David Davis

My first thought, I wish I would have managed to see the old Sheep Ranch. It’s been a few months since my visit earlier this year. I was fortunate to have been out there when the gorse was in bloom, what a spectacular setting. Truly amazing. Taking a critical look at what would have been a really tough and small property to route on, I don’t think they had 18 holes in the available space. Sure, it’s fun and the views alone will ensure that most golfers leave feeling pretty awestruck from the walk. Purely in terms of golf it falls just short of the other courses there. Again, this feels like a space issue as Coore &amp; Crenshaw are among the best routers of golf courses alive. For me there are just too many pitch and putt holes out there. Fortunately, it’s the most exposed land at Bandon Dunes Resort. I say fortunately because if that was not the case it would impact the course in that there would be less wind. Wind is essential here in order to make this course a bit sportier. Not all holes mind you but too many in my mind. The start is really fun and offers an exciting hole playing down to a waterfront cliff top hole. Perhaps the best starting hole at Bandon. A couple great features are the variation in directions playing with the windy conditions. Another great feature is the maximization of the usage of the clifftop land. It’s fair to say that nearly every hole has spectacular views. The day I played the wind was blowing about 35 mph consistently and grew harder towards the end. That’s pretty serious and what didn’t happen was that they didn’t do a good job of managing the flow. 5.5 hours for such a short course in that kind of wind is bordering absurd. I get people aren’t used to those conditions but compare that to the UK and Ireland and I’d bet that the windier it is the faster the game is played. I mean you can only get so blown away for your money. I hope they can work on this and really get it right. I know it’s a tough one but oh so needed and while it was my first experience there, it’s not the first time I’ve heard that. After a 3.5-hour round at Bandon Trails where the flow was far better it’s a downer to add a couple hours of standing around on a shorter course. At the very least it’s a wonderful addition to what is almost certainly the best resort in the world. That can be applauded. The other thing which can’t be forgotten is that 95% of the people that are fortunate to play here will be blown away by the views, assuming they catch a sunny day. If not, then 100% of everyone will just be literally blown away and if they are unlucky and catch nasty weather, they won’t soon forget that either.

Sometimes you run into a course that you had never really heard anything about, sometimes even one you have never heard of at all. The latter is the case for me with Tacoma Golf and County Club. What a wonderful surprise. This course has recently had a restoration bring back a lot of the original features. It’s a wonderful golden age design and was the first (or at least is in the debate of being the first) course West of the Mississippi if I remember correctly. They were even provided with a medal and the “Far and Sure” title as bestowed upon Chicago Golf Course as well. I will let them discuss the true owner of this title. It’s fair to classify Tacoma as a true hidden gem amongst parkland tree lined courses in the Pacific Northwest. It’s set up is much more links in style and it plays firm and fast. The best part is they are striving to improve those exact conditions, the firmer and faster this course plays (it was created for that) the better it’s going to be. Greens are designed to allow approaches via the ground and reward tee shots to the correct side of the fairway depending on the flag placement. Wonderful contours and tightly mown surrounds. Add well placed bunkers that are also nicely shaped, and you have a winner in Tacoma. Can’t wait to get back for another game and to see how their continued progress is.

Recently, after somehow just missing it for many years I played Aldarra. What a lovely members course. A very nice routing with some excellent holes and beautiful views. The front 9 is a walking course by all means. The back play straight up the hill and back down and I was told a lot of members will walk the front and ride the back. Though I’m sure plenty walk it as well. The 1 shotters really stand out as solid holes with 15 likely being my favorite of the group.I did think they could remove a few trees in some areas. Mainly on a couple holes on the front 9 but in general this is not a tight tree lined course. There is plenty of space off the tee and the greens are really strong as you can expect with a high-end Fazio design. All in all, a great members course in a beautiful setting. Very laid back and friendly all around. It definitely sits in the top of the “best of” list in Washington State.

It was quite exciting to hear that Kyle Philips was busy with a new course so close to home here in The Netherlands. A pre-visit to the site showed quickly that he had pure sand to work with, something that is quite rare in this day and age. It was also easy to see they were taking the utmost care in putting up a complete ultra modern and luxurious facility the likes of which had not yet existed here in The Netherlands, although The Dutch and The International would be considered the closest contenders. One aspect left some questions for me and that was the rather strange shape of the property and its relatively small size being split into 3 sections. This brings limitations with it which really are a shame given the budget and level of course they intended to aspire to. Fast forward to today, I’ve been fortunate to play 4 rounds here and with a day rate of 150 euro the golfer is afforded with a “member for a day” type of pass. This really is great value. The end result is a solid course and most certainly the best of the new courses in The Netherlands and Belgium for that matter. The turf and greens are phenomenal as were to be expected. It will take several years to grow in and should be absolutely gorgeous once the heather beds in and starts to bloom. I look very forward to seeing it mature. As good as the course is, I’d like to take a critical look at some things that surprise me from a technical and routing aspect. The water level was quite high – after all it is The Netherlands and most of it sits below sea level. That meant they needed to add several burns and a couple lake areas I’m assuming. For me there is just a little too many fairways that have water running down the sides of them. With two 9’s that start at or near the club house and both return home somehow Philips ended up with two very similar par 3’s playing in the same direction as the 8th and 17th hole. Of course, it’s the not the same hole but far too much of a déjà vu moment when carte blanche and make something great are offered as the advice for the routing. I found this to be quite disappointing. Again, both decent holes but great courses usually don’t repeat the same things over and over again. The other major critique I have has to do with a feeling that Philips was really required to cram holes into the property, the end result here is one of a multi-lane highway. Perhaps the 10 lane A2 headed from Amsterdam to Utrecht if there were hardly any center divider and each lane was a golf hole running back and forth. (ok not quite that bad but only attempting to paint a picture here). Throw in some containment mounding which I’m not really a fan of and I think they basically did the very best they could with the property they had to work with. Don’t ask me why the owner didn’t just buy a little more land. I don’t have the answer for that. I do somehow feel that they had enough for perhaps 12-13 holes and that would of allowed them to greatly improve the routing and sense of space and scale that seems to be lacking. The other result of the above is that it creates a course that is quite difficult to remember with all the back and forth parallel holes. Indeed, I do find this to be the case which is then not quite fair for the efforts of Philips. Back to the positive attributes because there are tons of them that make this a complete facility and a wonderful day to repeat over and over. Without a doubt the very best practice facility in the country, and it’s not even close. The building, and clubhouse are amazing, literally like nothing else here, in fact, they would fit right into the Korean landscape which boasts many of the most luxurious and opulent facilities in the world. Their staff are doing their utmost to be welcoming and guest friendly which is nice to see. My understanding is that their restaurant has just received a Michelin Star. To my knowledge also a first in The Netherlands though I have not had the pleasure to dine there yet given my first visit was in the beginning and my last just as they opened up from Covid 19 and restaurants were still closed. Bernardus is the highest ranked easily accessible club and that is a very welcome gap in the market in NL. If this same experience were overseas, for example in the US, you could expect to pay easily 5x this price which honestly makes it a steal. In the end, it’s not my intention for this review to be at all negative, even though I do mean to be very critical as per usual. The aim there was to build a world class course. I’d argue this was almost successful and the only thing that really holds it back is the lack of space and the fact they had to cram 18 holes into this relatively awkward site with its 3 segments. Nevertheless, The Netherlands is far richer for this new addition, it’s a great day out and one that you will want to repeat. I look forward to my next visit and hopefully the opportunity to dine in their restaurant.

Les Bordes has been a well-known and much sought-after premier location for golf on the European Continent for many years. It has seen several changes in ownership but finally it seems to have fallen into the right hands. A group with true passion for golf and great experiences has acquired it and they are making substantial investments to transform this amazing 1400 acre estate in the Sologne Forest into one of the very best private member and family destination golf facilities in the world.Not only are they investing substantially into the infrastructure, enhancing family activities ranging from fishing and hunting to equestrian and spa facilities but they also just completed and opened two wonderful new golf courses built by Gil Hanse and his team. The new course is a lay of the land heathland style course with firm and fast playing conditions. The architecture can best be described as heavily Golden Age influenced yet with enough length from the back tees to challenge even the longest of today’s modern long ball hitters. The firm conditions might well have them thinking twice on most occasions about banging drivers off the tee.The first thing that hits you is the enormous contrast in the landscape between the Old Course, which is very much an American Style parkland course laid out in the forest with many lakes running through it, and the New Course, which looks as though it was taken from a UK sand belt like Surrey and transported to France. Even the flora and fauna change, and everything has a much more arid and open feel to it. Where the Old Course is target golf, the new course is fast and firm and to be played like a links. Hanse and team have succeeded in creating a course that is most certainly fun for all levels and because the variety of golf shots offer so many options and various strategies even mid to higher hcp’ers will love this course as long as they don’t attempt to cut off more than they can chew and end up on tees that are too long for them. Personally, I would advise anyone above a 5 hcp to move up a tee for your first couple rounds here. It may be a different kind of golf than you are used to unless you always play on very firm and fast courses.One of the great things about the best modern designers today is that they are incorporating many golf design principles from the Golden Age of golf architecture and Hanse has become extremely popular for exactly this aspect of his designs. Les Bordes New Course incorporates many half par holes. Two excellent examples are the short drivable par 4, 9th and the short drivable par 4, 15th.The 9th hole is one where you stand on the tee and think you should certainly go for it. At least on your first couple plays. This, even though the very clear strategy is to play long and right of the massive centerline bunker. Why? The green is long and narrow but angled at almost a 90 deg angle (running right to left) in relation to the line of play – think about a mirror image of the 10th hole at Riviera as a good example. However, this green is also raised and most certainly can best be approached from the right side as the green is sloped back to front and allows you to stop the ball on the firm surface from that angle.Having played it several times and driving into the front bunkers each time, the shots are difficult enough that the best I could manage was a par. Great but you walk off feeling like you dropped a shot. Next time maybe I can convince myself to play right of the green.The 15th is another one, my favorite green on the course and a hole that is reachable with a 3 wood or less for many a long hitter. Let’s face it, golf is all about fun and there is something about being able to go for a par 5 in two or driving a par 4 that just pleases the ego. Walking off with par or worse deflates it back down to mortal levels. 15 plays straight on to a wide, narrow but wild and undulated green. Think about driving it, then 3 or 4 putting, that’s the kind of green I’m talking about. The contrast in holes is extremely fun as well. 14 being a 200+ yd par 3 (230 from the back tees), the 15th plays between 270 yds and 300 yds while the 16th is big boy stuff playing over 500 yds from the back tees as a par 4. Did I mention how fun half par holes are? I would say that after his design at Ohoopee Match Club, Hanse has almost become synonymous with them. Les Bordes, may well be one of the first courses on the continent since the Golden Age to incorporate several of them into one design. A much-applauded effort in the eyes of the author.The property is almost perfectly flat, but the Hanse Course did have the benefit of sandy soil to work with which certainly helps the end result. The shaping work is very detailed throughout and seamlessly ties in with the surroundings which is pure artwork in and of itself.It’s fair to say that with the addition of the New Course and the Piglet 10-hole par 3 course, Les Borders as a private club/resort has elevated itself to great heights. With two completely contrasting course styles, a walking, golden aged influenced, firm and fast playing masterpiece and a cart riding friendly, beautiful and challenging parkland course. On top of that an extremely fun 10 hole short course and you have pretty much everything you could ask for from a golf perspective, not to mention perfect practice facilities. In all honesty, I can’t think of a comparable offering on the European continent for the high-end discerning golf enthusiast and given my personal preference for the cuisine, wine and relaxed atmosphere, once the additional new facilities and spa are opened this may well be one of the best in the world.

Our whirlwind trip sampling the top ranked courses in Germany truly ended with the best of the best. Being one of the older clubs in the country and one of the few Golden Age designs that was originally crafted by Colt himself, Hamburger Falkenstein is a true standout.The sandy soil and naturally undulated terrain are a perfect mix for great golf design. Colt’s routing runs seamlessly in every direction through this beautiful landscape and ironically the only question marks for me result from work I’ve been informed are not the product of Colt’s original routing. Can’t say I’m surprised by this.I’d have to say, I love the feel of the club, the open practice area and putting green in front of the clubhouse and the ability to view some of the action while sitting on the patio of the restaurant. It has a wonderful old school feeling to it.The usage of the central dune as teeing grounds for the 1st and 10th holes is also genius and creates excellent starts to both 9’s. The opening hole presents an elevated tee shot to a short dogleg left par 4 that plays longer than the distance on the card due to the uphill approach to the green. Bunkers are placed strategically along the right side of the fairway and fronting the green on the right side.Arriving at the tee box to the second hole the main critique for the course becomes readily apparent. There has been a clear lack of a tree maintenance plan over the years that has allowed the trees to largely infringe on the playing alleys. While this does seem to be an issue on many holes of the course, some holes enjoy open areas of heather and lovely vistas, there are far too many holes that are suffocated by the overgrowth of the trees. Even the first hole is affected but from the second hole this becomes obviously an issue.The good news is that the club is working on this with a long-term strategic plan and hopefully this will see extensive tree removal that will greatly improve light and air circulation and thus turf conditions, fully returning wonderful vistas and increasing playability.If there is one hole that doesn’t quite fit into the mix for me it’s the 3rd hole. A long par 3 playing to an elevated green. This one simply didn’t have the feeling of being a Colt one shotter given his prowess for designing amazing par 3’s. In fact, this and the 2nd hole seem to have been later additions by the famous German architect von Limburger. The simple fact that it’s easy to distinguish between Colt’s original work and the more modern iterations really speaks volumes as to Colt’s expertise.The 4th, 5th and 6th holes are interesting dogleg right holes. 4 (a par 5) and 5 both play up over hills and utilize right side fairway bunkering to challenge the tee shot. Long hitters can take on the bunkers to gain significant distance advantage by landing tee shots onto the down slope of the backside of the hill, but a very aggressive line is required. The 5th and 6th vary greatly in length as well as the angle of the dogleg, the first playing at a much sharper angle. The 6th plays steep uphill for the approach.Note that significant tree removal would benefit all these holes. Then you arrive at the 7th which may receive the award for the hole most in need of significant tree removal on the entire course. Colt would be rolling over in his grave to see what’s become of this hole. Otherwise, it’s an excellent short par 4. A strong drive down the middle leaves a semi-blind uphill approach to a wonderful green full of undulation and left to right movement with the right side being guarded by 3 deep bunkers.The 8th hole is a beautiful mid-length par 3 that is befitting of a Colt 1 shot hole though it seems the green has been heavily modernized and reshaped in places, possibly due to drainage measures. It plays slight downhill over a large field of heather which was fortunately in bloom during our visit.The 9th takes the player back to the clubhouse with another blind tee shot that plays up over a hill. This one is also playing rather tight in the trees and would hugely benefit from significant tree removal. The green complex was really interesting and blended into the dune on the left-hand side. It’s also very well protected with bunkers and plays from a right to left sloping fairway to a right to left sloping green, a tough shot given the draw lie.The 10th is another excellent mid-length par 3 as previously mentioned playing from the dune in the opposite direction of the first hole.The course then goes on an interesting run of 4 par 4’s. 11 being a long one, 12 a mid-length and 13 and 14 being short holes that play from elevated tees down into fairways then up hill to the greens. These represent quite interesting usage of the natural contours of the land.The 15th is the last par 3. It’s a dynamic drop shot par 3 playing over a hill of heather. Interesting is that this hole very much reminds the player of Simpson’s par 3 – 4th hole one the Valliere Course at Morfontaine. I’ll admit to being quite a fan of this hole and it caught me by surprise at this point in the round. It only plays to 142 meters but given the level of drop can easily be a wedge.The 16th is also a bit of an odd hole for me, it’s a dogleg left but one that plays over a tree on the left side but also has a couple large trees on the right side that are in the fairway leaving the feeling from the tee that you either need to hit up over the trees or keep the ball under them which is definitely something that would not be common for Colt. This hole and the par 3 – 3rd were my least favorite holes on the course.The last two holes provide a really strong and interesting finish. The par 5, 17th requires a really good drive and then a careful decision of whether to take on the field of heather and go for it in two or lay back safe. It’s a 437-meter dogleg left par 5. Quite short by today’s standards so playing more like a par 4.5 which is fine for players of my length and ability, I’d say, and makes for a really fun hole. However, for long hitters this hole could be too easy as a par 5 given they could with the right line hit 3 wood or even 2 iron around the corner and get a favorable bounce and run out leaving them with a mid-iron into this green. Nevertheless, a hole that I really liked.The course finishes with a solid dogleg left part 4 taking the player back towards the clubhouse.Hamburger Falkenstein is truly a classic, currently, as mentioned, they are undergoing significant improvements and I’d hope that some of the mentioned points will be taken under consideration which would be to the benefit of all players and condition of the course, at least when it comes to tree removal. This is a brilliant course and a must visit, it sits on the cusp of being recognized as one of Colt’s great legacy courses but would hugely benefit from some proper loving in terms of a thoughtful renovation.The bones and the potential are certainly there and it’s worth a trip to Germany just to play it.

Hardenberg has the feel of a high-end club with excellent practice facilities and 36 holes of parkland golf. It’s situated in a beautiful area of rolling hills and significant elevation changes. We played the Niedersachsen (championship) course which I’d classify as a challenging walk with a lot of hill climbing and elevation change. There is a lot of variation built into this course but also an abundance of man-made features like greens built up with stone walls in front of them. That’s not one of my favorite features to be honest. With the elevation changes it was definitely a challenge to put this routing together. Starting with a long par 5 of 500 meters from the medal tees, then a downhill par 4 of 380 meters then a steep uphill par 5 of 452 meters it’s not exactly a gentle handshake to get going. For me the awkward holes start at #4 which is an uphill par 4 dogleg right that plays to an elevated green fronted by a rock wall. It has OB straight and then on the left side as it hugs the property boundary. The next hole feels slightly out of place, it’s a blind par 4 with a stop light for safety. This short blind par 4 plays over a hill with the oncoming fairway to the right side. There is no aiming point, which is fine if you have played the course several times but it’s a challenge to play the hole safe if you have never seen it. It plays over the top of the hill then drops down significantly on the back side. The approach is downhill to a green that drops away and is surrounded by rough.The set of par 3’s really highlight some of the most artificial aspects of the course which simply fall into an architecture form I’m not that fond of. The 4th playing 170 meters on the day stretches to 202 meters and requires a carry over a dry wash area to a 2-tier green that has been raised and fronted by a brick wall. The 9th, which was playing 180 meters for us, also plays up to about 208 meters to an extremely narrow green with a bunker front right and a manmade stream that runs down the hole to the left side coming back in tight at the green. To my mind this is over the top. The 11th, the signature hole plays to about 181 meters, though it was only at 161 meters for us, from an elevated tee to an island green in the shape of a Boar’s Head – which represents the family shield of the owners. No further comment needed here, please see the photo. Finally, the 14th which plays to about 150 meters downhill with water left and bunkers right. That may well be the best of this bunch but not one I would run to play again. I think I’d go as far as to say they all push towards the school of penal architecture and require very accurate shots to play well. The course was certainly made with the intent of challenging good players from the back tees. In my opinion, the medal tees while quite a bit shorter also offer up a tough test of golf for the level of player that will be playing them.For me the strength of the course is not the routing but really the beautiful area where it has been made. They seem to have had a huge amount of land to work with which is part of what makes it such a long walk. That adds to the elevation changes requiring several holes that play fairly steeply uphill and others that of course play fairly steeply downhill. Another critique would be the greens, surrounds and bunkering. I found the bunkering to be quite non-descript, a mix of roundish shapes with other modern swerve shaped bunkers and a couple large, sanded areas that have a different color sand and also play as bunkers. What feels non-descript is that you can only partially see the bunkers in most cases so there is no framing of the greens, this is something you need to see in the photos below to get a feeling for what I mean.I don’t want to come across overly critical regarding Hardenberg, clearly it was not my favorite, but I have heard from quite a few people that absolutely love it. Which is totally fair, it’s a very popular club and again it’s located in such a beautiful area. I just can’t help but to believe it could easily be so much better and more fun with a different set up and routing, a stronger set of greens and a different style of bunkering. To me this is the kind of landscape where someone like Tom Fazio could best layout a fun and challenging yet aesthetically beautiful design that really compliments this impressive landscape.

Admittedly, I had an idea what to expect out of the Links course at Winston Golf, with that said, if you told me, driving to the heartland of Germany for golf I would run into a golf course that made the Castle Course at St. Andrews feel like a subtle and natural links experience I would have called you crazy. After I played the course, I would have apologized for doubting you.This golf course is truly crazy, and I would say is either a love it or hate it kind of course. First of all, it’s a totally artificial and fabricated inland links experience in the middle of the countryside in a classic parkland area, yet somehow it really works. It’s totally over shaped, built up with massive containment mounding to give the feeling the holes are separated and often resembles a kind of artistic lunar landscape. However, it plays very linksy right down to the turf which is very firm and fast throughout the course. For me this fact and how massively it contrasts with the Open course at Winston Golf is what really makes it work. Winston Links is tough and at times very unforgiving, but this too is a contrast to the other course. It’s also a course that would take several plays before you get a feel for where you can miss and how you should play each hole.I’m attaching several photos to accompany my brief description above as they will give you a much better idea of what I’m talking about. Winston Links is a must play course, it’s unique and I doubt honestly you will ever see another course like it. The routing is very walkable and there are a ton of weird and fun shots out there that you won’t see at other courses. Try to keep an open mind and enjoy the wild ride that it is.

In September in between lockdowns we managed to escape The Netherlands for a whirlwind tour of the best that German golf has to offer. An essential stop on this tour was a long awaited visited to Winston Golf Resort. Home of two solid courses and one par 3 short course. First up was the Winston Open Course. It’s heralded as the more classic design and an open parkland course. Important to note right away is the excellent maintenance and condition of the course. This course is characterized by wide open rolling terrain, plenty of width in the fairways and large greens allowing many different pin positions. The course really blends into the landscape nicely with a natural feel. The open nature of the course really allows the elements to play a large role in the game. We faced a really windy round on this course which added to the fun and challenge. The landscape has quite big elevation changes that have been well utilized throughout the routing. There are also quite a few risk reward heroic shots. A couple notable points, all the par 3’s play downhill, at least slightly. Two can be considered drop shot par 3’s playing to tricky well bunkered greens. Unusually enough my favorite par 3 at Winston Open was the 15th, unusual because it was the longest by far and normally I prefer shorter one shotters. What I liked about this hole playing at about 210 meters was that it really lent itself to a tee shot that was run up and onto the green. It also played from an elevated tee.My favorite par 4 was the short finishing hole. It’s a proper stadium like finish. The tee shot plays to a neck in the fairway with water on the left that can be reached if you smash driver on the wrong line. The best play is picking a club to layup short of the neck. Then taking the water on with a short iron to the green nestled tight up against the pond with the clubhouse as the backdrop. The best par 5 is the 9th that plays back up to the clubhouse. This hole played straight into the wind so took 3 really solid shots to reach it in regulation on our day. Although quite wide open this hole is actually a double dogleg, first right then back to the left with bunkers challenging each of the shots.Winston Open is a very nice compliment to the Links course and at the same time a complete contrast in the style of golf. This very much adds to the allure of the resort and variation available for a visit. There is something for everyone.

I’m going to have to go out on a limb here and refer to Golf Club Föhr as a hidden gem in development. To be fair, almost complete. It has been undergoing a tremendous transition from a rather mundane hidden away, literally, island club into a wild adventure full of artistry, crazy shapes firm and fast conditions and of all things heather, the likes of what you might find in Surrey. If that doesn’t get your attention as golf course enthusiast then something is seriously wrong here. In September, I venture on the Dagebüll ferry late one sunny afternoon having just made the trek to Budersand Sylt. Ironically, from Golfklubb Budersand the island of Föhr is clearly visible and about 1 mile (guess?) away as the crow flies. Yet we were advised that the only reasonable logistical option was about 3-4 hour trip back to the auto train, back to Niebüll, then a 10 minute drive to Dagebüll in hopes of timing the 45 minute ferry trip across to the island to end up almost where we started. Talk about adventure and if that doesn’t clearly point towards a hidden gem then I’d love to hear from anyone that has even heard of the island and the club that doesn’t live in Germany! Unless of course you follow my Instagram account (that’s cheating).Golf Club Föhr is a 27 hole golf club set up for residents and holiday visitors to the island of Föhr. It’s anything but a mainstream destination and the club itself deserves to see a major influx of German golfers to start, especially given it’s already one of the very best golf courses in the entire country. Here’s the kicker, they still have 6 holes of the old course to renovate in order to complete what will be a unique and awesome experience. Golf Club Föhr basically offers everything with a slight artistic tint to it. It has several holes that feel like links holes, it has several holes that feel like and are heathland holes and it has several parkland holes. They have been seamlessly integrated into a fun experience. Are there some unnatural shapes and some containment mounding there, yes. Honestly, those are not my personal favorites attributes as I have a bit of a purist lean however, this is a case where an old Pennink course is being made into something exciting that should be giving this island a new destination buzz for golfers in Germany and abroad. When the club brings in Golf Course Architect Christian Althaus to finish off this great project, which I for one hope happens very quickly this place will really be something special. What a tremendously needed addition to golf in Germany.With 3 unique sets of 9 holes there is too much for me to start detailing various holes but I will add some photos to give you an idea of the level of variation you can find here. Bring your ground game and your creativity as you will need it, you will also find tons of fun shots that you will only find a small number of select courses in Germany. Set Golf Club Föhr on your bucket list. Even not finished it’s worth a visit. Once finished it will be a true destination club.Once finished it will be a solid 5 ball course in my book. While unfinished I’d give it a solid 4.5 balls.

Granted this was a strange year for most of us golfers, especially those of us that usually travel extensively and see a lot of new courses. In retrospect the year looked completely different than what I had initially intended. However, that didn’t turn out to be bad in any way for me. I had the opportunity to visit some countries that I would have otherwise not seen. One of the biggest “nice surprises” of this year was my visit to Golfklubb Budersand Sylt. A lot of great courses require some work and a bit of a journey just to arrive, Golfklubb Budersand Sylt is one of these courses. The journey there is pretty special if done by car. It requires a short drive from Hamburg, then you drive your car onto a train, which was a first for me personally. As unique as that is the trip across to the island is really spectacular and affords wonderful views from your car on the train. Warning, if you are headed over during the weekend make sure to show up early for the train which you need to make sure you have a reservation for. One final note is that if you are flying in from abroad and want to spend a weekend for example at Golfklubb Budersand Sylt, something I would very highly recommend, my advice would be to fly into Hamburg, don’t even bother renting a car but instead book yourself on a direct train from Hamburg Hauptbahnhof (the main train station in town) to Sylt directly. This will save a ton of time and stress if you are not accustomed to driving in Germany and would rather just sit back and relax on the train. This is also a much quicker way to get there, given the logistics of the auto train. When you arrive, you will need to exit the train and jump into a taxi.We arrived at Budersand Hotel – Golf & Spa late afternoon with just enough light to grab a glimpse of what appeared to be a true links course, now that was a wonderful surprise. The excitement was building further as you can imagine. The Hotel itself is extremely nice, a true 5-star experience with a Michelin Star Restaurant to accompany it. I can’t think of too many golf resorts that have great golf courses and luxury hotels with Michelin Star Restaurants. It goes without saying that dinner was a wonderful experience in what was an ultra-modern restaurant serving the best of Nordic Fusion cuisine. Another experience I can highly recommend that was a first for me.I’m happy to report the hotel was equally as wonderful as the experience at the restaurant and that’s not a compliment I thought out too often. We awoke early with amazing views out over the course from our room. The excitement continued to build.The toughest part of the day was the race up the hill after breakfast to check in for our round. The climb up the hill was more of a challenge than desired, the wind was gusting fairly strong from the right side, a true links experience awaiting. At the first tee, we faced one of the toughest tee shots of the day, wind gusting straight into our faces. The warmup, entirely our own fault consisted of the walk up the hill. The first hole is a cut off all you can chew par 4 with a sharp dogleg left. This tee shot plays slightly down hill and begs you to take on the carry of the left side which is a steep hill with out of bounds on it. Too much risk for me into the wind with no warmup. The approach plays uphill to a green that very much allows for a running shot in. Very solid start!A short climb to the second tee and you’re immediately standing at the highest point on the course. Get the camera ready, but don’t take too long as it will take a minute to muster up the guts for the next shot. This short par 4 plays from a highly elevated and exposed tee to a fairly narrow fairway lined with trouble in the form of ball losing native vegetation and rough. An extremely testing shot and one that needs to be controlled. This tee shot played straight into the wind off the left. The downhill approach played into a fairly small green with 3 pot bunkers protecting it, front right, middle left and back right, making for many interesting pin positions.To be fair an excellent albeit tough and exacting start. The 3rd hole, a par 5 was the last one taking us to the far back end of the property before a complete change in direction when the 4th played in the direction of the sea. One of the unique aspects of the 4th and 5th holes were that they play towards a big hill, or perhaps dune that is totally covered in heather, a unique feature on a links course.Generally, I was quite impressed with the routing, the amount of directional change that was implemented here, the excellent set of par 3’s and challenging par 4’s. While the beautiful par 3 15th hole, with the sea as its backdrop remains their signature hole understandably, my favorite par 3 was the 13th which played at about 154 meters to a green that was set almost in a big bowl (though not in terms of green shaping) with dunes running all the way around and a small opening in the front. If I’m not mistaken allowing for a several semi blind pin positions. The main reason this was my favorite of the set had to do with the unique look and strategy from the tee. We won’t discuss how poorly I executed my strategy on this hole. Incidentally, this was part of such a solid stretch of holes, my favorite par 4, was the next hole, the 14th which played to about 391 meters and required an exacting tee shot middle to left side, taking on the left side bunker of this left to right sloping fairway. The perfect shot allowed a view of the green that had the mountain of heather to the left and the sea to the right as it’s backdrop. What an excellent golf hole.The finishing holes after the par 3 15th all encompassed a bit of a Scottish burn as part of the strategy almost in a Carnoustie type fashion. With the wind it was quite challenging on the first time around to figure out which clubs you could play here. I think we ended up really lucky with solid shots but in retrospect these could have easily ended up wet given I think we played the wrong clubs. On 17 my drive was 1 meter from the drink. Even tough for me to say perfectly judged. Golfklubb Budersand Sylt is most certainly ranked correctly in the very top echelons of what German golf has to offer. I can highly recommend the course; I only wish I had the time to play it multiple times during my visit. I’d love to see it in varying wind conditions and have the chance to get a better feel for the holes and intricacies. I’ll admit the quality of the course was such a huge surprise to what I had experienced in Germany and I’m sincerely a fan that would love to revisit it one day.Combine the course with the experience of the trip, wonderful hotel and amazing restaurant then you have a golf resort that is well suited to luxury golf traveler and ideal for taking along your non-golfing partner as well. I’d happily guarantee their spa would be world class given the rest of what I have seen, without even having set foot there. That’s how impressed I was with the entire package and how much confidence I would have. That means, it’s one of those rare places you can take your partner, play some great golf and be thanked that you did! Take some notes fellas!PS. While I gave this course a deserved 5 ball rating, I would emphasize that Top100Golf ratings only rate the course itself. I really want to emphasize that Budersand Hotel Golf & Spa in my opinion represents a 6 ball experience if we were rating experiences.

I just played Palmares for the first time during my post zombie apocalypse golf tour of the Algarve. What a contrast it has to the other courses up and down the coast. A definite mix of character between parkland and links. The Lagos 9, starts high up near the club house and works its way down the hill to sea level. The par 5, 2nd plays down the hill with the tee shot giving you the feeling you could hit it forever. You’ll need to land your approach well short of the green if going for this one in two as the firm conditioning will otherwise get you in trouble. The 3rd is a par 3 playing over one of the only small lakes on the property and is a challenging hole in the wind playing about 160 meters over water. The holes then work their way back up and over dunes providing some beautiful vistas. The par 3 5th might require a driver at 226 meters to the middle but a short miss allows for a straightforward chip in case you were worried about going long ha ha. The highlight of this 9 hole loop for me was the tee shot on the 8th hole (which actually if I’m not mistaken is #17 on their numbering which goes from 1 to 27 over the 3 different loops). This tee shot not only affords the best view on the course but also is a lovely strategic cut off what you can chew par 5. A perfect tee shot cuts the corner as much as possible on this dogleg right. I’m not sure if we had the prevailing wind but the tee shot was into a strong right to left wind and the approach was straight into the wind tunnel. It was a quite challenging to pick the right line and definitely a gettable par 5. The second nine – hole 19 starts not too dissimilar to the front 9 with a downhill dogleg right. This one has more option to cut the corner however. I thought I might of overdone it but found my ball in the middle of the fairway about 40 yds shy of the green. From this point on the course really took on a links character. The holes on the seaside of the railroad tracks are all solid links holes completely open to the elements. The par 5 22nd hole was reachable on the day with the prevailing wind helping from left to right. However, the par 3 23rd played straight back into this 3 club wind from 200 meters out and was full carry to reach ¾ of the green.Back over the tracks were two very short typical links like par 4’s both playing around 300 meters long and straight into the wind. The 2nd of these I found a much better hole as the first had some strange mounding in the middle full of grass that felt slightly weird upon my single visit there. The par 3, 26th (or 17th depending on which numbering you choose to use) was an excellent little par 3 playing right into the teeth of the wind with a tricky raised green with a bunker/waste area short and right running right up to the front. All in all, Palmares is a fun course with some exceptional golf holes. It’s tough to determine how much of it are remnants of Pennink’s original design but the current marketing suggests RTJ Jr has redone everything and no holes are the same as the original layout. There is a lot of variety here, beautiful views, contract between links and parkland holes and it requires a variety of shots on this windy site. What more could you ask for? Sunshine, but they have that covered as well.

A couple months ago I played the famous Old Course at Vilamoura for the first time. It’s a rolling parkland course that’s maintained to a high standard and characterized by mature umbrella pines that play a huge role in dictating play. In some cases, shots require shaping to get around the trees. The course is not extremely long, so this is seen as one of the main defenses the course has against longer hitters in my mind. On many cases some of the holes have an almost Valderrama feel to them. There is also a par 3 with a tree between the tee box and the green, just over a pond. This is not a small tree, but a huge full-grown mature umbrella pine. Playing the hole successfully requires a solid shot over the tree which is more than a challenge for the average golfer.There are also quite a few holes that dogleg either left or right and the trees really dictate the shape of shot you can hit. Most often you could play a shorter club than driver or 3 wood and simply hit straight but then be faced with a much tougher approach or a lay-up. They do beg you to take some risk off the tee and cut off some corners but you really need to watch out and plot your way around carefully as the trees also function as catcher’s mitts and any ball so much as touching a tree is immediately stopped.To play a round without being in the trees at all would require either excellent or very conservative play.One of the great features of this course are the elevation changes and nice mix of up and downhill holes, even several that have a downhill tee shot followed by an uphill approach, these holes tempt you more than most others to try and cut corners or play a little more aggressive than you otherwise might with a flat hole.The Old Course remains one of the must play courses in the Algarve for any golf trip to the area. Hopefully in the future I will have a chance to play some of the resort’s other courses.

Just played Amendoiera for the first time, another first was that this was my first ever course played that was designed by Sir Nick Faldo. My first thought, literally, was “masochist” when after a really solid drive down the middle on the first hole I could only reach the steep uphill raised green with a 3 wood. Little did I know that this hail marry to 10ft from the pin would be my best shot of the day.I did catch it on a windy day but I also understand this is a windy area as well so they would have had to keep that in mind during the design. There are a lot of spectacular shots out there and it’s a course you definitely have to get to know before being able to put up a decent score in my opinion. I’d call it really tough if I’m honest, but still quite a lot of fun and definitely more suited to the single hcp’er or better. In fact, a perfect training ground for competition teams in my mind and a great winter or whenever getaway to go down and train, play some excellent golf and enjoy all the resort and area has to offer. They really have amazing training facilities which I was able to tour during my visit. There is a great little par 3 course that has flood lights for nighttime play as well, with a bar and everything.The day I was there it was like 38 degrees and far too hot to walk the course, but I would love to give walking it a try one day. The back 9 would be the big challenge as there are some serious elevation changes out there and it basically runs up the side of what feels like a mountain though perhaps it’s only a big hill. The climb certainly affords some amazing views out over the valley and the resort. There are a lot of really nice holes out there but my favorite par 3, for example was the 7th, playing at 200 meters with a strong wind to an interesting green that could of come off a Donald Ross course, a bit of an upside down saucer and normally I would say that longer par 3’s are not my favorites but this one was a fun shot and solid hole. The 11th was also a nice short 3 that played really tricky in the high winds. It’s more of an all or nothing type of hole almost like hitting to an island with steep run-offs all around, a two-tiered green with a substantial height differential and water in front. It only played to about 120 meters on the day but required a very well executed punch into the wind to play well.Of the par 4’s which were a really challenging set of holes I really liked the 14th the best. It was quite a quirky uphill hole with a semi blind tee shot. The approach was to an elevated green with the pin all the way back left. For a short 350-meter hole it made for an interesting and challenging strategic hole that required favoring the right side of the fairway to have a good angle for the approach. One of the nice things about Amendoiera is that it doesn’t have the typical feel of one of the golf resorts in the Algarve, it feels quite unique and I think it’s a nice addition to any trip into the area for golf to mix up the style of courses you play. It would also make a great home base for a golf trip to the Algarve.There is also a second course called the O’Connor Course, but I didn’t have an opportunity to play it on this trip. I’m told it’s a nice complement to the Faldo course as it’s less difficult and much more fun and playable for all levels.

Recently played the Royal Course at Vale do Lobo, home of the most photographed hole in Portugal, the par 3 16th hole playing along the cliffs. The routing much as you would expect runs through a high-end housing development. Conditioning of the course was quite good even with the drought and during the warmest time of the year.It’s a fun resort course but is most known for the single standout hole. I’ve heard many people comment that playing that one hole is worth every penny of the green fee. From a pure have to have seen it perspective I’m going to agree with that, even if architecturally it’s not my favorite hole and I believe the view far outweighs the golfing aspect of the hole.It played 235 meters from the back tee over the cliffs and along the cliffs. Definitely spectacular!The difficulty with this type of courses is usually that the routing is predetermined based on where they want to sell real estate. That takes a lot of the architect’s creative process and freedom away and leaves them with, well, what’s left. There is a strong sense of that on this course yet it’s still fun and playable. The draw, however, is #16.

A couple of months ago I had the pleasure of my first round at San Lorenzo. I’d have to say that I was really pleasantly surprised by the course and the routing. There are really a lot of interesting holes out there and a noticeable amount of challenge off the tees due to sharp doglegs. Normally I’m not a huge fan of sharp doglegs but the way they were done at San Lorenzo I found slightly more interesting because on most of them you were really forced to choose how much you wanted to cut off. Running the holes through my head there are 9 such doglegs which is a lot on any course. I’m counting 6 left doglegs and 3 right doglegs so that begs to question whether this is a course favoring players that draw the ball? I’m not so sure but it doesn’t hurt you. The course is playable with a straight ball flight or even with a fade, but both will result in more longer approaches than if you can really draw the ball at will. As a training ground for players I guess it would encourage you to learn to shape the ball either direction which is becoming rarer these days. The greens were also quite interesting with a fair bit of movement and some really interesting pin positions.There were a couple holes that I didn’t feel worked all that well. The par 5 8th was the first, the second shot was a really awkward one and unlike most of the course a hole that lacks in playability due to the way it was set up. The 18th hole was another that for me wasn’t ideal. The point is to challenge you to make a choice off the tee, go for the heroic carry or play conservative the long way. I went for the aggressive line but had wind behind and just pulled it off, the long carry over water was only one part of the risk, I slightly pulled my shot and ended up perfect, on the line I was intending I would of went through the fairway into the water on the other side of the narrow strip which I couldn’t really see from the tee. Play that hole straight ahead then you are left with a really tough approach over water as well. Not sure if that is really a feasible shot for the average mid to high hcp’er. In any case in my mind those two holes detract from the overall experience of what otherwise is a really solid routing with a lot of fun holes. The only other constructive comment that really needs to be addressed is the very poor maintenance of the course. It is in need of some loving and to have some money pumped into the maintenance regime. I was told that San Lorenzo was always a perfectly maintained course as part of this ultra-high-end commercial real estate project. Indeed, there are some serious houses surrounding it, but the course is suffering from a lack of investment at the moment. While that’s a bummer, it’s nonetheless a really fun track with some decent architecture and beautiful views.

What a great place to have your first post Covid lockdown visit. Beautiful weather, nice sea breezes and a lovely resort course located in the dunes and coastal pine forest. Praia D’El Rey has a nice mix of varied golf holes, plenty of width and variation to make it fun for all levels of resort guests. I liked that there were some semi narrow tree lined holes thrown into the mix on the front 9 and some very strategic short holes that keep you in check off the tee. The highlight of the round for me were the seaside holes, 12-15. The 13th is a medium length par 3 that plays just to the right of the ruins of a house with the sea in the background. The green has some interesting pin positions behind the dune on the right side. The 15th runs down the coast and is a medium length par 4 with a speed slot on the left side that can propel a solid tee shot taking on the native area that runs down the left another 20-30 meters leaving a short iron approach down to the green.Another notable par 3 that you don’t run into too often was the 11th. It was playing about 170 meters steep up hill to a back pin. The back-pin position has a severe bottleneck and if I ever played the hole again I wouldn’t go for it in the same way I did even though I luckily pulled off a 2.My favorite short par 4 was the 4th which forces a strategic choice off the tee and a decision of how much you really want to cut off. The approach with a short iron is to a raised green with a tricky upper tier in the back that also bottlenecks. It seems we had a lot of Sunday pins on the day.As a set the greens were quite fun to play with a lot of variation for a resort course. It also makes a nice contrast to the far more difficult addition to the resort that is West Cliffs.On top of that staying at the resort itself even in these times of Covid was wonderful. We stayed in the beach front condos and enjoyed the sound and view of breaking waves which was amazing. Both the resort as well as surrounding towns can be commended for the very careful and professional way in which they handle the precautions for Covid. Masks required everywhere, even by their staff, hand cleaning stations before entering any place and we really felt Portugal was the safest place we have seen since the pandemic started. All in all very reassuring and I’d encourage anyone to go to Portugal now and Praia D’el Rey is a fantastic destination be it water sports, golf or just relaxation on beautiful beaches.

The last couple years there has been tremendous buzz and media exposure around this new course on Portugal’s West Coast which is a welcome addition to the Praia D’El Rey Resort. Last month, I had the chance to visit it for the first time. Better late than never as they say. I caught it on a beautiful day, albeit a windy one. Going out on my own I set out as both player A and B with the full intention of having a match against myself. I was walking and if you have ever gone out and played two balls, well, let’s just say being player A and player B results in about as much walking as if you were two different people walking and playing the course. West Cliffs property is spectacular to say the least, it’s a really tough walk as player A and player B let alone as you walk yourself. I would classify it as walkable for sure, but it helps to have an electric trolley for your bag. The course starts out pretty tough with a cut off what you can choose, right is dead, 1st hole that plays uphill to a raised green protected by two gnarly bunkers. Gnarly bunkers are a theme for the course and it’s best to stay clear of them if possible. The second hole affords a taste of the excellent and tough par 3’s on the course. In the wind this elevated tee shot to a wildly undulated green, extremely well protected by bunkers and waste area will strike fear into the best of players. It also gives you another taste of what’s to come.In a fashion not too unlike her uncle, the architect regularly takes away one side of play saying you can’t miss here and in some cases two sides are taken away. The 3rd hole has water running down the right side right through to the green. The best angle of approach is also from the right side so taking on the water affords the best view and angle. A drive down the left side leaves a blind shot in.From the 4th hole on, the hilly part of the front 9 starts. 4 requires a solid drive taking on the blind left side to have a chance to reach the green in two, visually it requires quite a carry though in actuality this might not be as bad as it looks. The par 3, 5th is their take on a Redan and a fun although very challenging hole into a stern wind. Not much room to miss here. Next you run into back to back par 5’s both providing different challenges and running up the hills then back down past where you start. The 6th with a tough tee shot and the 7th with a really tough 2nd shot due to the shape and large waste area running almost through the fairway. The approach to the green is also challenging and was playing into a cross wind.The 8th is a short par 4 from an elevated tee shot. Don’t go for too much as the angle off the tee is deceptive on this dogleg left. I played to a front left pin from the angle I came in, long and left would have been my surmise. The 9th is another short par 4 running back to where we started, another dogleg left and a rare short hole where 3 wood or driver plays into the safest area past the pond running up the left of the hole. A solid drive leaves gap wedge to sand wedge in and takes the water out of play.The back 9 really starts off where the front 9 left off, two challenging tee shots and approaches into par 4’s 10 and 11. The 12th being a short but tricky par 3 over a waste area on the right side but playing uphill and difficult to pick the line from the tee. A bit of a non-descript shot IMO. 13 is a long, steep uphill par 5 to a long undulating green and the 14th is a quirky downhill par 4 with a blind drive to a sharply sloped right to left fairway, followed by a semi blind approach over a big grassy mound. I can imagine this hole splitting opinions especially with the mound in front of the green.15 is a reachable uphill par 5 with a dogleg right to maneuver with the tee shot. Going for this small raised green in 2 takes serious precision and the only good miss is perhaps just short of the green leaving a tricky chip over. I missed just left of the left greenside bunker and was left with a crazy tricky chip/flop shot from an elevated lie over a deep bunker to a green sloping downhill away from me. Not the ideal spot by any stretch of the imagination.The 16th hole I can best describe as crazy hard. It was playing about 178 meters to the pin and the carry to avoid complete disaster was 170 meters through a narrow shoot between trees on the left and dunes on the right. There was a strong cross wind and this hole is one you need to see to believe. Spectacular but slightly over the top for most players as there is really no place to miss.17 and 18 were unique holes, 17 being a blind tee shot short par 4 with a strong dogleg right playing downhill after the dogleg to a green tucked into dunes on the left with a drop off on the right. While 18 allots the player with one last heroic driving opportunity by taking on the middle dune and a long carry on this steep downhill par 4 with a strong dogleg left around this dune. A successful heroic carry leaves a mid to short iron that where you have to take on the water on the right that borders the green. West Cliffs is indeed spectacular and a beautiful property. It’s full of heroic all or nothing shots and will demand your very best golf while trying to properly assess and calculate the risks. It would be extremely easy to lose a bucket of balls out there, especially if the wind is up so my advice for all but the best players is to enjoy a match-play game with your golfing partners and leave the score related worries to the pros.

I had the great pleasure of a couple rounds at Monte Rei last week. Honestly, it had been a big gap on my resume of courses in Continental Europe, especially with the consistently high ranking it always seems to enjoy. My resume includes a growing number of Nicklaus Signature designed courses around the world and while some are better than others in my mind most of them are slightly over done in certain areas, sometimes that’s with rather extreme bunkering and other times with fairly radical shapes and greens. I went into Monte Rei expecting much of the same but couldn’t have been more wrong with that expectation.The first thing that I noticed was that there was a lot of width which really does improve playability at all levels. On top of that the course isn’t over-bunkered by any means which is another pleasant surprise and finally the greens consist of quite a large mix of shapes and sizes making for a ton of interesting putts and recovery shots. One criticism that has almost become a stereotype is that Nicklaus designs for his eye – imagine that eye being from the greatest player (arguably) to ever touch a club. I assure you he sees things differently to you or I. This stereotype would suggest that Nicklaus courses would stand to be played very well with a power fade, just as the Golden Bear himself played. However, is this true of Monte Rei. To my count 11 of the holes set up near perfectly for a power fade, however, given the width in this case that is not to say that a nice little draw doesn’t also set up perfectly. The great thing about this is that the pin position really does dictate the best place to hit your drive. For me this is an essential of a great routing. Sure, the course is still very playable if you don’t hit it in the best spot, but, if you want to score or have a chance at scoring then you will have to play smart. Monte Rei enjoys a wide variety of elevation changes and sits on a very hilly site. Fairways and greens tie in quite well with the surroundings and the routing has quite a bit of variation and high memorability factor.The only criticism I could come up with is that a couple holes, while different, had similar feeling tee shots. If you have played the course you might recall the 1st and the 10th being a bit similar in feeling with elevated tee shots doglegging right, though both are of greatly different lengths. So too do the par 4, 3rd and 12th holes have a similar look and feel.My favorite hole, with admitted bias was 13. This hole plays downhill to a narrow well protected green with a lake surrounded by hills as the backdrop. My bias is that I holed out my approach for a 2 on my first play. That always helps.Monte Rei is must play and a wonderful place to stay as well. In years to come this resort will keep developing into something really special with another course underway, a hotel and expanded facilities. I left feeling a strong temptation to adopt it as a second home and a place to run from Northern European winters. Yes, it may be just a pipe dream, but a better spot would be hard to find.

Cuscowilla was quite a surprise. I didn’t know much about it going in other than that it was an early Coore & Crenshaw design. It’s spread out over a fairly expansive rolling property with a great walkable routing. One surprise for me was how much different the greens are than at other Coore & Crenshaw courses I’ve played. It seems there were more dome type greens almost reminiscent of Pinehurst number 2 or perhaps some other Ross designs with several run offs and some crazy pin positions.While there were several interesting drives that incorporated nice angles to make you think about the tee shot and figure out the best way to play the hole, it definitely would take a few plays to start to get comfortable there for me. It’s quite an open site and we had pretty windy conditions which added a lot of fun as well. There was also a lot of variety and mix in the holes with a couple short par 4’s with really funky greens which I really enjoyed.Both the 5th and the 12th were right around 300 yds. The 5th was a drivable uphill par 4 if you take on the risk of trying to carry the huge centerline waste area that runs all the way to the front of the green. If you could hit a high draw you would be in business here. The green is treacherous so hit it close (to the green) and you will have one heck of a tricky shot.The 12th plays super tight in trees which is unusual for the course so it’s safer to hit an iron off the tee. I couldn’t see going for it at 307 yds because it would require such a precise tee shot. Another crazy green, maybe my initial favorite of the course.There is also at least 1 blind (ish) drive on the par 5 14th hole. A nice drive here could leave a shot to reach this one in two, though it was out of reach for me.All in all, it was great day and I really wish I could of played this one again, maybe in a little warmer weather as we visited in November and it was cold and windy but still sunny and beautiful so we were lucky.

Last year I had the wonderful opportunity to join a couple members for a first round at Waverely. Although I’m from Oregon originally I didn’t golf when I lived there so I have a lot of catch up to do in terms of seeing all the local courses. Waverly had the fortune of a recent thoughtful renovation from Gil Hanse and team. This included a ton of tree removal and the opening up of vistas which was apparently much needed. The result is truly wonderful and has propelled Waverely to being one of the best courses in the PNW.
<img src="/images/waverley-country-club-golf-course-review-WAVR009.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Waverley Country Club Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Waverley Country Club Golf Course - Photo by reviewer">It’s the kind of course you really need ot play a few times to work out the best way to play the holes. It also really throws everything at you from blind shots to drop shot par 3s and long uphill par 4’s.
With constant views out to the Willamette River it’s really an idealic setting. The 16th is a long par 3 that plays down a steep hill to a green nestled above the Williamette. 17 and 18 work their way back to the clubhouse along the river. A perfect finish to a perfect day out on the links.

Gamble Sands is perhaps David Kidd’s return to what made him famous at Bandon Dunes with that minimalist links like approach to golf. Some call Gamble Sands feel good golf and while that might depend on the tees you choose one thing is certain, there is plenty of space and shortgrass out there. The fairways are very wide but the visuals are excellent, the bunker shaping fits perfectly into the Eastern Washington dune <img src="/images/gamble-sands-golf-course-review-GAMB014.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Gamble Sands Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Gamble Sands Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> country. There are wonderful views looking down onto the Columbia River as well.

If fun golf is the kind of golf that delivers personal best rounds for many players and provides the kind of fun that makes you want to return then I’d say that pretty much hits the mark for Gamble Sands. It plays very firm and fast and that may be new for many PNW players, especially if they haven’t been to Bandon or Chambers Bay. This firm and fast makes the course play a lot shorter than what’s on the card. However, it opens up options to use the ground game and percentage wise this doesn’t happen often enough in the US.

I was told they are looking at designing another 18 holes here in Brewster which is great news and a win for feel good golf. They have perfect country for it out there. As far away as it felt from everything I was amazed at how many people were there and they <img src="/images/gamble-sands-golf-course-review-GAMB015.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Gamble Sands Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Gamble Sands Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> all had one thing in common as far as I could tell. They were having a great time.

Sounds like a combination suited for success if you ask me.

The course throws pretty much everything at you, Reachable 5’s, cut off as much as you can chew risk reward lines, drivable par 4’s, heroic shots and tons of choices. Greens are huge and roll very nicely. There are plenty of backboards to be creative with and as long as you are not in one of the bunkers or waste areas you can pretty much putt from anwhere around the greens which helps to make it fun for all hcp levels.

If I were to be critical of one thing it would be the lack of internal movement in the greens. They are huge greens but for someone that loves putting there are not so many compelling putts out there.

I highly recommend a visit and think it’s fun for everyone. If you have one of your best rounds ever, great, let us know!

Wine Valley is about the last thing I would of expected from Walla Walla. Wine, yes, onions, definitely, but great golf, well not exactly.

Boy was I wrong. I drove hours out of the way to make a large cirle and hit Wine Valley <img src="/images/wine-valley-golf-course-review-WINV001.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Wine Valley Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Wine Valley Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> on the way home. It was 100 degrees in the middle of summer, it can be warm in Walla Walla and there are prairies as far as the eye can see. It’s perfect landscape for a links like inland course and this was indeed a welcome addition to the PNW golf scene that just keeps getting better all the time.

This course is characterized by very large rolling greens, wide fairways and tons of short grass. The bunkering is of the natural blowout nature and fits nicely into the surrounding settings. They have made the course plenty long for the modern game and despite the fact that this is prairie land there really are surprising elevation changes that are faced throughout the course.

Visually the open <img src="/images/wine-valley-golf-course-review-WINV002.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Wine Valley Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Wine Valley Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> vistas are wonderful to take in and the sense of space and scale of everything is quite impressive as there is nothing around it to speak of except the rolling hills.

When the wind picks up this course provides quite the links experience and plenty of challenge no doubt.

I won’t run through a hole by hole but Wine Valley is worth driving several hours out of your way to play and well within reach of Portland or Seattle though it would be better to come up for at least a couple days.

Last summer I had the pleasure of a visit to Columbia Edgewater. This parkland course runs along the Columbia River which dissects Oregon and Washington. It’s hosted several large professional tournaments in the past and is seen as a strong championships layout.
It’s very much a classic parkland <img src="/images/columbia-edgewater-macan-golf-course-review-COLU001.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Columbia Edgewater (Macan) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Columbia Edgewater (Macan) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> course with holes that are treelined on both sides. The fairways are fairly narrow and often there is really only one way to play the holes, that is if you want to have a positive outcome. Hitting out of position off the tee will often require a chip back to the fairway. As many treelined courses you often have to shape the ball off the tee or hit to a distance that doesn’t require this.
At one point I believe this course was easily in the Top 10 in Oregon but golf has grown tremendously here in the last 20 years and I’m not sure if I’d include this layout among my elites in the state.
One thing is for sure, it’s a solid test of golf.

Palmetto may well of been the biggest surprise of 2018 for me. I had heard great things about this untouched classic gem that flew very much under the radar and in the shadow of its Augusta based neighbor however, the course, the club and the general vibe there was absolutely wonderful. It’s characterized by fairly small and undulated greens putting a premium on solid ball striking and short game. Many of the greens have fall offs that make you really think twice if not shake in the <img src="/images/palmetto-golf-course-review-PALT006.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Palmetto Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Palmetto Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> knees when you are about to hit your approaches.

The routing is tight and compact and even though it’s a hilly property this is very much a walking course. It’s also most certainly not without it’s fair share of old school quirk which is something I love. If there was an area to be critical about that would be the tightness of the property and feeling they had to cram in a couple holes to finish off the round. These holes work their way around the clubhouse and while they do provide an intimate feel and a kind of interconnectedness to the course I’m not sure they are ideal. The holes themselves were still very interesting.

Being there in cooler temps the dormant Bermuda provided lightening fast greens and extremely comical putting experience I will not soon forget. I consider putting my favorite part of the game and on the 6th hole, which is one of the toughest on the course and a long par 4 that plays uphill to a deep two tierd green sloping back to front, I managed to hit the green in two, landing on the right front portion. The flag was back left and about 45-50 ft away. My putt was uphill and at the end up onto the upper tier. The ridge ran slightly diagonal away <img src="/images/palmetto-golf-course-review-PALT007.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Palmetto Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Palmetto Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> from my position and the putt was about a 15 ft breaker so not easy by any sense of the word. It left and I had a great feeling about it as I watched it slow and nearing the hole having read the break correctly, or so I thought. About 2.5 ft away from the hole while slowing the ball took a hard turn left and almost came to a stop, then started slowly moving, worst feeling ever. I watched it pick up speed slowly to the slight drop to the lower tier and I’ll be damned if that ball didn’t work it’s way all the way back down and passed me 25 ft to my left then roll back off the green and 30 yds down the hill.

I guess you had to see it. And that’s how you go from a 3 to a 6 rather quickly Palmetto style.

I can’t emphasize enough what a great course it is. If you ever have a chance to get there I’d jump on it immediately. You won’t regret it and make sure you also take a look at their old locker room. This is where the likes of Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson came every year to play in the Devereux Milburn Memorial Trophy event.

Baltusrol, is a great experience in general, wonderful old school clubhouse, great history and an excellent golf atmosphere.The course is tough, they take pride in having their greens running as fast as possible and their rough next to their narrow fairways as high as possible. It may well be a dying breed of golf in this day and age but they are most certainly holding on to the glory days. The course is a long tough championship test though perhaps not so long for todays pros. As a very prestigious club they have a tremendous respect for the game and the Championship pedigree. It's most certainly one of the places to be in NJ golf.I'd say to never pass up an invite as a 36 hole day on the upper and lower course is a perfect day!

Somehow, Astoria County Club, a true links course by every definition and one of the only true links courses in the US, didn't find it's way into George Peper and Malcolm Campbell's, True Links. Nor did it find it's way into the 246 Links Courses of the World listed by the Links Association. Guess what, they are all wrong!Astoria Golf & Country Club is a wonderful and rarely quirky links course where 18 holes are played over dunes in the shape of cresting waves. Often teeing off from on top of one crest and playing down into the trough of the dunes. It's played perfectly firm and fast on every visit I've made and is a joy.I'd say it deserves to be ranked ahead of almost all courses in Portland in terms of relative interest, fun and playability, not to mention architecture. If you find yourself in Oregon, near Astoria with golf clubs then I'd highly recommend a visit to Astoria Country Club. Let us know what you think!

Yesterday I enjoyed my first look and run around The National. Coming from The Netherlands where we have The International which just recently hosted the KLM Open the look and feel of this courses is strikingly familiar. This all makes perfect sense given they share the same architect, Mr. Bruno Steensels.

The National is to my knowledge one of the very few new build courses in Belgium in recent years and it's great to see some new life being pumped into the small but rich in history golf scene. A new totally modern inland links like course also has a perfect place in this country adding further variety.

The course is big, long and bold. Especially from the 6600 meter pro tees which we sampled on occasion but <img src="/images/national-golf-brussels-golf-course-review-NATG001.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="National Golf Brussels (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="National Golf Brussels (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> mainly stayed up at the men's back tee. In principle it's not likely the course would ever be set up from that distance unless the European Tour was here but it does allow them flexibility to greatly adjust the set up based on the weather conditions. This is common of modern championship courses. Whether that's a good characteristic is open for interpretation. The obvious disadvantage is that in one way or another it lengthens the walk of the course and the distance between green and tee, you are either walking back or walking forward an extra distance depending on the tee you play.

In general this course allows for quite generous fairway width off the tee, however, it's quite long so average players may struggle to reach a lot of the greens depending on wind conditions. We played in a 3 club wind.

For example, I hit far more woods into greens than normal on par 4's. On the other side I felt the par 5's were quite reachable for my playing partner who was a low single digit hcp.

Often when a course becomes quite long it's the par 4's that make up much of the length. This is definitely the case here.

The property at The National was a <img src="/images/national-golf-brussels-golf-course-review-NATG002.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="National Golf Brussels (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="National Golf Brussels (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> flat field and thus a blank canvas for the most part. A rare and unique luxury for an architect. That of course provided the opportunity to route and shape the course and the greens completely in the style of the architect. That also means a huge amount of earth was brought in and moved to make this possible. In the US Fazio is one of the main go-to guys for projects with huge earth movement. He also tends to make his courses playable for all levels and fun for even the highest of hcp'ers as he will build in banks and other types backboards at the widest part that help bring the ball back into play.

Granted I've only had one quick run-around here but to me it feels the opposite. I'd say this course is really set up very penal around and on the greens to challenge the very best players and make it as tough as possible for them. Amateurs will really struggle not just to hit the greens but to play reasonable recovery shots with such small margins for error.

My worry is that for all but the best golfers this impacts the level of fun they will have. The difficulty of the greens and surrounds is further enhanced by very photogenic and relatively deep bunkers. Strong bunker players will love the fact that these are some of the most consistent playing bunkers I've ever seen. The sand is really perfect and it's rare to get a bad lie. In fact, we didn't really see any and <img src="/images/national-golf-brussels-golf-course-review-NATG003.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="National Golf Brussels (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="National Golf Brussels (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> we sampled quite a few bunkers but everyone was literally perfect. A big compliment on the work and sand choice here.

The trouble and difficulty is in trying to approach firm greens that are raised when you often have to play the ball over deep bunkers with low irons or woods to reach the greens.

When a course plays firm and fast which I'm sure The National does in the dry periods (it was wet in several areas when we played due to significant rain) I really like to have an option to play long shots on the ground and roll them onto greens. That's not a realistic option very often here at The National. That for me was quite disappointing and took a huge element of fun away.

The greens have various tiers and sections on them many of which have severe run offs and sharp edges that play very unforgiving and require a high level of touch with recovery shots which all but the best players will struggle with. Don't get me wrong there are tons of fun recovery shots but tons of impossible ones as well. We played the greens running very slow but the turf is perfect as you'd expect on such a course. Speed up these greens to 10 or higher on the stimp and they become scary.

The National is clearly designed to be a top end course with superb state of the art facilities, it has a fabulous restaurant and plans for a 5 star hotel.

The course is a must play in Belgium but you need to check your ego at the door and play a shorter distance than you might normally play, which nobody will do and as a result they will, in most cases, receive a nice thrashing. However, the beer at the end of the round will be all the better and more deserved for it.

The first time I visited Royal Antwerp was like 8 or 9 years ago. The experience at the time was a lot like the movie Groundhog Day, experiencing the same thing over and over and over again. A tight course totally overrun by tree growth that had never been maintained. When I was finished every hole looked exactly the same, none of the features stuck out or were memorable, the turf was poor and the <img src="/images/royal-antwerp-golf-course-review-ROAN028.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Royal Antwerp Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Royal Antwerp Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> greens were of very average condition with considerable disease. On top of all this the reception we received at the clubhouse from the secretary was just plain rude and unwelcoming.
Fast forward to present day. Holy cow! I'm thrilled to say this is the single best renovation and turnaround I've ever seen in Continental Europe. We are talking Oakmont levels here. Royal Antwerp for me has become the poster child for what COULD BE done to every single European Golden Age Course that has been neglected for years. Which unfortunately includes far too many to name here. Clubs that are not being good custodians to Golden Age historical gems they have been graced with.
In fact, every single club should be getting a committee together and taking a field trip to study what has been done at Royal Antwerp because they have figured it out and what an <img src="/images/royal-antwerp-golf-course-review-ROAN029.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Royal Antwerp Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Royal Antwerp Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> amazing success story this is.
It all started with removing 100 years of tree growth, yes literally thousands of trees, in total perhaps 5000. Not an easy task but one that has paid off tremendously. More light and air circulation for starters which has done wonders for their turf. Their once diseased greens didn't need renovated, just a little love and a lot of light and air. Result is some of the best green surfaces in Europe. Bunkers cleaned up and we are talking an unrecognizable course. One that deserves to move to the top of the Belgian rankings and not only into the top 100 in courses in Continental Europe but well up the list.
Tom Simpson is looking down from above on his work of art at Royal Antwerp and he's just plain proud and shining with joy.
My opinion with regards to classic golf courses is based on a simple principle and that is to be the best possible custodians you can for the history you are graced with. <img src="/images/royal-antwerp-golf-course-review-ROAN030.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Royal Antwerp Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Royal Antwerp Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> Almost anything designed by the likes of Colt and Simpson to name just two are like living museum pieces of art. They are treasures from the great masters and should be treated as such.
That's exactly what Royal Antwerp has done and they are not finished. More tree removal is planned which will further strengthen the wonderful direction they have been headed in.
My sincere compliments and honestly astonishment that this great of a turnaround was even possible on the continent.
I'm not going to talk about the course or the architecture but it needs to be seen along with some older photos of where they started to even believe.
I pray this is exactly what was needed for Belgium and to a large extent Dutch Golf in general. Although some of the Dutch neighbors have made solid starts down similar paths of improvement. Hopefully there are many more to follow.
Exciting times for Belgium Golf and proof that the skies the limit.
Bravo Royal Antwerp!

Had the opportunity to run around this neglected gem of a course yesterday. A Tom Simpson routed parkland gem that has been left alone and not kept up for far too long. It's a property full of beautiful trees but they have grown way out of hand and taken over the course which is a shame both for the trees as well as what could be a wonderful course. It's a wonderfully rolling parkland property that Simpson strongly routed. With a bit of loving this place could be awesome but it really needs to set up a strict long term maintenance plan, remove thousands of trees which will greatly improve turf and greens which are full of diseases. It would also bring out the brilliance in the design. Bunkers need to be redone as well. A few changes were made at some point, perhaps by Hawtree, most of which were mistakes. Shame really, but the potential there is so good. I'd love to see the club treat what they have as it should be treated and start being proper caretakers to what is a true piece of golf history with a Royal background on top of it all. My favorite holes on the front 9 were the par3 3rd - which played about 145 meters up hill to a raised and interesting shaped green guarded by deep bunkers on the left side - and par 4 9th which is a dogleg right playing slightly downhill flanked by some well placed bunker on the left side and OB further to the left. Due to the poor maintenance some of the holes currently lack definition, namely the par 4, 4th hole and par 4, 8th on the front 9. These holes in current state are only average but could be improved with renovation so that the features were more readily apparent from the tee.On the back 9 the 17th was my favorite hole with was a tough par 4 that played downhill then doglegged right and played back up the hill to a long green guarded by bunkers on the left side that might of been the highest point of the property. There are some changed greens on the back 9 which while ok are slightly out of context which fits inline with Hawtree's renovation work I have seen at other courses.The par 4, 15th had previously been a par 5 with an interesting tee shot with OB right, the tee was moved forward and it was made into a par 4. I'd consider this another renovation mistake as the green is much more fitting of a par 5 and an uber long long hill par 4 is out of context with the rest of the course again. The good news, this can easily be fixed.In the end, this course has great potential, there is a wonderful classic Simpson masterpiece just waiting to come out.The big question is, how is it possible to help the club to understand what it is they have here, what a wonderful potential exists and how poorly it's being treated and maintained.

It was the middle of last summer when I first visited Houthalen and was treated to the Royal Tour. The course was in beautiful condition even though it was one of the driest periods and of course this was affecting the turf just like at every other course in the lowlands.

I had long looked forward to this round. Unfortunately, as good as the condition was it was a round I'd classify as one of my most disappointing rounds in recent memory. Such a wonderful <img src="/images/royal-limburg-golf-course-review-ROLM023.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Royal Limburg Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Royal Limburg Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> property and so much potential to have something amazing, something like the the great courses in Surrey but instead, from an architecture perspective, a course that for me represents a missed opportunity in terms of the routing, greens and surrounds. The club has also engaged in several changes, some stronger than others but none of which are in the context of the existing course, so what's currently there is very much a mongrel for lack of better description.

This indicates they may be a bit unsure of the direction they want to go in. If I were the owner of this club and had 100% say in what would happen and was allowed carte blanche I'd bring in one of the great young architects, take a few study trips over to Surrey to study what Colt, Simpson, Braid and other great architects have done with similar sites then go back and largely redo almost all of it.

I realize this seems like strong criticism but starting with a brilliant property like this and ending up <img src="/images/royal-limburg-golf-course-review-ROLM024.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Royal Limburg Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Royal Limburg Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> with anything but a brilliant course is not doing the site justice. I believe people will like this course, but mainly because it's a great property, so good that it makes average architecture seem good.

They also suffer from many years of not managing tree growth which has led to very narrow tree-lined holes, throw in a few doglegs and you have to be straight and precise. The original greens from Hawtree are mainly small round and featureless almost like the ground was just flattened.

Again very critical but I'm not a huge fan of the bunker shaping either but let's just keep it at greens and surrounds. A costly process to renovate it all completely but the outcome could be amazing and give the course the greens and surrounds the land deserves.

Without any rerouting of the actual course you could make this one of the top courses in the Benelux. In the current state it falls well short of these accolades for me.

The following story is a reenactment of actual events, names may have been changed to protect the innocent…

In September of 2017 on the back end of wonderful golf adventure I was set to play Southern Hills at 2 pm local time on a Saturday. The day was to start early with a 5:15 am flight out of Portland, Oregon. I was staying at my parents house roughly an hour drive from PDX, Portland airport. Tucked in my bed far too late the alarm was set for 2:15 am. You know that feeling of waking in a cold sweat when you immediately know something is wrong? Well that didn’t hit me until 4:03 am. The alarm . was . set! It just didn’t go off. Iphone’s sometimes do that.

I immediately realized my chances were slim of playing Southern Hills, needless to say I’m rather determined. Grabbing my suitcase and clubs I was out of the house and in the car by 4:10 am. What happened at this point was a culmination of half a lifetime of solid travel, recklessness, race car driver training, hours on the German Autobahn, the realization of how difficult it is for me to get to Oklahoma and dreaded thought of having to try and plan in another trip there.

We won’t discuss the incriminating details of how I managed to drive 60 miles (96 kms) and turn in my Avis rental car by 4:50 am. For the record I didn’t stop to <img src="/images/southern-hills-championship-golf-course-review-SOHI003.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Southern Hills (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Southern Hills (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> fill the tank. Boarding for my flight started at 4:30 am. When I ran across the skybridge down to the United check in, I was pleased to find huge lines at the United check in.

Amazing that this stuff only happens when you fly an airline that you have no status with. I’m a Platinum Flying Blue member with KLM/Delta but they didn’t have any reasonable connection between Portland and Tulsa so I ended up on United via Salt Lake City which was the most direct and quickest route and most importantly the only possibility to make my tee time.

You never really know how strong you perform under pressure unless you practice a lot and put yourself into these do or die situations. This was one of those moments I relish in retrospect. My brain which usually malfunctions at 5 am in the morning is incredibly lucid when it comes to the desperation of making tee times. A quick analysis of the situation had me picking out the sweetest looking older lady behind the massive United Check in counter and forgoing the huge line straight for her. I stepped up, put on my best Catholic face of desperation and said, “Excuse me mam, could you please help me?” At this point I hadn’t figured out what I was going to say, I opened my mouth and this is what came out, “I realize my chances are small but my wife is having our baby right now and I desperately need to get on this flight leaving in 15 minutes!”

To my surprise, she both acted and moved almost at the speed of light, in relative terms of course. When her first words were the sympathetic sounds of “Oh, sweetheart let’s see what we can do for you, I can’t promise it but I’ll call the gate now” I knew my Catholic face wasn’t too bad even though the closest I had been to being a Catholic had been listening to the lyrics in Only the Good Die Young by Billy Joel.

In no time a gate agent had popped up to expedite my bags and get them onboard. She raced me through the process in 5 minutes. The gate was about to close and she said I had to run for it. Around the corner up to security with no less than 300 people in front of me. I tried the TSA Preapproved lane which was quite empty but my desperation wasn’t clear enough for the TSA agent, bless her soul if she has one. She was like “uh huh” I’ve heard that one before. No time to debate with her. My brain which was perfectly function now had another idea. I’d play on the sympathy of every person who had ever been running late and almost missed their flight. I excused myself past the entire cattle corral of people waiting in the security line. That happened so fast that the TSA Agent who had been watching me was laughing by the time I reached him. With a big smile he said, I have no idea how you managed to do that but let’s get you to your flight.

Through security and off <img src="/images/southern-hills-championship-golf-course-review-SOHI004.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Southern Hills (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Southern Hills (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> and running toward the gate. About 50 yds out I heard a lady yelling “Are you David?” She said, “Congratulations, you made it honey and just in time as we couldn’t hold it any longer. I sat down in my seat and looked out the window only to see them loading my suitcase. No golf bag, the loaders colleague dropped the bag with a little buggy then turned to drive off when the loaders walkie-talkie went, he motioned to the other guy to say 1 more bag. 30 seconds later the driver returned with my golf bag and I watched as it was loaded. What a rush, yet somehow I had managed to forget breakfast in the shuffle.

At 1:30 pm I arrived at Southern Hills, 30 minutes to spare and enough time to warm up on the range. A glorious day in Tulsa.

The course is one of the great classic Perry Maxwell championship designs steeped in tradition having held many events. There might even be some remnants left over from the glory the course had experienced back in the day. There are some very interesting architectural features and the starting tee shot is really spectacular playing from high up on the hill with the clubhouse behind. Hitting that first fairway I realized there was not much that could wrong on this day.

Much of the course plays over a gently undulated landscape. It does require considerable strategy to navigate successfully. The ability to shape your tee shots left and right is also essential. On top of that there are some wonderful and tricky putting surfaces.

What was clear and has been since completely changed is that the course had been tinkered with significantly over the years. So much so that the the club at the time I played had already decided to let Gil Hanse come and completely renovate. I've not been back since the renovation but one day would love to.

I've heard great things about the renovation. Jump on any chance to visit this wonderful club.

It's been several years since I played the European Club yet I've been to Dublin several times on golf related trips. To be fair I'd say I like it and it has some interesting holes but it's a borderline Top 100 course for me. For starters I'm not a huge fan of the railroad ties in the bunkers. It seems rather contrived and unnatural for a links. There are several good holes and a couple interesting par 3's that are fun to play but Ireland's links golf scene is so strong that I feel local courses like Portmarnock and The Island kind of overshadow the European Club. One thing that is great is the wonderful friendly service that is provided there. Also the property is very good land for golf. I'd call it a must visit when you are headed to Dublin for a golf trip and it definitely should be considered ahead of courses like the K Club and Druids Glenn.

I'll admit that I really liked the East Course but i don't have it anywhere near my world top 100. That being said there are many strong holes and it's definitely a challenge without the semi slog the West Course presents in many ways. Much of this is due to the championship set up of narrow fairways and deep rough with lightening fast greens. Like the West course the strength of the East lies in the green complexes which are interesting and challenging targets.My favorite holes were the par 3, 6th, with it's raised green well protected by bunkers front right and back left. The other is the par 4, 10th playing back to the clubhouse which is iconically situation right behind the green on your approach.Like the West course I feel like the par 3's kind of steel the show.A 36 hole day at Winged Foot is a real treat!

Quaker Ridge is an excellent course with a very strong layout. Somehow always when I think back on my round there I seem to remember the front 9 being only dogleg rights with OB on the right side. I played great for me on the day but remember there being so many what for me felt like awkward tee shots on the front 9 while I was <img src="/images/quaker-ridge-golf-course-review-QUAK027.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Quaker Ridge Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Quaker Ridge Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> playing with strong fade at the time.

It's also famous for having some complete idiot sue them because too many golf balls, on one of the holes on the front 9, ended up in his yard. So let me get this straight, the golf course has been there for 100+ years (or whatever), some yahoo comes along, purchases a house with property on the border of the course, right in the landing zone of one of the par 4s that is doglegged to the right around his property, one that begs the driver to play as close as possible to the dogleg and fade the ball around the corner, and this guy is then pissed off because too many golf balls end up in his yard.

What a complete and utter numbskull! You can't make this stuff up. I'm really sorry for the club <img src="/images/quaker-ridge-golf-course-review-QUAK028.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Quaker Ridge Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Quaker Ridge Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> that they had to deal with this type of delusional neighbors.

However, I digress. As strong a routing as the front 9 is, it's far from my favorite because of how awkward so many of the tees hots feel to me with OB right. That certainly doesn't make them not great holes.

The back 9 however, was excellent and felt much better suited to my game.

Definitely another course I would one day love to return to and one you should always jump at the opportunity to play. It's great to combine with a visit to Winged Foot given they courses neighbor with each other. I also tend to think that Quaker Ridge got the better end of the deal in terms of property as there seems to be far more features available here than at Winged Foot.

Let me just say right out of the starting gate that Olympic Club for me is nowhere near my personal world top 100. Still, it's an interesting championship course with a glorified history. In many ways its a bit of a slog playing quite long and characterized by what I find strange design features in many cases. Think doglegs right with fairways that steeply slope from right to left. Or vice versa for dogleg lefts. It has trees that swallow your golf balls and somehow alter the normal physics of what goes up must come down. On one play I had such a laugh with our group when more than a few balls ended up staying up in the trees. The absolute highlight of a round there is the burger dog at the halfway house. Even though it's not my favorite from a design perspective it's in a unique and beautiful spot in a wonderful climate and makes for a great day out on the links. I'm just not a fan of the architecture. That being said I would say my favorite hole on the course is the 18th and not because it gets you finally to the bar.

Victoria is another course that is very high on my list to return to given it's been so long since I visited. Without photos I can only remember certain aspects of the course and no so much the exact holes and layouts any more. What I do remember well is how wonderful the bunkering is and how the bunkers, like much of the sand belt courses kind of work their way into greens and really seem to be one with them rather than simple obstacles places there. They are true tests when you wind up in them.My favorite hole from memory was the medium length par 3, 4th which had such a cool, slightly raised greens with wonderful bunkering. Another great hole was a short par 4 on the back 9. Number 15, which actually reminded me of various great short par 4s at Kingston Heath. One of the main reasons I want to get back to this course is because after my two trips to the sandbelt I really didn't hold it as highly as a lot of people so I feel it's time to reassess to see if I somehow missed something or just don't remember it well enough.

Bandon Dunes was the start of Oregons rise to fame in the golf world. Being originally from Oregon, I left well before my golf life every started and long before Bandon Dunes was an idea. However, that most certainly doesn't stop me from having a sense of pride for Oregon golf and the entire Bandon Dunes resort. For me it's home (even though it's a 5 hour drive from where I grew up and went to University.) I've been extremely fortunate to make a few trips there over the last 18 years even though I was late to the game. The wonderful and unique, middle of nowhere location has been a "Field of Dreams" themed Cinderella Story. You can totally imagine, everyone thinking Mike Keizer has completely lost it and almost hear the voices in his head whispering "If you build it, they will come". Well, come they did and come they will continue.

In the US there is no resort that <img src="/images/bandon-dunes-bandon-dunes-golf-course-review-BANN025.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Bandon Dunes (Bandon Dunes) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Bandon Dunes (Bandon Dunes) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> comes anywhere near Bandon Dunes. David McKlay Kidd shot to immediate stardom when he finished this beautiful course. Plenty of width, interesting greens and true links golf with firm and fast surfaces and the elements of the Pacific Ocean. You really can't write a better scenario for a golf course, let alone 5 and counting.

In fact, the courses and resort are so amazing I've considered several times just taking a couple years off to head there and beg for a caddy job. I'm not even a caddy, but the atmosphere and the golf there are just so good that seeing people everyday that love this great sport out there getting blown away, rained on, then sunshine on and coming off with the biggest of smiles is just a wonderful contagious environment to be in.

When I was younger I really risked becoming a ski bum for several years and going to a place like Jackson Hole which was pretty rough back in the late 80's but so pure and authentic providing the greatest of skiing experiences, then I moved to the Austrian Alps for a couple years, so really kind of lived that dream. Bandon would truly be something similar to that and easily doable.

Anyway, I can't say enough about the course Kidd created here. Even if it's not my favorite of the 5, it's still amazing and a testament to his talent as an architect.

If you've not been to Bandon Dunes and you love golf, you are making the biggest mistake you could possibly make. The resort is truly the "Field of Dreams" for golfers. Book your trip today. You will never forget it and you can thank me later.

I just recently came back from a repeat visit to Somerset Hills and what a joy it is to return to this wonderful old world course. I've left wondering if this isn't the best course Tillinghast ever routed. The routing is wonderful and there are several standout holes. I love the Redan rendition that is the 2nd hole, what a wonderful green and fun shot from the tee.
There is also a great mix of reachable <img src="/images/somerset-hills-golf-course-review-SOME002.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Somerset Hills Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Somerset Hills Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> par 5's and strong half par, par 4 holes. A couple good example are the 11th which works its way down towards the pond, doglegs hard right back up the hill for the approach and the very strong par 4, 15th begging a tee shot that take off as much as you can chew to cut the corner.
What a lovely walk with no two holes even similar to each other with what kind of feels like butterfly wings routing that constantly changes directions and challenges your entire bag.
Still my favorite aspect of the course are it's wonderful set of green.
Add a very friendly, low key club to an amazing course and you have a perfect old world golf experience. Can't wait to return!

Garden City is a wonderful old school US course that has managed to keep that old feeling and it's traditions in tact in an ever changing world of golf. First of all it's one of the few all mens clubs that is still around. They also maintain a policy of wearing a jacket when you arrive there. However, it's all about the jacket and there are plenty of stories of people showing up in their underwear with their jacket on. <img src="/images/garden-city-golf-course-review-GARD023.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Garden City Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Garden City Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> Whether they are true or not I can't say from first hand information. I did see plenty of people showing up with shorts on and there jackets on.

The clubhouse and locker room hasn't changed in over 100 years. (not sure of the exact time but that's my ball park estimate). It's also a club full of well respected members from the NY area not to mention many very accomplished players.

The course could easily be something you might find in England in terms of the layout.

The first tee shot can be quite unnerving to the first time guest. The very small make-shift driving range is right in front of it just off to the side. When it's your turn to tee off the guys on the driving range just kind of turn around and watch you, but they are very close so a proper shank could do some serious damage. The tee shot is also largely blind even though the land is flat. You can't see where the ball will land over the field of rough. The approach is to a green heavily guarded with huge bunkers. Interestingly enough it might be my choice for best hole on the course and has some of the most dynamic land as well.

Garden City is really characterized by <img src="/images/garden-city-golf-course-review-GARD024.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Garden City Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Garden City Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> flatfish land, a solid routing that keeps moving in various direction for the most part which helps as it's in a fairly windy area. There are not many trees so the main defense is the rough and the greens which are often tilted very strategically. At least one is sloped several front to back which makes for a very interesting approach. Another aspect that really makes the course much more interesting are the very firm and fast conditions. It's not target golf and in order to land the ball short and get it close to the pins to score well you really need to plot your tee shots out perfectly based on the pin positions.

Often the subtleness of the land is passed off as lacking in features but the architecture is such that the course remains strategic and interesting without all the wow moments created by huge dunes or sea views.

The 18th hole is a solid par 3 with the green literally right in front of the clubhouse patio where all the members sit in a huge peanut gallery comments, making fun and taking bets on who's going to make their up and downs and sink their putts.

A day at Garden City is a very memorable experience, it's a rare invite but one that you will absolutely love.

Warning Experts Only - the truth is in the marketing in this case. A round at Bethpage is indeed a wonderful experience. The sense of space and scale of this beast are like no other course I have experienced. It may sounds funny but I had the feeling of being one of those pesky flies landing on an elephant that are really not noticed. The course is big and bold and my advice is to pick a set of tees less than you aimed to play. I played with 3 random strangers and was amused when the 7 hcp insisted on playing from the US <img src="/images/bethpage-black-golf-course-review-BETH007.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Bethpage (Black) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Bethpage (Black) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> Open tees. Given, nobody was doing that and there was a very strong wind, he didn't care about the advice of the caddies either. Suffice to say that was a rude awakening for him and he clearly didn't read the experts only sign. He also insisted on playing everything out. Fair enough, he wasn't really slow which was nice, the round was slow anyway and he managed to shoot the highest score I've ever seen played first hand on a golf course. 141 was the number. on several holes he didn't manage to make the fairway as there are couple that require in excess of 250 yd drives before the fairway stars and with the wind up that a tall order for even the best players.

Back to the course, there a lot to love out there. The second hole was unique and a wonderful zig zagging fairway through valley with an elevated green. <img src="/images/bethpage-black-golf-course-review-BETH008.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Bethpage (Black) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Bethpage (Black) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> My favorite hole however is the par 5, 4th hole which is reachable in two but not without a fair bit of risk and a blind approach. the massive bunkers build the closer you get to the green and perhaps the better play is out to the right leaving a short chip in if going for the green surface which is elevated well protected with bunkers and running away from the line of play.

I think it also has one of the best finishing stretches in golf. Starting with the excellent par 3, 14th, the two very solid 4's in 15 and 16 with the raised green and tee respectively, the challenging 17th to a wide and narrow green and the solid finish at 18.

It is a course where you need a fair bit of patience to play. I guess a min 5 hour round is standard but one of the beauties of it is that it's accessible for everyone with some advance planning.

Portmarnock is a course that gets better every time I am lucky enough to visit. the most recent visit was now almost a year ago and somehow I had forgotten what a wonderful walk and test of golf this amazing course was. My only regret is not playing the short course or other course there. The routing does a wonderful job of keeping you guessing and changing directions in the wind. There are some wonderful green <img src="/images/portmarnock-championship-golf-course-review-PORO118.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Portmarnock (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Portmarnock (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> complexes on the par 3's that makes for crazy tee shots and very tricky putting. Wonderfull bunkering with the classic revetted pot bunkers that serve as serious hazards.

Add to all that a perfect mix of blind shots and raised greens that allow utilization of ground game and you have a perfect yet understated links that serves as a true test in the usual windy conditions.

My favorite holes are: the par 3, 12th with it's wonderful green guarded by 3 pot bunkers and a false front on the left side and higher green surface on the right. Always very tough to judge the distance on this one.

The par 5 16th with it's wonderful cross bunkering ridge and bunkering near the green and the par 4 18th which serves as an iconic finish with a wonderful green complex and the clubhouse as a backdrop.

The Country Club is yet another US gem steeped in tradition and home to The Greatest Game Ever Played.
There is really a lot to like about the routing and some truly fantastic holes. It's an excellent site for golf with rolling hills and some natural rock formations here and there. One of the common characteristics that is unique to the course is the fact that they <img src="/images/country-club-clyde-and-squirrel-golf-course-review-COUY002.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Country Club (Clyde & Squirrel) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Country Club (Clyde & Squirrel) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> let the rough grow on a few holes all the way around the green so that there is really no apron to speak off and the greens can only be approached in the air. If there was one point I would be critical of it would be this, yet it's only a clear maintenance choice they make. I'm simply not a huge fan of it. I've heard that some people love it.
It's definitely another course that would require several plays to get a good feeling for but it's also in an area where there are tons of excellent courses. TCC happens to be one of the extremely private and closed clubs which naturally added with the history makes it very unique in most peoples eyes.
I was fortunate enough to be able to stay there during my visit which was truly ideal. What a wonderful atmosphere the club has and a fantastic old school locker room.
Most certainly a treat to play and visit.

Another course that I am in dire need of playing again. In fact, one of the highest on my list. So much old school quirk and fun blind shots. The second shot on the par 5 4th is one of the more unique second shots on par 5's in golf IMO. Then it's followed up with a totally blind par 3. What other blind par 3's can you think of? I can think of two that split opinions. I find those holes so quirky that I just love them. Sometimes when you return to a course after a very long absence you wonder if the next visit will prove your very high opinion of a course right.

The Maxwells really put a wonderful out here in the middle of nowhere and in order to fully appreciate the isolation I decided to take a road trip with a good friend from Denver via Ballyneal all the way to Hutchinson, Kansas. As far as long drives go, that's right up there but it's a great way to do it and the only time I've ever been in Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska in the same day, a feat which will never <img src="/images/prairie-dunes-golf-course-review-PRAI001.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Prairie Dunes Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Prairie Dunes Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> happen again (most likely).

I'll admit that I really expected something different than what I found in Kansas. I always had the impression of running into something a bit more links like with very fast and firm conditions and greens that could be approached on the ground.

That was definitely not the case. The course I played several rounds on was very lush and green and very much a target golf course.

The routing was really interesting and makes great use of the property. The gunch as it's often described was very long though I manage to find the two balls I hit into it and get one of them up and down for par. So perhaps I can't complain too much about that aspect of the course.

The green complexes are excellent and few are raised quite high or on the side of the hills or perhaps dunes. It's interesting that the Maxwells use the gunch in a risk reward fashion. Playing closer to one side or another allows the best line of attack into <img src="/images/prairie-dunes-golf-course-review-PRAI003.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Prairie Dunes Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Prairie Dunes Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> some of the greens. Take the 5th hole for example. Playing down the left side allows a much better angle. In fact, the first hole even starts in this way with the left side around the dogleg not only being much shorter but affording the much better line.

This was a cool aspect of the design.

My favorite hole is the par 5, 17th which played straight into the wind. It required 3 solid shots and has a crazy raised green which had very unique shaping requiring very exacting approaches.

The other thing they did extremely well was bring in interesting angles off the tee causing you to really think about how much you could cut off.

Ideally, Prairie Dunes would be perfect to combine with a study trip to Southern Hills and a few others courses in the area.

Carnoustie is a brilliant course in a less than ideal setting when compared to many other well known links in Scotland. It was a wonderful part of the first golf trip I ever took and even though not every hole is etched in my memory it's amazing how many I can still remember. What a testament to the course itself. I played it on a windless day so didn't face the Carnasty Monster that many people have seen. One thing is certain, it's a serious test of golf for the strong player but given the soft conditions and fact I played from the medal tees I managed the second best score of the 10 rounds I played on the trip. That's a bet I wouldn't be willing to make if I were to repeat my trip there so many years later.Love to get back here one day soon as well.

Friars Head could be one of the best routed top courses on a property that is only half good. Perhaps the strength of the course is the wonderful work Coore & Crenshaw have done on that back side of the large dune you cross after the first green. To be fair, that property behind the dune ridge is a potato field, flat as can be. Part of the brilliance is in how they utilize the side of the dune/hill to maximize the only <img src="/images/friars-head-golf-course-review-FRIA008.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Friar's Head Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Friar's Head Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> significant feature in that area of the course.
Is it C&C's 2nd best routing and 2nd best course? I'm not so sure, it's definitely great but they have some excellent courses and perhaps on better properties. The dune system on the inward holes makes for excellent golf and that is where C&C continue to shine. After all they had some great practice with that type of land at Sand Hills.
This is certainly another course that splits opinions in terms of its greatness. It certainly holds it's own against very strong company out on Long Island.
Regardless it's a must play if you ever have the opportunity. It's one I'm really keen to return to one day and certainly deserves much deeper study.

Ballybunion is another course on the very top of my list to return to. I've only played it once but in extremely windy conditions and I'll admit to finding it a complete bear at the time. It was at the end of a very wet and lush summer and the rough was extremely penal. Still the course left a huge impact on me and I've always longed to return.So many great holes playing through the massive dunes and a few that really tempt you to cut off more than you chew with the tee shot.I've heard great things about the renovation work they have carried out with resurfacing the greens. Here's a question for the well travelled. Which other course starts with a graveyard on the right side that could be in play in the first few holes?

Who likes controversy? Ok, I'm just going to say it, Pebble Beach is one of the Top 5 overrated courses ranked in the World Top 50 and arguably #1. That doesn't mean I don't think it's not a great course! Everything in the World Top 100 by definition is a great course so in essence we are always picking at straws when ranking them to a certain extent and then we haven't even touched on the matter of <img src="/images/pebble-beach-golf-course-review-PEBB051.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Pebble Beach Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Pebble Beach Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> subjectivity.

So let me only speak objectively ha ha...the first 3 holes, really average, I mean they would not be special on a single course in the Top 100. The 4th, ok half the hole is decent. The 5th generally seen as great is highly debatable. Yes it has a beautiful location and it's hard with a narrow green for the length of the shot. Great it is not. 6 splits opinions, I'm going to call it a great hole because it has that rare element of quirk in the US and I really like the approach.

7 and 8 are the best holes on the course and yes all-world holes that deserve most likely to be in the lists of the best holes in the world. 9 is excellent, 10 is very good, then the holes up to 17 while good are not special. 17, I'd argue is considered great largely because of Nicklaus. Not in my book, especially because I'm looking at all courses stripped of their history when trying to rank them. What is special about putting a green that's too small and doesn't have many <img src="/images/pebble-beach-golf-course-review-PEBB053.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Pebble Beach Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Pebble Beach Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> pin positions at the end of a long shot? Again it makes for a difficult hole but a great hole? No chance.

18 is another great hole, no arguments here. I'm counting 3 great holes, a whole bunch of sleepers and a couple others. An amazing scenic placement which is nearly impossible to think away and tons of glorious history that people can't separate from the course itself.

Doesn't sound like a World Top 20 course to me. Yet still it's ranked in the Top 10.

However, as a publicly accessible course it is most certainly one of the best in the US.

Again, don't get me wrong, it's great and I love the place. What's not to love? 6 hour rounds and a hugely tempting pro shop ala Disneyland to commemorate the experience and one of the best logos in the sport.

Love to hear your thoughts on why I'm wrong or right!

Sand Hills will always have a special place in my heart. I was lucky enough to play several rounds there during an epic trip back several years ago. That special place is not only do to how special the course and routing are but also because the last round of the visit played from the back tees in very windy conditions was the best round of my life for several years carding a 1 under 70 with 3 friends, one of which was giving me 8 shots for our match. Naturally, you never live that down, especially since he struggled on that round and the net difference was on the humorous side.How difficult must it of been for Bill Coore to route Sand Hills, after all he only had one of the largest sandy sites ever to work with, with unlimited options. It's a true testament to his skill as an architect that he wasn't temped to make it into a cart-ball course and go out there and just find the 18 spectacular holes hundreds of meters apart from each other. Instead he came up with a sublime, walkable masterpiece that starts and finishes on extremely high points and honestly doesn't really let down throughout.Essentially it's a links course and for me the difficult part of assessing it's greatness is trying to imagine how good it would be if it were located in the UK or Ireland and what place it would have while competing directly for rounds against the likes of Turnberry, The Old Course, Dornoch, RCD or Portrush, let alone the 100's of other natural links. As far as that goes, I'd say Sand Hills has a unique advantage in that it's novelty value given it's located in the US, given it's literally in the middle of nowhere and requires a long drive to reach, given it's isolation in relation to anything else and finally given that it's one of a small handful of courses that really are links or links like in the US benefiting from sandy soil and massive dunes.Perhaps one of the best parts is that on a one of basis with a little luck you can access it.

NGLA is at the very top of my 'Must return soon' list. For me it's another course like St. Andrews where multiple plays are required to start to appreciate the architecture and all the features. My one visit happened on an early morning double header in which I played Shinnecock in the afternoon. In retrospect, I think it's a big mistake to try and cram those two experiences into one day. In the future I'd much rather consider playing 36 at the same course and of course enjoying the famous lunch there.As a result of the schedule we went out first and raced around on a perfect October day. It was one of the surreal experiences that pass you by before you have a chance to even think about it and take it all in. The course throws iconic hole after iconic hole at you as you head out past the Dutch windmill which reminds me of my home near Amsterdam and then work your way back in towards it and then right up next to it for the famous 17th. It has some of the most unique green complexes of any course and allows use of the ground game on many holes. That the most common debate surrounding NGLA is not if it is great but more if it is the perfect course plays testament to how it has stood the test of time but also makes you question why more courses didn't strive to emulate it in the US. In any case, it goes without saying that it's worth traveling any distance for the opportunity to play NGLA.

After several plays on the Old Course over the last 15 or so years I have to say honestly that I just didn't get it the first go around back in something like 2006. Compared to the other courses I played on the trip: Kingsbarns, Carnoustie, St. Andrews Bay (Devlin and Kittocks), Gullane 1, Muirfield and North Berwick it's fair to say it really didn't come out on top. In retrospect, not a half bad trip for my first ever golf trip. However, for some reason I really longed to return and see what I missed. The first episode was one of waking up at 4 am on a freezing cold morning and waiting in line for what seemed like hours. Getting an approximate tee time and running back to the B&B to quickly shower and eat before heading back to wait for my slot. By the time my name was called on the first tee everything was a blur of stiffness and nerves playing with 3 R&A members that couldn't of been nicer and more welcoming. I guess from that day I can remember 3 holes and vaguely at that.Fast forward to each subsequent visit and I still get the nerves and excitement of teeing off there but with each play my love and appreciation for the course grows. It seems like I've yet to play the same course, each time in totally different conditions. As much as I enjoy the outward 9, it's really the inward 9 and playing your way back into town that never ceases to amaze me and challenge my scorecard.If we measure golf in terms of experience a game at the Old Course is a world top 5 in my book. It's a place where the buzz of being there keeps me awake at night and early morning strolls around the hallowed grounds reverse the sleepless effect. Few places exude the magic of golf and all it's past much like St. Andrews and if there was one experience of all the courses I've played I could wish for everyone then it would be a game here.

Oitavos Dunes is a fun track that's worth a visit. There are some nice holes on the course but none which I would really consider all-world holes. It has a mix of tree lined and more open links like holes but I question the links designation that it sometimes receives. For me the best part of the course would be the back to back par 3's nestled in the dunes. The finishing holes 17 and 18 also present a solid test. From the courses I have played in Portugal I would put Oitavos Dunes solidly in the Top 5. I would not have it in my personal Top 200 courses in the world, not even with geographic affirmative action. I would however, recommend that everyone going to Portugal for golf take the opportunity to play this course and I'm certain you will have a great time in the process. It's absolutely worth a play. It's not worth taking a special trip to Portugal to play it.

My first round at Oakmont seemed like a distance memory or even a dream. It had all gone by so fast that I could hardly remember the experience. How fortunate I am to have been given a second opportunity by my wonderful host and fellow golfgeek. Oakmont for me is one of the few championship courses that remain a wonderful experience while at the same time being able to test the pros as much as anywhere. This time I felt more relaxed and prepared for the challenge ahead. The result was the ability to enjoy the day much more and pay close attention to the intricacies of the course. One small take away is that since my last visit they have removed yet more trees even further opening things up. The routing is as good as anything on the planet. The open vistas give a wonderful sense of space and scale and from any one hole you can look out over the course. The bunkering and the greens really steal the show at Oakmont. However, it's not just the famous church pews that demand your attention. There are stories about the Fawnes brothers watching people play their course and seeing where they missed, then just adding bunkers there to make it a more daunting test. The greens are absolutely wonderful and while I'm not one to profess lightening fast greens, 16 on the stimp is not uncommon at Oakmont, especially at the end of summer and beginning of fall. They are frightening and it is one place where uber fast green seems to have a very good place. Prepare yourself for one hell of a ride putting over hilly marble. It's hard to imagine until you experience it first hand. One tip, listen to your caddy and keep the ball below the hole where-ever possible.After my second visit, which was already about 2 years ago I can only say that Oakmont somehow comes out on top as one of my very favorite courses and I really can't wait to return again.Any invite there should be accepted, any chance to play it, jump on it, it's worth traveling across the world for the opportunity.

First of all my review was written some time ago, in fact, around 2 years ago and I just found it, one important point is that the club revoted and is going to completely renovate everything.

After a couple failed chances I finally had the opportunity to see this Donald Ross gem. A state that is both true and perhaps slight off base because Oakland Hills is in all probability only remotely similar to the course that Ross originally designed <img src="/images/oakland-hills-south-golf-course-review-OAKL003.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Oakland Hills (South) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Oakland Hills (South) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> having been changed a fair bit over the years. Currently it is set up like a US Open championship course. Narrow fairways with 6 inch rough. Miss the short grass and you often have to almost step on your ball to find it. This is naturally very common in the US and characteristic of the classic championship courses, think Oak Hill for example. Ironically Oak Hill will now be totally renovated while Oakland Hills South voted down their initial chance to restore everything that Ross had initially intended. I bet they will revisit this if Oak Hill turns out a huge success. Mark my words.

A day at Oakland Hills starts with breakfast or lunch in the amazing stately clubhouse. Which is both iconic and spectacular and once you step foot inside you know you have arrived at a club that really cherishes and respects the history of golf. It’s as perfect a place as you will find.

The course is very much as you would expect. Perfect maintenance as in not blade of grass out of place, perfect greens rolling very fast, and tough. In fact, for a player of my level, it’s tough when you hit the fairway and when you miss it, well pull out a wedge and make sure you get it on the short grass. As many times as I told <img src="/images/oakland-hills-south-golf-course-review-OAKL004.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Oakland Hills (South) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Oakland Hills (South) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> myself that I still was tempted into making mistakes out of the rough on the day and not sticking to my plan. The though process works like this, oh that does look too bad, I should be able to cut a hybrid out of there (from 210 yds out). Nope, bad to worse position then trying to stop a ball that I can’t get spin on from the wrong angle. It’s so easy to compound your mistakes at a course like Oakland Hills. Then again that’s the genius of Ross and naturally of utilizing the correct angles of approach.

When you get it right it’s a blast. It’s also tough to play a course like this, that takes years to learn, once and not make stupid mistakes or miss in the wrong spots even with members guiding you.

As cliché as it sounds my favorite hole is 18 which is a truly spectacular finisher, as a long par 4 with a dogleg right which plays to an elevated green right in front of the clubhouse. A true visual spectacle.

It’s a special day out and a chance to have the experience should never be passed up.

The famous East course from Donald Ross is a beast. What many would call a modern day, relatively long slog. Characterized by long holes with relatively narrow fairways that are tree lined. Two characteristics that have little to do with Donald Ross and his original intent for the course. Originally this property was designed with no trees and realistically far more short grass. Why do I believe this? Well other than what you can read, the greens as many Ross grees are excellent and made to be approached with strategy and from the correct angles. The narrowness of the present day course as a result of the trees and the deep rough are hardly what Ross would of envisioned. Not to mention the <img src="/images/oak-hill-east-golf-course-review-OAKH027.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Oak Hill (East) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Oak Hill (East) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> fact that these would have been added much later to compensate for new equipment and the length of the modern day game the pros are playing.

Fair is fair and Oak Hill is a great course with a wonderful championship pedigree however, given the members recently voted a complete restoration it’s clear that it has become something other than what Ross initially intended. I for one have very high hopes that the course returns to it’s old glory and managed to maintain the challenge for the pros at the same time. It’s a tough trade until action is taken to alter the ball allowing the preservation of Golden Age courses like this.

The course plays over wonderful golf terrain and rolling hills. The greens which are typical Ross greens and often crowned or with significant undulations need to be approached with much care and precision. Landing above the hole will result in terrifying putts on nearly every occasion.

The absolute low point of the course lies with the par 3 15th (check this #). A beautiful short par 3 that has morphed into something so far from anything Ross ever designed I had to <img src="/images/oak-hill-east-golf-course-review-OAKH028.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Oak Hill (East) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Oak Hill (East) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> fight back the taste of throw up in my mouth. This one right out of Fazio’s most modern design. Again a beautiful hole tragically out of place on this Golden Age gem. I would wager this one will significantly change when the course is restored to former glory.

The par 5, 13th and par 4 finishing holes both play up to the clubhouse in iconic fashion. Both with elevated greens. The 13th playing up hills to a steep sloping back to front green and the final hole playing over a small valley with deep rough and a steep slope all the way up to the severely back to front sloping green. The final holes give an all or nothing feel on the approach. One thing is for sure you definitely want to hit that green in two or lay-up and play a short iron into the green which will potentially save many a shot.

(NOTE: review written a couple years ago and I believe the course has been completely renovated, which must be a complete delight so hopefully one day I will be able to return and reassess. I'm told they brought Ross back.)

CGC has my vote for one of the most underrated golf courses in the US. This time around I had the great pleasure of playing several rounds of golf here. Condition was absolutely brilliant, as firm and fast as you can imagine making for a great links like experience. Given the high elevation the course plays very long on the card but combined with the firm conditions it was playable even from <img src="/images/colorado-golf-course-review-COLR007.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Colorado Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Colorado Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> the 7,604 yds back tees.

The best 1 shotter award goes to the 154 yds 2nd hole. This one is an instant classic with a crazy difficult and guarded green. A 9 iron will usually do the trick here but don’t miss as it makes 3 a real challenge. Everyday I played we had to deal with very strong winds which immensely added to the fun and challenge.

My favorite par 4 would be the drivable uphill 8th hole playing at 311 yds. Now many say, 300 yds is not drivable but I watched my playing partner on day 2 drive this hole with his 3 wood with a strong tail wind mind you. He is 76 years old, did I mention that?

On the back 9 there 15 and 16 are crazy back to back par 5’s. Both represent scoring opportunities with <img src="/images/colorado-golf-course-review-COLR009.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Colorado Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Colorado Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> good shots and both are definitely risk reward holes. 15 requires a semiblind drive down the left center in order to benefit from the downslope and enable yourself a realistic shot at hitting the green in two. However, to pull off this heroic shot you have to take on the small canyon right before the green. On the tee of 16 you face a split fairway. Play left to be safe and have a wider landing area. Right side allows a tiger line and a good shot at this green in two with the ability to utilize the strong backboard that throws the ball left to right. This green is befitting of a reachable 5 and I’m still humbled to admit that I made two 3 putt pars out of 3 rounds. Did I say the green was crazy?

CGC is the kind of course you have to visit but beware one round is just not going to cut it. Talk the member into letting you stay for a week!

First off I have to say I love Ballyneal, the location, the set up, lodging etc. Everything has been done right. Too bad it’s so far away.

My first visit there was a about 6 years ago during my first visit to the Sand Hills of Nebraska and if I’m honest I had a blast but struggled to remember much about the routing and the course. This really inspired me to head back for a couple more games to try <img src="/images/ballyneal-golf-course-review-BALY017.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Ballyneal Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Ballyneal Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> and understand what that was as usually I can remember almost everything if not everything from the great courses I play.

I think I figured it out, I think for starters the overall level of the course is fantastic, even world class but given it’s wonderful setting it may provide a sort of sensory overload. All the holes still blend in a bit for me even though it’s fair to say they are all unique. It’s tough for me to pick out favorite holes here for some reason and perhaps many of the holes would be standout holes at other courses but here they are all good and the net result is that the routing still doesn’t stick in my mind and as I sit to write this 6 months after my visit I struggle to find standout holes. If I was forced to pick a couple I would say the par 5 6th offers one of those big boy moments that drive you to want to swing like a long drive champ. From high up on a dune the valley ahead reveals itself and the you can follow the snaking of this long par 5. It’s a magnificent view. A good drive will push in the direct of 300 yds or more even for the not so long players. Maybe just maybe you are afforded with a chance to swing for this long par 5 in two <img src="/images/ballyneal-golf-course-review-BALY019.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Ballyneal Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Ballyneal Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> but the last 50 yds are straight up hill so that shot plays much longer than you think.

The 7th is a short par 4 easily drivable but with huge risk. The drive is played semi blind to totally blind on the Tiger line and the long narrow hourglass green that sloped back to front is a huge challenge. Off the tee the player has to carefully judge the value of ending up in one of the green side bunkers a cactus or the rocks and how difficult the approach or recovery will be.

The back 9 picks up withere the front nine stops and continues the excellent run of golf.

The 19th hole affords a wonderful place to relax before heading back out for another round or if 36 have already been played on the day the new short course awaits and delivers in a big way providing crazy greens well into the setting sun.

Ballyneal – YES!

Bude & North Cornwall was a pleasant surprise. It’s a wonderful low key and unexpected quirky course that starts out with five holes playing towards the sea over rather gentle dunes in the middle of town, which in itself is rather unique. It really starts to heat up with the 6th hole which works its way into a far more dynamic and undulated dunes landscape. From this point on Bude & North Cornwall breaks the record for holes with the most blind tee shots followed by blind <img src="/images/bude-and-north-cornwall-golf-course-review-BUDA017.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Bude & North Cornwall Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Bude & North Cornwall Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> approaches (or at least, that’s how it felt). You spend much of your time teeing off at aiming stones and even hole numbers sprinkled across dune tops.
Quite the experience and perhaps not for everyone. However, if you can embrace the challenge of the blind shot weighed against the thrill of cresting the peak of the dune to see if you made the fairway then you can really appreciate and have a blast out there. I laughed a lot and had a blast facing one crazy shot after another.
As they say it’s only blind the first time, however at Bude & North Cornwall I assure you that at least some of it will be blind the first several plays, if for no other reason than the fact there is so much of it and it would take quite a feat to remember it all.
Be warned, enjoy the ride and if you have to ask what quirk means after this round then please give me a call.

Unlike Perranporth the wildest aspect of Trevose is the drive to the clubhouse along the single lane roads that are often bordered by very high hedges. Meet a freight truck or two coming in the opposite direction and waking up at the wheel is the first thing that happens. If you are lucky you back up to the nearest turn out to let them by.

The course itself is much more straightforward and open. A recent renovation by Mackenzie and Ebert has <img src="/images/trevose-championship-golf-course-review-TREV050.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Trevose (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Trevose (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> Trevose in top shape. Bunkers have all been renovated and the most common attribute is the significant change in their style to the more modern natural blowout type bunkers. These look good in the dunes landscape.

On the front the par 3 third hole is a true standout played from a dune to a green nestled into the side of another and guarded by a large right front bunker. The par 4 6this their signature hole and the green on this hole has been moved back as far as possible to the corner of the beach and sea. The renovation looks excellent.

The front 9 is definitely the stronger of the two nines and has the most diverse and dynamic holes.

The back 9 plays over more subtle land and while it doesn’t have a single weak hole there are also no significant stand outs, just solid golf with more gentle nuances. A fun and fair test which when played from the back tees with some wind can easily become a severe test.

With a 9 am start time Perranporth was a worthy second 18 on this particular lovely day. I’ll admit to having seen photos in advance and even having a bit of an idea what was to be expected. Happily Perranporth didn’t disappoint.

After a solid first par 4 first hole and standing on the tee box of the second I was happy to have the caddy book in hand. A first go around this course is a bit of an adventure. It’s full of Old School <img src="/images/perranporth-golf-course-review-PERR030.jpg" alt="Perranporth Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Perranporth Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;"> quirk and the second hole presents the first strong introduction. Playing steeply uphill a solid drive leaves a blind second shot played into or just over large fairway humps and bumps. The approach into the green seems to be blind from most angles depending on the distance you leave. The surface of this green is tough to see given its sunken nature.

The par 4 third plays down to the fairway leaving a crazy approach up the steep face of a hill to a smallish green with a hidden surface. Quite the tricky approach to judge given the steep uphill nature.

The course continues affording one adventurous shot after another, many of which are blind. The next par 5 for example has a blind second shot after which it drops steeply with the hugely undulating and rolling terrain. I would say this property borders the <img src="/images/perranporth-golf-course-review-PERR031x.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Perranporth Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Perranporth Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> extreme in terms of an ideal golf landscape however Braid makes it work and that truly shows the brilliance he possessed. The back 9 continues steeply up the hill from the clubhouse with a semi-blind tee shot, then serves up several blind or semi blind shots in a row. A couple of which are really testing and straight drives are essential as are proper choices of clubs. Too far to either side can be trouble but so can too far along a straight line.

Most certainly this is a course to be played several times before you could really get used to it and know where to look for your ball. It’s not for everyone but it’s very charming and shows how creative golf used to be.

I’d highly recommend multiple visits to Perranporth but warn you to be prepared for a wild ride and keep an open mind, you can easy lose some balls out there but one thing is for sure, you won’t be bored and likely will have a wonderful time.

With 36 planned for my second day of the trip and not completely being sound of mind and body I let myself be talked into yet another 54-hole day just so I could take the opportunity to show up very early and play West Cornwall Golf Club.

What an unexpected thrill that <img src="/images/west-cornwall-golf-course-review-WECO014.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="West Cornwall Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="West Cornwall Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> even after one of the craziest days of golf, 54 holes walking with 3.5 hours of driving thrown in I was ever so grateful to experience.

West Cornwall is old school quirk. I do want to preface this with the fact the club gracious invited me to race around starting at 7 am well before they opened. This basically allowed me to avoid any issues in terms of how the routing is set up that I would have had to contend with had it been a busy day. I will touch on this later.

Uniquely the course starts with a solid 1 shotter requiring a mid to low iron playing into a slight early morning cool breeze. The green is semi blind and well-guarded. Very interesting start. Quickly you find yourself on a tee box next to a cemetery and old church, the hazy fog laying out the early morning dew formed the perfect eerie setting. The next hole played out between two massive dunes and steeply up to a green severely sloping back to front nestled between them. The next hole, offered up a crazy blind shot to be aimed just left of the church. Naturally only blind the first go-round but exhilarating nonetheless. <img src="/images/west-cornwall-golf-course-review-WECO015.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="West Cornwall Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="West Cornwall Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> Just over the hill a drop off down to a fairway sloping severely right to left down the hills it works its way across. However, here is the tricky and rather dangerous part. This is a shared fairway with the 8th hole which plays parallel and given the blindness and tendency to want to play to the left away from the church on a busy day playing the 8thfor the first time, could be a real scare. I’d be interested to know how many people have been injured here. This is an example of something that might have been done in the old days that insurance would never allow today. In any case it must work somehow. Both holes are great but I wouldn’t want to be walking up the 8th fairway when I was teeing off on 3.

After the 4th green you walk down a little road to a lower section of the course that affords wonderful views of the bay and the sea as well as the town of West Cornwall which is lovely. The holes are really interesting and quirky as well. 5 is another blind shot. 6 works its way down to the water playing form a tee box right next to the train tracks. A solid drive risking OB on the left which is also semi blind affords a short iron or even a little flop into a beautiful but small green with the bay as a back drop. The next tee box being right on the water and plays to the uphill par 3 7th.

Having walked back up the hill to the 8th you face a crazy undulated rolling fairway that plays steeply uphill. <img src="/images/west-cornwall-golf-course-review-WECO016.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="West Cornwall Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="West Cornwall Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> My approach from here was blind though quite short. The 9th plays back up to a high point with a raised green.

10 takes you out via a blind drive over a massive dune to the other side of the course. Literally the two 9’s are separated by this massive dune ridge.

The back 9 works its way through with a very different character than the front up and down a big hill affording more wonderful views and some nice muscle burn from climbing the hill on one side and the separating dune on the other.

The closing hole requires you to walk back across a road into a really tight little area to access the back tee. This hole alone is extremely unique and worthy of a visit. Playing down the hill the closing hole is one of the best and most appropriate you could wish for on this lovely, unexpected gem.

West Cornwall is quirky, quaint, unexpected and a pure joy if you like those kinds of classic Golden Age Courses. My advice would be to play either early or late on a day that’s not crowded, take your time and enjoy the walk.

An open-air museum in the Southwest of England! I’ll admit to playing golf for far too long without a visit to the Southwest of England which could well be one of the most underrated and overlooked golf havens in the world.

My first trip started in style, even after my flight over from Amsterdam was cancelled in the morning. <img src="/images/royal-north-devon-golf-course-review-ROND032.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Royal North Devon Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Royal North Devon Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> Luckily, I was able to find another and with the Golf Gods on my side managed to make it for an afternoon tee time still. Stepping out of the car at the parking lot it already hits you. That feeling of having just driven across the time bridge back into the late 1800’s. You won’t find any fancy frills and over exuberant luxury here but rather an extremely downplayed and simple facility, most certainly adequate and full of charm. Enter the club house and the center point, the social point as is the case in many old school club setups is the bar which looks every bit the typical pub. Brilliant, something you will almost only find in the UK.

The course has hardly been altered from <img src="/images/royal-north-devon-golf-course-review-ROND033.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Royal North Devon Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Royal North Devon Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> its original routing which works its way out towards and along the sea before turning around and coming back to the club house. A true links that plays out through some very flat land I the beginning which seems more tidal marsh rather than links land. The course makes really interesting use of this flatter area before really heating up and heading into and making brilliant use of the coastal dunes and some of the most wonderful and unexpected land movements. The 4th holes plays across one of the most iconic and massive bunkers you may ever see. The 6thmay well be my favorite hole on the course. Teeing off from the highest point on top of a dune it affords the best views and plays out to one of the most natural and crazily undulated fairways you will ever see.

Once back into the flatter <img src="/images/royal-north-devon-golf-course-review-ROND034.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Royal North Devon Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Royal North Devon Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> sections of the course it twists and turns its way in various direction before heading home. These lowland holes are characterized by some kind of marsh grass that is very tall and acts to create a feeling of blindness on quite a few holes and framing on several others. These tall grasses need to be avoided at all costs but there is plenty of width to work with.

It’s unfortunate that flooding and severe erosion are causing some big alterations to the course and namely to a few of the holes and green complexes I liked the most. I’ll need to pay another visit after to see what impact this work has had. In the meantime, I can’t urge you enough if there is still time to get to Westward Ho! before these changes are done if it’s not already too late.

St. Enodoc was truly the highlight of my trip and one of the best courses I’ve seen in 2018. I’d characterize it as a course that really has it all and ticks all the boxes that are important for me in a round at an all-world course.

The routing is extremely varied with 18 totally unique holes played over what can often be called crazy landscape. It will have you flirting with OB, using your imagination to overcome <img src="/images/st-enodoc-church-golf-course-review-STEN089.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="St Enodoc (Church) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="St Enodoc (Church) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> blind shots, taking you through massive fairway moguls and even taking on heroic shots like driving the ball over a massive 50ft blow out bunker.

Plain and simple the course offers up endless fun and must be one of the most creative routings in the world. It starts and ends spectacular and in my view doesn’t have a single let up throughout the round. Even the holes running down to the famous church and back are excellent and provide excitement and challenge. 11 for example is a serious par 4 and a half and has one of the tightest feeling drives I’ve faced in a while. Essentially there is far more space than it seems but the hole doglegs sharply around the course boundary and OB to the left. Long hitters can perhaps just clear the corner where the hole opens up. The rest of us have to carefully lay up or really take on the narrowest of gaps. This looks nearly impossible from the tee but only requires more thought and carefully placed shot-making.

The holes that return up the hill <img src="/images/st-enodoc-church-golf-course-review-STEN090.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="St Enodoc (Church) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="St Enodoc (Church) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> around the back side of the church make excellent and very interesting use of what could be a very awkward section of the course. They were transformed into excellent holes with effective usage of angles and strong green complexes. The strong drop shot par 3 15th affords arguably the best view on the course and links the player back to the section of the course with the most dynamic natural ground movement heading back inland to the clubhouse.

Recently St. Enodoc has attained a position in our World Top 100 Courses and for me the course earns every bit of this ranking, in fact I’d ideally see it moving up even more. It’s a must-play and still given its location a bit of a hidden gem for most. I really think a golfer’s education can’t be complete without experiences like this. I will certainly happily return to the Southwest of England and St. Enodoc provides the kind of all world experience that I will be day dreaming about until the next time I’m honored to make my way around its sacred fairways.

Home to the Dubai Desert Classic, the Emirates Golf Club would be far from my favorite type of course as a self-proclaimed purist. However, one thing they most certainly had to work with was sandy soil. This club is truly the closest I have ever come to the Emerald <img src="/images/emirates-majlis-golf-course-review-EMIR018.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Emirates (Majlis) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Emirates (Majlis) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> City from the Wizard of Oz and I’m now 99.9% certain that the surrounding city skyline was carefully planned after this wild idea. It’s amazing what can happen in the course of 20 years. If you see old photos there were no buildings in the backdrop at all when this course was built. Now it’s clear the Wizard has been busy. Please see my photo here to understand what I mean.

As for the course, it’s actually quite fun and has some decent holes, to be fair all of which are challenging and can be played back to near ridiculous lengths due to the tour event. I would say there are far more hard doglegs here both to the left and right than most courses you will run into. I guess that just goes to prove that this course was built to host big events and challenge the world’s best. Now that’s not always a good thing but it is one of the cases where a large part of the draw to this
	<img src="/images/emirates-majlis-golf-course-review-EMIR019.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Emirates (Majlis) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Emirates (Majlis) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> course is so you can play what you see on TV. Now that’s always fun but I wouldn’t want to make a hobby of it.

On my day there I was playing with a few friends and clearly over powered and out classed. These guys made the course look pretty easy. To be fair one was playing to a +6 hcp which makes my (- 5) hcp a bit humorous. Though we are talking 11 shots minimum differential. The course is a fun challenge for him but with the lack of tournament conditions and pressure he swept up with a rather mundane 65. Nothing fancy there but it seems there are several birdie holes I didn’t translate as such. He just hit it over all the doglegs as did our other + hcp playing partners. The strategy at Emirates is much different if your average drive carries 280 yards. Then indeed there are quite a few birdie holes.

The greens were fairly undulating, smallish, fast and bumpy. The course obviously gets a lot of play and ups its maintenance game around the big event. Much of the rest of the year they are treading a careful balance between not killing off the grass in the high <img src="/images/emirates-majlis-golf-course-review-EMIR020.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Emirates (Majlis) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Emirates (Majlis) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> temperatures and keeping a moderate level of maintenance. The grasses seem quite similar to what you might find in Florida and the strain of Bermuda they are using is very sticky and tough to play out of around the greens. A 60-degree wedge is a staple when missing greens.

All in all, the course delivers an interesting day and a surreal experience in what I can only literally refer to as a cartoon-like setting. A great experience but I certainly wouldn’t ask for it by name though I’d love to have another round soon with my buddies who are playing there. However, maybe I’d do better to just caddy for them and see how the 0.01% handle such a place.

In January of last year it was time for the first trip to the Middle East for golf. First on the list was the highly acclaimed Kyle Phillips gem Yas Links.

One of the interesting aspects of this project, other than the usual fact that it was built totally in the desert, is that the Phillips team not only designed the course from ground up but also had the <img src="/images/yas-links-golf-course-review-YASL008.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Yas Links Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Yas Links Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> opportunity to design the entire area including most of what you see between the course and the sea. Thus a major project and the end result is pretty incredible all things considered. Yes, this is another very high end Middle East Members Club and arguably the best course in the Emirates, especially given its recent world top 100 ranking awarded by one of the US magazines.

One thing that is very different about desert courses in the Middle East is that you have to get use to the extreme modern skylines, which are often filled with, or soon to be filled with, cities. Yas on the other hand sits next to the Ferrari World Amusement Park for lack of a better word. Besides that you see a couple large hotels and this large round building off in the distance that looks as if it will take off into space one day to bring the first space pioneers to their destination. (Look at my photos).

The front 9 has an excellent routing taking you out from the clubhouse before cutting back towards the water on the 2nd hole. It’s amazing that this course was made from literally nothing as the shaping has been made to seem very natural in this links-like set up without a single tree if memory serves correctly. The playing conditions are fast and firm even with the warm weather grasses. Though they still take some getting use to when chipping or putting from around the green.

The greens have interesting shaping and are relatively large with many interesting pin positions. I really like the par 3 4th hole with a slight Redan character on the right side though the green is <img src="/images/yas-links-golf-course-review-YASL009.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Yas Links Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Yas Links Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> large enough that the hole would completely change if the pin was middle or left. The risk reward, reachable par 5 7th offered a very interesting cut off as much as you can chew tee shot with the tiger line being over bunkers flanking the right side of the fairway. A solid tee shot allowed for an opportunity to go for the green which was blind and up over a hill. This green had some crazy shaping with a right front severe fall off – a great aspect for this risk reward par 5.

Finally, the 9th hole which was very different from the tips as opposed to the white tees due to the fact that it offered a much more interesting angle on the tee shot. However, note there was a significant carry of about 220 yards required even though it played downwind on a couple of our rounds there – actually more so in the afternoon when the wind seemed to pick up. We were told this was a reverse wind so perhaps into a 3 club wind I would sing a different tune. In any case the 9th is another gem of a hole bringing you back to the clubhouse.

The back 9 really picks up where the front 9 left off and runs down the coast in the opposite direction of the clubhouse. Now the spaceship I mentioned earlier really comes into view on every hole. At the par 3 14th the spaceship serves as a backdrop for the green and makes the hole rather surreal. The hole is a short iron that must factor the wind into play and plays over water to a fairly large green. Finding the correct distance in the elements is tricky here.

The 15th is a short, often drivable par 4 that requires a heroic shot over water and bunkers to reach <img src="/images/yas-links-golf-course-review-YASL010.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Yas Links Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Yas Links Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> in one. I’m guessing on most occasions this short dogleg right is better played with something like a hybrid or low iron and a wedge. Tricky hole!

The 17th hole is about 200 yards and the longest par 3 on the course making for a really tough finish. Playing into a very strong wind our playing partner nailed his driver to about 10 ft. Shot of the day even though we were mocking him before for taking out driver.

The 18th is a finishing par 5 that is terribly long and admittedly my least favorite hole on the course. To say it’s tough is a huge understatement. Into the wind it required a crazy good drive, but what made it so tough was really the second shot. It plays towards a huge gully that drops down to the water. To carry it required a perfectly struck 3 wood and that was when you played off to the right. Laying up left at least 2 shots which felt very awkward. Perhaps downwind this would feel much different, but no matter what with the space given that second shot would never be easy. For me this might have been too tough a finish to this great course. Ultimately challenging, yes, however, I’m not sure it’s a great idea to send most golfers home unable to finish the 18th hole.

One thing is certain; Abu Dhabi has been put on the golf map thanks to Yas Links. If you ever venture to the Emirates for golf, try and play here. You won’t regret it!

Admittedly, even politics completely aside, the Trump name in golf, after visits to several of his courses, maybe with the exception of the Martin Ebert renovated Turnberry, does not inspire much excitement for me when visiting a new course these days. I was surprised to find out that Trump Dubai in fact wasn’t a Trump owned course at all, rather a course that has paid a great sum to utilize his brand. As well travelled as I think I am, that was a first for me and I still can’t figure out the choice <img src="/images/trump-international-dubai-golf-course-review-TRUA001.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Trump International Dubai Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Trump International Dubai Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> given this is in the Middle East. Clearly there are many factors for which I am unaware but I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when that decision was being made.
Make no mistake, they did a heck of a lot right here at Trump Dubai and perhaps the main one was not allowing the likes of a Hawtree or RTJ to build this course, but opting for the currently hot and growing hotter Gil Hanse and team.
This course was the nicest surprise next to my visit to the Atmosphere Bar on top of the Burj Khalifa on my trip. By the way, my best non golf related tip for Dubai is to skip the touristy stuff and visit the top of the Burj Khalifa for drinks and snack at Atmosphere Bar as the sun is setting.
Tip #2 is to visit Trump International Dubai and see what a team like Hanse’s and a great architect can do with a blank canvas. The one caveat is that you have to be able to look through the perpetual build-up of the surrounding high-end real-estate development that surrounds the course. It’s modern and it’s ugly, the course however is anything but ugly.
One of the best parts of this project is the unique use of warm weather grasses that allow you to play the ball on the ground like a links course. On top of that it plays extremely firm and fast. Great start! It’s been set up as a modern inland links-like course, with wonderful <img src="/images/trump-international-dubai-golf-course-review-TRUA002.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Trump International Dubai Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Trump International Dubai Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> bunkering, tons of width and abounding short grass. 18 totally different holes allow tremendous variation in shots. Given the site would have been perfectly flat when they started, there has been enough ground moved around to create quite substantial height differentials with a few significantly uphill and downhill holes – something that’s missing from most other courses in the Middle East.
The shaping of the many waste areas and bunkers is wonderful. On top of that, the greens are brilliant, boasting a wide range of various sizes, which all look and feel very natural and not that different to what you’d find at the most natural of links courses. There are fun little bowls and backstops and an abundance of options when it comes to recovery shots or ways to play most approach shots.
Perhaps the most talked about hole on the course and one of my favorites is the short drivable par 4 12th hole. This totally bunkerless and hazardless hole consists only of short grass, playing up hill to about 250 yards, drivable for many people including the author quite readily with a 3 wood. There is little more fun than watching your well-struck tee shot skirting off the ground up the front of this crazy green and then repelling off in one direction or another. We were literally laughing out loud. The correct play would be either a high draw or low running hook that’s perfectly weighted to run up the slope on the right side. <img src="/images/trump-international-dubai-golf-course-review-TRUA003.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Trump International Dubai Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Trump International Dubai Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> This green is the smallest on the course and maybe one of the smallest I’ve seen especially taking into the consideration the fall offs and slopes. It may eventually become known as the shortest snowman in golf. While that might be an exaggeration, standing on the tee I was thinking eagle chance, walking off I was sweating to make a par and honestly had to hit a ridiculously tough 10 ft putt to avoid a 5.
Outside of this gem of a hole there is a very solid mix of long, middle and short 1,2 and 3 shotters. The par 3’s, might in fact, steal the show. The par 3 5th playing to about 190 yards plays very much like a Redan, allowing a tee ball off to the right to wind all the way around and down onto the green that is raised up from the waste areas in the front and to the left. The 18th must be the Hanse version of a tribute to Pete Dye’s 18th at Sawgrass and is shaped in a similar way around one of the only water hazards on the course. It’s a daunting tee shot into the wind.
Trump Dubai dare I say is architecturally the strongest new build modern course baring his name. Ironically, it’s the only course not owned by him. Then again, perhaps that is not entirely ironic. The developers of this project did one thing right in the author’s opinion and that was to bring in Hanse and team and let them do what they do best, create great golf courses.
You can bet I will be returning to this course should Dubai end up a travel destination for me in the coming years.

For a number of years now I’ve dreamt of an eventual visit to the sacred ground that is Augusta. I’ve often joked that I’d finally believe it was happening when I was driving down Magnolia Lane without a police escort and flashing lights behind me. As luck would have it a friend of a friend took pity on my quest to play the Top 100 Golf Courses in the World as ranked by <a href="/top-100-golf-courses-of-the-world">top100golfcourses.com</a>. In fact, a visit to Augusta was all I needed to complete several lists. As nearly everyone knows it’s not an easy ask. In fact, rumor has it you are not allowed to ask at all as this can result in an immediate mark against your name and a permanent ban. This was not a theory I was personally willing to test. Fact is, as many before me, I just simply was lucky and fortunate to be graced with such a wonderful opportunity to experience the home of the famous Masters Tournament myself.
It all really started with an email that said, Augusta National with (insert members name). I didn’t even open it at first as I was not expecting it and I thought it was an advertisement, likely inviting me to attend the Masters with an organized trip. It sat a couple days in my in box until I went in to randomly clean it out. That’s when I checked this mail which was anything but an advertisement. It read: “Great that you will be joining (insert member’s name) on November 30 and December 1st .” It went on to detail the exact time we were to arrive and meet the member and contained an attachment with the local rules for guests. These were quite standard really with things like, no phones being allowed outside of your cabin. Cameras were fine but phones were not to be used as cameras. This is also obviously to discourage the use of social media which one can only assume the club does not appreciate. Interesting given that during the week of the Masters it may well be the most highly photographed course on the planet and social media is completely flooded with photos of everything there. However, it’s most certainly done in order to maintain the privacy of the members and one can only respect this. Finally, and most importantly the rules said it’s extremely important to play fast, something that should be a generally accepted rule at all clubs but still, it’s great to see a place like Augusta National putting a premium on this as part of the experience.
Upon arrival guests are taken to <img src="/images/augusta-national-golf-course-review-AUGU003.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Augusta National Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Augusta National Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> the cabins assigned to their host member where you can unpack and prepare yourself for the festivities. Then it’s quickly off to either have lunch or head to the practice range. There are no tee times and with a limited number of members each with a maximum of 3 guests there at any one time, tee times are simply not practical or necessary. This weekend there were 6 members on the property each with 3 guests. Not exactly the numbers that lead to discussions about who gets to play first. For us it was to be straight to the driving range, a 15-minute warm up then to the putting green. The greens were rolling about 10.5-11 on the stimp. Quite manageable green speeds given the bent grass surface.
Standing on the first tee I’ll admit to being surprised at the amount of width, space and short grass. We have all seen the Masters many times and I’d guess most of us know the holes by heart, I’m no different in this case, however, I honestly struggled to recognize the holes on the front 9. TV coverage really does change the views of everything and I had previously never visited the actual tournament. Why, you may ask? Well, I just didn’t want to ruin the experience of a first visit and the surprises that come with it. As we started playing, the next thing that really stuck out was the dramatic height differential and elevation changes the course possesses. None of which you can really notice on TV for some reason. I’d often heard this from friends that had played but it’s one of those things that really doesn’t resonate well until you see it for yourself. After a bit of a shaky start missing a 3 ft par putt on the first I settled into the round nicely and managed to play some of my best golf of the year which admittedly has not been stellar. It’s hard to really miss fairways at Augusta, what is really cool about it however, is that from a strategic perspective positioning is essential if you want to have the best angle of approach into the relatively small and undulated greens.
More than once I hit myself into extremely awkward positions on my approaches and relied on my short game creativity to get out of it. Well, that and some local knowledge from my caddy. This helped me to save several pars on the front 9 and even throw in the odd birdie which is always welcome.
One key point is that there are only two tees. The members tee, which plays between 6,300 and 6,500 yards and the Masters Tee which plays about 1,000 yards longer. This results in huge differences on a lot of tees. Given the damp conditions, even though we had a perfect first day in terms of weather, tee shots didn’t experience any roll to speak of, with no roll, 6,500 yards is not short unless you are quite a long hitter. It was plenty to provide adequate challenge given the conditions. Given the emphasis that the course sets upon positioning and angle of play/approach the real challenge lies on and around the greens. With the slopes even the shortest of putts can be real knee knockers if forced to putt out. Imagine a quick left to right breaking 2 ft putt as a perfect example. Miss and it goes 5 ft past because you can’t stop it. Trust me when I say this adds to the challenge.
One of the first real surprises <img src="/images/augusta-national-golf-course-review-AUGU004.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Augusta National Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Augusta National Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> came at the 10th tee. The fairway drops off steeply and this hole is played significantly downhill. The real challenge lies in judging the approach to this green accurately. As one of the larger greens it seems to take even more club than the distance indicates.
The 11th was the most difficult hole on the course for me. It requires a fade around the corner off the tee to a fairway that slopes towards the outside of dogleg. That means the approach is played from a right to left side hill lie which of course is a hook lie for a right hander. The challenge comes from how the green sits in relation to the pond which kind of wraps around the left side. On top of that the entire green slopes towards the water. It’s quite a courageous approach requiring full commitment. The most common fault is a right bail out which feels safe due to the fact you end up on dry land. However, the chip back to the flag will most likely be made from a downhill lie to a green sloping away from the line of play and towards the water. It’s definitely a case of having to pull off a fully committed heroic shot to have the best chance of success.
The 12th didn’t feel as tough as it seems on TV but it’s easy to look back after you’ve hit a great shot and say that wasn’t that tough. I managed a 2 to a back right pin which was rather satisfying, to say the least. What is difficult is the false front on the green, how it wraps around the bunker in the middle plus the fact that the green is so narrow compared to how wide it is.
The 13th is the short par 5 with that crazy hook that needs to be contended with on the tee shot. This is another hole that was far different than I had imagined it on TV. It always seemed to me this shot must play steeply downhill around the corner however this was not the case at all. In fact, the fairway is much like one of the banked turns on a NASCAR track. The ideal shot is a sharp hook around the corner which would leave a mid to long iron approach. With water right in front of the green it’s another heroic shot to contend with.
Jump forward to the 15th, after a strong drive up to the flat area in the fairway, I stood with 225 yards to the flag. This shot plays significantly downhill and again the green has a false front of sorts and the creek runs right in front of it. Yet another heroic shot. One that I didn’t go for, the biggest mistake of my golfing life ha ha…
The layup on this hole is just so hard that unless you are forced to lay up I think it makes more sense to risk the water and go for it. My partner and caddy talked me out of it even when I had a green light in my head and was feeling confident. The second round I dropped a ball in the same spot and easily hit it on the green. It won’t haunt me forever, but should I ever have that chance again you better believe I won’t hesitate in going for it regardless of what’s on the line.
The par 3, 16th played on day 1 <img src="/images/augusta-national-golf-course-review-AUGU005.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Augusta National Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Augusta National Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> to a lower middle pin placement which is the classic hole in one pin for the pros. The aim is to throw your shot up about 10 ft to the right of the pin and a couple yards past it and watch it come around and feed down to the hole. I hit what felt like a perfect shot, but it was 11 ft rather than 10 and it stayed up right on the ledge leaving a near impossible downhill putt over. Hard to figure how that ball stayed up there however, it shows how close the difference is between perfect and almost perfect but not good at all.
The 18th I would call the second most difficult hole on the course. Even from the members tee which is way forward it requires a real cut with a driver to avoid the bunkers or perhaps a well struck 3 wood into the slot. The approach is straight uphill all the way and is another one of those shots that is not done justice on TV.
After the round we had just enough daylight left to head over to the par 3 course for a quick 9. Another great experience though I find it such a spectacle to watch on TV I’d almost say it’s more fun to watch than it is to play. However, I think this only pays credit to the wonderful job they do at the Masters of making the par 3 event so special.
After a great day of golf, we went into the pro shop for some essential and equally important shopping. Augusta has one of the best-equipped pro shops you will find anywhere. Then we enjoyed post round drinks in the bar followed by a small tour around. Back to the cabin to freshen up and it was dinner time. Dinner in the clubhouse is really a special experience not unlike visit a wonderful high-end restaurant with perfect service. Basically, exactly what you would expect. Everyone sits at predefined tables assigned to your member host. Dinner is a jacket and tie affair but really quite relaxed in terms of atmosphere. However, there is little to no interaction between tables which allows members to focus entirely on their guests.
After dinner it’s back to the bar for quick visit, some enjoyed cigars in an adjoining room. All in all, it’s a long day with so much to take in and quite a lot of golf on top of that so a good night rest is well earned.
The next day you wake up and do it all again if you are lucky. We were.
Augusta National truly is a special place that cherishes well honored traditions and provides undoubtedly one of the greatest experiences in golf.

It’s a crazy idea to think that Harry Colt made his way to Canada back in the day, but sure enough he graces a few courses over here. Hamilton Golf & Country Club is one of them.

Hamilton for me is an unlikely candidate for Colt although the landscape does slightly make one think of St. George’s Hill in England. The course plays out over a valley and up a fairly steep hill on <img src="/images/hamilton-west-south-golf-course-review-HAMI001.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Hamilton (West & South) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Hamilton (West & South) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> the other side. It then works itself back and forth off this hill and around it with a series of holes playing from elevated tees down to fairways and back up to greens nestled in the hillside – a unique routing for Colt. It’s noteworthy that the original design has been significantly tinkered with. Unfortunately, not for the better with the addition of several un-Colt-like bunkers that don’t do the course justice given their modern style. There may have also been a few greens altered in the process. It’s a shame given Colt’s immense stature as one of the golf’s greats. One day I believe Hamilton will be led in the right direction to thoughtfully renovate and rejuvenate the wonderful bones that Colt presented them with.

There are several excellent holes here but the holes <img src="/images/hamilton-west-south-golf-course-review-HAMI002.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Hamilton (West & South) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Hamilton (West & South) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> play away from and back up to the clubhouse were my favorites. 1, 9, 10 and 18 are all excellent holes playing up to greens after elevated heroic tee shots provided interesting challenges to start the holes.

The 18thplays up to a green set in a natural amphitheater perfect for tournament play.

The 18thgreen is even complete with its own rope tow helping pull you back up the steep slope to the club house. The first rope tow I’ve ever encountered in golf.

Despite the mentioned shortcomings Hamilton is a really fun course however, by far the best part of the day was the great company I had as I managed to finally connect with a friend from Canada for the round. It was a perfect setting for this.

A visit to St. George’s Golf & Country Club is essential to start to understand the architectural genius of Stanley Thompson – arguably his greatest gift to the world of golf. This course is awesome!

Not only is it awesome, it’s been the influence of many an architect. Including a young Robert Trent Jones who <img src="/images/st-georges-g&cc-ontario-golf-course-review-STGO001.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="St George's Golf & Country Club - Photo by reviewer" title="St George's Golf & Country Club - Photo by reviewer"> went on to utilize many of its principles at Peachtree, his best effort.

Upon arrival at St. George’s, which finds itself just outside the bustle of downtown Toronto, you immediately realize you have landed someplace extremely special.

From the clubhouse you make your way under the highway and up to the pro shop. Hard to believe the city has grown up around this course as during your round it feels totally isolated. The routing takes you out through this highly undulated landscape over rolling hills and through their troughs. The start takes us from an elevated tee through a small valley on the tee shot and then up the back side of the valley to a green nestled at the top. Natural in its setting, the green slopes severely back to front with the slope of the hill. Thompson most certainly allowed the <img src="/images/st-georges-g&cc-ontario-golf-course-review-STGO002.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="St George's Golf & Country Club - Photo by reviewer" title="St George's Golf & Country Club - Photo by reviewer"> landscape and its features to dictate the routing, yet the end result was a seamless integration giving the idea that the course had always been there, one with nature.

Below is a short description of some of my favorite holes:

The par 3, 3rdhole demonstrates perfectly his genius as the deception has you thinking on the tee that the green is resting behind the small hill while in fact there is another 50 yards of fairway fronting it. The bunkers left and far out of play add to the illusion of this tricky par 3.

The 4this a reachable par 5 where a solid drive up the right side will catch the slope and run down the hills allowing a risk reward shot at the green in two. A hard back to front sloping green protects par on this hole.

The par 4 10this a slight dogleg left and plays to a highly elevated plateau green. The 11this a medium-long par 3 playing <img src="/images/st-georges-g&cc-ontario-golf-course-review-STGO003.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="St George's Golf & Country Club - Photo by reviewer" title="St George's Golf & Country Club - Photo by reviewer"> to a back to front sloping green with a false front and a bunker front left protecting it.

The 12tha par 4.5 that rewards a long drive to the left side catching a speed slot down the hills. Failure to reach this leaves a long iron or hybrid over a burn and green side bunker to a challenging green running diagonally from right to left away from the line of play.

An excellent back 9 ends with a long uphill par 4 playing back towards the highway with the clubhouse above it. Another testing green finishes things off on this brilliant course.

A day at St. George’s is not complete without enjoying a post round drink up in the clubhouse on the patio overlooking the highway and the course. It's worth a special trip to Toronto which is a wonderful city full of friendly people.

A trip to Nova Scotia cannot be made without making the pilgrimage 2 hours further Northeast to Cape Breton. What you find once arriving there is what one would expect to see at the end of the Earth. A certain proof that the world is flat. Cape Breton is on a peninsula that extends out into the Atlantic and rises a hundred feet above. <img src="/images/highlands-links-golf-course-review-HIGL016.jpg" alt="Highlands Links Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Highlands Links Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;"> It’s consists of a raw beauty rarely seen in this day and age.
Nighttime at Cape Breton allows amazing views of the coast and later the stars, a feeling that you can nearly touch them.
It was this amazing place that was graced by the magic of Stanley Thompson. Here he routed an excellent course through a very difficult forested mountain area. It’s one of his strongest routings and gifts to the golf world. Being in the hands of the public park you needn’t expect an Augusta like presentation and maintenance, as they simply don’t have those kinds of budgets to work with. They do a wonderful job with what they have.
The course is a wonderful attestation to the <img src="/images/highlands-links-golf-course-review-HIGL017.jpg" alt="Highlands Links Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Highlands Links Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;"> routing brilliance of Thompson. Designed in a time when large machinery didn’t bulldoze everything flat the routing in all its glory with its multitude of natural humps and bumps takes you out over the big hill and back down towards the sea level on the back side. The 3rdhole is one of the most picturesque holes you may ever behold playing over a lake to a green framed by bunkers and trees. However, it’s the 4thhole that truly impresses. It’s a short 4 that plays to a fairly wide fairway leaving an approach to a volcano type green with terrific shaping, bunkers and significant undulations – one of the first of its kind and a unique concept. A crazy green complex and perfect to protect this short 4. The approach shot must be incredibly accurate. The reward, a tricky putt no matter where you end up if it’s not in the hole.
Highlands Links was once coined the greatest <img src="/images/highlands-links-golf-course-review-HIGL018.jpg" alt="Highlands Links Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Highlands Links Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;"> walk in golf. Not to take away from the place, in the authors point of view while this may of once been the case for some city slicker that had never seen a creek and a forest, I’d have to qualify that statement as pure marketing spiel in this day and age. At the same time I don’t want to take away from it as Highlands Links is an excellent course located at the end of the earth on a great property.
The finishing hole takes you back to the clubhouse and plays back through one last crazy moguled fairway to another highly undulated two tiered green.
If you are heading to Cabot then do yourself a favor and extend your stay long enough to make the trip to Highlands Links, you won’t regret it.

Interestingly enough, before my trip to Casa de Campo I had hardly heard anything about this course. Honestly it must be the most underrated course in the Caribbean. The front 9 takes you out towards the Marina and presents some huge elevation changes as it works its way down to sea level then back up the hill. The routing, holes and architecture is very solid and the course is very playable with a lot of width off the tee. The scale of this course however is quite extraordinary. Starting with a 600+ yard par 5 there is no easy handshake at Dye Fore. This is followed by a strategic short par 4 and then a 225-yard par 3. Spectacular would <img src="/images/casa-de-campo-dye-fore-golf-course-review-CASM028.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Casa de Campo (Dye Fore) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Casa de Campo (Dye Fore) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> be a good way to describe the 4thhole, a 500+ yard par 4 that drops a solid 100ft down to near sea level and doglegs right. Tough to stand on this tee box and not want to hit the longest drive of your life. Yet it was still driver and a 3 wood for me.

5 Turns to start heading back up to the club house and slowly climbing the hill and is another crazy long par 4 at 500+ yards. The next few holes work their way back up to the clubhouse before starting on the back 9 which is routed across some of the most spectacular clifftop terrain you will find anywhere.

The 10th hole is a massive par 5 at 626 yards and plays along the clifftops with the Chavron River below. The green is perched several hundred feet above the river. A promising start to a spectacular back 9 that doesn’t fail to live up to the expectations after this excellent start.

11 is a dogleg left where you need to carefully choose the line and cut off as much as you can chew. It plays over a drop off to a fairway running at a diagonal left to right away from you with the cliffs on the right.

The 12 also flirts with the cliffs to the right and at 236 yards is one of the longest par 3’s at the resort.

13 is a long par 4 that drops way down on the right <img src="/images/casa-de-campo-dye-fore-golf-course-review-CASM029.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Casa de Campo (Dye Fore) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Casa de Campo (Dye Fore) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> side of the fairway perhaps as much as 70-80 ft so keeping it left saves a crazy walk down then back up again and affords the best approach to this green that is slightly higher than the tee.

14 is a short par 4 and my favorite hole at Dye Fore. Here we are back at the cliffs but running the opposite direction and the hole plays along the cliffs which are to the left. There is a view of the river way down below from the tee. A carefully placed 3 wood or hybrid as close as possible to the cliff top affords the best angle of approach. You better be committed on this shot as it’s one of those that test you in every way. The approach even though played with a short iron is also really testing, the green falls off on the back and is a sort of infinity green where the earth literally seems to fall away behind it, no wonder as those first few steps are hundreds of feet down.

15 is another excellent long par 3 playing over a drop off and the cliffs to the left.

16-18 takes us back up to the clubhouse and are a run of 3 excellent and demanding holes. 17 is most likely my second favorite hole on the course – a <img src="/images/casa-de-campo-dye-fore-golf-course-review-CASM030.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Casa de Campo (Dye Fore) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Casa de Campo (Dye Fore) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> short par 4 that begs you to have a go at it from the tee. The green is on a kind of volcano mound and the hole drops off from the tee then plays back uphill to this cool green on top of the hill.

18 is a strong and long par 5 finisher taking us back to the clubhouse and another green raised up and set ¾ the way up this hill. The tee shot faces a split fairway here. Left is the low side and allows a slightly longer drive but tougher second shot and a quite risky chance to go for the green in two for the longest hitters. The right side fairway is higher but affords an easier second shot. Hard for me to say if the long guys could still go for it from the right side but the approach is at least quite a bit less up hill. No matter which side you choose the approach to this 3 shotter is tricky given the lay of the green in the hill, it’s very easy to miss and not take enough club. Given it drops off on the front and sides, accuracy is highly rewarded.

When you make it to Casa de Campo you will by default play Dye Fore, at least I sincerely hope so for you. The more famous Teeth of the Dog course naturally overshadow it, but the chances are that you will be very pleasantly surprised by this wonderful layout.

What a wonderful opportunity to be able to head to the Caribbean during the coldest months of the European winter. The trip to the Dominican Republic is not exactly a short one but arriving to 28 degrees Celsius from -2 deg in Amsterdam makes for an amazing start.

I’m guessing most visitors to the DR wisely arrange their transfers with the hotel or resort they are staying in. I would like to reiterate that I highly recommend this BUT I did not do that myself. I rented a car with Avis being a President’s Club member thinking; ok naturally I will receive decent service. Well, I survived to tell the tale but to give an idea of what you are dealing with this is very much a franchise operation. <img src="/images/casa-de-campo-teeth-of-the-dog-golf-course-review-CASA024.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Casa de Campo (Teeth of the Dog) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Casa de Campo (Teeth of the Dog) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> Upon arrival at the airport after a 12-hour trip with layover there was not a soul to be found at the Avis booth and it took a solid 30 minutes before anyone was located. I was picked up by an unmarked vehicle and taken down a dark road to a totally closed and dark industrial area and low and behold there was actually a small office there, though sketchy would be an understatement. Having signed my life away I was taken to my vehicle, which was quite dirty and run down for a full sized car and set loose. The GPS I ordered ended up being only useable with the mobile wifi they rented to me on top of the price of the GPS. My advice, if you are going to Casa de Campo which you absolutely should be, then arrange the transfer with them.

Arriving at the resort is a fantastic and refreshing experience compared to my experience after landing. Everyone there is absolutely wonderful and make you really feel like you are part of the family, golf being a central theme. I was fortunate to be taken under the wing of their Director of Golf, Mr. Robert Birtel. He reserved some time to take me out and show me how the locals master the fearsome Teeth of the Dog course from Pete Dye. The course will always have a special place in my heart, as it just happened to be my 99thcourse that I have played out of the World Top 100.

If Dye is great at one thing it’s instilling terror in the <img src="/images/casa-de-campo-teeth-of-the-dog-golf-course-review-CASA025.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Casa de Campo (Teeth of the Dog) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Casa de Campo (Teeth of the Dog) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> hearts of amateur golfers and Teeth of the Dog is well known to be a tough but fair test. While not easy the start would still be considered a challenging beginning. Dye often takes one side completely out of play and basically challenges the player not to go left or right. This theme couldn’t be more prevalent starting with the 2nd hole. The anticipation builds to the 4th hole which is a strong par 4 dogleg right that runs out to the ocean and provides the players first meeting with water – the 4th green being a stone’s throw away.

The 5thhole is a diabolical short par 3 that could be anything from a 9 iron down depending on the strength of the wind. Our conditions were quite mild but even so this par 3 plays to a raised green that sits on a small outcropping of land running into the ocean and it’s surrounded with bunkering, steep runoffs and water. Did I mention that it’s all carry from the tee? Basically you take a deep breath, commit to your shot and swing away. Truly exhilarating!

With blood pumping through your veins you head to the next tee to meet the following test. The 6th tee sits right against the ocean and requires a gutsy committed tee shot along the shore to set up a chance to reach this long par 4 in two. Dye has created a short dogleg back towards the sea on this hole.

The 7th is another jaw-dropper in this run of great shoreline holes. From the back tees it plays 229 yards and is mostly carry. Definitely another hole fitting into the theme of making the player commit to an exhilarating shot. In the wind this hole is just plain tough, but oh so beautiful with waves crashing all around. There is no doubt in my mind that many golfers have fed many a ProV1 to the sharks along this stretch and still came out loving the experience.

The 8th hole follows up with another cracker <img src="/images/casa-de-campo-teeth-of-the-dog-golf-course-review-CASA026.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Casa de Campo (Teeth of the Dog) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Casa de Campo (Teeth of the Dog) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> right along the shore. A very tight drive with a 3 wood or rescue will leave a short approach to tricky, well-guarded green.

The 9th hole is a long par 5 that takes you back to the clubhouse – a tough finisher to a solid front 9.

The back 9 runs counter clockwise in the opposite direct of this figure 8 or infinity shaped routing. 10 is a semi tight dogleg left requiring a very well positioned drive.

11 is a long par 5 again requiring well placed shots. In the right conditions this might be a hole that can be reached in two. We didn’t have those conditions for my game.

The 12thhole is a long tough par 4 that plays like a par 4 1/2 with a slight dogleg left. The 13th is our first really tough test on the back as well as our first 1 shotter. A mid to long iron is required to reach this raised green that sharply falls off on all sides. The tee shot feels like it’s all or nothing and from the tee there doesn’t seem to be an easy recovery shot in sight – typical Dye, getting into the head of the golfer.

14 is a tough par 4 requires a solid tee shot and leaves an approach over water to a green that is very shallow when played from the shortest route on the right side of the fairway.

Holes 15 through 17 bring us back to the ocean and again test our nerve while stimulating our viewing pleasure. On the front 9 a left miss was likely shark bate while on the back due to the direction of the routing missing right will find you a watery grave.

The 15th is a short par 4 with <img src="/images/casa-de-campo-teeth-of-the-dog-golf-course-review-CASA027.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Casa de Campo (Teeth of the Dog) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Casa de Campo (Teeth of the Dog) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> the tee box placed right up against the crashing waves. The shot requires a very well placed drive hitting its target. Anything on the fairway will be a huge relief. While a left miss is the dry option, too far left is also trouble and is protected by a large bunker and also trees that would likely require either a tough shot or perhaps a chip out. The approach is played back to a green that sits right up against the cliffs and water. It’s a great hole.

16 is the final par 3, 189 yards of carry over crashing waves from the back tees. A front bunker, cliffs and water protect the green. It’s a real test regardless of the wind conditions.

17 is a 417-yard par 4 playing right along the ocean. Imagine the iconic 18th at Pebble Beach, make it a par 4 running in the opposite direction and that’s kind of what you face, only its Dominican brother – an excellent and challenging hole.

The closing hole is another monster of a par 4. A long drive to the right side will avoid bunkers and rough and leave a long approach that is played uphill slightly to the final green. Arguably this hole, which plays over what once was a runway for the airport, provides a slightly anticlimactic finish after the spectacular stretch from 15 to 17 but it cannot be argued that this is an easy finish or a hole lacking in architectural merit.

Teeth of the Dog has been famous ever since it was built and has always enjoyed a solid position in the World Top 100 Golf Courses to my knowledge. It’s Pete Dye’s favorite of his designs and having played all of his best-ranked courses I would have to agree with that. It really ticks all the boxes and what’s not to love about sun, ocean and golf as a combination? Just add one of the world’s best golf resorts to the mix and really it’s impossible to go wrong with a trip to Casa de Campo. Enjoy your stay and report back.

Cabot Cliffs may well be the younger of the two siblings but what Coore & Crenshaw have done here is nothing less than magnificent. This seaside clifftop property must have been a real challenge to route a course through. The genius of Bill Coore not only managed that but at the same time put together one of the best new courses in the world and one that immediately takes its place among the world’s Top 100 greats.

After a fairly gentle handshake Cabot Cliffs heats up <img src="/images/cabot-cliffs-golf-course-review-CABC021.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Cabot Cliffs Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Cabot Cliffs Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> already on the 2nd hole and gives you a taste of what’s in store.

The 2nd is a short par 4 with an infinitely wide fairway. It’s a solid 60 yards below the tee and requires a well placed and measured tee shot. A hybrid or long iron for longer hitters, 3 wood for medium hitters and possibly driver for shorter hitters. We were instructed to play to the left side which requires a shorter carry and provided a nice kick forward down to the fairway. Most importantly it provided arguably the best look at the approach to the left center pin position. The green was in a horseshoe shape around a large dune, a unique concept. It’s also raised and sloping severely back to front – easy enough to hit but often leaving a challenging two putt.

The next notable hole is the par 4 5th, which is a cape hole requiring an excellent drive with a high degree of precision. The drive is semi blind up over a slope to the right. A solid drive will run down the hill leaving a decent approach into a large green sloping severely right to left. This approach is made tricky, as it must be played from a right to left sloping fairway. A well placed approach right of the pin may just allow for a decent birdie opportunity.

The par 5 7th hole may well be the toughest and most <img src="/images/cabot-cliffs-golf-course-review-CABC022.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Cabot Cliffs Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Cabot Cliffs Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> intimidating on the front 9. The drive is deceptive and requires a very accurate tee shot to carry the ravine. It has a heroic element to it with a bunker running down the right side daring you to take it on and try and make the carry. The hole is a definitely a 3 shot par 5. A solid drive finding the fairway will be challenged by the second shot which plays much wider than it looks. As we played this hole straight into the wind the approach, which plays over a low area to a raised green with a huge bunker on the front left side, was extremely challenging each time.

After a solid start the back 9 really heats up with the par 3, 13th one of the most challenging 3’s on the course. Dealing with the wind this long 1 shotter plays to a tricky right to left sloping green that runs away diagonally from the line of play. At 200+ yards this will be as much as even the best players can bite off.

The par 5, 14th is a reachable par 5. A solid drive taking on the mound on the left side will receive a forward kick leaving a steep downhill approach into a green sloping severely front to back. Reachable as it is I never managed more than a 5 on this hole as putting and chipping around the green requires significant touch.

The iconic 16th hole is the crazy cliff top par 3 playing over the sea to a sliver thin green running perpendicular to the line of play. Adding to the challenge is the wind and the fact that the green <img src="/images/cabot-cliffs-golf-course-review-CABC023.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Cabot Cliffs Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Cabot Cliffs Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> is semi blind with the exception of the far right pin position which you can hope you don’t have to deal with.

The 17th may well be one of the most crazy and spectacular blind tee shots you will ever play. Some argue it’s too extreme but I think it adds to the dramatically spectacular finish at Cabot Cliffs. It’s hard to explain this hole but imagine standing on a cliff 150 ft above the crashing waves then playing your tee shot out over the abyss and across to a fairway that slopes steeply away from the line of play down to a green some 50 ft below. From the tee all you can see is the edge of the opposite cliff that runs from the high point on the left down and diagonally away from the tee box. The fairway and tee shot are blind, it’s a cut off as much as you can chew with an opportunity to drive the green on this short 4. A deep bunker fronts the green, shots that veer left and come up short, even up to 100yds short, can be putted down the steep slope around the front bunker. A fun shot to watch your putt break 30-40ft left to right and end up near a back right or front right flag.

The 18th brings you home along the cliffs and ocean in truly breathtaking fashion. A solid drive allows for a chance to take on this green in two. A great risk reward par 5 to rap things up.

Cabot Cliffs in my view steals the show and remains one of the best contributions of Coore & Crenshaw to the golf world to date. It’s the perfect 1,2 punch to keep the golf world returning for more.

The odds are small that you’ve even heard of Halifax, Nova Scotia. If you have, you’ve likely never been there or even thought about visiting unless of course you are a golfer. I realize well that there is a small percentage of the population that thinks I’m crazy for saying that but let’s face it Halifax is well off the beaten path for most of the world. Arriving there and arranging your rental car you may think you’re actually almost at Inverness where Cabot Links is located. Think again, it’s a solid 3-hour drive and <img src="/images/cabot-links-golf-course-review-CABT009.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Cabot Links Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Cabot Links Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> one that you are better off to make in the day time as this is a part of the world that for the most part has not yet been polluted by the hand of man. 3 hours of raw nature and old forest will get you to Cabot.

Upon arrival, much like Bandon Dunes, what you get is phenomenal. It’s a paradise for golfers. There’s no doubt that Cabot is one of the true unique golf getaways on the planet. It fits perfectly into the classification of “If you build it they will come.” It also clearly proves that golfers are a crazy bunch, always looking for the most exotic and natural locations away from society. Cabot is the ultimate guys weekend/week getaways. It’s all about golf, friends, good food and being away from the hustle and bustle of daily life.

As far as it is from everything it’s really only a short trip from <img src="/images/cabot-links-golf-course-review-CABT010.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Cabot Links Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Cabot Links Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> the likes of Toronto and the East Coast of the US. It’s the perfect getaway.

Cabot Links was the first course built here on this wonderful property. Clearly the intention was to put together as close to a Scottish or Irish links experience as possible. The first key element, links land, was a feature this remote part of Canada was graced with. To be fair the rolling dunes are perfect for golf. Cabot Links is the more subtle of the two courses but still possesses quite undulated links land when compared with many UK/Irish links courses. There are several standout holes on the front 9 however, my favorite was the par 4, 5th which is an excellent cape hole requiring you to cut off as much as you dare. This hole plays as a dogleg left around a beautiful lake, which is the only water to contend with on the property.

The par 3, 6th is another excellent hole playing 200 <img src="/images/cabot-links-golf-course-review-CABT011.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Cabot Links Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Cabot Links Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> yards to a narrow green and on both our days into the wind.

The back 9 starts with a quirky short par 4 dogleg right that dares you take on the large dune on the right side. Once successful you are left with a short iron or wedge into a highly undulated and two-tiered green that drops off sharply front and left.

The 16th is a hole right out of Bandon Dunes. It plays along the cliffs that drop some 60 ft down to the beach which is not OB. We played this hole straight into the wind which renders the tee shot quite a challenge. Of course I pulled my only drive of the day left and with a solid kick I ended up down on the beach nearly resting in the surf. My playing partners all said take a drop. Being a bit more stubborn than that I navigated my way down the cliff and managed a perfect shot back up to the fairway and 110 yds from the green on this par 5 resulting in an easy par. Well at least on the card. The best part was that it brought my partner and I back to 1 down with two to play. A birdie on 18 would half the match.

Cabot has not only breathed life back into this little town of Inverness, it’s provided golfers from around the world with another unique and bucket list destination that’s open to golf fanatics everywhere. Cabot is not to be missed.

The last course on my trip to the Pinehurst area was to be played on my way back to Atlanta. I was thrilled at finally having an opportunity to visit Peachtree. It’s no wonder comparisons are often made to Augusta National. Peachtree is referred to as the course the Joneses built. Referring of course to Bobby Jones and Robert Trent Jones and what a joy it is. Bobby Jones found this property shortly after he worked with Alister MacKenzie to build Augusta. It was the similarity of the <img src="/images/peachtree-golf-course-review-PEAC006.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Peachtree Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Peachtree Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> property that drew him here. Unfortunately he would not live to see its completion.

The first thing that hits you upon walking to the first tee is the rolling landscape, indeed just like Augusta National. The scale of the height differences, the look and feel of the green complexes and the beautiful bunkers and white Augusta-like sand.

Secondly, I’d have to say it bares no resemblance to anything I’d ever seen from RTJ with perhaps the slight exception to Valderrama, minus the cork trees of course. However, there are many similarities to St. George’s Golf & Country Club in Toronto. Which at first seems strange as Stanley Thompson designed St. George’s. Upon further research this all becomes clear, RTJ started his career working for Stanley Thompson and was heavily influenced by him with his first and incidentally his best work.

Right from the start Peachtree really impresses with some <img src="/images/peachtree-golf-course-review-PEAC007.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Peachtree Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Peachtree Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> interesting movement in the terrain. The second hole is a quirky par 5 dogleg right and down a steep hill. A good drive taking on the slope on the right hand side can offer up a chance to go for this green in two. To do so you need to take on the stream in front and right of the green.

The 4this an excellent par 3 playing up to a slightly elevated green that is wide but narrow and sloped from back to front. The tee shot plays over a small valley and a rather iconic bridge takes you across to the green.

The course continues on working its way around over and through this very interesting and dynamic property. The Joneses made perfect use of the features on this property leaving behind a wonderful course full of strategic and challenging holes, very interesting and undulated greens which are challenging and fun to approach.

It’s easy to see why Peachtree is often considered the best course in Georgia, on top of that it’s open year round. My visit was in July on a balmy morning about 85 degrees and no wind. The course was in the best shape of any course I played last year. That has everything to do with their green-keeping team and their superintendent Mr. William Shirley, who is one of the best in the business.

It’s rare to receive an invite to play Peachtree but if you are so lucky, drop everything and jump at the opportunity.

Southern Pines is the YMCA of the sand hills of the greater Pinehurst resort area. Of course the locals will say it’s actually in Southern Pines but I’m going to refer to everything in the area as Pinehurst to make it easy.
This review is super biased as I was playing with a local and member of this lovely course who is completely in love with it and believes it’s the perfect course to sneak off and play 9 holes every evening. <img src="/images/southern-pines-golf-course-review-SOUN001.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Southern Pines Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Southern Pines Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> Honestly though, it’s hard to argue with that.
First of all, it’s totally empty in the afternoons; you can walk fast and play fast. It’s a beautiful property with some serious elevation changes and giant tree-lined fairways. The conditioning is that of your typical YMCA, which is slightly under-loved, and run down. If you can get past that what you find is wonderful architectural bones and great holes with interesting greens and no two holes alike. If this beauty ever gets the love and restoration that it deserves you will see it jump to the top echelon of courses in the Pinehurst area. My host would no doubt argue it’s already there. Maybe he’s right. Perhaps the best part of the current set up is that a round might cost you 30-50 USD making it by a mile the best value in the greater Pinehurst area without the 5-hour round.
I’m not sure he would be too happy with me letting the secret out but heed my warning. If it’s a perfectly manicured fairway you want then you need not show up here or you will be annoyed at me for sending you and you’d better go and pay 350 USD to play at Pinehurst Resort.
This is simply an excellent course that will be loved by the purist. One day it will be bought, loved a little and regain all its glory, then the days of the 30-50 USD green fees will be a long lost memory.
Until then, add this to your list of must visits in the area.

My first ever visit to Tobacco Road was perhaps the wettest day I’ve ever seen on a golf course. I was out first thing in the morning in the first group and by the time I was half way through the front 9 they had shut the course down, there were literally streams running everywhere. Being the fanatic I am, I still finished and loved the place.
This time the Golf Gods were very kind and provided me with the perfect day and perfect weather. I had been on a bit of a run hitting them well and managed for the first time in my life to break 70. Ok, <img src="/images/tobacco-road-golf-course-review-TOBA006.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Tobacco Road Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Tobacco Road Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> good for me right and since this is about the course naturally I’m going to love it with a round like that. Thing is, I already loved the course from the disastrous day I had the first time around.
The slope of the back tees is something like 146, which makes this course on paper extremely hard, and I’d tend to agree with that if you hit yourself out of position. It’s an easy course to run up a large score on pretty much any hole with a miscue. There is also a lot of visual intimidation, but Strantz also built in plenty of width and several opportunities to score. For example a solid drive on the first par 5 that rolls past the tree line on the left side of the fairway allows you to cut the corner of the dogleg with as little as a 6 to 8 iron. The very next par 4 is drivable with an exacting shot up the hill over the waste area. It may require a carry of like 250 yards but it’s definitely doable and another scoring hole.
The 11this another scoring opportunity as a solid drive up the right side taking on the canyon will render this par 5 reachable in two as well. The 13this another opportunity and a lay up will leave a short iron or even pitch that’s semi blind into a punchbowl green. Get the distance and line even close and you will have a decent birdie chance.
Tobacco Road is many things, fun, quirky, challenging, spectacular and always provides a great day out.

At the end of July I managed to play Pine Needles for the first time. It’s currently being looked after by architect Kyle Franz and he been working his magic here just as he did over at Mid Pines. <img src="/images/pine-needles-golf-course-review-PIND001.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Pine Needles Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Pine Needles Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> Most of the work is restoration centered but with great improvements. It has a similar look and feel to Mid Pines though is not quite as strong a layout, fairways are very wide and forgiving and there is short grass everywhere outside of the waste areas.
It’s full of solid holes and is a very fun course to play for all levels of golfers. A definite must to add to any trip to the Pinehurst area.

A few years back I played most of Mid Pines before running into two 8 balls of afternoon beer guzzlers and skipping through to the 18th. This time around the course had underwent a lovely and thoughtful restoration by Kyle Franz. Having just spent an evening with Kyle I was <img src="/images/mid-pines-golf-course-review-MIDP005.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Mid Pines Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Mid Pines Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> curious to see the results. In no way was I disappointed. The restoration work is awesome.
The course is great fun to play and in fact in terms of pure fun I’d have to say it’s perhaps #1 in North Carolina’s Sand Hills.
There is tons of width and the course plays very firm and fast allowing for quite a few options and even realistic use of the ground game despite the warm weather grasses.
If you make it to the area, Mid Pines is a definite must play.

Last summer while in the Pinehurst area I had the pleasure of a 2ndvisit to Dormie Club. I’ve yet to find a Coore & Crenshaw course I really didn’t like. This one is full of great holes but is not without some quirks in the routing that make walking it feel a little disjointed for me. I’ve walked it once and rode once and would say the course leans in the direction of being a cart ball course. It is still very walkable it just doesn’t quite flow <img src="/images/domie-club-golf-course-review-DORM006.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Dormie Club Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Dormie Club Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> right when walking with some of the links between green and next tee.
As a side story, not architecture related, this day was the kind of day that everything went right. Sometimes we have those days as golfers (though rarely unfortunately). My daughter (16) was my caddie on the day. This was part of a Father’s Day gift she had given me by way of a coupon book with several creative things I could redeem. Imagine her surprise when I pulled out the coupon and told her I was cashing it in. Why is this relevant you may ask? Well, on the 12thhole I had my first ever hole in 1. Amazing given she had never really caddied for me before and she was there to see it happen. Clearly she thinks this happens all the time now. I also felt as though I couldn’t really miss a putt on the day and ended with an ace and 4 birdies, trust me that’s not my normal golf but it was a very special day with a very special caddie not to mention a friend who is a pro who had also joined and witnessed the fun.
Naturally experiences affect how most of us see courses and I’m most likely not above that to some extent though other than giving Dormie a special place in my heart my view of the course still remains unaltered. Though I suppose I now have to say 12 is my favorite hole.

When Yokohama Country Club decided it was time to renovate, possibly the single best choice they could have made was to look towards the dynamic duo of Coore & Crenshaw. When you walk down the first hole it doesn’t take long to realize just how good this decision was.
Yokohama starts with a fairly stern handshake with a medium length par 4 of 414 yards that plays out to a fairway with plenty of width <img src="/images/yokohama-west-golf-course-review-YOKO016---1st.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Yokohama (West) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Yokohama (West) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> but the approach will have to be played significantly uphill into a highly undulated green. Care needs to be taken not to miss left, which will lead to serious trouble. After a solid drive I found myself approaching with a hybrid which proved a daunting task. It’s an excellent start.
The 2nd and 3rd holes take us to an adjacent and separate parcel of ground. The 2nd being a medium length par 3 of 156 yards with a green sloping severely left to right. Bunkers surround the green on nearly all sides as might be expected on a solid par 3 of this length.
The 3rd hole welcomes the first short par 4 and a driveable one at that. It’s playing slightly uphill at 294 yards. Visually to me this hole doesn’t <img src="/images/yokohama-west-golf-course-review-YOKO017---3rd.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Yokohama (West) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Yokohama (West) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> at first glance welcome going for it, but once you reach the green there is an adequate bail out area on the right side so it might not be the worst choice. However, everything from 5 iron up to driver is a good play. The best part is that it makes you think about how to play it. Coore & Crenshaw are masters of this.
The 4th hole is a very long (464 yards) and tricky par 4 that rewards a fade off the tee with a steep slope that brings the green into play with a short iron. In order to reap this benefit the player needs to take on the OB on the right. The approach is from a downhill lie and needs to carry a small pond which is a bit of a knee knocker. The green is fairly large at 40 meters deep and about 20 meters across at the widest point.
The 506-yard 5th hole is the first par 5 and again sets up perfectly for a fader of the ball willing to take on the OB on the right side. The reward is a nice speed slot and when played just right will leave about 240 yards uphill to reach the green. With a good drive here the player has the first realistic scoring opportunity.
The 6th hole is another short par 4 at 337 yards. This tee shot is all about positioning as the green has crazy undulations and run offs. The approach will play fairly steeply uphill as well making club choice tricky. This was my favorite green on the front 9. No matter where the pin position is on this hole or how strong your tee shot is this approach is exacting. It’s a great hole.
Talk about contrasts; walk off the short 6th and step onto the 473 yard par 4 7th. The tee shot plays lightly downhill, but in order to have a go at this green in two you need to take on the bunkering on the inside of the dogleg right. Longer hitters will need to play a fade here to set themselves up for the approach. A smashed drive will leave a long iron or fairway wood into this green. On top of the length of the hole, the green is also tricky with a ridge running through the right center and guarded with bunkers on the left side and in the back. I like the fact that the front is open and welcomes a low runner, within reason, even with the warm weather grasses. Visually the centerline bunker plays havoc with your mind even though it’s a good 50 yards short of the green.
The par 4, 8th hole plays to 387 yards, straight into the wind on our day. The right side bunker make the player think in diagonal lines off the tee while the ideal tee shot on our day aimed straight at the left side bunker about 250 yards out. Interesting is that the best angle of approach comes from as close to the left side of the fairway as possible without hitting into the bunker.
The green sits diagonally from left to right running away from the player and is guarded by two bunkers in front and right and one behind. An approach from the left side allows the player to use the longest portion of the green affording the highest percentage chance of holding when it lands.
Interestingly enough the front 9 culminates with a 221 yard par 3. A centerline bunker sits well short of the green which has almost a meter height differential from the front to the raised back. It’s also a notably long green guarded front right and along the left side with bunkers. It’s a seriously tough shot.
The back 9 wastes no time in challenging the player with a serious hole. If you somehow started to fall asleep after the customary lunch following the front 9, the 10th hole, a par 4 at 478 yards will definitely wake you up. A tee shot down the left side can catch the kick plate and leave a long iron to fairway wood into this one for us mere mortals. If that wasn’t enough the bunkering front left and right side suits a long draw approach. Good luck with that. It’s an excellent par 4.5.
The 11th hole brings some relief at 418 yards. A solid drive over the right centerline bunkers affords the best angle of approach. Visually it plays tricks with you as the natural line feels like it’s left of this bunker. However that angle will make for a tricky approach, especially for the left hand side pin locations. The green slopes severely from back to front left to <img src="/images/yokohama-west-golf-course-review-YOKO018---12th.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Yokohama (West) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Yokohama (West) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> right.
The 12th hole is the first par 3 on the back 9. It’s a lovely hole played over water from 185 yards on our day. This green also slopes severely from back to front and is well protected with deep bunkers front and back right and on the left hand side. It has a sort of kidney bean shape to it with a sort of dogleg left in the middle of the bean. This shot looks straightforward but seems to get tougher as you wait your turn.
The 13th hole is a solid par 5 of 536 yards that has a slight double dogleg to the left. The first part occurring around the 250-yard mark and if you want a chance to reach in two you will have to be fairly long and ideally hit a draw off the tee. To do so you need to take on the left hand side bunkers. Once successful your approach will in most cases also need to <img src="/images/yokohama-west-golf-course-review-YOKO019---13th.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Yokohama (West) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Yokohama (West) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> be a draw into this green up the hill. While most will play this in three shots and let the doglegs dictate your safest play – given the uphill approach there is ample challenge even with a short iron.
The 14th is a very narrow medium length par 4 which played at 385 yards on the day. This hole plays downhill up to about 80 yards in, then rises significantly uphill to the green – so a long drive leaves a very tricky approach with a half wedge. Ideally you would try to play to a distance to allow for a full shot in, however this is much trickier than you expect given the downhill nature of this hole. The green also has a huge bunker protecting the front side of it. Which means if the approach is played too close it’s semi-blind.
Hole 15 is a reachable par 5 playing 511 yards, however, to do this you need to either hit another draw to the left center of the fairway or take on the trees on the left side with a fade. The tee is raised highly on the side of a hill and though the entire hole plays uphill once you hit the <img src="/images/yokohama-west-golf-course-review-YOKO021---15th.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Yokohama (West) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Yokohama (West) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> ground the tee gives it a high-low-high playing shape. Given the uphill nature of the hole after the drive, even an excellent drive leaves a very tricky and exacting approach into a great green that has some crazy undulations. It’s really a perfect green for a short par 5 bringing several risk reward elements, off the tee and with the approach. I was forced to play this as a 3 shotter and fared better than my playing companion who went for it in two and slightly missed on the left side. The green is protected by four bunkers, one well short of the green at 50 yards out, one tough one right front, another tricky one back left and one scorecard wrecker behind.
The 16th hole is our last one shotter playing 169 yards. Visually this hole is very deceptive, as the undulation in the fairway makes you feel like it plays uphill, however, the tee box is actually higher than the green. The green is very heavily sloped back to front and full of undulations and a false front. There is a huge bunker in front of the green, another on the right side and one back right. The left side falls off. It’s a very tricky green to putt on and fairly crowned as well. This makes recovery shots from the bunkers or around the green very challenging.
The 17th hole is a short 4 at 317 yards. There may be a temptation for longer players to go for this one, however the green is raised <img src="/images/yokohama-west-golf-course-review-YOKO022---17th.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Yokohama (West) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Yokohama (West) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> on a hill. The best play may well be an iron down the right hand side which leaves a tricky uphill approach. The one caveat is that left center of the fairway has a tree about 70 yards from the green. This may be a controversial place for this tree but it really defines the strategy of this short hole. Hitting an iron off the tee, for example, that ends up anywhere on the left side of the fairway will leave a near impossible approach that will need to contend with this tree. Off the tee it blocks the view of the left hand side of the green. The green itself is also highly raised, undulated and falls off front, back and left side. There are also 3 large and deep bunkers guarding the approach.
Finally, the 18th hole is a 395-yard par 4 with a strong dogleg right about 250 yards out. A solid drive taking on the left hand side bunkers will leave a downhill approach into this very wide green with a significant ridge running in the direction of the line of play right down the middle. The green is heavily guarded with bunkers and undulations and an appropriate closing hole to an excellent and varied course.
As previously mentioned, in every way this bold move to bring Coore & Crenshaw over to Japan was a huge success. Not only because it transformed Yokohama CC completely into a course very much a World Top 100 contender, but also because of the significant future impact this move will have on the Japanese golf world. It serves as a near perfect example of what’s great about current golf course architecture trends. Ample width off the tee, thoughtful and natural shaping that ties into the surroundings and terrain, a wide mix of variation in short and long holes, wonderful bunkering that is not overdone and finally absolutely fantastic greens with excellent shaping!
If you ever get an opportunity to travel to Japan for golf and you are lucky enough to have a chance to play this great course, I’d say it’s a must and an unforgettable experience.

The Country Club of North Carolina’s second course, the Cardinal, has some similarities to its big brother the Dogwood.
It is also a tree-lined course <img src="/images/north-carolina-cardinal-golf-course-review-NOCC001.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Country Club of North Carolina (Cardinal) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Country Club of North Carolina (Cardinal) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> played across a nice topography. Some lakes are thrown in and greens are relatively large. For the most part the landscape consists of a gentle rolling nature.
Conditioning is superb and the greens ran very quickly. It’s an excellent second course and members’ course that provides a very enjoyable day out.

I had the opportunity to play the Country Club of North Carolina’s Dogwood course last summer. It’s a fun and challenging modern design that flows through the sandhills of North Carolina in the Pinehurst area.
Dogwood is the championship course at CCNC and can be stretched out fairly long to challenge the world’s best. It’s a tree-lined <img src="/images/north-carolina-dogwood-golf-course-review-NOCA005.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Country Club of North Carolina (Dogwood) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Country Club of North Carolina (Dogwood) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> parkland course with several water hazards that have been designed to naturally fit in the landscape. It has large greens with varying pin positions to increase the challenge and variety available. To play the course well the golfer will be required to shape the ball in both direction off the tee or play shorter clubs requiring longer irons or hybrids for the approaches.
CCNC also has wonderful practice facilities and as a side note some of the only range facilities I’ve ever seen where Pro V 1’s are being used. For me it’s worth a visit only to spend a day at the range seeing how great a practice session truly can be. CCNC is a private club so an invite is required to enjoy the course but the two courses make for a great day out.

Old Town Club has my vote for one of the most underrated courses in the world at the present moment. This last summer, while spending some time in Pinehurst, I had the wonderful opportunity to enjoy a second visit to see this recently renovated Maxwell gem. Coore & Crenshaw have indeed pulled off one of the best renovations ever and one that <img src="/images/old-town-golf-course-review-OLDT021.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Old Town Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Old Town Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> should be used as an example for all students of architecture.
In my estimate the only thing keeping this course out of its well-deserved place among the magazine World Top 100 golf courses is time. Make no mistake it’s a Top 100 Golf Course and one of the best members clubs in existence on top of that.
It’s a great routing with wonderful green complexes and perfect land for golf that has been masterfully optimized to bring out all the features and on top of that wonderful natural bunkering. What more could you want?
If you have the chance to visit OTC jump on a plane and make it a priority. You won’t regret it.

It’s always great to get back to see the Lage Vuursche. The first, and for years, the only routing from Kyle Philips in The Netherlands. This fact is about to change with the addition of a new course in the south of the land.
This may well be the premier members club in the <img src="/images/lage-vuursche-golf-course-review-LAGE012.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Lage Vuursche Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Lage Vuursche Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> country with near perfect conditioning that is highly uncommon in continental Europe. It’s a challenging course on a small property and it’s found its place among the county’s Top 10 courses.
On top of that, the rest of The Netherlands could learn from this wonderful example of superior service headed by the best GM in the country. My hat is off to him and his team. Great work here and as always I look forward to my next chance to enjoy a day at this challenging and beautiful course.

Noordwijkse Golf Club receives the award for the greatest missed opportunity in The Netherlands. The club is so fortunate to have some of the greatest linksland in the world and due to extremely mediocre architecture and lack of vision somehow managed to create a penal above average course with 12 raised, small push-up greens.

I realize this is a huge contradiction to my original review from many years ago. There is a simple answer for that, with years <img src="/images/noordwijkse-golf-course-revie-NOOR017.jpg" alt="Noordwijkse Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Noordwijkse Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;"> of architectural study and spending time learning from the great living architects and debating relative merits of what makes courses and architecture great along with visiting over 500 hundred courses for study my opinion has reformed considerably.

This is not to say that Noordwijkse is not a good course. Not at all. Many visitors leave thinking wow, that was great and so hard and so penal. The beauty can easily mislead. Many very strong players leave relishing the challenge that the small push-up greens bring however, for 95% of the members the course is far too difficult and their lack of knowledge leads them to believe that’s the way golf should be. However, jumping on a plane to England, Scotland or Ireland is a sure fire way to see what’s possible and how easy it would be to make the most of this wonderful landscape and create a highly playable course that could be significantly more appreciated by the members, be far more fun to play, far more playable for all hcp levels and even provide a greater challenge to the better playing members.

To be very specific the following points all deserve to be improved allowing this course to rightly take it's place among the world's best as would be expected with a course occupying such a magnificent <img src="/images/noordwijkse-golf-course-review-NOOR018.jpg" alt="Noordwijkse Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Noordwijkse Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;"> piece of coastal links-land.

<ul>
	<li>The greens and surrounds all need to be completely redone. </li>
	<li>Greens should be significantly larger and allow for multiple pin positions as well as the ability to use the ground game and bump the ball onto the greens. </li>
	<li>They should also be tied into the surrounding dunes to look natural and as if they have always been there, i.e. just found like that. </li>
	<li>The bunkering must all be completely redone and
reshaped. While this aspect of the course has been at best mediocre since the
original design in the last few years bunkers were reshaped to almost perfect
circles which in absolutely no way work with the course nor do such a course
any justice whatsoever. Keep in mind however that there are very few bunkers on
the course and I'm not saying the course need a lot more bunkers as this is not
the case. They just need to be redone and look a lot more natural. 
	</li>
	<li>The fairways need to be firmed up and width brought back into them. </li>
	<li>The current driving range is an eyesore and too big a distance from the clubhouse resulting in the fact that it not frequently used by members yet interferes with the 1st and 9th hole. </li>
	<li>There also needs to be a solution for the long and unnecessary walks that occur after the 5th, 6th and 7th holes. This will require the 6th hole and likely the 7th holes to be completely rerouted. However, this will bring back a much better flow and continuity in the walk. Having a long walk while not ideal is also not unheard of on great course. Think of the walks at Barnbougle and Fryer's Head. However, these long walks have something very much in common, both are along the ocean and both are leading to great holes. The 6th and 7th <img src="/images/noordwijkse-golf-course-review-NOOR019.jpg" alt="Noordwijkse Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Noordwijkse Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;"> holes at Noordwijkse are disaster holes that add little to the course and render the long walks far less than ideal. </li>
	<li>The routing of the course requires constant walks back and up on top of small dunes to reach the back tees and this helps make stroke play rounds and competition rounds last up to 5-6 hours for the best players. Sure great exercise with all this walking back and up however, so is a treadmill. The club is now working hard at removing the trees which are uncharacteristic of the land and also pine trees that come from Spain or Cyprus or some other warm land. For the course to reach it's full potential all these trees will need to be removed to unveil the wonderful natural dunes landscape that finds itself in the forested holes (4-7). </li>
	<li>The 12th hole could well also stand to be removed with a renovation, unless the wind is up this hole for a drop shot par 3 provides very little interest. This could however be changed with a new green and surrounding area. </li>
	<li>14 is another hole that from an architectural perspective could be far better. </li>
	<li>Finally the 18th hole provides yet another dilemma requiring the player to walk the length of a par 3 back to the tee box which resides by the 15th hole when played from the back tees. </li>
</ul>
 All in all the good news is that it will not be hard to make huge improvements to this course while at the same time giving this wonderful links land the course it deserves. Watch this space in years to come, as there are significant movements in the right direction. I for one am keeping my fingers crossed.

Utrechtse de Pan is arguably the best course in The Netherlands. Architecturally it is the best routed course, not only in The Netherlands but one of the best routed courses in the world – a huge compliment that Mr. Colt most certainly deserves.
It’s a highly hidden gem still but in years to come this will change. De Pan is to this Colt fan one of the great master's best efforts <img src="/images/utrecht-de-pan-golf-course-review-UTRE042.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Utrecht de Pan Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Utrecht de Pan Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> anywhere and perhaps his very best.
Why, you ask? First of all, the property is incredibly small, yet the masterful routing gives you the feeling that each hole is completely separated. The sandy heathland makes for ideal golf conditions, firm and fast with appropriate tree removal. The course had hardly any original shaping and the landscape is full of undulations, humps and bumps with greens that can be approached in many ways providing a myriad of options to all lucky enough to enjoy this great course.
The club is also constantly getting better and moving in the right direction with regards to maintenance, irrigation levels, reclaiming width and firming up fairways and greens.
Bravo, please keep striving to make De Pan the best it can be. It’s one of the world’s great courses. The coming years will prove this to the world.

Hilversumsche Golf Club is another course that I don’t get to hardly enough. The current trend in The Netherlands is clearly aimed at much needed tree removal and creating firmer and faster playing surfaces.
The biggest surprise of a long weekend that had me <img src="/images/hilversumsche-golf-course-review-HILV019.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Hilversumsche Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Hilversumsche Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> entertaining my Top 100 Golf colleagues on their first visit over to the flatlands was the conditioning of the Hilversumsche. The turf and fairways and greens were perfect, the firmest in The Netherlands. Bravo to their Greens Committee, Management Board and greenkeeping team. It was absolutely wonderful to treat my colleagues to a perfectly maintained course.
My only wish for Hilversumsche is that they manage to get the permission to remove a couple thousand trees and bring the heathland back to the way it used to be. The course will be all the better for it, maintenance will be significantly easier and the beautiful vistas that open up will be a true joy to behold.
Wonderful to see this course starting to realize its great potential.

Sometimes even in your home country you forget to visit some of the excellent local courses for a number of years. Eindhovensche Golf Club is a classic understated Harry Colt gem located in the South of <img src="/images/eindhovensche-golf-course-review-EIND027.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Eindhovensche Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Eindhovensche Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> The Netherlands. It had been about 4 years since my last game here. What a mistake that was.

The club has been really busy following through on a long term maintenance strategy plan that has them removing many trees to reclaim the lost width, open up vistas and improve turf and greens. They have also changed the watering procedures in order to improve the turf and firm everything up. I for one commend them on moving in the right direction. Are they there yet? Not quite but it’s already a huge improvement. Hundreds more trees need to <img src="/images/eindhovensche-golf-course-review-EIND028.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Eindhovensche Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Eindhovensche Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> be removed to bring this landscape back to the way it originally was closing in on 100 years ago.

I believe the members can already see the improvements and that this process is contributing to the fun and playability of the course. I’m hoping this will encourage them to continue with the current path and get everything out of the course that they can – firm and fast with plenty of width and open vistas and restoration of heather growth. There is an amazing course waiting to be revealed.

Great work by all involved so far.

10 years ago I played Royal Aberdeen for the first time. To say the least I was impressed. This time around I was treated to the most amazing summer weather you could ask for, 28 degrees C and a nice breeze. The gorse was in full bloom and the ships were anchored <img src="/images/royal-aberdeen-balgownie-golf-course-review-ROAB075.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Royal Aberdeen (Balgownie) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Royal Aberdeen (Balgownie) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> 500 yds offshore adding to the surreal picture it already is. Standing on the first tee was an impressive site. On top of that due to a major football game in town the course was perfectly empty. The ultimate pleasure!

The outward 9 is just spectacular but this is not a surprising statement, in fact few that visit Royal Aberdeen think otherwise. I struggled to remember much of the back 9 from my first visit and if there is ever critique on the course it’s that the back 9 while strong fails to maintain the high <img src="/images/royal-aberdeen-balgownie-golf-course-review-ROAB076.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Royal Aberdeen (Balgownie) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Royal Aberdeen (Balgownie) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> level of the front 9. With the course fresh in my mind I’ll admit that the back 9 is way stronger than even I remembered and gave it credit for. Fact is, the front 9 is simply all world and a few holes on the back 9 are just excellent but overshadowed by the front. Many of these holes on the back would be signature holes on lesser courses, yes they are that good. The quirky 10th and wonderful par 3 17th are the highlights for me.

Royal Aberdeen is a Top 100 Golf Course in the World for me, and with Cruden Bay and Trump International makes for an amazing triumvirate of world-class courses. If you didn’t know, Aberdeen is one of the premier golf destinations in Scotland.

10 years ago, which seems like forever ago, I first visited Cruden Bay. I fell in love with it immediately. Having seen so many courses around the world in the mean time I was always curious if it would really stand the test of time and the impact of experience and several hundred course <img src="/images/cruden-bay-championship-golf-course-review-CRUD061.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Cruden Bay (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Cruden Bay (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> visits. I’m extremely happy to be able to confirm to myself that not only does it, but seeing it with my current golf CV proves to me that it’s even better than I originally gave it credit for. That says a lot since it has always been one of my favorites.
There are few experiences in golf better than walking around the clubhouse at Cruden Bay down towards the 1st tee and seeing the entire valley and course present itself. The holes are wonderful and varied, quirky and challenging. The surface is fast and firm, it’s golf as they could only do in the Golden Age of architecture.
There are certainly too many great holes to start discussing <img src="/images/cruden-bay-championship-golf-course-review-CRUD062.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Cruden Bay (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Cruden Bay (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> all of them but there are two things I’d like to mention. Firstly, architect Tom Mackenzie has made some improvements recently. He greatly improved the 10th hole by moving the tee to the top of the dune and moving the green to the edge of the clifftop to create an infinity green. This hole was arguably the only weak link on the course and now is spectacular.
The last thing I want to mention, perhaps plea, is that the club does not change the 8th hole, which for me is one of the great classic holes on the course. The 8th is a short drivable par 4 that plays to a green tucked into massive dunes. It’s a wonderfully quirky hole. The problem is there are issues with the green and the turf on it not getting enough sunlight due to the massive dunes surrounding it. I understand that and if the issue was due to trees I’d say, cut them down. However, the wonder <img src="/images/cruden-bay-championship-golf-course-review-CRUD063.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Cruden Bay (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Cruden Bay (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> of this hole is the fact it’s been around for more than 100 years. For the sake of classic architecture I hope they don’t change this hole by moving the green out from the dunes.
The other significant change occurred to the tee shot of the 10th hole. Previously this tee was on the cliff to the right of the 9th green and following the tee shot ensued a semi tedious walk down the steep hill on a narrow path. The new changes have the tee moved to the right side and have turned the hole into a sort of cape hole where you need to hit down through the valley out towards the sea and attempt to cut off as much of the right side native as possible. Tee shots challenging the right side of the fairway are rewarded with the best angle of approach to the tricky raised green.
There is always controversy revolving around the blind par 3 16th hole. Again, it’s wonderful and quirky; let’s hope they never change it.
Cruden Bay remains one of the great days in golf and if you haven’t played it put it on top of your list.

There are a lot of things that can be said about the owner of this course but one thing is sure to me and that is that he has managed to make some solid courses and add value to the golf world in Scotland with the recent renovation at Turnberry and new build here up north near <img src="/images/trump-international-scotland-golf-course-review-TRUT054.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="trump International - Scotland Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="trump International - Scotland Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> Aberdeen at Trump International Golf Links.

It would seem this course has been designed with one major goal in mind… to be spectacular and awe inspiring. Most of what I’d heard going into my visit had been positive though little had come through the eyes of critical observers. I don’t feel the need to go through the holes. 2 and 14 have two of the most challenging tee shots from the back tees you will find anywhere. The course has no less than 12 raised tees and 12 raised greens. This demonstrates a central theme revolving around trying to make the course spectacular rather than trying to put the best possible routed golf course in this land. Yes the dunes are massive and that most certainly dictates several aspects of the routing. The main question <img src="/images/trump-international-scotland-golf-course-review-TRUT055.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Trump International - Scotland Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Trump International - Scotland Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> to the author remains what would top architects have done with the same land, Coore & Crenshaw, Doak, Ebert & Mackenzie, Mike Devries or Bob Harrison to name a few.

That critique aside, yes, Trump International is awe inspiring while standing on the tee of the 2nd hole trying to thread the needle in the wind between a diagonally left to right running native lost ball territory and the parallel running burn that many will struggle to carry. There are several other tough shots that will be faced, the native is deep, prepare yourself mentally to judge the wind correctly and hit straight shots, if you can. Standing on the 14th back tee it hits you that not all golfers are created equally. 250 yds carry to reach the fairway and 50 yds later a steep sloped that if not carried repels the ball back towards the beginning of the fairway. The fairway while having decent width looks like a tiny sliver tucked into the massive dunes and waste deep native. The tee sitting on the top of a massive <img src="/images/trump-international-scotland-golf-course-review-TRUT056.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Trump International - Scotland Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Trump International - Scotland Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> dune 20-30 yds above does wonders to frame the daunting challenge. Good luck judging the wind on this one. Worst part here is that moving up a couple tees does little to make this hole much easier. I’ve yet to run into a golfer that said #14, yeah piece of cake.

I will certainly admit that there are several excellent holes and even more spectacular holes. In fact, not a single boring hole in the routing which might sound counterintuitive to my critical commentary but there is a distinct difference in my points. One of my favorite holes is a short par 4, 7th. This hole does wonders to temp golfers to go for the crazy green with driver. A couple plays, in my mind, will stop this madness. The green is raised about 3 meters all the way around and falls off steeply everywhere. Recovery shots are extremely tough, so much so that almost driving the green with the tee shot in my best estimate renders a 3, a miracle, a 4 extremely tough and a 6 more than likely. I watched two groups go for the green and double seemed to be the best score. The best way to <img src="/images/trump-international-scotland-golf-course-review-TRUT057.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Trump International - Scotland Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Trump International - Scotland Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> play it, I’d say 5 iron, wedge or 9 iron depending on the wind and make sure you hit the green.

Standing on the back tee of the elevated 650 yds 18th hole with a strong breeze into your face also has some comical aspects to it, a minefield of bunkers to drop your tee shot into. It’s certain they wanted to challenge the best players, perhaps even Trump himself (that’s a joke by the way).

It's a beautiful place and the visual spectacle alone renders it worth a visit. I'd also recommend staying in the Macleod House which must be the best accommodation in the area with a brilliant whiskey room on top of it all. It would be my ideal place to use as home base for a trip to the area.

10 years ago when Caslte Stuart first opened I was lucky enough to enjoy an early visit which I loved. It’s amazing to revisit now that the course <img src="/images/castle-stuart-golf-course-review-CASS137.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Castle Stuart Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Castle Stuart Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> has matured over the years.

This time around I was fortunate enough to catch it in not only perfect condition on a perfect day but also in the height of the gorse blooming season. There is no way I could do the experience itself justice, it’s just that awesome.

I also love the course. It does everything right from an architecture perspective. It has plenty of width for everyone to enjoy but rewards the correct tee shots based on the day’s pin position. The style of bunkering is natural and ties in perfect with the terrain as do the greens <img src="/images/castle-stuart-golf-course-review-CASS138.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Castle Stuart Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Castle Stuart Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> and surrounds. The turf is of superior quality and highly promotes the use of the ground game as do most holes.

I’m a fan of the highly acclaimed Kingsbarns by the same owners but for me Castle Stuart has grown into the better of the two courses.

My favorite holes are #1, #6 and #11.

Put Castle Stuart on your must visit list you won’t regret it.

I first visited Royal Dornoch quite a few years ago early in the season. It was wonderful then and it was wonderful this time around as well. I couldn’t have been more fortunate to be there with the gorse in full bloom and the sunny perfect weather all but forcing us to wear shorts at a balmy 30 degrees C. Almost hard to believe these temperatures <img src="/images/royal-dornoch-championship-golf-course-review-RODO126.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Royal Dornoch (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Royal Dornoch (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> and left me thinking, wait I didn’t come up here for this, if I want 30 deg C I’ll visit Spain! Hard to complain nonetheless. As it turned out the entire trip was tropical summer weather.
Dornoch is such a great experience, has such wonderful views and is such an idyllic place to be but I believe the course itself is slightly overrated. Not the experience mind you just the course. Is it great? Yes, but is it a top 20 in the world course, nope.
Naturally I’m certain most will disagree with me and I’m certainly picking at straws but no way could this course be Top s0 in the world. Take the par 3’s for example. We had a nice breeze on the day and all my playing partners and myself hit the exact same club on both the very <img src="/images/royal-dornoch-championship-golf-course-review-RODO127.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Royal Dornoch (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Royal Dornoch (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> similar but excellent par 3’s on the front 9 only to hit the exact same club on both the very similar par 3’s on the back. While each of these are excellent holes, this I certainly would not argue. There is also a lot to be said for variation and that honestly could be better and would have to be for me to consider this one of the top courses in the world.
That being said and I realize how critical it sounds, there is not a bad hole on the course. One of my favorites on the way out is the par 4 8th. Which requires a centerline to left side tee shot to take advantage of the steep slope that adds an extra 50 yds to your shot and sets up a tricky semi blind approach into an undulated green guarded by a huge mound on the front middle and right side.
On the inward 9 my favorites would be the <img src="/images/royal-dornoch-championship-golf-course-review-RODO128.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Royal Dornoch (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Royal Dornoch (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> par 4 16th and par 4 17th. Both excellent two shotters.
16 plays up hill and a strong driver can carry up the ridge allowing for a look at the pin. Important to land the approach short in most cases as even though this shot seems uphill it always plays shorter for me than I expect and the yardage indicates.
17 is remotely similar in feel to the 8th a solid drive to the center or left can benefit from a sizeable yardage gain by running down the steep hill. The approach is a tricky one into a well protected green that is raised.
Royal Dornoch is one of the places that golfers dream about, a sort of mecca for American golf tourism thanks to classic and favorable comments from people like Tom Watson. There is no doubt it is one of the great experiences in golf given the entire package and a must play for any traveling golfer. Catch it when the gorse is in full bloom as I did on my last visit, get a peek at the sun and I can promise a day you won’t soon forget.

I waited a long time for the first visit to Machrihanish and was luckily graced with great windy weather and perfect conditions.

Above and beyond all the experience is <img src="/images/machrihanish-championship-golf-course-review-MACR035.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Machrihanish (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Machrihanish (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> very quaint and the setting idealistic for a game of traditional links golf. The first hole often described and declared to be the best starting hole in the world is naturally all about the tee shot. Given we were playing into a 30 mph headwind from the left we had to be rather careful about cutting off a little less than we visually thought we could take on. There is no debating it’s one of the more spectacular first tee shots in the game and a great experience. I was less impressed by the first hole in its entirety however as the rest of the first hole is basically flat with extremely gentle undulations.

The second hole may even be more <img src="/images/machrihanish-championship-golf-course-review-MACR036.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Machrihanish (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Machrihanish (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> spectacular as it requires a solid tee shot and on our day a great approach to the tricky green up on the hill. From there I would say the course just keeps improving on the front 9 and throws an entire run of excellent holes as you work your way out to the turn.

I’ll admit to being slightly less excited about the back 9 and am happy we played the course with significant wind. It’s a fun, classic links test and should be experienced by all golf nuts but it’s also very gentle by nature and really built to be played in the windy conditions that often exist down this way.

My favorite holes coming back in were <img src="/images/machrihanish-championship-golf-course-review-MACR037.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Machrihanish (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Machrihanish (Championship) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> probably the par 3 16th and the par 4 17th which has the golfer teeing it up from the top of the large dune with a great view on a tricky hole.

The coolest part of the 18th hole is that the village is the backdrop. The slightly raised green also makes for an interesting approach.

The Ugadale Hotel and Old Pub must be one of the world’s best golf accommodations, ideally located across the street with wonderful lodging and the absolute perfect location. I wouldn’t think of staying anywhere else when heading down that direction.

Olivos Golf Club is one of the premier classic courses of South America and on a recent visit I had the opportunity to pay them a visit. The first impression of the club and facilities was great. Everything from look, feel, atmosphere and general set up is that of one of the lovely old <img src="/images/olivos-blanca-and-colorada-golf-course-review-OLIV005.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Olivos (Blanca & Colorada) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Olivos (Blanca & Colorada) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> world classics much like you would find in the UK.
However, it’s not until one digs much deeper and takes a look at the course, changes and architecture that you realize the course’s distinguished reputation clearly stems from many decades ago and what currently exists is a product of neglect, lack of information and far too much tinkering, be it by unknowledgeable greens committees or perhaps even architects that may not have been qualified to work there. For me it’s a shame when this happens to a course even though I understand how it can happen.
To give a couple examples of what I mean I could start with the fact that the club obviously doesn’t have a tree management program in place. They have basically just let all the trees grow out of control and now there is <img src="/images/olivos-blanca-and-colorada-golf-course-review-OLIV006.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Olivos (Blanca & Colorada) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Olivos (Blanca & Colorada) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> little strategy left besides hitting the ball where the trees aren’t. The problem with this besides the fact that width, open vistas, light and nutrients are lost is that the interesting aspects of many of the greens no longer come into play. It’s no longer possible to vary the course set up based on pin positions and strategy. Yet that was exactly a huge part of what made Golden Age architecture so wonderful.
On top of this the club has renovated several greens and bunkers in a style not consistent with the origins of the course. One example would be where three bunkers were placed in front of a green which all look super modern compared to anything else. Unfortunately, overdone and with neglect for the origins of this classic gem.
Olivos is a great club and it has a tremendous potential to really be something special and my hope in being critical here is only to encourage them to start moving in the right direction. I think the problem is they don’t even realize what they have and how special it is. They are <img src="/images/olivos-blanca-and-colorada-golf-course-review-OLIV007.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Olivos (Blanca & Colorada) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Olivos (Blanca & Colorada) Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> caretakers of a Golden Age classic course and are only neglecting its potential and taking away from how wonderfully fun it could be for all the members rather than just a few better players. My wish for them would be to find a competent foreign architect to provide the course with the loving attention it needs and give it thoughtful reno/restoration to finally take care of it for the generations to come.
On a positive note the bones of the course are solid and there are some signs of what could be. Examples of this would be the greens on the first three holes, the 5th and the 9th hole. These holes are generally good but trees encroach far too much on play and limit strategy. The greens are nice remnants of the excellent course that once was here yet serious bunker work is needed.

Loch Lomond is legendary for many reasons. First of all, it’s an extremely private members club in a country where 99.9% of the golf courses are accessible for everyone. Secondly, it would be fair to say the estate is the lap of luxury with the Castle serving as the idyllic clubhouse, pro shop and members getaway. Lastly, the club was further made world <img src="/images/loch-lomond-golf-course-review-LOCH069.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Loch Lomond Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Loch Lomond Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> renowned by hosting the Scottish Open a number of times.
The opportunity to visit Loch Lomond is a real treat and doesn’t come easy or often for anyone except the select few. However, when you get really lucky and are given the chance it’s always nice to see what kind of treatment the 1% and lucky members become accustomed to.
For starters the service is second to none, every wish is taken care of and special attention is paid by the staff to make sure your adventure is perfect.
We caught the course on a stormy but dry day with huge winds coming in off the lake. It’s a classic US parkland design by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish and definitely one of their best efforts. The front 9 takes us out to the waters edge in the first 3 holes. The 3rd hole being a real cracker of a par 5 with a devious green that falls away to a water hazard on the front middle and right side. We had the sucker pin on the day and with a hard left to right wind on the approach this was a very scary shot.
The par 3, 5th hole is one of the most famous on the front 9 playing <img src="/images/loch-lomond-golf-course-review-LOCH070.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Loch Lomond Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Loch Lomond Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> straight out towards the lake with a green sitting right against the lake as a backdrop. A solid hole and a tough one on our day in the wind.
The course then works its way back along the lake to the clubhouse with two long tough holes before the short par 3 8th which is played right in front of the clubhouse.
The 9th was my favorite hole on the front 9. A short par 4 requiring a strategic choice off the tee to set up a short approach to one of the trickiest greens on the course that is heavily protected and falls away hard from front to back. A birdie opportunity but a double waiting to happen with the slightest miscue.
The back 9 starts solid with 3 excellent holes. The par 4 12th was my favorite of this group. A solid drive up the left side leaves a good angle of approach to another very deceptively narrow green that falls off back and front. It’s the kind of hole that’s only easy to play once, after that you fear the approach knowing how perfectly struck and placed it must be.
The short par 4 14th hole would be my least favorite hole on the course. It’s supposed to be a drivable short 4 though it’s just out of reach for all <img src="/images/loch-lomond-golf-course-review-LOCH071.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Loch Lomond Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Loch Lomond Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> but the longest players, which means that strategic choice is taken away from most solid amateurs. Then there is a giant tree guarding the approach to the green on the right side. To me it would be better if you had 3 choices here, to lay up for a longer shot on the right side, to go for the green or to play past the tree for a tricky short approach. As is there is really only one choice. The green is very narrow, guarded by a front bunker and sloping severely back to front.
The finishing holes are all quite strong and 18 is a wonderful hole requiring a cut off as much as you can chew drive and a mid to long iron approach in to a back to front sloping two-tiered green. Best of all the lake and the Castle are the backdrop, not to mention the club yacht harbored off to the left.
Most certainly one of the great private club experiences boasting a championship caliber course. Never pass up an invite for this golf adventure.

Over the years I’d heard a lot about Mach Dunes and honestly a lot of it was negative. Now that I visited myself I have to say that in its current shape every negative comment I heard was ludicrous and ungrounded. Even the day before at the Ugadale bar we ran into a small group of Scottish lads that claimed to be good players and spoke <img src="/images/machrihanish-dunes-golf-course-review-MACI103.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Machrihanish Dunes Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Machrihanish Dunes Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> of a 5 ½ hour round there due to how spread out the holes were.
Imagine my surprise when we casually played in just under 3 hours, found no such long walks and absolutely loved the course. It leaves me wondering what everyone was on about.
Mach Dunes must be the local ode to Prestwick with its wildly undulated terrain. Apparently it’s all perfectly natural and little to no shaping was done. Indeed, this is golf as it was meant to be. Crazy quirky fairways and wild, fun and natural greens looking like someone just walked up and pinned the most appropriate locations. I’ve played quite a few David McLay Kidd designs and to date this is most certainly my favorite.
For me there are too many great holes to start detailing them but I loved the drivable punchbowl par 4 at the beginning and the wonderful little par 3 right after it. On the back 9 as well as the front you find one strong <img src="/images/machrihanish-dunes-golf-course-review-MACI104.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Machrihanish Dunes Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Machrihanish Dunes Golf Course - Photo by reviewer"> hole after another and it starts with the 10th where a solid drive affords a blind approach to green hidden in the dunes. Really great stuff on this hugely underrated and unfairly overshadowed course.
In retrospect, some of the comments about the course being too penal I understand but definitely are not true in its current form. In the beginning they were severely restricted with cutting the native areas and this created fairways that were too narrow and penal for this windy area. That is no longer the case and these restrictions have been all but dropped.
If you are heading to the area, do yourself a big favor and don’t miss Mach Dunes, it’s some of the best natural links since Prestwick. Nice work Mr. McLay Kidd!

On a recent golf trip to Argentina I had the pleasure of visiting a modern Nicklaus Design that is part of a massive housing development just out side of Buenos Aires called Nordelta.
<img src="/images/nordelta-golf-course-review-NORE023.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="Nordelta Golf Course - Photo by reviewer" title="Nordelta Golf Course - Photo by reviewer">
The Nordelta course has already hosted the Argentine Amateur Championships as well as the Argentine Open. Honestly, it’s really been created and set up for those kinds of events as well. It has the ability to easily take on large crowds logistically and the course can be stretched to play very long and extremely hard as many Nicklaus designed courses can.
I would say there are huge comparisons to some of his other designs here; for example, Jack Nicklaus Seoul is a very similar experience.