Dean Petrone

As a golf experience, few can rival Caves Valley. From the outstanding hospitality, to the amazing accommodations, and the pristine course conditioning, Caves Valley delivers exactly what its high profile and deep pocketed membership expects. Strictly as a course however, Caves is above average — it relies on a beautiful setting and near perfect playing conditions to keep your attention from the fact the course is not overly difficult or interesting. If you get the invite, it is a must play, but not the type of course you will be thinking about weeks and months after teeing it up.

The Ocean Course is undoubtedly world class and in every way lives up to its billing as one of the toughest tracks in the world. Though I’m not a Pete Dye fan, I thought this to easily be his best work. Strangely, the sum of its parts left me feeling unsatisfied when the round was over. Yes, it has its moments on the back nine and surely one’s opinion hinges greatly on which way the wind is blowing that day — but “unsatisfied” is not a feeling I was expecting given the Ocean Course’s universal acclaim.

Chevy Chase is a good course whose reputation benefits from it being at a great club. While the conditions are exceptional, there isn’t much else to rave about. Having played it half a dozen times, few holes still hold space in my head. It may serve its purpose as a fitting everyday track for its blue blood membership, but falls short of the challenge and creativity that merits a high ranking.

A fantastic Tillinghast without a weak hole to be found. From start to finish, this course is an amazing test of golf, while providing players with a whole lot of fun tee to green. The use of the land is phenomenal, and perhaps lays claim to Tilly’s best pair of par 5’s. The greens are some of the biggest I’ve seen this side of the Atlantic, and can provide an incredible challenge when running at top speed. While I have not yet played the newly renovated Congressional, Five Farms is a far superior track to its predecessor.

Stonewall is a good track, but by no means great. The conditioning was good, the experience unique, but the course design hardly gets one’s pulse racing. While 18 is a strong finish, the rest of the course suffers from perhaps too minimalist of an approach — while this was certainly by design, it appears Doak could have done far more with what the land provides. Glad to have played it, but the Philly area has too deep of a bench to warrant ranking this course as high as some other publications often do.

My experience at No. 2 was similar to many before me. It’s an extremely tough track that demands precision and a bit of humbleness in your approach to the greens. The greens are ultimately what make it a special place, and have the ability to really make or break your round. If you are not accustomed to putting on greens that are so heavily affected by the direction of the grain, be forewarned - the difference can mean several feet one direction or the other from an identical putter stroke. While No 2. is a masterclass in architecture, I found the sum of its parts falling short of other World Top 20’s that I have played — repetition, penality, and a front loaded outward 9, keep it from scoring higher in my book.

TPC Harding Park is a fine course that will undoubtedly satisfy your golfing appetite, but it fails to deliver anything close to pulse racing like so many of its big brothers in the Bay area. The first time I played it, was a year removed from the PGA championship and I thought it would prove difficult to host a major championship there -- that said, it proved a stern enough test for the pros and by most counts was a successful event. The course itself is straightforward, with very few forced carries, elevation changes, or penalty areas; the greens roll well, and the conditioning is great. Unfairly, Harding Park is adjacent to Olympic's famed Lake Course (separated by a small body of water), and your mind can't help but wander to a day spent on its far superior layout.

I had the privilege of playing this course four weeks prior to the Waste Management, when the course had more or less been built out with the stands you see on TV; I’ve been told that greatly enhances the look and feel of the course and can see that being the case. The front nine is somewhat slow and flat, while the majority of the action is found 15-18. The conditioning is fantastic, and playing anywhere the pros play makes for a fun day — just don’t set your expectations too high.

This course is the first template course I ever played, and the reason for my love of golf architecture. Those sentimental reasons aside, this is an absolute gem of a course and one of the most fun tracks I’ve had the opportunity to play. It’s a Top 5 course in Florida for me, and should certainly be held in higher regard than the heralded Streamsong. If you are lucky enough to get the invite, don’t fret when your GPS appears to have failed you —- Mountain Lake sits behind a literal wall in the middle of one of the state’s least wealthy towns; frozen in time when old east coast money preferred this inland enclave to the ritzier coastal areas. Do yourself a favor and order the peanut butter, jelly and bacon at the halfway house before teeing off on a fantastic redan.

When I first played Fieldstone, I couldn’t believe how a course this good could have escaped recognition, much less word of mouth but I guess that speaks to the quality of courses found in the I-95 corridor between Delaware and New York. Fieldstone is routed through a beautiful piece of land, which feels a million miles from anything, and whose elevation can change several hundred feet over the course of just a few holes. It has a unique routing which makes the most of the topography and results in some very memorable holes. Ultimately, Fieldstone has a classic Hurdzan/Fry feel to it and is a day well spent, if you get the invite.

If Kingsbarns were not next to the Old Course, or even on that side of the Atlantic, I’m certain it would be higher in the rankings. Challenging, fun, and scenic, it is the benchmark by which all new seaside courses should measure themselves. It has a superb set of par 3’s and the perhaps the best par 5 in all of Scotland. You would never know this was a flat piece of land or that any land was moved for that matter — a true testament to what was achieved by Kyle Phillips. Less important, is that the experience is unrivaled — from the service, to the clubhouse, to the conditioning, Kingsbarns lives up to the lofty expectations its name and price tag set. For the mistaken purists who say this is an “American” course in Scotland, I ask if they would be against having such a good “Scottish” course set in the States?

Few courses have left more an indelible impression on me than Erin Hills. If you’ve read about the course’s history and mystique as so many have since its hosting the US Open, then know the rumors are true. It’s a special piece of land that you must see to believe … so special that the USGA committed to hosting its championship there before the course ever opened for play. Much like the story behind it, the course is grand, with each hole playing like it’s the only hole for miles. It tests your driver constantly and demands plenty of creativity green side. Given the choice between Erin Hills or Whistling, it’s no choice… head west of Milwaukee and play the course that drove one man to murder his wife, another to go bankrupt, and took 10,000 years rather than 10,000 bulldozers, to get right.

While it may not be the most architecturally significant, nor the most challenging, Gamble Sands might be the most fun you’ll ever have on a golf course. Situated high in the eastern Washington desert, the fairways run fast and hot which makes for tee shots that will keep you staring long and hard at your golf ball well after you’ve struck it. From tee to green there are an infinite number of fun shots to make, which have a high likelihood of resulting in one of your best scoring rounds ever.. If that’s not worth making the four hour drive from Seattle, than what is?

Like all Raynor tracks, Fairfield is very fun and very playable. For what feels like a small piece of land, the routing is fantastic, making the most of the topography and demanding more than a few well placed shots. A true “members course”, few clubs offer as beautiful a backdrop or as easy a walk than the club on Sisco Hill.

My red eye landed at 8am and by 11 I was teeing off on one of the hardest golf courses I and many others will ever play… perhaps that is why I required a box of golf balls to finish the round. Still, Carnoustie was something special - while it might not be the most photogenic or awe inspiring course, the architecture and routing are world class. Few courses best Carnoustie in using the hand of God to protect par, and certainly none have done it more times to the very best in the world. CarNASTY is a moniker well earned.

St Andrews is a religious experience.. if you are a serious golfer, it will make you feel complete; if you are a casual golfer, it will make you into a serious one. For the first timer, the course itself is unlike anything you’ve ever played before and can only be fully appreciated through use of a caddie. The number of shots one could play on the course is infinite. Par the Road Hole, finish birdie and you may be looking for real estate in the town of St Andrews on your plane ride home.

One of my absolute favorite courses — if you are lucky enough to score an invite, drop everything and go. The entire experience is understated, and grand all at the same time — some of the best green complexes in the world, and two distinct nines that will satisfy every club in your bag. It is the epitome of what a “member’s course” is and should strive to be.

The round is long, the greens fee expensive, and despite being public, getting a tee time is no easy task… but Pebble Beach is still very worth it. Few courses match its history or its ability to get one’s pulse racing — 6,7,8 is arguably one of the greatest three hole stretches in the game… and 17,18 one of its best finishers. However, part of what makes Pebble Beach great for so many is also what makes me wonder (perhaps unfairly) whether or not I’d still consider it a World Top 25 if it weren’t adjacent to the Pacific.

If Shinnecock is the championship course that’s meant to knock you out, The National is the home club you’d want to play everyday and twice on Sunday. It’s hard to come by a more fun day than one spent at NGLA thanks to the very playable and always memorable Macdonald templates. Be sure to ring one of the best bells in golf, and order the lobster sandwich from the birdcage when your round is over (though I’d recommend heading across the street for your Southside)

If there is an equal test in golf, there certainly isn’t any greater. Shinnecock delivers on all fronts and surpasses the loftiest of expectations before the round ever begins. From the course to the clubhouse, those lucky few to play it will have been given a glimpse of heaven, while their feet remained firmly stuck on this earth. Simply, perfection.

Pound Ridge is the answer to a question that starts with “If you give a man a bulldozer…”. I found some holes to be gimmicky, others to be quirky, and many to be downright hard for the sake of being hard. It’s a tough track, but in many ways feels overdone with the mounding and bunkering — or maybe that’s just Pete Dye. Either way, make the time and decide for yourself - it’s worth it.

Almost as good, as good gets… though I’m certain if I played it once or twice more, I’d hate myself for not having scored it a six. What’s most remarkable about MOC is how Macdonald/Raynor chose to ignore the ocean and steer inland for the majority of the holes — and by the end of the round, they’ve convinced you it couldn’t possibly be have done any other way — the topography you have to see to believe.

Enough has already been said of Whistling that it’s not worth saying again … but what isn’t said is something I personally believe, which is Straits, while every bit a course worth making a destination out of, is nowhere near the top of the pecking order in the pantheon of other lake/seaside courses — it is impressive what what was done with a flat piece of land, but far too many other courses do more, with less — Kingsbarns (IMO) is perhaps the most apt example, where it too required more than a few bulldozers, but you’d never know it…

Whiskey Creek is a course I’ve played more than a dozen times… and with each round, I’ve felt the course fall more and more out of favor. That’s not to say it isn’t a good track — WC has plenty of memorable holes, good conditioning, and is situated on a beautiful piece of property; but where it begins to fail to live up to the hype it once conjured, is the number of quirky holes it consists of and the odd routing it employs. I’d argue that as many as 1/3 of its holes could be described as such (1,5,6,12,14,17) which is far too high a number to merit the in-state ranking it receives in several publications. It’s absolutely a course worth playing if in the area, just don’t drop what you’re doing to do it.

Bulle Rock is as advertised - difficult, good conditioning, and every bit of Pete Dye. It’s certainly worth the price of admission as a daily fee course, and while it merits a high (if not highest) ranking among public tracks in the state of Maryland, I wonder if its stature is not somewhat inflated by the Dye brand. Regardless, it’s a track worth making an hour or two drive to play…and a lot of fun if the weather forecast works in your favor.

Links at Perry Cabin is a good enough course that one should play at least once to decide whether or not the $350 greens fee is worth it… it’s a classic Dye design which is sure to please his supporters, while drawing plenty of eye rolls from the rest of us. I found the back nine to be the most fun, but not enough to venture a trip back.

I’ve played this course numerous times and still remember only a handful of holes… the conditioning is never more than adequate and like every other cookie cutter track in the state of Maryland, was built around a sub division that does little to help it’s case. Worth the price of admission, but hardly worth going out of your way for — the high state ranking continues to baffle me.

TPC Potomac is a beast of a course, which is why it is aptly referred to as “Beast of the Beltway” — like all TPC courses, the conditioning is excellent, but where it separates itself from others is the test of golf given to both amateurs and professionals, alike. There are no easy scoring holes here. Most holes require a forced carry off the tee and into the green, with very little room for error. At 7,100 yards from the back tees, this par 70 will punish you if you are not a driver of the golf ball. The green complexes are quite contoured and tend to be very firm in the spring and fall. The initial 11 holes are absolutely punishing, before the course finally let’s up, while 16-18 create a fantastic finish in match-play. This makes TPC Potomac easily the most difficult test of golf in the DC region - laying claim to both the highest scoring average hole on the PGA Tour in 2017 (#11) and the highest tournament scoring average for a non-major. Justin Thomas said “you could 100% host a US Open here”. The Wells Fargo Championship will be held here in 2022, when the course will have another opportunity to challenge the best in the world.

Like all TPC’s, the conditioning of TPC Jasna Polana is championship caliber - the green complexes are difficult but fair, and you’d be hard pressed to find a blade of grass out of place. The outward nine is very good, with a variety of holes that challenge you to make great approach shots in order to score, while the inward nine suffers from lack of space to replicate what makes the outward nine so good. Just when the course begins to works it’s way back to that template on 15-18, the round is over. As others have said, TPC Jasna Polana suffers from an embarrassment of riches in the Garden State — the course would be higher up on a number of lists if it were dropped in any other region of the country. While less important than the course itself, the experience is top caliber, with a clubhouse rivaled by very few and a course setting that can only be described as bucolic. While you may “like” but not “love” the course, a day at TPC Jasna Polana won’t leave you disappointed.