Nice surprises you played this summer

[Walker Thomas]

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.

I also was able to play #3 a couple times this summer. So much fun and those greens are tiny with some wicked contouring. Definitely worth playing if you're at the resort and looking for another round.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Walker, it has been a long time since I played number 3 but it was fun and I could score after playing 2 & 4. It was a nice afternoon round. I thought the same thing about 5.

[Jake Marvin]

I'll throw in three from my adopted home as of this year, Charlotte NC:


Brights Creek Club - Mill Spring NC - Tom Fazio - Among the Fazio oeuvre, Brights Creek is nothing exceptional, but it's a solid course in the wilderness only an hour and a half from Charlotte. It makes the list because before I was presented the opportunity to play it, I had never heard of it. That's probably because it seems to have had financial problems throughout its short life. Nonetheless, it's probably top 30-40 in NC, and we have a lot of good golf.


Rock Hill Country Club - Rock Hill SC - AW Tillinghast & God knows who - Nine holes of A.W. Tillinghast and nine whose origin I can't trace. Whoever finished the job didn't get everything right, and there are a couple of odd holes, but he did a good job matching the style of the greens to the original. It's a course that shows how a set of average holes with a set of very good greens equals a pretty damn good course.


Mimosa Hills Golf Club - Morganton NC - Donald Ross - Maybe it's the name, but I had a totally different expectation for how this club would be. The clubhouse looks like a converted barn and they let the course brown nicely. It's a great low-key atmosphere and a club I'd love to join.

• 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?

Jeff, it depends on the day. If you're there on a calm day, and there's been some rain, it doesn't play that way. That said, most of the time the course is very firm, and you're lucky to get two calm days in a week. There's a lot of randomness to bounces although I think the shaping is trying so hard to be random that it looks manufactured in places. It's also a tactical course that looks enormous, but allows the player who understands the architecture and places his ball correctly to gain an advantage on every par four and five.

I won't jump into the what-if-there-wasn't-water question because, well, it's there. 

[Tommy Williamsen]

Jake, what is the story with Bright’s Creek. I played it the year it opened but thought the course was closed. Glad to see it open for play.

[Jake Marvin]

Jake, what is the story with Bright’s Creek. I played it the year it opened but thought the course was closed. Glad to see it open for play.

It's a well-worn story with a happier ending than that of most golf courses that opened in 2007. When I was there in June, it seemed that they are still struggling on the desired housing component. The goal seems to be to attract more non-resident members. Not sure how viable a strategy that is, but power to them.


https://www.golfcrusade.com/post/brightscreek

[Paul Rudovsky]

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?

• [/size]Jeff--been VERY busy...have played 81 courses for the first time since March 28, 2021!!!  All in USA but spread thru 25 states.  Sutton Bay does play a little like a links...I never played the original but now have played the replacement 2x...found it to be both challenging and fun...which is tough combination.  Easy to meet one of these two criteria, tough to do both in the same course.  Wide off the tee but angles are important.  Water is there and adds some to the overall but not that much...it is pretty far from the water so you do not "sense" the water (or at least I did not).  It certainly does not overpower in any way.  With regard to American Dunes, here again never played the prior version...but the present version (by JWN) is a little tight for the first two holes mostly because these fairways are lined w homes and the owner could not touch the trees on sold lots (I would guess)...after that the trees do NOT get in the way...bunkering is interesting and greens "feel" different form most Nicklaus green...fasle fronts and sides, run off areas, etc.

[Joel_Stewart]

To me, the biggest surprise was a course I played 20 years ago and has undergone a fantastic restoration and that's Chicago Golf Club.


The attention to details in the maintenance, the precision in cutting the fairway lines and the squared off greens is extraordinary.


All of this at the hands of Craig Smith, the 28 year old superintendent. 

[Jim Sherma]

Good year so far and some definite surprises, laid out in no real order:

• Golden Horseshoe Gold - what a great piece of ground for golf, really a wonderful course
• Front 9 of Susquehanna Valley CC in Selinsgrove, PA - funky old school golf with an interesting set of greens - Back 9 can be skipped
• Mount Pleasant GC - Baltimore City Municipal - More good ground for golf - wonderful layout that I put in the top courses in Baltimore having played almost everything down there - conditioning is acceptable, the buildings are falling down, the course has many wonderful shots
• West Shore CC - Camp Hill, PA - had been a couple of years since I played here, always placed it a notch below CC of York, Lancaster CC and Hershey CC - West, but realized I was wrong, West Shore is on their level and depending on the day all four could be swapped around with West Shore possibly the most consistently good across the whole 18 - good rolling land that is used well, conditioning is spot on - West Shore is really good on all dimensions and I strongly recommend a round here
• Rolling Green GC in DelCo, PA - Went in with high expectations, the course exceeded them all - So good
• Indiana CC in Indiana, PA - Willie Park Jr course that is simply very good - Pennsylvania is loaded with so many good courses that courses like this easily fall under the radar - good ground for golf with some very good routing around the difficult areas - good set of greens and a lot of interest through the round
• Sunnehanna CC - IMO the best set of greens I've ever played, no clunkers, every time I play it I see new pin placements and think more highly of them - knowing the course I did not expect to be surprised, yet was

[MCirba]

Jim,


Front nine at Susquehanna Valley claims to be William Flynn but I've yet to play it or see evidence of such.  On my short list due to that.


Back nine is 1950s Gordons.

[Jim Sherma]

Yes - that is my understanding as well but not sure I have seen anything to confirm it. The front 9 is definitely worth a play. Some really tough greens with both tilt and internal movement. Doesn't look like the Gordons touched the greens much and they all look of a type except for number 9. The tilt is not all back to front either. The back 9 has some of the tightest holes I've ever seen, but some decent greens as well, clearly Gordon work based on having played a lot of their stuff.

[Joe Hellrung]

Lac Labelle outside of Milwaukee.  This course was redone last year, and it was sooo much fun and a great layout. 

[Jim Franklin]

Llanerch outside of Philly was fantastic. Loved the greensites. Had never heard of the course.


Congressional is dramatically improved.

[Kurt Everett]

Belvedere in Michigan

Same answer here and I'll add:


Orchard Lake CC
Lawsonia (Links)

[Jon Sweet]

Eastward Ho!


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




Bob

This is on my list of must do's but have found it's a tough get. I believe a Herbert Fowler? Sort of quirky and charming. The walk throughs online look absolutely amazing.

[Tim Gallant]

Sandy Hills at Rosapenna. I knew it was highly thought of, but don't think I had ever seen a photo of the course before I played it. It was certainly a pleasant surprise in that sense of 'discovering' the course even though it's not new

[Tim Gallant]

Eastward Ho!


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




Bob

This is on my list of must do's but have found it's a tough get. I believe a Herbert Fowler? Sort of quirky and charming. The walk throughs online look absolutely amazing.

Jon,


I seem to remember a charity day out there getting advertised on here annually. I'll see if I can dig-up the details, but it might be worth reaching out to see if they can put you on their contact list.

[Wade Whitehead]

I have a friend who plays a ~6300 course in the mountains on the Virginia-West Virginia line.  He's always said it's nothing too special but that it brings a smile to his face...and I've always thought that it must be a better than decent place, as he wouldn't play it otherwise.

This summer, I took him up on a longstanding offer to make the drive and to tee it up.  We enjoyed perfect weather and terrific playing conditions and his wife even joined for the first eleven or twelve holes.
As it turns out, the Superintendent does the best anyone could do with the budget he has and every hole was clearly cared for.  Several green surrounds had plenty of character and my host did a great job of pointing out changes made over the years to improve angles, choices, and strategy.  Most of all, the course was fun.

It's not a Top 100 (and will never be), and everyone in our group could probably have played better, but the day reminded me that golf is a game to played among friends and that architectural pedigree, as much as all of us on this site love it, isn't always the secret to a day worth remembering.

WW

[Kalen Braley]

May still be an opening..


https://www.stchristopherschatham.org/golf-tournament/

[James Brown]

The Cardinal Course at CC of North Carolina really surprised me.  Great walk.  Out and back non returning routing.   Super interesting greens and awesome variety.  Very high on my list of “B” courses at private 36 hole sites. 

[A.G._Crockett]

Forest Oaks in Greensboro, NC.

At one time, a pretty elite private club and the long-time site of the GGO, Ellis Maples design on a great piece of land, with the greens and bunkers reworked by the Love organization right at the end the time it was hosting the pros.  Then it fell on VERY hard times and was barely above water and minimally maintained; I think it was probably pretty close to being plowed under.


There is new ownership, and a lot of money has been spent to great effect.  It's a semi-private now, in great condition and a great walking course.  We paid $35 to walk on a Friday, and finished in four hours flat.  Great to see Forest Oaks come back!

[Paul Rudovsky]

After mini trip to Michigan the last two days must as Barton Hills CC in Ann Arbor to my list

[jeffwarne]

Sandy Hills at Rosapenna. I knew it was highly thought of, but don't think I had ever seen a photo of the course before I played it. It was certainly a pleasant surprise in that sense of 'discovering' the course even though it's not new

agreed-the biggest surprise of my trip 2 weeks ago, and I had played Sandy Hills 2-3 times before!!(I actually have avoided it on multiple trips with mid range andicappers)
Widening the playable areas via cutting back the marram helped tremendously, and I'm amazed how good the course was.
With a liitle more of the same they are looking at THREE fantastic, yet different courses.

[Robert Mercer Deruntz]

Usually, I am a little suspicious of hype on a course that I the past has not received much positive attention, but Old Elm is absolutely amazing.  It has to rate with LACC ,Valley Club, and Barton Hills for best restorations that I have seen. 

[Jonathan Cummings]

Put Shuttle Meadow and St George's down for me.  Both courses, until recently, I had known little about.  Moraine and St Louis CC were also better than I thought they would be.  St Louis, especially the front nine, ranks up their with some of the best in the country.

[Brad Steven]

Being a Cleveland-area guy, I concur with Elyria being a little gem, not often mentioned amongst the better-known east side classics.  I played a course in norther NJ called Rock Spring (I think).  A Seth Raynor course that had a very muni-feel to it but had great bones I thought.  Big and bold with the occasional peek at the Manhattan skyline. 

Every year I play a course that flies under the radar. I might have heard of it, but knew very little about it. Then, when I play I think, "Wow, this course should be known by more people than the locals that play it." I had two such experiences this summer.


The first is Elyria CC outside of Cleveland. It is one of three Flynn designs in the Cleveland area, (The Country Club and Pepper Pike). The terrain is relatively flat but has some very interesting landforms that FLynn used creatively. It is a primer of routing a course to make the best use of the terrain. Some of the green-sites are just wonderful. The greens have enough movement to make putting interesting but not so much that you will feel silly if you make a poor putt. It was in good condition and was a delight to play. It will not beat up a poor player but has enough interest to challenge a good player.


The other was Bloomfield Hills outside Detroit. I had heard of the course but thought it was just another of the "Hills" courses in the area. For years they thought the course was designed by Ross, but recent investigations have revealed that it was one of only a couple solo Colt courses in the US. It is in shouting distance from Oakland Hills and Franklin Hills, so the rolling terrain is similar. The course is routed up and down and across some of the hills. The greens do not have as much movement as OH but still are interesting and fast. Mike Devries just finished some work there. He moved the practice tee a bit and made 1 & 18 a double fairway. The bunkers were restored and the third and fourth holes changed to a long beast of a downhill par three and a long par four.


There are a lot of good courses out there.