Golfadelphia

“The game is my wife. It demands loyalty and responsibility, and it gives me back fulfillment and peace.” Michael Jordan

It was our last round at Sand Hills. Our tee shots on the green, our group and caddies began walking off. A small caravan of sorts, trudging through the plants and dunes and grass which we had been doing for a few days now. I slowed my pace and let the caravan continue without me. Their footsteps finally faded, leaving me in the quiet of the expanse. I stood there. There was a little wind but mainly just absolute silence, the hills stoic around me. My time here was coming to an end and I wanted one last moment to enjoy it, with as much intent and appreciation as possible. An acknowledgement. A deep breath, one last look around, then I was off to join the others. Some places reach out to you, affect you. Things sped up as we finished the round and made the drive to the airport. The daylight moved to nightfall and before I knew it, we were sitting idly in an airport bar, waiting for our flight to leave. In a few hours from then, I would be back at home, back to routines and all. Life is all those experiences, from those moments at the far reaches and all the comfort and routine of home. Sitting at that bar, talking about that moment, was some what emotional. The best way to put it is, overwhelmingly grateful.

It was thirteen years or so ago when my friend told me about a blog of this guy trying to play the top 100 golf courses in the world. His name was John Sabino and he would do write-ups of the golf courses he played on the list. At first I read what he wrote about the golf courses I knew or had heard of but then I started reading the others and that’s when the fun began. For the first time, I learned about places like the National Golf Links of America and Prairie Dunes and Carnoustie and Royal Melbourne and Fisher’s Island. And Sand Hills. I saw courses in shapes I had never seen before, like Camargo, where the squared off fortress presentation was something I was unaware of at the time. I reveled in how each of these places seem to have their own distinct identity and enjoyed Sabino’s down to earth writing. I wasn’t just learning about the golf courses, but was finding out about their setting and culture. That’s what intrigued me more than anything else. The list was beside the point to me. It was the adventure he seemed to be having. That was the spark that ignited for me. The blog made me seek out others but back then, there were very few and none that would post on a regular basis. Yes there was of course Golf Club Atlas that I enjoy immensely, but the blogs were more relatable and personal to me.

Sabino’s blog didn’t just educate, it inspired. I had already started Golfadelphia but it inspired me to see the game on a much more adventurous scale. It allowed me a preview of how tremendously immense and diverse course architecture could be. And so it began. In addition to the local courses I was reviewing, I took trips to Southern California and the Northwest, reviewing the courses I played. Then Chicago. Then Scottsdale. And so on. My enthusiasm continued to grow after each round. I didn’t know how it would happen, but I vowed to some day get to Prairie Dunes and Sand Hills. Those two courses spoke to me with their thrilling minimalism and strategic arsenal. Five years later, I was fortunate to get to Prairie Dunes when a friend became a member. During that first trip there, one of the other guys was a Sand Hills member. We hit it off and ended up playing a round of golf alone together. It seemed as if I would be able to get to Sand Hills as well. There were invites over the years, but it never happened for one reason or another. One year rolled into another and I began to wonder if the opportunity had come and gone.

It would be another six years before I found myself at Sand Hills, ceding appreciation in the expanse that last round. I thought back to Sabino, who had since accomplished his goal of playing the top 100 in the world. I thought back to how many friends I had made, and extraordinary times had and golf courses I had seen, studied and reviewed. My life was fuller, much fuller, because of it. So that moment by myself at the end of the trip was not just a moment of appreciation for my fortunate visit to Sand Hills. Indeed it was, but it was also an acknowledgement of reaching a large milestone on a journey started long ago. And yes, it included gratification for coming across Sabino’s blog.

Of course, nowadays there are many more sources out there to peruse golf course architecture. But Golfadelphia is one of them. If Golfadelphia could do for just a single person what Sabino’s blog did for me, then it’s a success as far as I’m concerned.

I’ve never met or communicated with John Sabino other than maybe commenting on a couple of his reviews but he still posts reviews every now and then. He wrote about a scary bout with cancer and I believe has now moved from the New York Metro area down south, living near Chechessee Creek. I’d urge anyone who hasn’t to take a gander at his writings and adventures. As for myself, I use this space as I did that moment at Sand Hills a few months ago. Thank you, John.

“I stood there, battered by the raw power and sheer magnificence of a land I’d never known.” Don George

A month later, I was sitting at a bar in Dallas and entered my score for the day into the GHIN app. For the first time, it showed me a single digit. After being stuck between a 12 – 13 index for years, it happened so quickly. A lesson a couple weeks before with a new instructor had resonated and I found myself with all kinds of confidence as the pars came easy. I watched as my index dropped each day, punctuated with the last round at Maridoe, where I scored well early then had to hang on as the course started to work its claws into my game. As I sat in the bar by myself waiting for my flight back home, the beer tasted that much better as another long standing goal in this game was finally seen through. It didn’t take long though. It finally dawned on me after enough patting myself on the back. Now what?

That’s the great thing about a journey. It doesn’t end. That’s what makes this game so wonderful. The goal posts never stop moving, there’s always more to learn and take in. Each experience, especially the ones such as Sand Hills, enrich, revealing more and more layers of character this deeply complex game consists of. At least for me. Now what simply meant the great wide open.

Now what includes doing more to educate and spark interest as best we can. Golfadelphia is changing with that in mind, improving in hopes of adding more to course architecture discussion. The site just underwent its biggest changes. It’s a lot easier to navigate, there’s more rankings and the photos are finally large and crisp. We finally started our newsletter as well, which will outline what we’re up to. That’s because the courses will be reviewed chronologically played no more. Instead, the reviews will come out with a more ordered purpose. There may be a series of Donald Ross designs, or modern courses, or those from a certain area, or era. Interviews with course architects, highlighting recent renovations, visits to current projects; they’re all in the works. All of it to try and do more.

Now what includes getting a lot more serious about looking internationally. The second trip to Bandon at the start of the year made me realize if I’m willing to go through that, it’s time to start getting across the pond. And not just across the pond, but up to the Great North.

Now what even includes finally getting to a couple courses almost next door to my place. I was finally able to visit Merion West a couple weeks ago but a few more are still out there.

While this seems to be turning into the 2024 preview, it is not. It simply shows the age old cliche, the journey is the destination. As we think of what should lie ahead, we’re doing it already. Besides, I already have the next Sand Hills on my list of places I hope to get to one of these days. It took a while, but it has been settled. We shall see.

“I make so many beginnings there will never be an end.” Louisa May Alcott

Most importantly, Now what is the next round. And the round after that. And so on. It’s the courses I have yet to experience as well as those I’d like to return to again and again. It’s the people I enjoy a round with and those rounds I walk alone. Each one, you notice something different, play it different from the last. It’s the waking up at 2:00 a.m. to catch the first flight out for a morning round some where. The nights at some random Hampton Inn as close as possible to the course. It’s conversations with golf directors, golf supers and members. It’s walking and carrying, making sure to figure out the shadows and angles as I snap away, never slowing us down. It’s time in the clubhouse winding down, discussing adventures or travails, becoming fast friends. It’s knowing when to leave after the round and pick something up while driving back home or the next place. It’s looking back on all of it in the winter, wondering how exactly it all was able to happen. Now what. It’s all one spectacular journey.

Those adventures, they are non stop, I kind of enjoy a little bit of an off season now. Early on in the year, I was able to finally get to Reading Country Club. I was by myself but there were some groups out there. Snow drifts began draping over the fairways. The white dotted the green and brown hills and the wind whistled about the trees. The course was solid. Findlay really did some good stuff, I made a note to get to more of his work. The next month, I missed my train staying over in Manhattan and then blasted my way to Tavistock as fast as I could. I met the group at the Fourth, catching my breath by the time we had reached the green. In the summer, we landed in Traverse City, had lunch, then went for an afternoon round at Kingsley Club. The next morning, we were the first group out at Crystal Downs, where we managed 36 holes even with a storm delay of a few hours. We then drove a while to Elk Rapids, a nine hole course designed by Donald Ross with recent work by Bruce Hepner. Our tee time was 8:00 p.m. Got a couple hours sleep then were one of the first groups out at Belvedere before getting our afternoon flight back home. 81 holes in less than 48 hours. Recently, my son got home from school on a half day. We had lunch, then hit up nine holes before dinner. The golf is a way of life, an interaction with the land while excising a balance of mind and body to will the ball this way and that. Now what. Now what is right now.

So it all came to a stop for that brief moment at Sand Hills. I wanted all of this. As I read and read of other’s adventures those years ago, I realized the game was so very much more than the score card. It’s freedom and comaradrie, meditation and adventure. It’s one of the more profound ways man can still connect with the land. Every now and then, it is right to give thanks and praise.

The year, in review.

States played in:

• Colorado
• Florida
• Indiana
• Michigan
• Nebraska
• New Jersey
• New York
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Texas

The below are courses played for the first time this year. Some have been reviewed while others will be reviewed shortly.

Biggest Suprise

Beden’s Brook. There’s a theme with courses that surprise me and it’s that a lot of them seem to be designed by Dick Wilson. Perhaps his work is under discussed because of the era he worked in but Wilson was an understudy of Flynn and a lot of his work shows Flynn’s influence. Beden’s Brook is close to Philadelphia but keeps to itself and I did not know much about it other than its Wilson design was very much intact. The course was in extremely good shape and played tremendously well. The hillsides and creek banks were used several ways as they crisscrossed and leaned up against the fairways and greens. Never scared of a good dog leg, Wilson imparted a few noteworthy ones here as well. I enjoy the blend of strategy and modern challenge in Wilson’s work, which is certainly evident here. It feels like it should; a modern progression of Flynn’s style, epitomizing the evolution of design.

Seawane. I have been into French Oak bourbons lately. It started with the Penelope Architect series. That one was so good, I ended up getting the Frenchman from Lucky Seven, then Blue Notes Crossroads. It’s not just golf courses with me; the same concept of exploration applies. I come upon a certain something that resonates, then try and expound on it with similar types. Such was the case with Beden’s Brook as a Dick Wilson design and such was the case at Seawane a Devereaux Emmet design. A largely intact Emmet design on eastern Long Island, the natural bunkering and its interaction with the low lying wetland setting where canal like waterways intercede on some of the holes was impressive. There was no hiding from the wind and some of the bunkering were sod-faced, showing versatility to accommodate the various natural elements. If one golfed Seawane, Wheatley Hills and St. George’s, which are all on Long Island and designed by Emmet, one would come across three very different yet solid golf courses. Emmet was remarkable in that way and Seawane has a lot of unique character in how it embraces its natural surrounds.

Reading Country Club. The clubhouse is unique and set the tone a bit with its styles of Tudor and I suppose Medieval. The club used to be private and Byron Nelson was one of its golf professionals. A Findlay design on a nice rolling hill layout, it was a well known course back in its day. The design structure is still there. I’d like to find out just how much involvement Findlay had in site selection because he seems to have several courses on similar terrain, or it could be he finds thrilling ways to rout the holes and that’s what brings the similarities. For example, the creeks at a couple of his courses feel very much like burns, twisting into and across fairways and at varying angles, imparting a pleasant randomness to encountering them. Hills are confronted abruptly yet there’s enough graduality to balance it out. All of this is present at Reading and it’s a very good play, particular in the public sphere. I have no hesitation in calling it one of the better public courses in the Commonwealth.

Exceeded Expectations

I expected these courses to be pretty good but upon playing them, I realized they were actually much better.

Merion West. The inevitable comparison to the courses at a 36 hole club is a powerful thing. It’s enough for some very well known clubs to remain as a single course and pursue short or putting courses instead. It can certainly add or round out the identity of a club (Stonewall). Or punctuate it (Saucon). Very rarely do the two courses deepen that identity. I was some what taken aback by how good Merion West is. A truly vintage classic course on buoyantly vibrant undulating land that is used exceedingly well for strategic challenge. And the greens. The greens are one of the best sets around, end stop. They have wild movement and complexity, giving the golfer fits and requiring study and thought. The angles and routes the course takes among and across the hills and how it’s situated about the meandering creeks is superb. It is some how an under discussed classic that deserves much more attention. And it’s an important piece of understanding just how revered Merion as a club should be for the game.

Ballyneal. I wish I was able to spend more time here. We were to start our visit at Sand Hills the next day and I was a bundle of nerves coming off an early morning flight from Denver. My golf game was suspect at the time and I was deathly afraid I would show up to Sand Hills just trying to keep my head above water. Or some how injure myself. Despite it all, I couldn’t stop falling in love with the course. The way in which it uses and presents the terrain of the Chop Hills is impressive raw naturalism. It it a fairly pure links round where the golfer has no choice but look to the land in deciding how to go about it. Nothing stops the wind from whipping in as it pleases over the hills and through the soft canyons and the ball has nothing stopping it from rolling off the edge of earth. This is a stronger design and much much more unique with its unbounded natural character than I was expecting. I will return for more time in the chop.

Southampton. This one is probably the toughest to characterize as exceeding expectations since my expectations were so high from the get go. Perhaps my expectations were affirmed more than exceeded but then I think back to the greens and how the holes swayed between splendid parkland to expansive meadows and indeed, they were exceeded. You would think that the more Seth Raynor courses one plays, the less surprising the round would be from seeing many of the same template holes on each but for me it seems to be quite the opposite. Discovering how Raynor used the land and situated the templates on each is an adventure of its own and very rarely is it a disappointing one. Southampton has a nicely paced routing and the golfer has some thinking to do off the tee to handle both the undulating fairways and wind as well as to calculate how the upcoming green should be confronted. This thinking does not stop at the green, a trait of my favorite courses out there.

Favorite Contemporary Moderns

The modern category of courses continues to grow and now encompasses almost 60 years of architecture. These focus on the last 25 years of those played this year.

Fields Ranch West. I wrote about 36 hole clubs above with Merion, Fields Ranch is one where both courses emphasize their identity. The East is more direct strategic challenge while the West is playful strategic challenge. No, it is not an easy course and there are many more unsavory places to end up, yet the playfulness comes from some how always letting you think you have a chance at complete redemption on the next shot. That’s likely due to the visuals, which are welcoming and embolden the golfer, similar to what Kidd does at Gambles Sands and Rolling Hills. Yet placement and knowledge of terrain movement are important for the golfer and the course is set up so it takes him a very long while to learn.

Fields Ranch East. Has there been a course built in the last 40 years with so much expected of it? TPC Sawgrass is the last one I can think of. There are some that were built as “championship” venues and simply remained difficult, so those who played it could tell stories of how this bunker or water hazard ruined their score card and marvel how the tour players averaged par or better on it when they came into town for whatever tournament. But a course that is to engage and interest the average golfer while being a worthy venue for majors and Ryder Cups? I’m not sure there has ever been such a mission statement. Gil Hanse has been extraordinary at burning both ends of the candle. He has restored and designed for member play while also building and renovating for professional tournaments. Here, he was able to do both. There is just a touch of similarity to the Rio Olympic Golf Course in the lower profile and adherence to the terrain but while Rio seems to skew towards an Australian Sandbelt style of bunkering, East favors huskier bunkers with rough laden lips and grass rough hollows with assorted ditches. Both courses run into native plants and curtilage off fairway though and the anchoring to links tenets are obvious at both. The East is a tough course but a versatile one that recognizes it will likely be changed over the decades to remain relevant. Like whiskey or wine, give it time and it should get better with age.

Kingsley Club. Mike DeVries was fairly familiar with Crystal Downs well before he designed Kingsley and you can definitely see the Crystal influence throughout, yet that is not to take anything away from the delightful individuality DeVries shows here. In fact, it only enriches the course, which is decidedly distinct. I don’t know if a hill or slope can be called an infinity but that’s how some of the contours felt; never ending and the ball could move endlessly. There was an almost automatic assurance of variety, all of it fun yet deceptively tough as nails.

Sheep Ranch. How it must have been for the entire place to be at the whim of a couple groups who would make their own way around, deciding on what green to trek to next. Such was the case before the course came within the Bandon portfolio, at which point Coore and Crenshaw installed a routing and converted it into eighteen holes. It’s a much different ocean setting than the other courses, more exposed to strong wind, its underbelly angled towards the water. Likewise, it’s a unique battle with the elements. No bunkers and with the wind likely a major factor, one looks to the terrain early and often. Indeed, my round there saw unusually strong gusts, the starter telling us that once we hit our opening tee shot, there was no refund available. The first shot was fine enough but once we moved closer to the green, it hit us like a freight train. A match on the line for whatever insane reason, I told my caddie every shot would be running low. The course could be played and we began to learn very quickly how and where the terrain would shelter from the wind. With views of the coast for miles and what I called an antique playing structure in my review, it was the kind of golf that made you feel alive. The beauty hand in hand with the ferocity of nature all while we used skill and tool to play our game in the midst of it all. A lot of the resort guests cancelled their round and milled about the clubhouse. But there were a few guys you could tell were locals. This was their course and the weather didn’t appear anything new to them. They had this look about them, a rugged familiarity. I admired it and wondered what the game meant to them. Yet seeing them go out on that day when they could probably get out most other more ideal days is all I needed to know about the course.

Favorite Renovation/Restoration

Dornick Hills. Those of us on the east coast aren’t around much Perry Maxwell work but he is among my favorite architects. His artistic style grounded in the natural surrounds and touch to the greens just seems to line up perfectly with what I think to be sublime golf. Dornick Hills was his first course because it was his home course, so he paid a lot of attention to it and changed it over the years as his influences of Macdonald and Scotland evolved his style. The hills about the land are very good for golf while the rocky shelf during the closing stretch brings the right touch of individuality and memorability. Tom Doak recently restored the course and it now plays as designed. The greens are lovely in how they move and interact with the bunkering, gently maddening the golfer with their subtlety. I enjoyed every shot I had to take here.

Brook Hollow. A sandy site close to the heart of downtown Dallas, Tillinghast was initially tasked with building the Pine Valley of the West. A founder of Pine Valley founded Brook Hollow (Braxton, a Philadelphia cotton trader) and with the sandy soil, Tillinghast arranged for similarities such as the Great Hazard at the Fifteenth, the waste areas interspersed with native greenery between the holes and deep grass faced bunkers. Keith Foster undertook a restoration to this original design, which was completed in 2021. The course plays spectacularly. Very firm and fast, the holes dart about the hills and there is strategy at every shot. The greens are fairly large, which expands the options for the golfer and versatility of the course. The off fairway areas indeed harken to Pine Valley, especially in their randomness of lie. There may be times you have a shot to the green to get back in position while other times, there will be a range of impossibility at your feet. Among a long list of brilliant courses designed by Tillinghast, Brook Hollow is among the best of them.

Eugene Country Club. I was listening to an interview with Tim Jackson as he explained the work he and partner David Khan were doing to Eugene a few years ago. It sounded much different than a lot of the projects going on. For starters, they did not out right reject the prior work of RTJ but instead incorporated it in their changes that sought to inject interest, strategy and character in a creatively impressive, less intrusive manner. The towering evergreen are very much part of its character so Jackson/Kahn showed efficient restraint in removal that was effective in opening up more playing corridors while retaining their majestic beauty throughout the round. The course is beautiful, exuding that rich Pacific Northwest character while the structure of play requires careful thought and a deft short game. While many will throw out that word, “enhancement” when speaking of renovation, restoration and everything in between, Eugene is a prime example of it and how rewarding it can be when done properly.

Montclair Golf Club. For someone not from North Jersey, it starts to get confusing pretty quickly. First, there is Montclair Golf Club and Upper Montclair Country Club. They are 20 minutes away from each other. Montclair has four sets of nines holes while Upper Montclair has three. Then you have nearby Rock Spring Golf Club, which Montclair assumed as a subsidiary club a few years ago. That is now over, so try and forget that last sentence. But it’s still seven sets of nine holes, all with some Montclair name and by different architects. At Montclair Golf Club, the four sets of nine holes are numbered. 1 and 2 were initially designed by Tom Bendelow in 1899, which Donald Ross re-designed in 1928 and then added a third nine, 3. 4 was designed by Charles Banks in 1934. We played 2 and 4 and were able to tour 1 and 3. 4 has yet to be worked on but we wanted to see one of the nine holes prior to the work. Brian Schneider is heading up the work with a focus of bringing the course to its iteration from the 1930’s. This includes bunker revisions, grass line changes such as converting all short grass to the bunkers in place of rough and new tees. The work is eye popping and even more thrilling to play. The nine holes all begin at the top of a large hill upon which the clubhouse is set, moving down from there in different directions. Schneider’s craft of bunkers and greens is gaining much deserved acclaim and it’s on full display here as the golfer works his way up and down the hills on whatever combination of nine hills he prefers. We patiently await 4’s transformation, which will complete an extensive yet remarkable restoration.

Favorite Public Course Played

Fields Ranch West. Golfers prefer all kinds of different course characteristics and for me, West is it. The challenge is in the right parts of the course, the manner in which to play them varies from hole to hole and misses can be managed instead of killing the entire round. There is plenty of strategy and paths to the greens. And it has a substantial, enjoyable quality to it all where the golfer has so many opportunities at pulling off great looking shots on cool looking holes that he stops worrying about the times it doesn’t go as planned because he knows the next shot will be just as fun.

Sheep Ranch. One of the more unique courses in North America one can play based on its setting and set up. A tremendously dramatic setting yet the terrain is delightfully playful in how it parades down to the ocean. I can’t think of many other courses I’d like to play non stop for a few days just to see how many forms it took and how many ways I could play it. In fact, I have been trying to figure out an Oregon trip where I could manage a visit just to get another go here. This is the game as adventure in one of the best ways possible and anyone can experience it.

Belvedere. William Watson had a very intriguing career in that his work was around a lot of the U.S. and included a few courses near where I grew up in Pasadena. Admittedly I need to do more research on what came of some of these courses and where exactly they were but of those remaining that I have played, there’s a charming elegance to them that’s full of engaging character. One of his best and well restored by Bruce Hepner is Belvedere in Northern Michigan. The greens set the tone and exude that character of a special course without appearing overly complex. The strategy and structure of play, however, move well beyond the greens and seep into every shot that moves extremely well across the terrain in search of the best golf it can produce. The course does have a private membership but they are generous enough to allow public play, very similar to the U.K. club model. Walking into the pro shop is like walking into your grandfather’s office, with Sinatra playing in the background and golf apparel crammed into every corner while photos of the club’s history adorn the walls. It’s a classic gem in one of the more well hidden pockets of the country with all world golf.

Honorable Mention

Fields Ranch East. The course shows one of the most talented course architects of our age rising to the challenge and expectations bestowed upon him for this project. The course will host majors and at least one Ryder Cup, all while ensuring that the average golfer gets just as much interest as the more highly skilled of us. Indeed, it’s interesting golf. Yes it’s challenging, yes it takes time to learn and yes, you will be fine returning again and again. If course design is set to evolve at the professional level, Gil has done a tremendous job putting that in motion with his renovation work, with the course in Rio and now here, which will be on display more than any of the others.

Elk Rapids. A passing suggestion after our round at Kingsley led to a last minute decision to fit the round in and taking advantage of those long summer days. In the early 1900’s, the town of Elk Rapids decided to become a tourist destination after the local iron works facility shut down, along with it the town’s main economic force. Donald Ross was hired and land near Elk Lake was purchased for a nine hole golf course, but they didn’t have the money to complete a lot of the features other than the primary layout. The course remained in this state for almost a century, until the design plans were discovered and Bruce Hepner was retained to complete the design. Today, it sits in its original Ross design, one of about a hundred courses that remain so preserved. The course takes its time getting to the lakeside land and showcases Ross’ practical yet subtle strategic style where the interest level seeps into the golfer slowly without his realizing it. Indeed, I was licking my chops at first taking the course for some what easy but that started to dissipate when I realized there were places the ball could not end up, even if they looked harmless enough. We saw groups heading out for a quick round even as we finished up, a seemingly endless dusk showing them the way. Elk Rapids is a great example of public golf enhancing the community and of course, accomplishing its initial mission as a tourist destination.

Suneagles. The location of the course is an interesting one. Old Orchard is nearby, which I wrote about in 2020 as a course with a lot of potential with the right work. It is generally attributed to Tillinghast but one of the pros from Plainfield may have designed it instead. Being so close to Suneagles, which was indeed designed by Tillinghast, he may have had some involvement just based on proximity. The other courses nearby are Due Process, a very private club with a course designed by Johnny Miller and Gene Bates, as well as Trump National at Colt’s Neck, a Jerry Pate design. These clubs round out the northern end of the Central Jersey shore set, two fairly exclusive clubs with two open to the public. Suneagles is now receiving a lot of work and development under new ownership, with the focus of shifting to private relatively soon. The Tillinghast design distinguishes it from the others, which has a nice bunkering scheme that can get deep below grade while the routing across the few ridges and water among the property is sensible. As a public course, it is a pretty good Tillinghast that gave me some flashes of Quaker Ridge in how the holes were laid out on a moderately hilled parkland setting as well as some of the bunkering but it doesn’t have the type of boldness that Tilly seemed to instill in a lot of his more well known courses. Regardless, it’s a good play and a notable one in the public portfolio. We shall see how things evolve as construction, development and an eventual move to a private model continues on.

Favorite Course Played

Sand Hills. No surprise here as this course in many ways motivated me to explore course design at the outset. Part of what I find fascinating about this game is the places it takes you. I can safely say I would have never found myself in northeast Nebraska if it wasn’t for this game, yet I could never imagine a life where I didn’t see it. The place is that special, showcasing the beauty and grandeur of the Midwest in ways that is becoming more and more rare to find. The course may be the best representation of its land out there and manages to be endlessly strategic and varied throughout. The experience is riveting. I can’t think of many better days with the game than a morning round, lunch at Ben’s porch, afternoon round, drinks at the porch, then some sunset holes to close the day before going back to the clubhouse for dinner to recount it all. It is the spirituality of the game with the land at its purest.

Crystal Downs. Like Sand Hills, the setting is incorporated extraordinarily well while the routing distinctly defines the varying areas. The greens are pristine, moving true and while with haste, are not overdone with speed. It’s a masterpiece of a course but there is nothing about it that imposes such stature. Instead, it is unassuming in its greatness, allowing the golfer to discover it himself at his own pace. With one great tee shot to one great fairway to one great green after another, it doesn’t take long and for some including yours truly, was as quick as seeing the front nine draped about the valley from the First tee.

Trinity Forest. This could be on the favorite contemporary modern list but enjoys higher praise here. It was a year of wind because I sure saw a lot of it, even at Trinity Forest on a blazingly hot day. A survey of the land at first glance doesn’t yield much for the golfer. The terrain is flat for the most part and there is nothing on the horizon that helps the golfer focus. The golfer must set his own foot on the land to understand its intricacies, which he will need when the wind comes calling. One could see how this largely barren, rasping wilderness is transposed into the design. It has opportunity for those who earn it and that means understanding what the land does and where it goes, then using skill to one’s advantage. The bunkers are almost milestones, the below grade features and mounds almost a lifeline for the golfer to some how mark his way. The prairie links here is sublime. Whispers of Talking Stick and Hidden Creek. What makes Trinity so unique is there really is no setting; it is all about the course, which must be pieced together through the pangs of battle. It all makes you start getting creative with shots and decisions because the course seems to invite it, or at least provide the temptation. I enjoyed myself thoroughly as I made my way about the links so when I came upon my longer approach at the Eighteenth, I had very little doubt the land would guide my ball where it needed to go, and it did. The layers of subtlety Coore and Crenshaw exhibit through their work is staggering and Trinity Forest is yet another of quite a bit of depth and substance.

Merion West. The course is a lot better than it is given credit for, by an infinite margin. The East has the spotlight and unfortunately, inevitably skews many perceptions of it. It is not a terribly long course either, which seems to matter to a number of golfers. Yet the hills are wonderfully situated with the valleys and creeks while the greens are vibrant with character. If one comes to the West, goes into the single room log cabin of a clubhouse, then sets about the holes, they will come off the last understanding how this is one of the best courses in Philadelphia and is vastly underrated. I’ll put it this way. I would play the West over a few of the better known courses in our area, with a smile on my face. It calls for a soulfully strategic game with surgical touch on the untamed greens.

Honorable Mention

Brook Hollow. The Cowboys just scored against the Eagles so it pains me to write such glowing remarks about Dallas but golf commands it. I was able to enjoy much of their golf scene this year and found it to be pretty good. Among those that really stood out was Brook Hollow. The mischievous movement and all kinds of different looks out there, along with that glorious energetic first bounce the ball would take after a bounding drive off the tee. The Hell’s Half Acre is the second best I’ve seen next to Pine Valley while the measure of recovery on missed shots is something they really worked on with the restoration and it shows. One of the more strategic and romping Tillinghast designs where the challenge is sporting and cunning. With a lot of connections to our area in Pine Valley, Foster and the Wissahickon course, I felt right at home in enemy territory.

Southampton. This year more than most others, I have learned just how resonating a really good set of greens can be. Essentially, it could make the entire course. Southampton is a real good example of that. Don’t get me wrong; there are fairways with character and tee shots that take some thought but those are a supporting case for the greens, which I couldn’t wait to get to the next and take in. The Maiden, Redan, Punch Bowl and Biarritz are all extremely good template greens while as a whole, they hold their own in a very high rent neighborhood. A gentle walk caps it all off for a captivating gleeful round.

Random Awards

Stuff I want to talk about but it didn’t fit in the above.

Courses that are awesome but would never be built today so thank heavens they were built back then

Wykagyl. This really belongs on the Honorable Mention list of favorite courses played this year but this concept deserved its own section. The various rock outcroppings here and array of blind shots with the hills give this course so much great quirk and character that it makes for a thrilling play. Most often today, the rocks would be blasted away and many of the routing decisions advised against but instead, back then they wanted the best course possible and made those rocks fit into that mission. The golfer has a roaring good time even as the strokes pile up when decisions aren’t made or shots pulled off the right way. My kind of place.

Courses with nine holes rivaling most anything in Long Island that are public and I hope stay just the way they are

Timber Point. The Blue nine at Timber Point is not really a well kept secret. The holes are spread out along Nicoll Bay in links fashion, the wind singing through without anything to stop it. The famous Gibraltar par 3 Fifth seems to take the wind on before turning sideways to it. If anyone among us wants to get a nice hearty links experience and doesn’t feel like traveling to the West coast, they can always come to the Blue nine at Timber Point. A great public golf experience I hope remains as it is.

Sorry, but your greens are too fast

Sands Point. Just as greens can drive the quality of a course, so too can it dispositively detract. Such is the case at Sands Point, where I hit a fairway wood into a downhill green on a par 5, watched it run up to the pin, then kept watching as it changed directions, slowly at first, before gaining speed and moving off the front. Many clubs tout the speed of their greens as a source of pride, even when that speed makes no sense for the various contours and undulations. Whether it is membership or the green super making those decisions, some times it outright ruins the structure of play potential. I really liked the holes and routing but many of the angles and approach lines were of no use once we realized the ball wouldn’t hold. Maybe it was an anomaly of a day but the course has a reputation for its green speed so probably not.

Important era transition courses

Crooked Stick. The Dyes used Crooked Stick to explore their assertion of individualism in design. Their individual style evolved as they visited Scotland and built courses through the years. With this course as one they lived on, the tinkering and changes to it were continuous. Crooked Stick is an important milestone of course design, signifying a move to individual craft and emphasizing various golf skills within the design. There was also an emphasis on difficulty that remained for decades, which was sufficient to challenge the professionals at a PGA Championship. The course was well before its time and set a few tones for course architecture, some of which remain today. Crooked Stick is still a distinct strategic challenge monster and with Tom Doak working on the greens soon, it seeks to re assert this identity even more.

Courses with a great sense of place

Old Memorial. Tampa has a lot of old school character among the newer sections near downtown and the water. Everyone seems like they’re in a good mood and that puts me in a good mood. The hospitality of the club and membership has that same upbeat persona. I don’t stir all that much at locker rooms and all that but the one here was tremendous, as was the cigar room and patio. All of that wouldn’t matter if the course was poor but here, that was not the case. The bunkering gave the course a lot of its definition and was accessible for any style of golfer, yet remained tough to score on for those looking for it. The overall experience here was one great time. In the words of the great Kenny Powers – Tampa, bitch.

2023 Composite Course

Comprised only of courses played this year, each hole corresponds with the hole number. Would make one hell of a course.

• First – Eugene CC
• Second – Wykagyl
• Third – Ballyneal
• Fourth – Seawane
• Fifth – Madison
• Sixth – Dornick Hills
• Seventh – Crystal Downs
• Eighth – Montclair 2
• Ninth – Crooked Stick
• Tenth – Fields Ranch East
• Eleventh – Sheep Ranch
• Twelfth – Wheatley Hills
• Thirteenth – Brook Hollow
• Fourteenth – Fields Ranch West
• Fifteenth – Belvedere
• Sixteenth – Sand Hills
• Seventeenth – Kingsley
• Eighteenth – Trinity Forest

And now the section that causes me physical pain in both thinking over and writing.

My game this season was like one big Biarritz. High at the front, a big old dip into the abyss in the middle, then back up a bit higher at the tail end. There are literally thousands of shots to choose from but what can I say, short memory and all. I’m too busy paying attention to the design.

Best Shot

Near Aces at Llanerch. At the Fourth and Twelfth. Both rolled to the hole and just missed it, the one at the Fourth teetered about the cup before deciding against it.

Trinity Forest, 18. Real long approach in, it felt right to use my 3 wood. A booming majestic draw curled the ball to feet of the hole. Walked off with par though.

Somerset Hills, 2. Getting my tee shot to within feet of the pin and getting the birdie was a lot of fun, especially since I’m enamored with the hole.

Putting at Crystal Downs. The flat stick recognized greatness and rose to the occasion.

Royal Manchester, 18. In the middle of my slump, my clubs came alive just for the round, punctuated with a 6 iron approach on a side slope in wet rough to 2 feet.

Worst Shot

There are so so many. The down period was reminiscent of 2020 yet a lot more baffling. There were rounds that did not go very well, most were in front of friends and strangers alike. But some how, I managed to will out of it and then a well timed lesson brought me to some newfound indexes. But those bad shots are just part of the game. . . . . right?

Ballyneal, 5. Boned the tee shot like 15 yards into some native grass. Next shot grounded into a bunker where it took me a couple strokes to get out, then bladed out all the way to the rear of the hole and had to putt like half a mile back up to the hole for a cool 14 or whatever.

Saucon Old, 1. One off the tee then all hell broke loose. Second shot was grounded and left, I had a wedge in but was shanked into a bunker I couldn’t get out of. I never finished the hole. Nor did I ever fully recover from it that entire round. Everyone at the course became worse at golf just by watching me that day.

Knickerbocker, 6. What an exciting green for this par 3, too bad I shanked my tee shot so bad I was due right of it. I shanked my chip, which went right and to the left rear of the green. I finally hit one to the front of the green, completing one of the worst circlings of a green ever.

Applebrook, 2. Hit a great tee shot and am in scoring range for the approach. A cold shank that ends up near the next tee. My caddie and I are walking over to the ball. Me: “Yikes, I gotta tighten that up.” Caddie: “Ah I wouldn’t worry about it. Can’t expect too much when you only get out every now and then.” Me: “Well that’s the thing. I play all the time so I don’t have that excuse.” Caddie: “……….”

The good times remain a lot more than those bad shots. In fact, I forgot all about that shot at Applebrook. When I think back to that round, I remember watching the sunset from the perch near the outdoor patio area and the good discussions we were having. The adventure and revelry will always be there, no matter the swing. Indeed, that’s what remains and always will. Cheers to another wonderful year out there.