Warson CC
3. Westwood CC
4. Boone Valley GC
5. Bellerive CC

Now, I've put this out on GCA in the past and someone was not terribly impressed with my order; however, it is my list and I'm sticking to it.
SLCC is in fantastic shape following the re-grassing 4-5 years ago.  Love the quirkiness over there, even though I captained our Westwood team to last place in our Interclub tournament (SLCC, OWCC, BCC and WCC).
OWCC is more fun every time I get over there,
Westwood CC is my home course in St. Louis and a real hidden gem.
Boone Valley GC is always in phenomenal shape and a tough, but fun course to play.
Bellerive CC was well described in my previous post about the most recent Senior PGA and the 2018 PGA Championship.  Lots of changes taking place (again), so we'll see what the end result is after next year.
Other favorites include Algonquin GC, Meadowbrook CC and Glen Echo CC, site of the last Olympic golf tournament!

If the Phillies ever get their act together, I can't wait to match up against any other city (as long as the Yankees don't get in!).

[Jeff_Stettner]

David,
Bellerive and Boone ahead of Glen Echo? We need to talk...

[Pete Lavallee]

I played Whitinsville last week through GolfNow.com, that was the best $50 I've spent this year! Some great golf holes with outstanding conditioning; some of the firmest fastest greens I ever seen. How many Doak 8's can be played for $50 off GolfNow.com?

[Buck Wolter]

David,
Bellerive and Boone ahead of Glen Echo? We need to talk...

As a former St Louisian I miss Glen Echo and Gateway National --I kick myself for not joining Glen Echo when I l drove by on my way to work everyday for about 10 years but at the time though it was mainly a corporate club with planned annual assessments, I believe they have really improved their membership from what I heard (obviously Stettner joining is a big deal!)

Comparing St Louis Golf to Boston golf is like comparing the baseball -- you have to figure payroll into the equation.

Buck

[Jeff_Stettner]

Buck,
Glen Echo is simply too good of a deal to pass up. The bunkers were rebuilt by the Goalby guy last year, the super (Joe) is the hardest working guy I know and there is a great collection of younger gents who like to tee it up together. I'm not sure the financials on the place will ever fully recover, which is a total shame. Almost every member I know has been asked to join a higher profile club in the last year...

[David Amarnek]

Jeff,
OK, let's talk.
I happen to enjoy Glen Echo very much and I must confess that I have not played the course since the bunker work was completed.  From my experience, the conditioning and location were the only negatives and it sure sounds as if the former has been addressed and there's nothing that can be done about the latter.
I like to think of GECC as a "sporting" type of course, somewhat reminiscent of Meadowbrook CC.  It's a lot of fun to play.
Boone Valley is a completely different; it's a hard course for me to score well, but I do enjoy playing there.  It's location is about as opposite from GECC as you can get.
Bellerive probably has a bit less character and strategy when compared to Glen Echo, but I would still put it ahead by a hair.
You're fortunate to be a member and the people I know over there sure could have moved on to a "higher profile club" over the past few years but didn't... it says a lot about the place!
David

[Jim Franklin]

And Bellerive's new super is, well, super. He is doing a phenominal job improving the character of the course.

[Chris DeToro]

Unfortunate that I haven't been able to explore SL golf more because I have yet to play a course there that I did not enjoy.  The three I've played are Bellerive (still found it to be a great course even in almost unplayable winds), Annbriar (good course with a great story) and Missouri Bluffs (yes, a Fazio course).  Can't wait to be able to spend more time there and play some of the others

Same goes with Boston--loved Kittansett if you even consider that Boston, but that is my limited experience with Mass golf

But as one with native New Yorker blood--Go Cards!  

[Jeff_Stettner]

David,
We will have to have you out to GECC next spring. It was not until I joined the course that I realized how great it is...

My measure for courses includes the member rule... would I want to play there every day as a member. Having played Bellerive at least 20 times and Boone Valley at least half a dozen, I don't think I would enjoy either as much as I enjoy GECC. The lack of walking takes Boone out of play for me. I've walked it but it sucks. Add in the awkward green surrounds and I get bored mid-round. Bellerive is certainly a good tournament course and it keeps getting better, but it is still boring as all on the greens and the back nine is simply an exhausting grind. The club seems dead-set on removal of all quirk as features become more linear and the golf holes continue to straighten out (7, 8, 12, etc).

On a different note, how did the members like the conditions at Westwood this year? I only played there twice, but both times the bermuda seemed long and the greens were at a slower pace than I expected. I loved the increased tree removal and I know more is one the way. It remains the single best plot of land for golf in the metro, don't you think?

[Jeff_Stettner]

Did not mean to neglect the beauty of Boone's location. It's pretty spectacular.

[David Amarnek]

Jeff,
I agree with much of what you said.  Boone Valley, for the most part, is a second club (or more) for most of the members and I enjoy getting out there a few times each year.  Additionally, Bellerive would not be my choice for regular play, but it is also a treat several times a year.
Westwood's Bermuda fairways are still progressing following our decision not to overseed with Rye 2 years ago.  The tree removal program you mentioned has definitely helped the fairways and rough, as has our new irrigation system.  We are also experimenting with a Riviera Bermuda out of Oklahoma State on one level of our practice range and a few locations around the Championship 18 and the short course (currently being redone).
The greens were definitely slower this year compared to most and I believe our amazing superintendent (Corey) knows what he is doing and has our complete confidence, although I can't say with any certainty why this was the case.
We should see it at its best next year for the Metropolitan Amateur Championship.
Thanks for the invite to GECC and we'll have to play together at Westwood as well.

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