This tread is up my alley. Not a rater or really one who gives a crap about such. My first thoughts were about all the courses I play fairly frequently and certainly never discussed here. Just about any course in Southern Idaho doesn’t meet the interesting standard to be considered. I’ve talked about my own course, so it doesn’t qualify. Also about my neighbors. Then I thought about Sun Valley, a good RTJ, Jr. effort with Billy P. Bell origins. Good course, but could use some serious greenkeeping with an emphasis on chain saw work to reveal its charms. No, it’s talked about here. Then I thought about Jackpot Golf Club, a border town in Northern Nevada. I had to do some Googling to find out who designed it, Robert Muir Graves. It isn’t anything special, maybe a Doak 3, but with enough quirk and character to delay a journey to someplace else without regret. Conditioning is about as minimal as the rest of us in the region—not very good, but acceptable. For better or worse, fast greens with slope. Yet it is fun enough to keep your attention and good break in a long drive to wherever you’re headed. If only for the name, Jackpot Golf Club, you should consider it a choice. I’d much prefer you made the detour of another 40 miles North to visit us at Canyon Springs, and Blue Lakes, but to get to Jackpot, you have already veered off course by some 90 miles in the Interstate world . Come on up; I’ll buy you a beer and a burger. Your obligation is having to talk to me about golf architecture, an unknown topic in these parts.
Another course, from my misty past life, before I spoiled my life with some sort of limp effort to rate a golf course, instead of just playing it for whatever enjoyment it provided, is Green Springs in St. George, UT. An average course with some thrilling holes that I did not check to see if it had been discussed here. Like Jackpot, enjoyable and memorable enough to be worth the effort. Not as impressive as Coral Canyon (Keith Foster, I think) in the same area and, from the pictures, Sand Hollow, that you won’t forget. Just saying there are some courses in the Wild West that have some unusual landscapes.
Hidden gems? Maybe not. Memorable? Probably, especially you are from the civilized world.