Nice surprises you played this summer

[Ira Fishman]

We only got in 11 holes at Century CC in NY before the skies opened up, but we really enjoyed the variety of the holes and use of the elevation changes. The bunkers were a bit out of scale; I do not know if that was part of the original Alison design or the Foster restoration. Btw, from the back tees, it probably is a terrific tournament course.


Ira

[jeffwarne]

I believe Ross changed the greens to grass and one might assume he may have re-contoured them when he did so back in the late 1920s.

I'm not sure all of the research and can't recall the sources that went into what I have in my database and I'm hoping perhaps Sven can validate or correct me, but this is what I have.   Generally, I think the two biggest influences on what's there today are the 2nd and the 3rd listed.   

 Donald Ross 1912 John Ingles 1915, Donald Ross 1928, James McNair, Jr. 2000

Well, I should have left my comment as I originally phrased it...I honestly did not know that.

Aiken GC link to Fried Egg interview-hint: Jim Mcnair was a recent HUGE influence


https://thefriedegg.com/aiken-golf-club/
a very good read

[AChao]

Davenport CC in Iowa

[Tal Oz]

I was able to play St. George's in NY this summer and it was awesome! Some really fascinating bunkering and fun greens. It was a pretty interesting piece of property that Emmet was able to work with really well. I think Hanse did some work out there fairly recently too. Hole 17 was a crazy fun short hole over a deep quarry. Great example of how a relatively short course can hold its own. I'm sure the main reason it gets overlooked is because of the location in golf rich Long Island.

I was also fortunate to play St George's on a glorious 36 hole summer day. It was my first Emmet and I just loved that rollicking property. Having just finished reading the Brad Klein book on St George's I'm certain it won't be my last Emmet either. Once you cross back over the road, that 11-18 stretch is bold and adventurous. You keep thinking the round is about to end and then you zig zag away from the clubhouse. I also loved that blind uphill par 4 4th with the trench bunker and the par 5 18th.

On that same trip I played The Creek and was so inspired I started a thread here about it!

[Sean_A]

Covesea


Ciao

[Niall C]

Covesea


Ciao

What surprised you about it ?


Niall

[Emil Weber]

Connemara Isles GC, a little 9-holer in the west of Ireland by Pat Ruddy & Tom Craddock!

[jeffwarne]

Connemara Isles GC, a little 9-holer in the west of Ireland by Pat Ruddy & Tom Craddock!

+1
what a gem that is-haven't been back in nearly 20 years, but still remember it quite well

[Sean_A]

Covesea

Ciao

What surprised you about it ?

Niall

I was quite surprised it was any good at all. Was very surprised it is better than the heralded Cullen...especially given Cullen has proper links turf. I was extremely surprised by the non-links greens. I was outrageously surprised by the 5th  .

Ciao

[Phil Burr]

Agree with AChao re Davenport CC.  I played it in 1983, long before 2000 rerouting of #1 and #18.  Those are now two of the best holes.  I love it so much I am now a member and am excited beyond words to begin playing the course in earnest in 2022.

[V. Kmetz]

We only got in 11 holes at Century CC in NY before the skies opened up, but we really enjoyed the variety of the holes and use of the elevation changes. The bunkers were a bit out of scale; I do not know if that was part of the original Alison design or the Foster restoration. Btw, from the back tees, it probably is a terrific tournament course.

Ira

Foster?

[Ira Fishman]

We only got in 11 holes at Century CC in NY before the skies opened up, but we really enjoyed the variety of the holes and use of the elevation changes. The bunkers were a bit out of scale; I do not know if that was part of the original Alison design or the Foster restoration. Btw, from the back tees, it probably is a terrific tournament course.

Ira

Foster?

Scorecard lists him as Architect with 2017 date.


Ira

[MCirba]

Some cool nine hole courses that rocked;

Wawenock (ME) - Stiles/Van Kleek
Cape Ann (MA) - Eugene "Skip" Wogan, Jerry Deemer
Whitinsville (MA) - Donald Ross
Pelican Beach (NE) - Jack Dredla/Dan Proctor
Moorestown Field (NJ) - Samuel Allen, Kelly Blake Moran

[V. Kmetz]

We only got in 11 holes at Century CC in NY before the skies opened up, but we really enjoyed the variety of the holes and use of the elevation changes. The bunkers were a bit out of scale; I do not know if that was part of the original Alison design or the Foster restoration. Btw, from the back tees, it probably is a terrific tournament course.

Ira

Foster?

Scorecard lists him as Architect with 2017 date.

Ira

You mean this Foster?
https://www.fauquier.com/news/former-middleburg-shop-owner-sentenced-for-selling-items-made-from/article_78d7c518-41f0-11e9-a5b5-4371256f321d.html

[Edward Glidewell]

Two pop into my mind immediately, both in my current home state of NC...

Cape Fear CC - even among the numerous good to great Donald Ross courses in NC, Cape Fear was a standout.  Great land, terrific greens, wonderful flow (with one weird detour that I will conveniently file under 'quirk'  ).  I loved CFCC.

The Cardinal - 1975 Pete Dye, with updates (mostly on and around greens, I am told) in 2011, it had the look and feel of the Pete Dye courses designed and built before everyone started asking for another iteration of TPC.  A pretty nice property, I doubt nearly as much earth was moved here as in many later Dye courses.  Solid routing, tons of variety, strategy and angles on every shot.  I heard nightmare stories about this place, so did not visit for a long time.  I am glad I finally got there.  Really fun, keeps you engaged through the entire round.

I played the first four or five holes at Cape Fear right after their restoration 10-15 years ago and then had to quit due to heavy thunderstorms. I really enjoyed those first few holes and still hope I'll get back there to play the whole course one day.


I'm not a big fan of the Cardinal. It has a couple of brutal holes, and it's essentially unplayable for a couple of days any time it rains a decent amount because the course does not drain well. With that said, I play a lot of golf at Sedgefield and the Cardinal does not compare favorably to it. My opinion of the Cardinal might be higher if not for that juxtaposition.

[Tommy Williamsen]

I played Cape Fear about five years ago. I liked it a lot but the holes around the club were less than stellar. I loved the way the holes turned and the greens.


The Cardinal is just hard. I use to play it every year. It has one brutal par three (12)on the back nine.

[Doug Bolls]

Charleston Muni - I was interested to see what Troy Miller did with template holes on his renovation of this muni.  I admit I haven't seen a lot of "templates" as most of my golf doesn't take me to places that have this kind of architecture, but I have putted on a Redan (No. Berwick), and a couple of Biarritz's (Giant's Ridge & Old MacDonald)), one Punchbowl (Streamsong Black) and played the Alps at Prestwick.


So, what a wonderful day playing all of these again on a muni in Charleston, SC!  Add in a Cape and a Short, and I had an interesting time remembering some some of the things I learned right here on GCA.


I played with 3 local golfers who hadn't given much thought to the architecture of their course; we had a delightful time talking about some of the holes as we played.


If you're in the So Carolina area of the country, I recommend a stop here.

[Paul Rudovsky]

Have been playing a ton since late March and seem a whole bunch of great one for the first time...plus a couple of repeats worth mentioning:


Totally agree w Tommy's shout out for Bloomfield Hills...simply outstanding ...and great fun.  Same also true with regard to Dave W's citation of Belvedere (we played it together in July).  Would also cite as wonderful surprises:


-- Hillwood CC in Nashville TN, seemingly brought back to life by Bruce Hepner
-- Applebrook outside Phila (one of Hanse's first...and his home club...seems that he "nurtures" it like Ross did at #2),
-- Sutton Bay in SD (had played before but learned more the second time around),
-- Inverness in OH (also played before back in 1979..Andrew Green's work here nothing short of outstanding), and
-- Astoria in OR...brilliant routing mostly between the wonderful sand dunes instead of over and across them...and in close to perfect condition...firm and fast and fun.
-- Blind Brook NY (played about a dozen times before in 1973-mid 1990's)...amazing job by Jim Urbina...green complexes now among the best anywhere IMHO


Others worth citing IMO:


-- River Oaks, TX (much better than I expected)
-- Sand Hollow, UT
-- Desert Mountain--Renegade AZ
-- Rochester MN
-- Silvies Valley OR (both routings on this semi-reversible)...could hear the fescue grass "crunch" as I walked
-- Fircrest WA
-- Grand Forks ND
-- American Dunes, MI...very very good JWN course (so maybe that expression about old dogs and tricks ain't quite true)
-- Gold Mountain-Olympic (outstanding muni outside of Seattle)

[jeffwarne]

Replayed Old Oaks in Westchester in the MET PGA for the first time since the Mid 90's.
I always had enjoyed the course, having competed frequently there in the early 90's in the annual Assistant's Open.
I really didn't remember much of the course, but what a course and property.Huge property, with two ranges plus a large short game range,and plenty of other land around.
Lots of tree clearing has exposed its massive scale, but the oaks mentioned in its name were definitely in play, and, add a lot of interest to tee shots and strategy.
Interesting driving course, with interesting land movement, varied tee shots with the oaks and meandering creeks in and out of play,and difficult to read firm, fast undulating greens.
Scores were quite high, and I was no exception.. Despite playing reasonably well in portions of the rounds, the course's demands were too much for me to hang in there and stay focused late in both rounds.
Another example(along with nearby Century mentioned above which hosted last year's MET PGA)of the sheer depth of the MET NY area.

[David Whitmer]

Spent five days at Pinehurst earlier this month, and had a great time playing #3. It’s about a 5,200 yard par 68, with greens every bit as challenging as #2. Perfect to play as your second round of the day.

[Niall C]

Covesea

Ciao

What surprised you about it ?

Niall

I was quite surprised it was any good at all. Was very surprised it is better than the heralded Cullen...especially given Cullen has proper links turf. I was extremely surprised by the non-links greens. I was outrageously surprised by the 5th  .

Ciao

As I've long suspected, you clearly never listen to a word I say !


Niall

[BCrosby]

Eastward Ho!


A remarkable course. I had no idea how good it was until I played it this summer.




Bob

[Sean_A]

Covesea

Ciao

What surprised you about it ?

Niall

I was quite surprised it was any good at all. Was very surprised it is better than the heralded Cullen...especially given Cullen has proper links turf. I was extremely surprised by the non-links greens. I was outrageously surprised by the 5th  .

Ciao

As I've long suspected, you clearly never listen to a word I say !

Niall

You played Covesea down! Another reason I was surprised.

Ciao

[Bill Gayne]

Charleston Muni - I was interested to see what Troy Miller did with template holes on his renovation of this muni.  I admit I haven't seen a lot of "templates" as most of my golf doesn't take me to places that have this kind of architecture, but I have putted on a Redan (No. Berwick), and a couple of Biarritz's (Giant's Ridge & Old MacDonald)), one Punchbowl (Streamsong Black) and played the Alps at Prestwick.


So, what a wonderful day playing all of these again on a muni in Charleston, SC!  Add in a Cape and a Short, and I had an interesting time remembering some some of the things I learned right here on GCA.


I played with 3 local golfers who hadn't given much thought to the architecture of their course; we had a delightful time talking about some of the holes as we played.


If you're in the So Carolina area of the country, I recommend a stop here.

Appreciate the summary. Charleston Muni is definitely on my radar for this winter.

[Jeff Schley]

Have been playing a ton since late March and seem a whole bunch of great one for the first time...plus a couple of repeats worth mentioning:


Totally agree w Tommy's shout out for Bloomfield Hills...simply outstanding ...and great fun.  Same also true with regard to Dave W's citation of Belvedere (we played it together in July).  Would also cite as wonderful surprises:


-- Hillwood CC in Nashville TN, seemingly brought back to life by Bruce Hepner
-- Applebrook outside Phila (one of Hanse's first...and his home club...seems that he "nurtures" it like Ross did at #2),
-- Sutton Bay in SD (had played before but learned more the second time around),
-- Inverness in OH (also played before back in 1979..Andrew Green's work here nothing short of outstanding), and
-- Astoria in OR...brilliant routing mostly between the wonderful sand dunes instead of over and across them...and in close to perfect condition...firm and fast and fun.
-- Blind Brook NY (played about a dozen times before in 1973-mid 1990's)...amazing job by Jim Urbina...green complexes now among the best anywhere IMHO


Others worth citing IMO:


-- River Oaks, TX (much better than I expected)
-- Sand Hollow, UT
-- Desert Mountain--Renegade AZ
-- Rochester MN
-- Silvies Valley OR (both routings on this semi-reversible)...could hear the fescue grass "crunch" as I walked
-- Fircrest WA
-- Grand Forks ND
-- American Dunes, MI...very very good JWN course (so maybe that expression about old dogs and tricks ain't quite true)
-- Gold Mountain-Olympic (outstanding muni outside of Seattle)

Paul you are the energizer bunny of seeing golf courses still. Tell us about Sutton Bay and American Dunes.

• Sutton Bay does it play like a links at all? If you took away the water there would it be a destination anymore than Dismal River?
• For American Dunes did they take away enough trees to widen the corridors or are trees still a concern?