[John Kavanaugh]

Is the a course that you will no longer play for a petty reason?


Prioritize architectural nits.


Pinehurst #2


I went back thinking that I could look past resort guests taking practice swings in bunkers. I can’t. I consider this more of a design flaw than a maintenance issue.


Expecting anyone to drink out of a water cooler on the back of a golf cart is irresponsible. Charge me another $10 and have some water bottles out there for the people who honor your caddies.

[Mike Hendren]

Sleepers.  Architectural elements should not be available for purchase at Home Depot.  Ground game you say?

[Pete_Pittock]

The course shall remain nameless but I am convinced, for my game, it was designed by Voldemort.

[Mark Kiely]

Ka'anapali for not informing me the whole course would be playing around 5,000 yards because they closed all the normal and back tees with the Senior Tour arriving in a few weeks.

[Kyle Harris]

Mission Inn El Campeon


Mandatory golf cart because the golf course built in 1918 is too hilly to walk.

[Sean_A]

I have a few which I won't go back as a visitor.

Had a tee time at Troon only to find out once there they push all the visitors together and sent me out well past my booked time. I didn't get to play the entire Portland Course because of this.

Ballybunion and Co Down because of visitors bars. Members want a huge green fee, but don't want to sit next to you?

Ciao

[Ian Mackenzie]

Without a doubt: Harbor Town!!!


Played in October of 2007 just after a big storm and course was almost empty.
We are a 2-ball and I was the client.


Two 4-balls in front of us and they wouldnt let us play throuigh (they were together.) No one in front of them.


We called the shop, the "ranger" came out and said he couldnt do anything.
After close to 4.5 hours, we just hit our tee shots on 16 and the skies open up. Total wash out and didnt play the last 3 holes.


Confirmed to me that this is the most overrated and overpriced course in the US....;-)


Tree-lined cart-balling!!!!
Hard pass in the future.

[Ronald Montesano]

This is a wonderful topic, because I am just that sort of person. I'm going to have to give it a good, long think.


I did have an interesting situation with my home web site last year. We had done a "Best Course in Buffalo-Niagara" vote and I indicated that certain courses were simply not of the standerd to make the top three, top five, or top anything. They might be the most fun courses to play, the best clientele courses, the best beer cart, but they would not be on the list for best course.


A couple of them went beast mode on me on Twitter, so I did the rational thing: I went out undercover with some friends, played them, and wrote them up. I stood by our standard for best course, but explained that I had a blast and would certainly return. They didn't know what to say.


I will say that I've played some top-shelf clubs with and without a member as my guide. When playing without a member, I have never felt more distanced. I was not invisibile, but I did not feel welcome. When playing with a member, I felt in place. That may be an obvious thing, but it should not be a standard thing. A staff should make the unaccompanied guest (if they allow such a thing) feel even more special. The accompanying member will take care of that in the other case.

[JohnVDB]

I have a few which I won't go back as a visitor.

Had a tee time at Troon only to find out once there they push all the visitors together and sent me out well past my booked time. I didn't get to play the entire Portland Course because of this.

Ballybunion and Co Down because of visitors bars. Members want a huge green fee, but don't want to sit next to you?

Ciao

Many years ago my wife and I played Ballybunion.  We had two members ask us to join then since they knew it would be slow.  We had a great time. Afterwards, they insisted we all have a drink in themvisitors bar which overlooked the 18th green rather than the members bar which overlooked the parking lot.  They said it was preferred by most members because of that.  But, that was 25 years ago so times may have changed.

[Peter Flory]

Mission Inn El Campeon


Mandatory golf cart because the golf course built in 1918 is too hilly to walk.

Yes- that is insane.  I was there for a practice round for a hickory golf tournament and they forced me to take a cart. 

[Ben Malach]

The most famous course that I probably have a bugaboo like this with is the 36 holes at Kananaskis. A late period RTJ project on what is some of the most perfect land for mountain golf in the world as it is in the flood plain of the Kananaskis River and situated in a wide valley. So the normal frustrations of mountain golf don't apply like limited sunlight and extreme elevation changes. The problem is he phoned in the original design. This is a huge shame as the potential for this site was as previously mentioned all world. He missed almost everything from the routing to the greens complexes. It was a stupid golf course.   

Now here is where the heartbreak and the source of my frustrations come in 2013. When God by his grace flooded and damaged the entire golf course. This would have enabled all of the previous issues and poor choices to moot. Therefore giving a more attentive and careful architect the chance to piece together 36 new golf holes from the wreckage. Thus bringing the golf up to the quality of the site.

This however did not happen and the commission was given to two local architects. They didn't have the skill or vision to do such and furthermore, they attempted to restore an even more dumbed-down version of the original golf course. This was probably one of the biggest misses in Canadian golf from its inception in the 1980s to now. As this land could have rendered another Jasper, Highlands or Banff. Instead its a pale imatation of the wonderful heroic and scenic golf that lies just 25 minutes down the road.

This is not to say that the average golfer doesn't enjoy it or that it's not profitable(8th and 37th best public golf course). It is and hey not everything is for everybody. But, I can't step foot on that property without thinking about what could have been if someone more talented or checked in had been involved from the start or when they rebuilt.

[Tim Leahy]

LACC wouldn't allow my college golf team to use the "members" practice putting green even though we six were invited guests of the USC golf team. The non-members putting green still ran about 12 on the Stimp meter.

[Alex Miller]

I thought this was going to be a best courses of the last 17 years thread... 

[Kyle Harris]

Mission Inn El Campeon


Mandatory golf cart because the golf course built in 1918 is too hilly to walk.

Yes- that is insane.  I was there for a practice round for a hickory golf tournament and they forced me to take a cart.

Their social media constantly leans into the history thing, too! I’m all for it and it’s a really good golf course but I can’t just let the inherent contradiction go.


I also generally get pissy when having a cart forced upon me, in general, and that people just accept it. YOU are the market. Complain. Enough people do that and it goes away.

[Kyle Harris]

LACC wouldn't allow my college golf team to use the "members" practice putting green even though we six were invited guests of the USC golf team. The non-members putting green still ran about 12 on the Stimp meter.

Must be a Big Ten bias.

[Tom Bacsanyi]

LACC wouldn't allow my college golf team to use the "members" practice putting green even though we six were invited guests of the USC golf team. The non-members putting green still ran about 12 on the Stimp meter.

Must be a Big Ten bias.

Lol. I for one can't wait for the first UCLA vs. Rutgers game in New Brunswick. Powerhouse B1G matchup!

[Kalen Braley]

LACC wouldn't allow my college golf team to use the "members" practice putting green even though we six were invited guests of the USC golf team. The non-members putting green still ran about 12 on the Stimp meter.

Must be a Big Ten bias.

Lol. I for one can't wait for the first UCLA vs. Rutgers game in New Brunswick. Powerhouse B1G matchup!

Given this thread is already woefully OT, this doesn't bode well for the landscape of College Sports, with two super leagues to rule them all.  Hell they may as well just cancel the 4 team national championship for football and just let the winners of the SEC and future Big 10...er big whatever... play each other and be done with it.  I guess this only applies to football thou, does the SEC dominate in any other sport?

P.S.  The irony of UCLA moving to the Big 10 is palpable, when was the last time they even had a legit contender on the grid iron...

[Tom Bacsanyi]

LACC wouldn't allow my college golf team to use the "members" practice putting green even though we six were invited guests of the USC golf team. The non-members putting green still ran about 12 on the Stimp meter.

Must be a Big Ten bias.

Lol. I for one can't wait for the first UCLA vs. Rutgers game in New Brunswick. Powerhouse B1G matchup!

Given this thread is already woefully OT, this doesn't bode well for the landscape of College Sports, with two super leagues to rule them all.  Hell they may as well just cancel the 4 team national championship for football and just let the winners of the SEC and future Big 10...er big whatever... play each other and be done with it.  I guess this only applies to football thou, does the SEC dominate in any other sport?

P.S.  The irony of UCLA moving to the Big 10 is palpable, when was the last time they even had a legit contender on the grid iron...

Agreed. The NFLification of College Football will lead to an NFL like product, which will in turn strip away the very things that make NCAA football more enjoyable (IMO) than the NFL. I predict that we'll look back at the old Bowls and Polls methodology as the "good old days." While it was messy and led to lots of arguments it was fundamentally unique.

[Tom Bacsanyi]

Sleepers.  Architectural elements should not be available for purchase at Home Depot.  Ground game you say?

Not OT: Isn't the whole notion of sleepers/bulkheads/railroad ties actually from Pete Dye going over to see links courses in the UK/Ireland, seeing their use cases, and bringing them back to the US? As someone who has had to both maintain the ideal depth and compaction of flashed bunker faces (sucks) and also flymowed steep grass faced bunkers (also sucks) I object!

[Tim Leahy]

LACC wouldn't allow my college golf team to use the "members" practice putting green even though we six were invited guests of the USC golf team. The non-members putting green still ran about 12 on the Stimp meter.

Must be a Big Ten bias.

Lol. I for one can't wait for the first UCLA vs. Rutgers game in New Brunswick. Powerhouse B1G matchup!

Playing at UCLA may be the only way Rutgers gets to the Rosebowl.

[David Kelly]

Mission Inn El Campeon


Mandatory golf cart because the golf course built in 1918 is too hilly to walk.

Yes- that is insane.  I was there for a practice round for a hickory golf tournament and they forced me to take a cart.

Their social media constantly leans into the history thing, too! I’m all for it and it’s a really good golf course but I can’t just let the inherent contradiction go.


I also generally get pissy when having a cart forced upon me, in general, and that people just accept it. YOU are the market. Complain. Enough people do that and it goes away.

Me arriving at a SoCal course I hadn't played before: "Is this course walkable?"
Guy at counter: "Of course, very walkable."
Me: "OK, can you fit me in as a single, walking."
Guy at Counter: "Mandatory carts, no walkers. Need to keep things moving"

[Pat Burke]

There’s a couple courses I’ll never play due to clashes with upper level people


Pretty petty on my part, but I’m comfortable with it. 

[Ira Fishman]

Castle Stuart. Don’t insult my intelligence by trying to fool me that I am a better player than I actually am. Admittedly, we had played RD and Nairn on the two days prior so CS’s approach was particularly transparent.

[David_Tepper]

Ira -

You are being a little tough on Castle Stuart. Nothing wrong with having a "non-threatening" round of golf every once in a while Plenty of interest and challenge up around the greens. And don't get caught there on a day when there is a  3 or 4 club wind, as there often is.

I hope your wife appreciated the forward tees as much as mine does.

DT



 

[Ira Fishman]

Ira -

You are being a little tough on Castle Stuart. Nothing wrong with having a "non-threatening" round of golf every once in a while Plenty of interest and challenge up around the greens. And don't get caught there on a day when there is a  3 or 4 club wind, as there often is.

I hope your wife appreciated the forward tees as much as mine does.

DT

Lol. She did. But we both enjoyed and appreciated Golspie by a fair amount more. And we played Golspie in a pretty stiff breeze. As you know far better than I, it is a course that promotes smiles regardless of score. CS is a very nice resort course.


Ira

[Tags:]

Tags:

[Tags:]

Tags:

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()