I did not play all of these, but these are the new courses that I saw this year:
The Cradle, Pinehurst. Lovely venue for golfers of all ages and lifestyles. Just enough challenge in the green sites to make it fun; perhaps a few too many bunkers, considering the audience. 6.
Pinehurst #4. This is the third version of this course I've seen, and the best of them. The par-5 holes are really good, except for the obligatory pond hole at the 14th. The two par-3 holes on the front were both card-wreckers for the average golfer, without any water in play. 6.
Aiken Golf Club. A wild routing over a roller-coaster site, with some very quirky featuring. Lots of fun at a bargain cost. 6.
Tree Farm. Too early to tell for sure, but it looks like a very promising project.
Sweetens Cove. I was surprised to find that the darling of social media is built in a flood plain, and gets very soggy when it rains. In its best spots, it reminds me of the work of Mike Strantz, from the super cool and severe hazards right down to the too-abrupt contours for the short game. It's more than the sum of its parts, yet there really wasn't a single great hole in the nine. 6.
Muskegon CC. A hidden gem of Michigan, routed through low dunes just a mile from Lake Michigan. Lovely contours to the fairways, but kind of a shame they didn't get more out of them; the greens are interesting but feel "built" rather than laying on the ground. Par-3 holes too much alike. 6.
The Sheep Ranch. Bill Coore's routing for this compact site put to shame our own attempts from twenty years ago, but he did move some big chunks of dirt to make it happen. Quite short overall, but there are some very good long holes in the mix, including the "volcano" 11th and an ode to the 13th at Augusta I didn't see coming. Favorite hole was the par-4 4th; it took me quite a while to sort out where that was on our old plan! 8.
Lido. Only 13 holes are seeded so we will have to wait and see, but the boldness of the contouring of a totally created site is quite stunning. Not sure I'm a big fan of the famous Channel hole, but the Alps and Punchbowl are dramatic versions of the famous templates, and holes like the long par-4 2nd and the Cape 5th and Tom Simpson's 15th and the Long 17th all snuck up on me. Still have to finish Raynor's Prize Dog-Leg, the Biarritz, and Mackenzie's finishing hole.
St. Patrick's. I left the site in late October of 2019 with all but the 6th green shaped, but only a handful of bunkers; my crew finished it up in 2020 while I abstained from flying in the pandemic. I knew that the site was beautiful and the routing highlighted its features, but it's still unexpected for anyone to say they think a new course of mine is my best work to date. The best part of the course are the amazing contours in the fairways and approaches, most of which we managed to leave alone and incorporate into play. 9.
Charleston Municipal. Great revival of a busy little course. It's very very flat, but the use of pint-sized template greens on the back nine provides great interest, especially the Redan 11th and the drive-and-pitch 17th. 6.
Glenway GC, Madison, WI. Renovation of a pedestrian nine holes into something much more intriguing. Lots of fallaway greens -- possibly too many given the soils. The 7th hole is the standout. 4 or 5, which is not bad since they started with a 2.
Schoolhouse Nine, Sperryville VA. Nine hole par-3 course that now serves as a community hub for this small town at the foot of Shenandoah National Park. Not a dull green in the bunch, but maybe could have used a couple more truly short holes, as the lengths of the holes were consistently tough for the beginners I played with. 5.
Lions Municipal GC, Austin, TX. This was the course where Ben Crenshaw learned to play golf, and now he is trying to save it from being downsized or developed over by the University of Texas which owns the land. There are a few really difficult holes, including the par-4 7th where Ben Hogan wondered where the fairway was; beautiful stands of live oaks encroach on several fairways. For some reason several holes on the front nine were re-routed when Ben was in college, and wondering why helped lead to his interest in golf course design. I hope he gets to put it back the way it was. 5.
Places I got back to:
Crystal Downs - 10
Muirfield - 10
National Golf Links - 10
Royal Dornoch - 10
Pacific Dunes - 10
North Berwick - 9
Seminole - 9
Camargo - 8
Streamsong Blue - 8
Brora - 7
Dornick Hills - 7
Old Macdonald - 7
Sebonack - 7
Tobacco Road - 7
World Woods (Pine Barrens) - 7
Memorial Park - 6
Musselburgh (Old) - 6 [a substantial upgrade]
Renaissance Club - 6
Rochester G & CC, MN - 6
Pine Needles - 5
World Woods (Rolling Oaks) - 5