Top ten NLE courses you have played

[Paul Carey]

Bay of Dreams
Beechtree
Annapolis Golf Club
Castle Harbour
Georgetown Prep (ok not great but where I learned to love the game)

[Rich Goodale]

My List(s):

Truly NLE

Tropicana (Las Vegas)
Chimney Rock (Napa)
Fort McNair (Washington, DC)
Princes (Gleneagles)
Anadarko (Houston)

NLE in spirit

The Struie (Dornoch)
Ballyliffin (Old)
Turnberry (Arran)
Gasparilla (Boca Grande)
Pebble Beach (I miss the old 5th, and so many other things....)

Where was the Anadarko course? I'm not familiar with it.

My best list,

Waterwood National
Pecan Valley
Blaketree National
Treeline
Sugar Hill
Inwood Forest
Traditions-OKC
Cypresswood- Creek

Sam

"Anadarko" was a company course, a 9-holer built around a pumping station somewhere to the ENE of Houston.  My brother worked there for a while and took me for a game a couple of times.  For all I know it might still be there, but I couldn't find any mention of it on Google.  Not a particularly memorable course, but better than not golfing.

Rich

[Sam Morrow]

Thanks Rich, how long ago was this? It's piqued my interest.

[Tom Walsh]

My NLE that you've almost certainly never heard of-

all St. Louis, Missouri

Pebble Creek
Arrowhead
Lakewood
Crystal Lake
Bahnfyre (aka Southmoor)
West Par

Mostly undistinguished 9 holers I played as a kid with the exception of Crystal Lake where I played high school district qualifiers. Good memories.

Tom, I played Crystal Lake and Southmoor.  CL was much better. 

Where were Lakewood, Arrowhead and West Par? 

Jim- Lakewood was out past the Chrysler plant off Bowles Ave, West Par was near Clayton and Woods Mill, Arrowhead was in South County. All housing now.

The only one I really miss is Crystal Lake. They had a great half way house with cream sodas and hard boiled eggs and frozen Snickers bars. Pretty good 18 hole public tract where many of the better players in town played from time to time.

[Rich Goodale]

Thanks Rich, how long ago was this? It's piqued my interest.

Probably 25-35 years ago.

[Jim Nugent]

Tom, I think Arrowhead might have been the course that Mehlville HS played its home matches at.  The one I'm thinking of opened with a short par 3, closed with a par 5, had several par 4s you could drive with a 3-wood.  I played there once.  About as much a loss to the golfing world as Southmoor (i.e. probably better as housing than as courses). 

There used to be a course not far from the Chrysler plant, along the Meramec River.  I thought it was called Riverside.  Was that maybe Lakewood, in an earlier rendition? 

[Rich Goodale]

Thanks Rich, how long ago was this? It's piqued my interest.

Probably 25-35 years ago.

I spoke to my brother tonight and he clarified things.  Firstly, the course was not ENE but WNW of Houston--I knew that, but my early onset geographical dyslexia got the better of me.  Hint--if you ever have me as a passenger in your car and I tell you to go left, go right!  If we are on a tee of a course I know well and you ask me where to hit my drive, if I say right, go left......

The course was called Trunkline GC and was located across the street from the Longwood GC, at the intersection of Telge and Spring
Cypress.  It was owned by Panhandle Eastern Pipeline (which owned Anadarko Petroleum Co.), and as a property of a publicly regulated utility, it's green fees were regulated too.  There was an honesty box and anything over the statutory green fee of $0.47/round was put into a fund for course improvement.  It was a 9 hole course but had two significantly different sets of tees.  My brother worked at Anadarko from 1975-1977, so that's when I played there.

All the best

Rich

[Tom Walsh]

Tom, I think Arrowhead might have been the course that Mehlville HS played its home matches at.  The one I'm thinking of opened with a short par 3, closed with a par 5, had several par 4s you could drive with a 3-wood.  I played there once.  About as much a loss to the golfing world as Southmoor (i.e. probably better as housing than as courses). 

There used to be a course not far from the Chrysler plant, along the Meramec River.  I thought it was called Riverside.  Was that maybe Lakewood, in an earlier rendition? 

Jim- yes that was Arrowhead and I played HS matches there for Webster Groves vs Mehlville. And Riverside is the one you are thinking of across from the Chrysler plant next to the Meramec River. Lakewood was further down I-44 and then a few miles south. Riverside still exists--very flat with pushup greens on the flood plain. Webster used it as its home course from time to time when we couldn't get on Algonquin GC or Westborough CC.

Okay it sounds like you grew up in St. Louis so I'll ask the quintessential, provincial St. Louis question--Where did you go to high school?

[Bill_McBride]

Jeepers, I can only think of one course I really liked, the 9 hole Annapolis course.  I am not sure I know of any in spirit courses, but TOC may be one of we count losing the fairway left of the Prinicpal's Nose and the narrowing of the 17th   There are lots of courses which are dead in spirit, but I never played them when they zoomed.  Princes and Blackwell probably head that list.  I suspect Sandy Lodge and Worcester are nothing to what they could be.

Ciao

Every time I think of rough up to the Principal's Nose I get unhappy.   Completely ruins the strategic intent of the hole.  It's quite entertaining to play safely left and then thread a running shot past Wig Bunker onto the green. 

[Sam Morrow]

Thanks Rich, how long ago was this? It's piqued my interest.

Probably 25-35 years ago.

I spoke to my brother tonight and he clarified things.  Firstly, the course was not ENE but WNW of Houston--I knew that, but my early onset geographical dyslexia got the better of me.  Hint--if you ever have me as a passenger in your car and I tell you to go left, go right!  If we are on a tee of a course I know well and you ask me where to hit my drive, if I say right, go left......

The course was called Trunkline GC and was located across the street from the Longwood GC, at the intersection of Telge and Spring
Cypress.  It was owned by Panhandle Eastern Pipeline (which owned Anadarko Petroleum Co.), and as a property of a publicly regulated utility, it's green fees were regulated too.  There was an honesty box and anything over the statutory green fee of $0.47/round was put into a fund for course improvement.  It was a 9 hole course but had two significantly different sets of tees.  My brother worked at Anadarko from 1975-1977, so that's when I played there.

All the best

Rich

Rich,

Small world, that course later became Cypress Golf Club and closed about 10 years ago, it's now a park. I live about 10 minutes from there and actually drove right past it earlier. It was a fun little course, nothing special but an enjoyable time with about 10000 trees.

[Tom_Doak]

I will have to go back through my lists to catch all of the courses I've played that have closed.  There must be 20-30 of them now.

One of my courses (Bay of Dreams) went NLE without my ever having the opportunity to play it.  Actually, so did Wicked Pony in Oregon, although we only had 8 holes grassed before they went bankrupt.  High Pointe and Beechtree would definitely be among the top 10 NLE's I've played ... Charlotte Golf Links probably not.

Others that would likely make my top ten:

Waterwood National, TX
Gambel Golf Links, AZ - 9 holes by Roy Dye, now replaced by Desert Mountain GC

[Thomas Dai]

Lots of pitch-n-putt and short courses in municipal parks have closed down over the years and are thus within the NLE category. They may not be 'top-ten' but they are where many of us started playing the game. Unfortunately, as they NLE, others will no loner get the chance to start their golf careers on them. A great shame. So much for growing the game.

atb

[Pat Burke]

I'm still amazed that Waterwood closed.
My brother played a couple of Q Schools there,
and I played a NCAA DII championship there.  Some amazing holes.

Tom, I can't imagine having your work disappear.  So sad.

[Matthew Petersen]

Most of the little places I grew up and learned the game on are NLE, but most are also not worth mentioning.

I quite liked a course called Emerald River in Laughlin, NV. Not a great course. Too severe and too hard for many, or probably even for repeat plays from good players. But a unique place and now it's gone back to nature.

I'm also aware of a place in the Alamosa, CO area that I played once in a HS tournament, that in my memory I really liked. In the years since, I have not been able to come up with any course in the vicinity that matches my memory ... so maybe that place whose name I've forgotten is NLE as well?

[Joe Bausch]

My list of NLE courses played is fairly short, but here they are ordered from most liked to less so:

Beechtree (Tom Doak)
Ashbourne (Willie Park, Jr)
Eagle Lodge (Herb Jewson/Frank Coltart; I think!)
Hershey Links (Hurdzan and Fry)
Valley Forge (Alexander Findlay)
Patriots Glen (Jeff Matthai) Happy to report that this course is re-opening soon!

http://www.patriotsglennational.com/

Island Green (Jim Blaukovitch)
Felicita (Bill and Dave Gordon)
Center Valley (Geoffrey Cornish)
Horsham Valley (Jack Melville)

[David Federman]

Eagle Lodge (plowed under and land used for the Ace Club) - Lafayette Hill, Pa (Rees Jones, renovation)
Blue Heron Pines East - Egg Harbor Township, NJ - Steve Smyers - site of 2003 US Publinks Championship

[Steve_Lovett]

Ponce de Leon Golf Course - St Augustine, FL

(Donald Ross's first Florida golf course - circa 1915. Closed around 2004.)

[Rob Curtiss]

Sugarloaf Mountain- Florida- Coore and Crenshaw

Its a shame too- it was nice to have elevation changes

[Jim Sherma]

Valley Forge (Alexander Findlay)
Center Valley (Geoffrey Cornish)
Hershey Links/Wren Dale (Hurdzan & Fry)
Hershey Parkview (Maurice McCarthy)
Woodland Hills (Henry Bartholemew)
Felicitas ()

Probably a couple I missed (maybe up in the Poconos), but nothing else good that I can think of. A few that probably should close down yet somehow keep going.

[Chris_Blakely]

Blue Heron Pines - East
Boston Corners GC
Beachtree GC
Annapolis GC
Aurora GC (Aurora, OH - fun Bert Way GC on wild terrain).
Atwood Lake GC (OH)
Rogell GC (Detroit, MI)
Tree Links GC (Bellefontaine, OH)
Hershey Parkview
Hershey Hotel


I am sure there are more, I will add them if I think of them.

Forgot The Balsams Resort Panorama Course easily the top of my list.

Chris

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Thanks to Jim Sherma, my recollection has been refreshed. Add these to my list:

Valley Forge (Alexander Findlay)
Center Valley (Geoffrey Cornish)
Hershey Links/Wren Dale (Hurdzan & Fry)
Hershey Parkview (Maurice McCarthy)

[Scott Sander]

Marsh Harbor - Myrtle Beach

Was this ever posted here? http://www.salon.com/2014/03/13/fairway_to_heaven_what_happens_to_an_abandoned_golf_course_partner/


Green Gables - Denver


Sycamore Springs - Indianapolis

[Sean_A]

Jeepers, I can only think of one course I really liked, the 9 hole Annapolis course.  I am not sure I know of any in spirit courses, but TOC may be one of we count losing the fairway left of the Prinicpal's Nose and the narrowing of the 17th Cry  There are lots of courses which are dead in spirit, but I never played them when they zoomed.  Princes and Blackwell probably head that list.  I suspect Sandy Lodge and Worcester are nothing to what they could be.

I forgot the old Detroit muni, Billy Rogell.  A good Ross course, but not as good as its namesake.  My dad loved the guy because he was an instrumental part of the awesome infield (playing with a few no namers; Gehringer on 2nd & Greenberg on 1st) for the Tigers, the 1935 World Series champion.  Leading up to that season, the infield stats are unbelievable: the four totalled 769 hits (remember the 154 game schedule), 462 RBIs, 445 runs scored, .327 average with one game between the four missed all season.  Despite all the above, I think Rogell is most loved as a city servant for 36 years (I think) as a Council Member. Its for this reason that the course was named after Rogell.  For those who frequent Detroit Metro, you will notice that once Merriman crosses I94 from the north, the road names changes to WG Rogell Drive.

Ciao

[Keith Grande]

Eagle Lodge (plowed under and land used for the Ace Club) - Lafayette Hill, Pa (Rees Jones, renovation)
Blue Heron Pines East - Egg Harbor Township, NJ - Steve Smyers - site of 2003 US Publinks Championship

Regarding Blue Heron Pines East - it was easily the better of the two courses at Blue Heron Pines.  However, the clubhouse was located at the other course, and East course was down the road.  So when they chose to sell and downsize, East was the sacrificial lamb...

[David Federman]

Yes it was Keith - better by a mile - Blue Heron Pines East was just a ton of fun to play, no houses, firm and fast lay-out with a great mix of holes. As far as I know, the developmental plan  it was sold for never took place and there is nothing where the course was except for barely recognizable remnants of the holes and weeds.  It is real shame.